Wagon Trails | Kruger & The Kingdoms extended itinerary

Day 1 Johannesburg

Sawubona! Welcome to South Africa.

An arrival transfer is from the airport to your hotel is included in your tour. If you have confirmed this transfer by providing your flight details at least 15 days prior to departure you will be met at the airport and transferred to the joining point hotel.

You can arrive at any time on day 1 as there are no activities planned until the important welcome meeting tonight. Your leader will leave a note at reception telling you where and when this important meeting will take place. Please ask a member of reception for this information. After the group meeting there is the option of joining the group for dinner.

Your leader will collect your local payment at this meeting as well as your insurance details as well as providing more information regarding your upcoming itinerary.

If you arrive early head out to see the sights of Jo'burg, such as the chilling Apartheid Museum, landscapes-filled Art Gallery or fun-filled Gold Reef City, an amusement park.

Accommodation: Cabins at Amadwala Lodge
Distance: 60km transfer from OR Thambo International Airport to Amadwala Lodge
Time Travelled: 45 Minutes
Meals: None

Note: There is an important pre-departure briefing tonight at 18:00. Please ask at reception or have a look at the welcome Note on the notice board for the location of this important meeting

Day 2 Panorama Route/Greater Kruger National Park

We leave Johannesburg after breakfast and make our way through the Mpumalanga Province, journeying along the famous Panorama Route, through some of the most stunning scenery South Africa has to offer. The sights en route include God's Window, Bourke's Luck Potholes, Three Rondawels (Sisters) and the magnificent Blyde River Canyon. In the late afternoon we make our way down the Drakensberg Escarpment where we spend the night at a Private Game Lodge in the Greater Kruger National Park

Overnight: 3 Star Private Game Lodge in the Greater Kruger National Park
Distance travelled: 600km
Time travelled: 8 - 10 Hours including stops and sights.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Days 3-4 Kruger National Park

After breakfast we depart for Kruger National Park. It is about an hours drive to one of the central gates we use to enter the Park. Our wildlife experience then begins as soon as we enter the park as the safari vehicle takes us into prime game viewing areas en route. It is about another 70km to our accommodation for this evening, but our driving time will be slow to stay under national park speed laws and to get the best widlife viewing- its also dependent on how many sightings we have! Arriving at our lodge there is time to freshen up before we head out on an exciting open vehicle night drive, an amazing experience and a chance to witness the nocturnal activities of the many animals within the park.

Rise early the next day and have a light breakfast of coffee and rusks before embarking on a morning game drive to catch sight of predators perhaps, on a last foray into their hunting grounds before the sun exposes them to their prey.

Most of day 3 will be spent game viewing, bird watching and stopping at various waterholes and viewpoints. We arrive back at our lodge at sunset where you may want to enjoy a traditional sundowner.

During your time in Kruger there is also the option for a Big 5 Game Walk in Kruger National Park with armed rangers. This is a 3 hour activity which can be scheduled in the morning or afternoon. It is a really special experience to follow animals on foot!
We can also organise you to attend a Bush Dinner Braai in Kruger National Park.
This bush dinner braai is a 3 course meal that is served in the bush at an beautiful location. You are picked up from camp at sunset and are taken to the dinner location in the bush where everything is set up with tables, decorations, chefs, waiters and mini bar. There are armed rangers for the safety of the clients. After dinner you are taken back to camp in an open vehicle. This is a night drive combined with dinner in the bush. Both of these optional activities are exceptional and will be highlights of your time here.

Overnight: En-Suite Chalets in Kruger National Park
Distance Travelled: 45km from our Lodge in Greater Kruger National Park to the entrance gate in Kruger National Park. We will spend about 250km on game drives in Kruger National Park.

Time travelled: 1 Hour from our Lodge in Greater Kruger National Park to the entrance gate of Kruger. We spend most of our time in Kruger on game drives and the time travelled depends entirely on sightings. There will be plenty of stops at pick-nick sites and rest camps for you to relax in between game drives.
Meals included: Breakfast

Day 5 Hlane Royal National Park

We have a final slow game drive out of Kruger National Park this morning of about 20km before exiting the park. Departing Kruger, we travel southeast and enter the Kingdom of Swaziland, nestled snugly between Mozambique, Northern Zululand and Mpumalanga. Here we visit a traditional Swazi cultural village and gain an insight into their cultural beliefs, traditional dancing and singing before departing for the Hlane Royal National Park. This vast expanse of bushveld and its ancient hardwood trees makes Hlane home to the largest wild herds in the kingdom. We have an amazing chance here to explore the park on a guided game walk, hopefully tracking white rhinos on foot.

Overnight: Chalets in Hlane Royal National Park
Distance travelled: Oncedeparting Kruger National Park it is 270km to Hlane Royal National Park
Time travelled: 7 - 8 hours. This timing includes the final morning game drive out of Kruger National Park as well as a cultural tour of Matsamo Cultural Village and a border crossing at Jeppes Reef.
Meals included: Breakfast

Days 6-7 Ponta d'Ouro/Mozambique Beach Camp

Departing from Hlane, we make our way to the Golela border post and into Maputaland. Our journey continues via beautiful Kosi Bay, as we once again head across a border to a seaside village in Mozambique, where we spend two nights in a coastal resort.

We have the rest of the afternoon here to enjoy the unspoiled beaches of Mozambique. The following day there is time to relax on the beach or take part in some of the many optional activities which include snorkelling, scuba diving and swimming with bottlenose dolphins.

Overnight: Comfortable Lodge with en-suite facilities in Southern Mozambique.
Distance travelled: 320km
Time travelled: 5 Hours from Hlane to the Kosi Bay Border Post. Here we park our vehicle at a secure parking area and take a 4x4 transfer to our lodge in Southern Mozambique. This transfer will take about 45 minutes. We have two border crossings to negotiate today and may experience some delays in peak season.
Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner on both days.

Day 8 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park/St Lucia Estuary

We depart Southern Mozambique today, making our way to the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, the oldest game reserve in Africa. The day is spent on game drives, searching for the endangered black rhino for which this park is famous.

We depart Hluhluwe in the late afternoon and head for the World Heritage site of Lake St Lucia. The evening is spent in a lodge on the shores of this wonderful lake.

Overnight: Comfortable Lodge in the Greater St Lucia wetlands area
Distance travelled: 390km
Time travelled: We take an 4x4 transfer back from our Lodge to the border post where our vehicle is parked. The drive from the border post to Hluhluwe/Umfolozi National Park will take us roughly 3 hours. Once we enter the Park we spend 3 hours on game drives exploring and searching for game. It is another 1 hour drive from the Park to St Lucia where we spend the night. We look at a total of 8 - 9 hours from our Lodge in Mozambique to our Lodge in St Lucia.
Meals: Breakfast

Day 9 Durban

Today there is the chance to take an optional boat cruise on the St Lucia Estuary where you are almost guaranteed to have a close encounter with pods of hippos and crocodiles basking on the banks not to mention some amazing bird watching.

After the optional boat cruise on St Lucia Estuary we depart for Durban arriving in the late afternoon.

Our tour finishes on arrival in Durban. Please do not arrange your departure flight for any earlier than 7pm.

Overnight: Post accommodation is not included. We are able to arrange accommodation for tonight should you require; please ask at the time of booking.
Distance travelled: 350km
Time travelled: 4 - 5 Hours including stops.
Meals included: Breakfast