Kruger National Park

Kruger Park has the largest  bio-diversity of mammals on the planet.  Kruger is the largest as well as the oldest wildlife sanctuary in South Africa.  There is no place in the world with as many mammalian species coexisting in one area.  Game drives through the park are a fantastic way to see the local wildlife, however the well-maintained roads through the park make it an easy destination for the self-drive adventurist.  Night drives provide a window into the life of nocturnal creatures, including the big cats.  Lions and leopards often prowl the park after nightfall, and the South African Park Service offers guided night drives in the safety of their own vehicles. 

Cape Town

Considered by many as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town with its surrounding winelands and coastline is surprisingly affordable. Come enjoy this scenic gem of Africa with us and explore its multiple attractions and adventures.

 With its sunny weather and cobalt blue oceans, the white sandy beaches in and around the city set a backdrop for some real "me time".  Ride the Table Mountain Cable Car,explore the Victoria and Alfred Waterftont, ferry to Robben Island.. then take a quick tour of the three Cape Town wine routes surrounding the city... Durbanville, Helderberg, or Constantia - and taste the wine that this area is world famous for.

Cango Caves

These caves are a definite must on any visit to the Garden Route on the Western Cape of South Africa.

Very near to Oudtshoorn, at the head of the picturesque Cango Valley, lie the spectacular underground wonders of the Klein Karoo: the Cango Caves.  Situated in a limestone ridge parallel to the Swartberg Mountains, you will find the finest dripstone caverns with their vast halls and towering formations.  The first cavern “discovered” in 1780 is named for a local farmer, Mr. Van Zyl.  Archeological exploration has revealed that people once lived in the caves during the early and middle Stone Age. 

The Garden Route

South Africa's fabled Garden Route stretches 200 km from Heidelberg in the Western Cape to the Storms River and includes charming towns such as Mossel Bay, Knysna, Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay, Nature's Valley, and George.   Take a leisurely ramble and discover a picturesque highway considered one of the great coastal drives of the world.  Stop by Hermanus for whale watching from the land or on a boat and Oudtshoorn for ostrich farms; golf or ride a steam train.  Adventure activities also abound, including but are not limited to:  scuba diving, surfing, snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, biking, hiking, fhang-gliding, paragliding, bungee jumping, ballooning, and parachuting. 

Great White Shark Cage Diving

Experience the heartpounding thrill of getting up close to the world's fiercest predator.

Sharks are quite possibly the world's most feared animals.  From the smallest sand shark to the enormous whale shark, they are sleek, muscled, and some are almost as agile as a dolphin.  There is no doubt that they are the most evolved predators in the ocean.  Imagine the opportunity to meet a Great White Shark face-to-face and on your own terms. 

Addo Elephant Park

Originally formed in 1931 to protect a remaining 11 elephants in the region, Addo Elephant Park, located near Port Elizabeth, is now South Africa's third largest National Park and home to over 450 elephants, lions, Cape buffalo, black rhino, spotted hyena, leopard, antelope, zebra, and the rare Addo flightless dung beetle. The park also includes Bird Island, home to the world's largest breeding colony of gannets (about 120, 000 birds) and the second largest colony of African penguins.

Activities at the park include horseback and elephant-back safaris, guided walks, hiking, 4WD ecoadventure rails, bird watching, sunset river cruises, and canoeing.  Game Drives utilizing open-top landrovers and trucks with knowledgeable guides are available at sunrise, during the day, at sunset and at night.   You may also wish to visit the local cheetah breeding project and crocodile farm.

Elephant Ride Safari

For an entirely different safari perspective, hop onto the back of an elephant and view things from 6 feet up in the air.  Your professional elephant handler will get you situated into a comfortable saddle and after a first few apprehensive minutes, you will begin an incredible adventure. 

When game viewing from the back of an elephant, you will have the chance to get closer to wildlife that you would otherwise.  Other animals will only notice the elephant and you can calmly be one with the peaceful landscape that surrounds you on this journey of the moment.  

Whale Watching

Get up close and personal alongside the migrating Southern Right Whales that navigate these waters.

Pods of southern right whales, or suidkapers as the locals call them, travel in the cold Benguela current just off the coast of South Africa.  This yearly migration has made the coastal town of Hermanus one of the world's premier whale-watching sites.  Due to a thicker-than-average layer of blubber, southern right whales cannot swim across the warm equatorial waters, and can therefore only be seen from a few southern hemisphere locations.  The town of Hermanus is situated on a rocky shoreline, making close encounters possible even from dry land!

Wine Tasting

Visit historic vineyards in the "Boland" winelands just outside Cape Town.

Did you know the wine industry in South Africa dates back to 1659?  That's when Cape Town's founder, Jan van Riebeeck, recorded the first bottle of wine. 

The Cape Wine Lands are set in three intersecting valleys; the towering mountains look down on the fruitful vineyards below.  Many of South Africa's wines have become world famous and have won awards on the international level.  Private tastings and guided tours of the vineyards are among the activities no wine lover should miss.

Hot Air Balloon Safari

There is only one thing better than a hot air balloon flight, and that is going up and being on safari at the same time.

Taking to the skies at dawn, there is no more peaceful way to view the creatures of the bushveld.  The balloons float high over the savannah, while you sip on a glass of South African sparkling wine and behold the various species below.  A hot air balloon safari is a rare opportunity to view plains game from the point-of-view of a blue crane, the national bird of South Africa. 

Victoria Falls

"The Smoke That Thunders", as the locals call it, is the largest waterfall in the world.

The sound is deafening.  The spray is drenching.  The scenery is awe-inspiring.  Victoria Falls, located at the meeting point of four African countries, is truly a majestic sight to behold.  While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, its height-to-width ratio makes it the largest sheet of falling water anywhere on Earth.  It is also easily accessible by airplane from the nearby city of Livingstone, Zambia.

The Serengeti

No place screams “Africa” like The Serengeti plains of Kenya and Tanzania. Africa's largest and most famous game reserve acts as the landscape canvas for the most amazing annual wildlife migration of Blue Wildebeest and Zebras; the herds of plains game often number in the hundreds of thousands, including zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, and many other species.  For those interested in the little creatures, meerkats and monkeys are often to be found near the lodges and camps.  The sight of Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance is a striking backdrop to this picturesque landscape. 

Ngorongoro Crater

Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a large, unflooded, unbroken volcanic caldera formed with a giant volcano (perhaps 15,000-19,000 feet high) exploded and collapsed on itself about 2-3 millions years ago.  The crater is 2000 feet deep, 12 miles across, and the floor covers 100 square miles.  An estimated 25,000 wild animals of all sorts call it a permanent home including the 'Big Five', and up to 2.5 million antelope, zebras, Cape buffalo, and wildebeest visit every year on their seasonal migration.  The world densest lion population offers a chance to see up to 90 animals staking out their territories at any given time.  You may find 400 spotted hyenas, 'retired' old elephant bulls, a stable population of endangered black rhino, and 550 species of birds.

Namibia's Skeleton Coast

This rugged but beautiful coastline reveals its isolation with shipwrecks from days gone by.

The dunes of the Namib Desert pour into the Atlantic Ocean along the breath-taking Skeleton Coast.  So named for the shipwrecks that litter the shores, this desolate coastline is beautiful in its simplicity.  The nutrient-rich waters of the Benguela Current make the entire coastline particularly vibrant with life. Whale-watching tours, scuba diving, and seal colonies are only a few of the local activities.  The scenic seaside towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund are perfectly situated for enjoying the Skeleton Coast. 

Etosha National Park

Known for its amazing wildlife viewing, Etosha Park is set against a stark background of the salt pans.

First established in 1907 by the German colonial government in Namibia, Etosha was the largest game reserve in the world at that time.  In modern times, more than 50 new watering holes have been built to better support the local wildlife.  This has led to even more spectacular game viewing for adventurists and an enormously diverse animal population.  The arid climate of Namibia makes this a perfect location for photographers, as the air is clear and free of humidity. 

Lake Manyara

Situated along the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara National Park offers a unique compact safari experience surrounding a shallow alkali lake of the same name.  Lake Manyara is known for baboons and rare tree-climbing lions, as well as 400 species of birds including flamingos.  Also resident are hippos, impalas, elephants, wildebeest, buffalo, warthogs, and giraffes.

Botwana's Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park, located in northwestern Botswana less than 100 km from Victoria Falls, is the country's first National Park as well as its third largest. Chobe has one of the largest concentrations of wildlifein Africa, including over 100,000 migratory elephants, nominally the highest elephant concentration in Africa. The Chobe River in the northeast of the park is the premier watering spot, especially in the dry season (May through October).  There you will sight the ubiquitous elephants, as well as families of giraffe, sable and cape buffalo.  When the wet season rains come, the elephants travel 200 km to the southeastern potion of the park. 

The quintessential Chobe experience is a boat cruise on the Chobe River, where you can spot on the shores hippos, crocodiles, warthogs, numerous varieties of birds, and of course elephants.  Options exist for a cruise of a few hours or even houseboat rentals for a few days.

Fish River Canyon

Located in southern Namibia, the Fish River is the longest interior river in Namibia.  It cuts deep into the plateau, which today is dry and stony; sparsely covered with hardy, drought-resistant plants.  At the lower end of this dramatic landform is the beautiful hot-spring resort of Ai-Ais.  The Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world, after the Tsangpo Canyon of China, and before the Grand Canyon of the United States.   

Masai Mara

Bordering the Serengeti on one side and the Great Rift Valley on another, Kenya's ever-popular Maasai Mara is known for its population of big cats and migratory zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest. The landscape is the Africa of movies, a great expanse of open savannah spotted with scrubby vegetation.  'The Mara' as its called locally is not a Park, but a game Reserve adminstered by the native Maasai people who live in the adjacent disperal areas and maintain a traditional lifestyle.  In additional to traditional game drives and tribal visits, why not consider a sunrise hot air balloon ride above the land?

Mount Kilimanjaro

Standing tall at 19,334 ft. Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa, and among the tallest mountains in the world.

While the exact meaning of Kilimanjaro has been lost to history, it is believed that the Swahili word for mountain—kilima—was combined with the Kichagga word for white—njaro—making “White Mountain.”  Whatever its precise meaning, the name has inspired adventurists to climb and explore this beautiful mountain for centuries.  From its summit, all of the Serengeti unfolds below!