Kruger, Drakensberg & the Battlefields

Fly overnight from London to Johannesburg.

On arrival, transfer to Pretoria, its broad streets lined with thousands of jacaranda trees. En-route to the hotel, view the historic heart of the city, Church Square, with its 19th-century statue of Paul Kruger; the Union Buildings, now best known for Nelson Mandela’s inauguration; and the huge Voortrekker Monument, crowning a hill just south of the city. Stay two nights at the 4-star Court Classique Hotel with a welcome dinner and wine pairing.
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A full day tour in and around Johannesburg takes you to Soweto, to visit the Miliary Museum, the Hector Pietersen Memorial of the 1976 uprising, named for its first casualty, a 12-year-old boy; and Nelson Mandela’s House, his humble home until 1962, with memorabilia of his life.
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Travel to Kruger National Park (8hrs), via the splendidly scenic Panorama Route, focused on the Blyde River Canyon, the third-largest canyon on Earth, plunging 800m to the riverbed. Visits include old-world Pilgrim’s Rest village, founded on gold-panning and now a national monument; the Graskop Gorge Lift, sliding 51m down the side of a cliff into the forested canyon below; and God’s Window, with breathtaking views from its setting high on the Drakensberg escarpment. Continue to Kruger for three nights at the 3-star Nkambeni Tented Lodge.
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Rise early for a fabulous, full-day, open-vehicle game drive in Kruger National Park. One of the largest game reserves on the continent, its reputation goes before it, but nothing prepares you for a first Kruger experience, where habitats range from mountains and cliffs to bush and tropical forest.
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Kruger is home to hundreds of species of mammals and birds, including all of Africa’s Big Five. Enjoy the facilities of the camp in a morning at leisure, or perhaps join optional activities, a game drive (£70) or bush walk (£80) (pre-bookable). A game drive is included in the afternoon.
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Depart to travel (6hrs) to the Kingdom of Eswatini. Just 200km long by 120 wide, the diminutive kingdom punches far above its weight, with mountains and savannahs, rain forests and river canyons within its landlocked enclave. At the border, visit Matsamo Cultural Village, which celebrates the Swazi culture, crafts and cuisine, and offers performances of traditional singing and dance. Lunch is included in the village, before continuing toward the capital, Mbabane, for a late afternoon arrival and overnight stay at the 4-star Foresters Arms Country Lodge. After check-in, visit the country’s National Museum.
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Visit the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, Eswatini’s most popular eco-destination; roamed by zebra, impala, warthog and wildebeest, home to baboons and vervet monkeys, and visited by hippos. Continue to a traditional village to meet the Lady Chief, and enjoy a birdwatching walk, followed by lunch. Cross back to South Africa’s Zululand district (5hrs) along the scenic Lebombo Mountains, for two nights in Mkuze at the 4-star Ghost Mountain Inn.
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A small town amid haunting scenery, Mkuze nestles between the river of the same name, and the legendary Ghost Mountain, said to hold the historic tombs of local chiefs. Visit a Zulu Cultural Homestead and Community this morning, and, after lunch at the hotel, enter Hluhluwe National Park for a game drive, where a rich variety of wildlife includes the white rhino.
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Enjoy a morning cruise on Lake Jozini (aka the Pongolapoort Dam), a man-made structure, encircled by a game reserve, and home to hippos, crocodiles, tiger fish, and abundant birdlife. Continue to Dundee (3hrs), set in the peaceful Biggarsberg Valley, but best known as a hub of battlefields. Visit Talana Museum, on the site of the first battle of the Anglo-Boer war; and this evening view the military memorabilia at the MOTH Hall, and join local battlefield guides for a ‘braai’ (barbecue). Two nights at the 3-star Battlefields Country Lodge.
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Meet a specialist guide at Isandlwana, site of the Anglo-Zulu War’s opening encounter; and continue, with lunch enroute, to Rorke’s Drift, scene of the dramatic 11hr battle between the British Redcoats and the Zulus, where a small but intriguing museum records the event.
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With a specialist guide, and a minibus drive up into the Drakensberg, photo-stop at the Siege Museum in Ladysmith; and continue to visit Spioenkop (Spy Hill), the small Boer battlefield dubbed ‘An Acre of Massacre’ after the loss of hundreds of Lancashire infantrymen. Their trench is now a memorial to the fallen, their bravery immortalised by Liverpool FC in naming the ground’s grandstand ‘The Kop’. After check-in at the hotel, perhaps take a half-hour hike to Belinda Falls. Overnight at the 4-star Cathedral Peak Hotel, in the Drakensberg mountains.
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Time at leisure until transfer to Johannesburg airport (5 hrs) for your overnight return flight to London.
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Arrival in London.