10% discount for groups 4 or more…

This tour is a little longer than the previous three night tour and incorporates two separate accommodation venues. You’ll notice that the first two days have the same itineraries as in the three night tour, but from there the tour takes on a completely new shape. Included in this package is a nature walk, which gets you up close and personal with the wilderness. Walking through BIG 5 country with only a few other people is truly a humbling and transforming experience! You’ll also get a chance to take a night drive where park rangers take you on an open air vehicle to try find some of the nocturnal species found in the park.

Day 1

We will pick you up at Johannesburg International airport and transport you to the Kruger National park. After booking into your accommodation you will embark on your first small game drive to get your first feel of the African bush. The length of the drive will depend on what time we manage to leave the airport and how tired you the weary traveler is.
Accommodation:
You will be accommodated at Nkambeni Tented Lodge situated on the south western border of the park. Each luxury timber and canvas tent is built on stilts, with bathroom containing both an indoor and outdoor shower. It also has its own private balcony with Jacuzzi.

Day 2

Wake before sunrise to get a head start on things, this is the best time to view game as the nocturnal animals are still active and the other animals use the cool of the morning to move to the watering holes. After a few hours of game viewing your guide will find a comfy spot to stop and have coffee/tea and some biscuits. Take in the sites and the smells as you enjoy Africa in its finest! Move along back to camp where a buffet breakfast awaits you; take breakfast out on the balcony with a magnificent view of the surrounding bushveld. During the heat of the day relax by the pool or under the garden trees as you identify the many birds found here. Have a light lunch and then set off on your afternoon game drive, again your guide will find a great spot to have a couple of sundowners as you gaze over the vast savannah! Return to camp to freshen up before meeting around the campfire to share the stories of the day. Have a wonderful buffet supper of some South African favourite dishes, ending with a nightcap of Amurula Cream liqueur on ice.
Accommodation:
Nkambeni Lodge

Day 3

Have another early rise and make your way to meet the rangers who will be taking you on your exciting walk out into the wilderness. After a safety talk about the dangers of walking in the bush and what to do in an emergency you are on your way. This is not a hike as such and there is no particular destination the group needs to get to, it’s a walk and the ranger keeps to the fitness levels; as well as the wants and needs of the group. Here you will get to focus on the smaller things that make up this wonderful landscape, birds, trees and insects, with the ever present chance of an exciting encounter with something large!!  Return to camp high on life and enjoy a buffet breakfast after working up a monstrous appetite. Once again chill during the heat of the day before taking a late afternoon game drive, your checklist will be getting rather long by now…………..
Accommodation:
Nkambeni Lodge

Day 4

Today we change locations and make our way from the south western border travelling east, watch as the habitat changes and hence the types of animals that you will see. Mid-morning stop for brunch at a picnic spot en-route, here you will experience a true South African breakfast. Using a gas bottle with a concave top (called a ‘skottel’) we’ll cook up some bacon and eggs in the shade of an acacia tree as the river slowly creeps past. After your breakfast has settled it’s on to your new camp Lower-Sabie to check in and relax before your sunset game drive. Tonight you’ll have another traditional meal in the way of a ‘pooitjie Kos’, this method of cooking a stew like meal in a cast iron pot was pioneered by the ‘Voortrekkers’. These explorers left the Cape in the late 1800’s to travel inland by ox wagon and during the day would slowly stew meat and vegetables while they travelled. Watch your guide prepare this meal as you have a late lunch of cheese, biscuits and other snacks. Then leave just before sunset on your game drive with the park rangers, they stop somewhere scenic so you can enjoy sundowners and then bring out the spot-lights. Search for nocturnal birds and animals, with a chance to see the elusive leopard! Arrive back to a bubbling stew which should be just about right for you to dig in. Then settle in around the camp fire and listen to the sounds of the night. Look up at the African stars and reflect on another hard day in the bushveld.
Accommodation:
As mentioned you will be accommodated at Lower-Sabie rest camp on the banks of the Sabie River, one of the few perennial rivers to flow through the Kruger National Park. Visitors cannot but feel soothed by the view towards the river and the Lebombo Mountains beyond. In this rest camp the plenitude of nature is very evident, eloquently symbolised by the mighty sycamore fig, which provides generously for the livelihood of many birds and insects. Not only do these giants produce fruit at least twice a year, but different trees produce fruit at different times, extending the gifts of life over many months. Watching the endless procession of animals coming to drink at the Sabie River establishes a sense of one’s own place in the eternal cycle.

Day 5

Early morning drive today takes place in the south of the reserve; here the landscape takes on a new form with open plains and studded tree lines. This type of habitat is perfect for the endangered cheetah and a large proportion of Kruger’s 225 population are found in this area. Indulge in another brunch on the banks of the Crocodile River before returning to Lower-Sabie to rest during the heat of the day. In the afternoon take your last sunset game drive, we take a drive north to a lookout point to watch your final sunset in style! Return to camp where your guide will cook you up a traditional South African braai (barbeque) and afterwards relax as your guide explains the mystery of the stars above.
Accommodation:
Lower Sabie rest camp

Day 6

On this your final morning in the bushveld, have a fairly early rise and take your final game drive as you make your way towards the exit gate, about a 3 hour drive.

Once out the park make your way back to JHB where you can catch your flight home or continue your exploration of South Africa.