Wagon Trails | Garden Route Extended Itinerary

8 day Garden Route extended itinerary

Day 1 Durban

Sawubona! Welcome to South Africa.

You can arrive at any time on day 1 as there are no activities planned until the important welcome meeting tonight at 6pm. Your leader will leave a note at reception telling you where this important meeting will take place. Please ask a member of reception for this information. Your leader will collect your local payment at this meeting. After the group meeting there is the option of joining the group for dinner.

The journey beings in Durban, South Africa's second most populous city and a tourist magnet thanks to its wealth of golden, sandy beaches and glitzy nightlife. If you have time to spare before the meeting, there is the Golden Mile to explore, a stretch of fine sands bordered on one side by frothy surf and on the other by an attractive beachfront of shops, restaurants and cafes.

Tonights accommodation is in simple, comfortable twin or triple share rooms. Bathrooms are shared and spotlessly clean with hot water and flush toilets.

Days 2-3 Cintsa

Leaving Durban behind, we travel along the rugged and remote Wild Coast, formally known as the Transkei. The drive time from Durban to Cintsa is around 9 hours including our lunch break.

The Xhosa people who inhabit this region are still deeply rooted in tribal traditions and customs, which gives good insight into rural South African life, and you'll be dazzled by their warmth and friendliness. We spend two nights in beautiful Cintsa, which leaves plenty of time to enjoy the great outdoors. Spend time exploring this charming little coastal town, sunbaking on the stunning beaches or pursuing the many optional activities on offer including hiking, swimming, mountain biking and surfing.

These nights we stay in simple twin share accommodation.

Day 4 Addo Elephant National Park

The Addo Elephant Park marks the beginning of our journey along the gorgeous Garden Route. The approximate driving time between Cintsa and Addo is 6 hours. We arrive here in time for an afternoon game drive and during our explorations, we hope to see some of the reserve's many wonderful species.

The Addo is a true success story in conservationism. Set up in 1931 to protect the region's remaining 11 elephants, today, there are over 450 elephants plus Cape buffaloes, black rhinos, all kinds of antelopes and even the unique flightless dung beetle, which is exclusively found within the park. Sightings of the Big Five here are almost guaranteed and there are also a great many different species of bird, including snowy-white Cape gannets that live, feed and nest within the park.

While in Addo we camp in two-man dome tents. Our campsite has flush toliets and hot showers.

Days 5-6 Tsitsikamma National Park

The next day, after an early morning game drive in Addo, we travel the Tsitsikamma Coastal National Park, our base for the following two days. Travel time from Addo to Tsitsikamma is approximately 4 hours. Here steep ancient forests meet the pounding Indian Ocean and the vegetation-clad mountains and rugged, unspoiled coastline harbour prolific bird and marine life. So bring your binoculars because there's sure to be plenty to see.

We have a whole free day here for you to explore. Options include many hiking trails, a tree top canopy adventure, and a snorkeling trail! You may even like to take the opportunity to attempt the highest bungee jump in the world!

We camp here in some of the best scenery nature can provide. Our campsite has camp toilets and showers.

Day 7 Oudtshoorn

We begin our day with a visit to the beautiful seaside town of Knysna where there will be some free time to explore the many quaint stores or walk around Knysna heads for stunning coastal views. We'll be diving time for approximately 1 hour to reach Knysna (45km).

After lunch we make our way to Oudtshoorn. Travel time from Knysna to Oudtshoorn is approximately 120km and around 2.5 hours. This afternoon we have a chance for a very special experience when we head off to a local settlement. We are taken by a local to learn more about the lives of people in this community and enjoy a traditional dinner. Our visit is helping to fund local community initiatives.

Tonight we camp. There are hot showers and flush toilets.

Day 8 Cape Town

We begin our day by getting our blood pumping, exploring the Cango Caves where we'll learn more about the formation and history of these remarkable caves.

We pass through the verdant Cape Region and visit one of the many famous wineries to sample, taste and perhaps even purchase some of the product. This is the perfect place to celebrate our wonderful journey before travelling on to cosmopolitan Cape Town, where the journey comes to an end in the late afternoon.

Cape Town is a jaw-droppingly gorgeous city, with plenty to see and do if you have a few extra days here. Consider taking a cable car up the iconic Table Mountain, chill out in the Botanic Gardens, take an amazing prison tour to see where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated on Robben Island, or head to a museum - District Six and South African Museums are both worth a wander.

Our tour finishes at the Saasveld Lodge in Cape Town. From here you can book a taxi to take you to the airport.

No accommodation is provided for tonight, but we are able to arrange post-trip accommodation at Saasveld Lodge should you wish to spend more time in beautiful Cape Town. Please ask us at the time of booking.