South African Spectacular Two week self-drive tour / can be partially escorted Day 1 Upon arrival at Johannesburg International Airport you will be met and welcomed by a company representative, briefed and taken to the car hire office. From Johannesburg, you drive in a North Easterly direction to Walkersons; a beautifully thatched, luxury, country manor house, which is an easy, approximately 2.5 hour drive. Here you will be able to relax after your long flight. Overnight: Walkersons Country Lodge Day 2 Leaving Walkersons you will drive through the little forest town of Sabie to the spectacular Blyde River Canyon via God's Window, Bourkes Luck Potholes en-route for Pilgrims Rest. Lunch en-route. Pilgrims Rest is a restored old gold mining town with a fascinating history. Here you will spend the night in the original Royal Hotel in the centre of the small town. Day 3 Taking a leisurely drive via White River and Nelspruit; you will cross the border into the independent and fascinating royal kingdom of Swaziland. After a further one hour drive you will arrive at Reilly's Rock Hilltop Lodge; a small beautifully restored old colonial country house situated within the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary and game reserve. There are lots of activities and stunning views.. Overnight: Reilly's Rock Hilltop Lodge. Day 4 From Reilly's Rock, we recommend that you visit the colourful markets nearby and also pay a visit to the world renowned Swazi candle factory, before continuing with your drive through Swaziland into KwaZulu-Natal. Your final destination for today will be the White Elephant Lodge near Pongola. This is family owned and is made up of luxury tented accommodation surrounding the wonderful homestead lodge. The owners are particularly concerned with an elephant re-location project. Overnight: White Elephant Lodge. Day 5 A relaxing and interesting day in this lovely game reserve, Enjoy bush walks, boat trips etc. Overnight: White Elephant Lodge. Day 6 From White Elephant Lodge you will drive in a north-easterly direction towards Ndumo and onto Rocktail Bay. Rocktail Bay is without question, one of the most beautiful wilderness resorts, right on the shores of the Indian Ocean. This secluded lodge is made up of tree house chalets built on stilts under the coastal forest canopy. A boardwalk winds down to the beach where you can hopefully see the turtles and experience wonderful snorkeling along the pristine 40kms of beach. Rocktail Bay gets its name from a local shipwreck. Overnight: Rocktail Bay. Day 7 The whole day is spent at Rocktail Bay with the option of various activities that include fishing, snorkeling (close inshore), nature drives and Turtle watching. Overnight: Rocktail Bay. Day 8 Today you will drive a relatively short distance from Rocktail Bay back past Pongola into the Mkuze Falls Game Reserve. This 8000 hectare (about 21,000 acres) private game reserve is home to the 'Big 5' and a wide variety of African antelope. Game Drives are conducted in open-game viewing vehicles (mostly Landrovers) accompanied by a ranger. Overnight: Mkuze Falls Game Reserve. Day 9 Your day starts with an early morning game drive followed by some relaxation time around the camp. In the afternoon you will be taken out again for an extensive late afternoon/evening game drive through this magnificent reserve. Overnight: Mkuze Falls Game Reserve. Day 10 After having enjoyed an early morning walk through the bush with your ranger, followed by a good breakfast, you will then depart and drive south to your next private lodge on the shores of Lake St. Lucia. Lake St. Lucia was declared the first World Heritage Site in Southern Africa and it is a must to visit this wonderful and exciting place. Here again the estuary is vast (21,000 acres) Africa's largest natural wetland with stunning water related activities - a lunchtime cruise on the lake etc. Overnight: Makakatana Bay Lodge. Makakatana Lodge is a bush lodge situated on the banks of the Lake with two rooms overlooking the lake and the other three rooms within the coastal forest - being linked by raised walkways. Day 11 There is so much to see and do at Lake St. Lucia, we recommend a two night stay, with the whole day being spent exploring the Lake area. Activities include, Hippo Sundowner Drive - afternoon refreshments while viewing hippos & wildlife. Mkoro Canoe Safari - viewing crocodiles and hippos on Lake St. Lucia. Boat/beach safari - crossing Lake St. Lucia by boat: a Ranger will meet you on the other side to escort you to Cape Vidal Beach for snorkeling and swimming. Makakatana Bay Lodge. Day 12 Leaving Lake St. Lucia you will have a 2-3 hour drive to Durban International Airport where you can drop off your hire car and fly to Cape Town. Arriving in Cape Town (about a 2-hour flight) you will met and transferred to your Cape Town Hotel. home