Day 1 Philadelphia, PA Depart from Philadelphia
international airport for your flight to Cape Town via Johannesburg.
Day 2 Cape Town Upon arrival at Cape Town Airport you will
be met by a representative and transferred to your hotel. D
Day 3 Cape Town After breakfast you will take part in a Full
day Cape Peninsula including Table Mountain (weather permitting). The tour
starts early with a visit to Table Mountain, which is well known for its
spectacular views. After making your descent you will start the rest of your
tour with a drive along the Atlantic Ocean en route to Hout Bay. Once a fishing
community, now it is one of the most popular residential areas. You have the
chance to join the M.V. Circe for a half hour cruise to the "Seal Island" or for
the less adventurous the possibility of a stroll through the fish market at the
"Mariners Wharf". The tour continues to the Indian Ocean to Fishhoek for lunch.
After lunch, the tour will take you for a visit of the Jackass Penguins at
Boulders Beach near Simonstown. Then to the Cape of Good Hope Reserve & the
Cape Point, said to be the romantic meeting place of the Indian & the
Atlantic Oceans. BD
Day 4 Cape Town After breakfast you will take part in the
Robben Island Tour. For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, 12 kilometers from Cape
Town, was a place of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. It was here
that rulers sent those they regarded as political troublemakers, social outcasts
and the unwanted of society. During the apartheid years Robben Island became
internationally known for its institutional brutality. The duty of those who ran
the Island and its prison was to isolate opponents of apartheid and to crush
their morale. Some freedom fighters spent more than a quarter of a century in
prison for their beliefs. Those imprisoned on the Island succeeded on a
psychological and political level in turning a prison 'hell-hole' into a symbol
of freedom and personal liberation. Robben Island came to symbolize, not only
for South Africa and the African continent, but also for the entire world, the
triumph of the human spirit over enormous hardship and adversity. Today, you
will be escorted around the island by an ex-political prisoner, and given
insight into the past and how the human spirit triumphs. BD
Day 5 Cape Town Full day at leisure to enjoy, relax by the
pool, shop, or whatever you like. Dinner and overnight. (B,D)
Day 6 Cape Town - Johannesburg After breakfast you will be
transferred to Cape Town Airport for your Flight to Johannesburg. Upon arrival
at Johannesburg Airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel. BD
Day 7 Johannesburg After breakfast you will take part in a
Morning Soweto City Tour. This morning we travel to Soweto (SOuth WEstern
TOwnship), largest black residential area in South Africa; we see a fascinating
contrast to Sandton and Rosebank in the northeast. This “city within a city”
consists of 50 suburbs and essentially acts as a labour reservoir for the
greater metropolitan area of the Witwatersrand. In many ways, the story of
Soweto is the story of South Africa. Our tour includes all the major points of
interest, such as Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Baragwanath taxi rank,
Freedom Square, Hector Pietersen Memorial and Nelson Mandela's former home.
Lunch today will be at Wandies Restaurant in Soweto. In the afternoon we head to
the Apartheid Museum for a visit. Embark on a discovery of the racial
segregation experienced by millions of South Africans a mere decade ago. On
entering the building you are racially classified and you see this segregation
in all forms of life. Excellent displays on the Soweto up-rising, ANC in exile,
petty apartheid, solitary confinement, anti-apartheid movements abroad, sport
boycotts, etc. Culminating in the birth a new democratic country, the
inauguration of Nelson Mandela as President and witnessing one of the most
progressive constitutions in the world. BD
Day 8 Johannesburg After breakfast at hotel you will be
transferred from the hotel to Pretoria for a city tour of this most vital city,
the governmental epicenter of South Africa. BD
Day 9 Pilanesberg National Park After breakfast at hotel you
will be transferred from the hotel to Bakubung via Lesedi Cultural Village
including Show and Traditional Lunch. Lesedi is a multi-cultural African
village, set amongst the pristine Bushveld and rocky hills less than an hour's
drive from the city of Johannesburg. The village consists of a number of
different homesteads or traditional villages: the Xhosa, with their beautiful
thatched homes and red blankets; the Zulu with their fighting sticks and cozy
beehive huts; the Pedi, with their courtyards and rhythmic drums; and the
conical straw hats and sturdy mountain ponies of the Basotho. Guests experience
a traditional welcome upon arrival, guided cultural walkabout through two of the
four homesteads, traditional song and dance and traditional lunch.
Accommodation: Bakubung Bush Lodge (B, L, D) A mere two hours drive north of
Johannesburg and Pretoria and you'll find yourself in the tranquil heart of the
bush. Pilanesberg National Park is home to the gargantuan shapes of Africa's
giants - elephants, rhino and buffalo. If you're fortunate, you may catch a
glimpse of the stealthy leopard or lion, stately king of the bush. Wild country
indeed, but without the risk of malaria.
Day 10 Pilanesberg National Park Early this morning you will
take part in a Game Drive. Upon returning from your game viewing enjoy breakfast
at the lodge. The afternoon is at your leisure at poolside or just to relax.
Today you will have the option of visiting nearby Sun City. Sun City was built
in 1978 and is a popular tourist destination in Southern Africa. Guests will
have the whole day at leisure. There is a huge range of sporting and leisure
facilities at Sun City- floodlit Tennis courts, horse riding, nature trails,
lawn bowls as well as jet-skiing, parasailing, windsurfing, water-skiing, and
sunset cruising at Waterworld. The Valley of the Waves offers an astonishing
selection of activities, from surfing on two metre high waves to the relaxing
lazy river ride. Sun City is also home to one of the largest casinos on the
Southern Hemisphere, offering the thrill of roulette, blackjack, punto banco and
craps. The action never stops at Sun City-glamorous dancers, thrilling novelty
acts and baffling displays of Magic and illusion in the Sun City Theatre. Chose
form a great selection of shops offering curios, clothing, jewellery, souvenirs
and mementoes. Gary Player has designed two 18-hole championship golf courses at
Sun City to challenge all types of golfer from keen novice to skilled
professional. These golf courses offer the opportunity to savour the sights,
sounds and smells of AFRICA!!! This evening you will go on a second Game Drive
followed by dinner at the lodge. BLD
Day 11 Philadelphia, PA Breakfast will be at the lodge this
morning. Bid farewell to South Africa as you head back to Johannesburg. Depart
to Johannesburg International Airport for your international flight to
Philadelphia. Arrive in Philadelphia with a lifetime of memories! (B)