Highlights & Itinerary
If you don’t have time to visit Kruger National Park or you are looking for a “Big 5” Malaria free option, only two hours from Johannesburg, then this is the ideal tour for you. En-route, we visit the Elephant Sanctuary for an introduction to these massive creatures. Enjoy two nights in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve including open vehicle game drives to search for the Big 5. Visit the spectacular Sun City Resort which has an abundance of water sports and activities on offer.
Tour Summary
| NO. | AREA | 4 STAR ACCOMMODATION |
| 1 | Pilanesberg | Bakubang Bush Lodge |
| 2 | Pilanesberg | Bakubang Bush Lodge |
| 3 | Sterkfontein | Maropeng Hotel |
| 4 | Depart |
Meals Included
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Breakfast | X | X | X | |
| Lunch | X | |||
| Dinner | X | X |
* Included meals are indicated with an X
DAY 1: JOHANNESBURG TO PILANESBERG – 180KM (Bakubang Lodge or similar (LD))
You will be collected from your Sandton hotel or O.R. Tambo International airport at +- 08h00. En route visit the Elephant Sanctuary in the Magaliesberg Mountains. An introduction to the elephants in the forest area is followed by interaction with these giant creatures. Lunch is included at the Elephant Sanctuary. On arrival at Pilanesberg National Park check in to your accommodation. This afternoon board your open vehicle for an evening game drive in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.
The Game reserve is situated in the Bojanala Region of the North West Province, adjacent to Sun City. Set in the crater of a long extinct volcano, the Park ranks among the largest of the parks in South Africa (it is in fact, the fourth largest park) and covers an area of 55 000 hectares. The beauty of Pilanesberg is reflected in a large central lake, the Mankwe Dam. Over time, wind and water have carved a spectacular landscape with rocky outcrops, open grasslands, wooded valleys and thickets. Pilanesberg National Park accommodates virtually every mammal of southern Africa and is also home to the Big Five.
Dinner will be taken at the lodge and is included.
DAY 2: PILANESBERG & SUN CITY – 30KM (Bakubang Lodge or similar (BD))
It is an early start this morning with a morning game drive into the magnificent Pilanesberg Game Reserve followed by breakfast at the lodge. This is Big Game country at its best.
Transfer to Sun City for the rest of the day. A map will be provided on arrival to familiarise yourself with what you can do and where the activities are situated. Lunch will be for your own account and can be taken at one of the many restaurants within the Sun City complex.
This African fantasy-world immerses visitors in the atmosphere of an ancient and exotic civilisation.
Sun City has a combination of features unmatched anywhere in the world. There are many optional activities (Some activities may incur additional expenses for your own cost) which you can enjoy such as tennis, squash, swimming, golf, mountain biking and horse riding. There are also lots of water sports and guests can parasail, water ski, canoe and windsurf. Less active water enthusiasts can enjoy a Sunset Cruise. Other activities include golf, Valley of the waves, Kwena Gardens crocodile sanctuary, The Village people – cultural experience including arts and crafts, butterfly world, horse riding, the bird aviary and animal world.
Return to the lodge in the early evening for dinner and overnight.
DAY 3: PILANESBERG TO STERKFONTEIN – 110KM (Maropeng Hotel (B))
Enjoy an early morning game drive followed by breakfast at the lodge. We depart the lodge mid-morning and travel to Maropeng Hotel at the Cradle of Humankind. Lunch can either be taken en-route or at the hotel and is for your own account. Visit the Sterkfontein caves which include an exciting underground guided tour where some of the most important fossil discoveries have been made.
The Sterkfontein Valley landscape comprises a band of important palaeo-anthropological sites including Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, Coopers B, Wonder Cave, and various others. These sites have produced the remains of hominids (i.e. human and pre-human) from over 2 to 3,3 million years ago, the early stone-age, the middle stone age, the later stone age, the early and late iron age and up to the present day. It is at the Sterkfontein site that the famous Mrs Ples (Plesianthropus transvaalensis) was discovered by Dr Robert Broom. This ancient cave system has over the years revealed a sequence of deposits with fossils dating from about 3.5 to 1.5 million years ago.
The afternoon is at leisure with dinner taken at the hotel for your own account.
DAY 4: STERKFONTEIN – 110KM (Depart (B))
After breakfast, your guide will take you across to the Maropeng museum/visitors centre. It can take anything from 1 – 7 hours depending on how long you want to spend.
Maropeng’s interpretation centre enables visitors to explore, by means of zones, the history of the earth and humankind. It lies on the side of a hill, where ancient rocky outcrops are the setting of a huge tear-shaped burial mound, referred to as the Tumulus: a partly disguised grassy mound 20m high and 35m wide. The first of its kind in the world, the Tumulus is designed to look like an ancient burial mound from the front and, when exiting on the other side, a very modern structure from the rear. One approaches the Tumulus along a walkway that covers the significance of Africa and the Cradle of Humankind. Inside the building, a welcome area explains the orientation of the Cradle area and other attractions on offer, and positions the world heritage site in the context of other South African sites. The journey continues to an underground lake, where a boat ride takes the visitor back 4-billion years in geological time through the basic elements that make up our world: water, air, fire and earth. From here, the journey continues through an experience highlighting the history of our world and humankind as a species, brought to life via audiovisual techniques, sound effects, theme-park technology and theatrical displays.
In the late afternoon, you will transfer back to Johannesburg where you will reach your hotel or O.R. Tambo Airport at +- 17h00.
| INCLUDED | EXCLUDED |
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