Safari through the north of South Africa (comfort)

Your trip starts in Johannesburg. Upon arrival you will be picked up by a driver and taken to your accommodation near the airport: Safari Club SA. You will stay here one night based on bed and breakfast.

This game reserve is about a 2.5 to 3-hour drive north-west of Johannesburg. This 55,000-hectare park is one of the larger game reserves in South Africa and has an excellent wildlife stock with a wide variety of animal species including the famous Big Five. The park is located on the crater of a volcano that was active millions of years ago. Today, strangely shaped rocks still remind us of the fact that this area is geologically special. Pilanesberg is located in the transition zone from Kalahari to Laagveld which means that it is an excellent habitat for a great many different animal and plant species. Pilanesberg offers a home to, among others, elephants, lions, buffalo, jackals, various species of goats, elk, hippos, rhinos and hundreds of bird species. Don’t forget to bring your camera, so that you can relive this unique experience later.

You will spend the next two nights at Black Rhino Game Lodge in a full-board suite and two game drives per day (minimum age 6 years). Black Rhino Game Lodge is a hidden gem in the middle of the ancient Tamboti forest at the foot of an ancient volcanic crater. This lodge is located in the western part of the Pilanesberg National Park.

After this first encounter with the wildlife in South Africa, you will travel further north today. Your next destination is located between beautiful mountains and green forests. You drive through small villages towards Bela Bela where you then drive via the N1 highway to Polokwane and from there to your final destination near Tzaneen (day distance: 490 km). This environment is characterized by beautiful mountains (the Wolkbergen or Wolkberg Mountains), the Tzaneen Dam and the plantations with (sub) tropical fruits such as mangoes, bananas, oranges, avocados, lychees, tea, macadamia nuts and pineapples.

You will spend the coming night at Kings Walden Garden Manor on a bed and breakfast basis. The accommodation has an excellent restaurant where you can have dinner.

After breakfast you leave for Hoedspruit and drive to the Timvati Game Reserve in about 2.5 hours. The next two nights you will stay in the popular safari camp: Simbavati River Lodge. The lodge offers beautiful views over the Nhlaralumi river. There is a plunge pool where you can cool off when it is very hot. Timbavati Game Reserve is part of the Greater Kruger Park and nestles in the world-famous Kruger National Park. There are no gates that separate the parks and all animals can move around freely. During game drives you will learn more about this area and the animals and birds that live here. The expert rangers are happy to answer your questions. They will also do their utmost to show you as many members of the Big Five as possible (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo).

After the last game drive and and breakfast it is unfortunately already time to check out again. You leave the Timbavati reserve and, if you have enough time, can visit a number of sights along the Panorama Route. Today you have a good distance to drive (almost 600 kilometers to the airport of Johannesburg), so don’t leave too late. From Simbavati River Lodge you drive towards Hoedspruit and then via the R36 in a southerly direction to Ohrigstad and Lydenburg (nowadays called Mashishing). Along the way you get a turn to the R532, this road takes you to the northern point of the Panorama Route and here you can visit the special Three Rondavels and the Blyde River canyon, an absolute must in clear weather! After viewing the Three Rondavels, you can drive back to the R36 or you can choose to drive the rest of the Panorama Route in a southerly direction to Graskop. Here you can visit Bourke’s Luck Potholes and God’s Window, among other things, but this takes more time. If desired, you can book an extra night in this area.