South African Adventure 2012 

We depart London on Day 1 on a flight to Johannesburg, arriving on the morning of Day 2. We transfer to the 5-star Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria for one night. During the day we take an excursion to the Voortrekker Monument, an enormous structure dedicated to the pioneer history of South Africa, set in a nature reserve close to Pretoria. For lunch we dine in a local restaurant.

Today we board the Pride of Africa, from Rovos Rail's station in Capital Park, Pretoria. Our eight night journey, on this truly elegant train, with luxurious air-conditioned suites takes us across the African plains in comfort and style, with fine china, crisp linen and 5-star service. All onboard meals and drinks are included, as are meals during off-train excursions.

This morning we wake up early for a highlight of the tour - a game drive in Kruger National Park, the largest park in South Africa, where all of the 'Big Five' game animals can be found. We pursue antelope, elephants and prides of lions in this wildlife sanctuary. Re-boarding the train for brunch we travel through Komatipoort and arrive at Mkhaya Reserve for an afternoon game drive. Both black and white rhinos live in Mkhaya, one of Swaziland's refuges for endangered species. We continue by train to Hluhluwe in Zululand arriving in the early hours of Day 5.

We begin today with another game drive, in the picturesque Hluhluwe-Umfolozi game reserve - the oldest reserve in South Africa and also home to the 'Big Five'. Returning to the train we will travel through the Valley of a Thousand Hills en route to Durban. We enjoy dinner on the train this evening.

We continue on the Pride of Africa journeying to Bethlehem and Kroonstad. On Day 7 we arrive in Bloemfontein, where we leave the train for a city tour. The city certainly lives up to its name, as thousands of rose bushes line the streets. Rejoining the train we travel to Sheldon for the night.

We continue to Addo Elephant Park, for a game drive crossing the landscape in open vehicles. The park is inhabited not only by elephants, but by lions, leopards, cape buffalo and rhinos. We continue our journey towards Port Elizabeth and arrive in Willowmore to spend the night. Our journey on Day 9 takes us to Oudtshoorn home to the world's largest population of ostriches to visit an ostrich farm. We continue on to George, where we spend the afternoon at leisure. Leaving the train, we take a short drive to Fancourt Golf Estate for our dinner tonight.

We depart from George today, for the scenic drive to Knysna Lagoon and take a ferry trip across to the Featherbed Nature Reserve, where we enjoy a morning at leisure. Re-boarding the train we travel to Riversdale.

Our last day on board the Pride of Africa takes us to Worcester, where we disembark to visit the KWV Brandy Cellar. Reboarding for lunch we enjoy the final leg to Cape Town. From here we check into the 5-star Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Today we travel by coach around two of South Africa's finest wine producing areas: the Franschhoek and the Stellenbosch valleys. In Spier, we have lunch in a Moyo Africa style restaurant. We will also have the opportunity to sample some of the local wines during a wine tasting. We return to the hotel for an evening at leisure.

This morning we make the cable car ascent of Table Mountain, to enjoy panoramic views of the city. We then descend to Kirstenbosch, where we enjoy a guided tour of the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, nestled at the foot of Table Mountain. This afternoon we take an exhilarating cruise across Table Bay for a guided tour of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Today the site is a UNESCO World Heritage listed attraction.

We journey to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope via the stunning Chapman's Peak coastal drive. At Cape Point we take the Flying Dutchman funicular railway up to a vantage point, where we enjoy inspiring views over the point where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.

Today is spent at leisure before we transfer this evening to the airport for our flight back to London, arriving into Heathrow on Day 16.