6 National Parks of the Cape

National Parks of the Cape

The trip was designed so you could visit 6 of our national parks in one trip. Each one very unique with lots of animals to find. Our route will take us from Cape Town to the Karoo National Park, Camdeboo, Mountain Zebra, Addo Elephant Park, Tsitsikamma and Bontebok National Park. Sanparks.

Hapoor dam

DAY 1 : 

On arrival in Cape Town you will be met by a tourist guide and depart immediately for Karoo National Park.  Travelling through the Great Karoo with its wind-swept, arid countryside.

Soon the white turrets of Matjiesfontein’s Lord Milner Hotel come into view, and we stop here to overnight and have a lovely dinner at this world famous Hotel.

Founded in 1884, Matjiesfontein is a feast for the imagination, between these walls lie a colourful history that includes international cricketers, fortification during The South African War (formerly known as The Anglo-Boer War) as headquarters of the Cape Command, refuge for Jamieson Raid reformers, and the venue of controversial war crimes hearings.

The double-storey Milner Hotel was built in 1899 by James Logan, in the early stages of The South African War. The hotel was used as a military hospital during the conflict with British forces and the hotel turret was then used as a lookout post. James Logan, founder of Matjiesfontein, died in 1920 and is buried in a little cemetery 10 kilometres from Matjiesfontein.

In 1968, David Rawdon, hotelier par excellence whose claim to fame includes establishing Rawdons Hotel at Nottingham Road, the well-known Lanzerac Hotel set in the Stellenbosch vineyards, the Marine Hotel Hermanus, and The Drostdy Hotel in Graaff-Reinet, purchased Matjiesfontein Village. After performing extensive renovations and utilising the wealth of antiques gathered during his world travels, David reopened the hotel in 1970, renaming it The Lord Milner Hotel. The entire village of Matjiesfontein was preserved as a National Heritage Site in 1975.

Karoo National Park

Day 2:  Karoo National Park

After a great breakfast we continue our journey to the Karoo National Park – our home for the next (2) nights. We settle in to our comfortable chalets, and relax, you can visit the Fossil Trail that is inside the camp to stretch your legs and also look at the prehistory of the region before we have dinner at the Camp’s restaurant

Day 3:  Karoo National Park

Breakfast and then a drive up the Klipspringer Pass, constructed in the “dry stone retaining wall” technique which was perfected by Thomas Bain. We will be looking for the ever elusive lions.  We return to camp for a bit of relax and either dinner again at the restaurant or a lovely braai with the view of the mountains and maybe the roar of the lions close by.

DAY 4 : Camdeboo & Mountain Zebra National Park

Breakfast and then we head for the plains of the Camdeboo, and historic Graaff-Reinet, the 4th oldest town in South Africa. With an estimated 100 000 people who visit this site each year, the Valley of Desolation is a premier tourist attraction in the region.

The road to the top of the valley was tarred in 1978 and today provides tourists with easy access to the viewpoints with their panoramic views of the landscape. The viewpoints at the Valley itself provide a breath-taking view of piled dolerite columns against the backdrop of the plains of the Great Karoo and a timeless sense of wonder at a landscape said to be the product of the erosive and volcanic forces of nature over a period of 200 million years.

After a light lunch, we travel eastward toward the higher lying grassland of the Eastern Cape Midlands. In the late afternoon we reach Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock, and check in at this relatively remote and less visited wildlife sanctuary.

Tsitsikamma hanging bridge

DAYS 5 – 6 :  Addo Elephant Park

We set out for a game drive through the varied scenery of the park, stopping frequently to observe and enjoy sightings of local wildlife. Many endemic species find refuge here, including cheetah, buffalo and black rhino, a number of antelope and bird species, and, of course, the rare Cape mountain zebra. A breeding nucleus of lion was released into the park during 2013. We then leave the park and drive to Cradock for a light lunch  before turning south for Addo Elephant National Park. We arrive at Addo in time to settle into our chalets, and then to explore the camp, browse through the curio shop or spend time at the waterhole.

We spend the next two days in the park, slowly driving through the variety of landscapes that have shaped Addo.. Addo is, of course, famous for its elephants – now well over 500 in number. A wide diversity of other wildlife, such as lion, buffalo, spotted hyena, black rhino red hartebeest, kudu, and many others, also find sanctuary here. We return to camp for a light lunch and some free time, before going out on an afternoon game drive.  Dinner at the Camps restaurant.

DAY 6 : Tsitsikamma National Park

Leaving Addo, we head for the Tsitsikamma Section of the Garden Route National Park. En route there is an opportunity for a walk through the indigenous forest along the eco-friendly boardwalk.. We check into the Storms River Mouth section of the Garden Route National Park, with its dramatic coastal scenery and comfortable wooden cabins. The fit and adventurous can walk the thrilling series of suspension bridges at the river mouth. We return to our cabins for free time, to relax and enjoy the sunset over the ocean. Dinner either at the restaurant or a braai watching the sunset.

Day 7: 6 Sept  Bontebok 

We set off westward for the resort towns of Plettenberg Bay, Knysna and Wilderness. The scenery en-route is interesting and varied, from high forest and coastal bush to striking river and sea views. Lunch on route before we check into our chalets at the  Bontebok national park. Relax, take a walk and enjoy dinner

Whales

DAY 8 : 

We depart early with breakfast on route to drop you off at the Cape Town International Airport for your flight home.