Grand Tour of South Africa

Day 1 Fly overnight on Turkish Airlines from London Heathrow to Johannesburg via Istanbul or direct on British Airways.

Day 2 Drive to South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, viewing the Union Buildings, historic Church Square and imposing Voortrekker Monument. Overnight at the 4-star Court Classique Hotel.

Day 3 Travel to the ‘Province of the Rising Sun’, Mpumalanga via the Panorama Route and Blyde River Canyon and unspoiled gold-mining village of Pilgrim’s Rest, proclaimed a National Monument in 1986. Stay two nights at the 4-star Hippo Hollow Country Estate, Hazyview.

Day 4 A full day of open vehicle game-viewing in the Kruger National Park.

Day 5 Travel southwards to the mountain kingdom of Swaziland. Enjoy a cultural show at Matsamo Cultural Village, view a local homestead and visit a sangoma (traditional healer). Overnight at the 3-star Forester’s Arms Country Hotel in the beautiful Swazi Highlands near Mbabane.

Day 6 Continue into KwaZulu-Natal and enjoy a cruise on the St Lucia Estuary. Overnight at the 3-star Elephant Lake Hotel, St Lucia.

Day 7 Drive to the battlefields of Isandhlawana and Rorke’s Drift. Visit the Talana Museum in Dundee which displays the events of the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902) and is the site of the first set piece battle in Natal. Spend two nights at the 3-star Sandford Park Resort near Bergville and the Drakensberg Mountains.

Day 8 A visit to Spioenkop, the scene of one of the bloodiest of the four battles to relieve the besieged town of Ladysmith from the Boer forces in 1900. Continue to Ladysmith to visit the siege museum.

Day 9 Return to Johannesburg and transfer to the airport for the ?ight to Cape Town and three nights at the 3-star Fountains Hotel.

Day 10 An excursion to Company Gardens, the Castle of Good Hope, Greenmarket Square and picturesque Bo-Kaap. Visit Table Mountain*, weather permitting (excludes cableway ticket). The tour ends at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

Day 11 A tour of the Cape Peninsula: Camps Bay, Llandudno and Hout Bay and via Chapman’s Peak to Cape Point, Good Hope Nature Reserve, Simons Town, the penguin colony in Boulders Bay and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

Day 12 Travel via Sir Lowry’s Pass to the seaside town of Mossel Bay which overlooks the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. The ‘Post Of?ce Tree’ is famed for letter deliveries dating back some 500 years and is part of the Bartholomew Diaz Museum complex commemorating the ?rst European in South Africa in 1488. Later board the Outeniqua Choo- Tjoe for a nostalgic steam train ride to George. Stay two nights at the 3-star Graywood Hotel in Knysna.

Day 13 Enjoy a morning lagoon cruise. Afternoon at leisure in Knysna.

Day 14 Travel over the Outeniqua Pass to Oudtshoorn to visit the Cango Caves. Continue via Route 62 to the 4-star Protea Hotel, Franschhoek for a two-night stay.

Day 15 Exploring the Cape Winelands visit the Huguenot Memorial and Museum and Manor House on the Boschendal Estate. Continue via the Helshoogte Pass to visit Stellenbosch where four historic houses, now period showcases, are in the Village Museum. After wine-tasting and cellar tour return to Franschhoek.

Day 16 Morning at leisure. In the afternoon return to Cape Town for the overnight ?ight to London via Johannesburg and Istanbul on Turkish Airlines or direct on British Airways.

Day 17 Arrive Heathrow in the morning.