14 Day Great Western Trek

Once you've arrived in Johannesburg and have cleared customs and immigration, you'll find a representative from African Sky waiting for you as you enter the arrival's hall. First, we'll take care of a few formalities. You'll be handed a complete tour folder containing all necessary documentation for your upcoming holiday, including e-tickets for the included flight, accommodation, transfer vouchers, a detailed itinerary, and our emergency contact details.

As an experienced guide, our representative will gladly answer any questions. Once formalities are completed, you'll be escorted to the appropriate departure terminal, where you'll board a local flight to Upington in South Africa's Northern Cape Province. There, you'll be met and transferred to your overnight accommodations. The remainder of your first day in South Africa is enjoyed at leisure on the banks of the Orange River.

After an early breakfast, you'll be met and transferred to the remote !Xaus Lodge in a private concession of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. On arrival at the lodge, you'll be warmly welcomed and assisted with settling in.

The purpose of visiting !Xaus is to escape the world and place yourself in a remote location where nothing from the outside world remains or impacts your day-to-day activities. Later in the day, you'll enjoy your first exciting activity in the Kgalagadi wilderness. The activity starts in the late afternoon, pauses at a remote location for sundowners, and continues into the evening, lasting three to four hours to maximize your experience.

!Xaus, meaning 'heart' in the Nama language, was established in May 2002 after an agreement was reached with the South African government. The agreement restored a large tract of land to those who once roamed or farmed the area. Named the !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park Agreement resulted in the transfer of ownership of 50,000 hectares of land within the boundaries of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to the Khomani San and Mier communities, helping them improve the quality of their lives. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is an immense desert with grass-covered dunes. At over 3.5 million hectares, it's almost twice the size of the Kruger National Park and about the same size as the Netherlands. It is jointly managed by the South African and Botswana wildlife authorities.

A constant high-pressure cell forms a 'lid' over the interior. Consequently, the long-term annual rainfall average is just 213mm, classifying the Kgalagadi as a true desert. Unusually, desert grasses are abundant, giving the landscape the appearance of a semidesert. The park is home to an abundance of wildlife, including large, black-maned Kalahari lions, cheetahs, brown and spotted hyenas, a handful of desert-adapted leopards, and large numbers of gemsbok, springbok, and wildebeest. The park is well-known for its huge eland population, which is probably the largest herd in the world. While at !Xaus, your activities include game and after-dinner drives, guided dune walks, a visit to a bushman craft village, and star gazing, made possible by clean air and zero light pollution.

After breakfast, you'll be met and returned to Upington. On arrival at your accommodations, you'll meet your African Sky guide, who'll remain with you for the remainder of the tour. The afternoon is at leisure.

Our destination today is one of the most unusual places in South Africa - Witsand Kalahari, approximately 160km from Upington. Witsand - literally 'white sand' - refers to a five-and-a-half mile-long white dune, standing out in stark contrast to the typical red dunes of the Kalahari. Known as the 'roaring dune', a distinctive roaring may be heard as the wind blows. The sound is alternatively described as a bass, organ-like sound. Walking on the dunes produces a muted groan. Witsand is also home to various animals, including gemsbok, red hartebeest, duiker, steenbok, and kudu.

The entire reserve is open to hikers, with no restrictions on where visitors can go. Dune boards and bicycles are available for rental, and a guided nature walk can also be booked. We'll spend one night here in the southern Kalahari under starry night skies.

After an early breakfast, we'll travel south to Groblershoop and then to Upington, where a quick stop is made to refuel and replenish. Later, we'll join the national N14 route in a westerly direction as it follows the Gariep River. Our first point of interest is the Augrabies Falls. The region's original inhabitants, the Khoikhoi, named the waterfall 'Ankoerebis' or 'place of big noises,' from which the Trek Boers - the first Europeans to settle Southern Africa's interior - derived the current name, 'Augrabies.' Unusually for a waterfall located in a desert environment, Augrabies boasts some impressive statistics. The Falls recorded a peak flow of 280,000 cubic feet of water per second during floods in 1988 and 240,000 cubic feet of water again in 2006 - over three times the average high season flow of Niagara and more than four times Niagara's annual average. The flow varies greatly, however, between the high and low seasons, and the Falls are not always as impressive. After viewing the Falls at leisure, we'll continue to our overnight accommodations at Tutwa Desert Lodge. Tutwa is a 16,000-hectare private property located within the Riemvasmaak Community Conservancy, a region spanning 70,000 hectares of Kalahari Desert and inhabited by about 1,500 Khoisan or Nama peoples. These folks occupied this land for centuries until the Apartheid government dispossessed them of it. It was returned to them in 1994. Tutwa, while newly established, is mindful of the sensitivity of its location and is committed to a greener lifestyle and energy-saving practices.

With direct access to 24km (15 miles) of exclusive Gariep River frontage, the lodge is an oasis of calm and cool in a vast and untamed environment, offering a unique and private wildlife safari experience. Tutwa is actively engaged in a leopard protection project, in addition to other conservation initiatives aimed at conserving the natural flora and fauna of this fragile environment. Equally committed to conservation on the Gariep River, Tutwa's river activities and excursions offer guests world-class adventure in a pristine wilderness area. Surrounded by desert as it might be, Tutwa is home to many different species of animals, including leopard, giraffe, zebra, gemsbok (oryx), springbok, meerkat, klipspringer, and nocturnal animals such as aardvark, aardwolf, and porcupine. Your stay at Tutwa Desert Lodge includes all meals, all alcoholic beverages (excluding premium brands), two game drives daily on open 4x4 vehicles, and one water-based activity on the Gariep River during your visit.

After saying goodbye to our hosts, we'll depart this desert environment and return to civilization - at least for a moment, anyway! After rejoining the paved N14, we'll travel to Springbok, and later to one of South Africa's most remote regions. Namaqualand is an arid environment along Southern Africa's West Coast, covering an area of approximately 440,000 square kilometers. Here, you'll find the semidesert Succulent Karoo biome, a biodiversity hotspot with the largest concentration of succulent plants in the world - more than 5,000 species - more than a third of the world's total. At least 40% are endemic. The region is arid in summer, and temperatures often rise above 40°C. At the onset of the rainy season, thousands of wildflowers bloom spectacularly, and the otherwise drab environment is transformed into an extraordinary display of purple, yellow, orange, and white. We'll spend three nights exploring the Namaqualand environment.

As its name implies, the luxury mobile Namaqua Flowers Beach Camp is located on the beach, with impressive views in every direction. Every dome tent offers full-size beds with soft, comfortable duvets, hot blankets, electric lights, the convenience of a hot shower, a spacious dressing room, and a chemical flush toilet. Breakfast and dinner are included daily. The Daisy Diner is available for lunch, as are lunch baskets (pre-order required), both at an additional cost. Our primary activity here is to experience the Namaqua wilderness in all its glory. Hiking is the primary activity and is permitted throughout the reserve, offering guests the opportunity to explore this unique biome at leisure and in all its glory. If available, a guided tour to a seal colony and local caves can also be booked.

Naries Namakwa Retreat is located approximately thirty minutes from Springbok under the Spektakelberg mountain and will serve as a luxury base as you explore the barren Namaqua plains of the Northern Cape. Your stay includes breakfast and dinner daily, and lunch is available at an additional cost in the Manor House dining room. Activities include day tours to the Richtersveld, dedicated flower tours, and a diamond and shipwreck tour.

Note

Some activities are seasonal and might not be available during your visit. Activities must be pre-booked. Any activities not included in the accommodation cost come at an additional expense. Please ask for details.

After an early breakfast, we'll head off in a southerly direction. As we travel, you'll experience several small settlements and villages typical of South Africa's dry western region.

We'll stop en route to stretch our legs and explore a few local attractions. Our final destination is Melkboomsdrift, a working wine farm located along the banks of the Olifants River, which some consider to be the southern extent of the Namib Desert. Melkboomsdrift offers excellent country cooking and warm hospitality and is the perfect farm-style retreat for weary travelers. Aside from wine tasting at their large cellar at Lutzville, other activities include hiking or simply strolling through the vineyards, bird watching along the river, or a visit to the ocean at Strandfontein or Doringbaai. Fishing and golf are also possibilities.

Note

Any activities not included in the accommodation cost come at an additional expense. Please ask for details.

The Riebeek Valley is one of the oldest settled European districts in Southern Africa after Cape Town. The valley was discovered in 1661 by Pieter Cruythoff, who, under the instruction of his Commander in the Cape, Jan van Riebeek, conducted an expedition of discovery into the interior. Finding this fertile valley after crossing isolated mountains, he named it Riebeek Kasteel in honor of his Commander. On arrival, Cruythoff reported seeing thirteen horses (probably quagga, a now extinct subspecies of common zebra), five rhinos, thousands of hartebeest, and lions. Nowadays, no lions exist here, of course, but you will find a valley of great scenic beauty filled with vineyards and olive groves.

After Cruythoff's discovery, farmers moved into the district, and finally, in 1900, a town was laid out around an existing church and the already-established Royal Hotel, the oldest hotel in South Africa. Today, Riebeek Kasteel is popular for its beauty and rural atmosphere. Worthwhile visits include De Oude Kerk (the Old Church), the Olive Boutique, The Gallery (representing mostly local artists), and Le Petit Chocolat. The town and district have many interesting shops and attractions, and your guide will be at your disposal as you explore at leisure.

Note

Any activities not included in the accommodation cost come at an additional expense. Please ask for details.

Today, we'll visit the Cape Winelands before bringing your tour to an end in Cape Town. Franschhoek, literally 'French Corner', owes its existence to a small group of French Huguenots who settled here in the latter half of the 17th century and began working the Drakenstein Valley. Many settlers named their farms after the areas in France from where they originated. La Motte, La Cotte, Cabriere, Provence, Chamonix, Dieu Donne, and La Dauphine were among the first established farms - most still retain their original buildings.

Nearby Stellenbosch is one of the most historically well-preserved towns in Southern Africa. Water furrows along oak-lined streets complement the many fine examples of elegant Cape Dutch, Victorian, and Georgian architecture - all part of this unique 'Town of Oaks.' We'll visit several fine wine estates in the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek districts throughout the day. The region is renowned internationally for the exceptional quality of wines its fertile soil produces. Most noble cultivars and classic styles are represented here, from superb whites such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, and Chenin Blanc to rich reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, and Merlot. During the late afternoon, you'll be delivered to a location of your choice in Cape Town, bringing to an end a tour of some of South Africa's less-traveled regions.