Garden Route and Safari Tour

6 night, 7 days
Explore the best of the Garden Route with its spectacular beaches and majestic mountains, ending in the Eastern Cape at your malaria-free safari destination.

Day 1:

• Meet & greet our Gecko Tours representative at Cape Town International Airport where your friendly guide will escort you to your SUV or bigger vehicle.
• Travel over the Klein Drakenstein Mountains to Worcester in the Breede River Valley, enjoying the wonderful scenery which changes from lush orchards to dramatic mountain views.
• Stop at Van Loveren Wine Estate. In their tasting room you can enjoy an informal tasting at the pods, or treat yourself to a relaxed food & wine pairing with a platter on the deck overlooking the garden. Platters include chocolate and wine, cheese and wine, charcuterie and wine, nougat, nuts and wine, a Four Cousins fan pairing as well as non-alcoholic pairings for both adults and children.
• Continue along Route 62 towards the Little Karoo, passing through Barrydale and Calitzdorp, famous for their wine and quality port respectively, to Oudtshoorn, once the centre of the ostrich feather boom.
• Lunch (for own account) at a lovely restaurant in the semi-desert area where we will enjoy truly South African cuisine.
• Continue along Route 62 to reach Oudtshoorn.
• Overnight at the 4-star guesthouse on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis in a luxury room.

Day 2:

• Leave at sunrise for a Meerkat tour. Upon arrival at the Meerkat burrows you will be treated to coffee, after which you are issued with a lightweight aluminium chair to sit in while observing the Meerkats as they come out of the burrow and into the sunshine. Meerkats are part of the so-called “Shy 5”.
• After breakfast we visit the Cango Caves, one of the world's great natural wonders sculpted by nature through the ages.
• This is followed by a fascinating visit to an ostrich farm where you can stand on an egg and even ride an ostrich!
• Lunch (for own account) at award winning Jemima's Restaurant, Oudtshoorn.
• Head for Wilderness on the Garden Route coast via a scenic drive that takes you over the breathtakingly beautiful Outeniqua Mountain pass.
• Overnight at a 4-star guesthouse in Knysna on a bed and breakfast basis for 2 x nights in a superior lagoon facing room.

Day 3:

• 10h00 – 14h00 in Knysna. Take a ferry across the Knysna Lagoon to the Featherbed, a private nature reserve and National Heritage Site, for an exhilarating 4x4 trailer ride and a guided walk followed by a buffet lunch (lunch included) in the Milkwood Forest.
• Leisure time at the Knysna Waterfront with its boutiques and souvenir shops.
• Return to your guesthouse.

Day 4:

• Our tour starts in Plettenberg Bay (our well-kept secret), where we will show you our breathtakingly beautiful viewpoints and explain where this town got its name from.
• Our tour for lovers of wild animals starts with a visit to the Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre at Plettenberg Bay for a truly unique wildcat experience. Here you will meet South Africa's lesser indigenous cats, branded The Furry Five - captive-bred black-footed cats, African wild cats, Caracal, Serval and Cheetah – all living in a semi-natural environment.
• Our next stop is at Monkeyland, the world's first free roaming multi-species primate sanctuary, OR Birds of Eden, the largest free flight bird aviary in the world.
• Lunch (for your own account) at Bramon Wine Estate will consist of delicious mezze platters, cheese, pâtés, tapas, fresh homemade bread and a glass of wine.
• Afternoon at leisure.
• Overnight in a hotel or 4-star guesthouse on a bed and breakfast basis for 1 x night in a luxury room with sea views.

Day 5:

• At the Tsitsikamma Nature Reserve we'll enjoy a walk through the forest to the suspension bridge, followed by lunch (for own account) at the Tsitsikamma Nature Reserve.
• Drive to Lalibela Private Game Reserve Tree Top Safari Lodge where you will stay for 2 x nights on full board, including 2 x game drives daily and all meals.

Day 6:

• Lalibela Game Reserve and Safari Lodge is located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, close to Port Elizabeth and Addo, which means it is not only malaria free, but spans 5 ecosystems, resulting in a breath-taking diversity of flora and fauna.
• Lalibela consists of 7,500 hectares (approximately 18,500 acres) and is home to the Big 5 (lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo & leopard) as well as other predators like cheetah, hyena, jackal and lynx. We are blessed with vast African plains and this is why we have multitudes of zebra, giraffe, warthog, impala, wildebeest, blesbuck and various other antelope species.
  Only an hour away from Port Elizabeth and Addo, Lalibela is unique in the Eastern Cape in that they have no public roads running through their property. This means that only Lalibela guests have access to the wildlife area and you will never encounter a member of public whilst on safari as there are no public roads on Lalibela. In addition, all of the animals at Lalibela, including the predators, are free-roaming throughout the entire game reserve – there are no different areas for different species.
  Lalibela brings you the charm of authentic Africa and is a perfect blend of the formal and informal.
  The 3 main aspects of any African safari are the game-viewing, the accommodation and the food - at Lalibela they take special care to ensure that heartfelt service combines with these three “ingredients” to make your Big 5 African safari experience a memorable one.

Day 7:

• Transfer to Port Elizabeth Airport where you will fly to your next destination.

• Luxury air-conditioned SUV or larger vehicle with your own personal, highly qualified guide.
• Accommodation on a shared basis.
• Accommodation and meals of the driver and/or guide.
• Meals as specified (6 breakfasts, 1 dinner in Oudtshoorn, 1 buffet lunch in Knysna and full board at Lalibela).
• Excursions and transfers as shown in the itinerary (usually twice daily game activities at safari lodges and camps unless otherwise indicated in quotation).
• Services of the lodge guides and staff.
• Relevant park fees.
• Dinner transfers in Plettenberg Bay.
• All activities and entrance fees as mentioned and underlined.

• Items of a personal nature.
• Drinks, entrance fees, porterage, tours/excursions and transfers not specified above.
• Cancellation, baggage or medical insurance.
• Staff gratuities.
• Dinner transfers in Knysna.
• Any new Government taxes, levies, fuel or industry increases which are beyond our control.
• Visa fees where relevant.