Uncovering the Splendours of Southern Africa: Safari, Cape, Wine, and Waterfalls
While luxury travel options abound in Africa, only Goway’s Holidays of a Lifetime carry the company’s Promise of Something Special. More than just luxury accommodation and transport, these all-inclusive trips emphasise the kinds of local experiences travellers can’t find at home. This often means unique local dining experiences, distinctive or iconic accommodations, all of which are considered First Class, Deluxe, or better, plus taking in all the key sights along with an extra local experience or two. It all happens under the expert eye of a specialist Tour Director, who takes care of the little details including tipping. All your globetrotting clients need do is turn up with an appetite for adventure and enjoy their Holiday of a Lifetime.
The detailed and special nature of these itineraries means that a new one is always an event. It also puts them at a higher price point than many of Goway’s other trips and tours. The company’s newest Holiday of a Lifetime, Splendours of Southern Africa, offers some of the best value yet seen in a trip in this range, opening the Holidays of a Lifetime experience to travellers on a tighter budget. The itinerary takes in the signature stops of South Africa, including game reserves and the cape peninsula, before crossing to Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, to experience Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls.
Luxury in the Bush
No trip to Southern Africa is complete without a safari. Whether this is your client’s first African safari or their dozenth, the Kapama Private Game Reserve is teeming with great game spotting opportunities. On the Splendours of Southern Africa, guests stay at the Kapama Southern Camp, an exclusive 5-star camp. With just 15 suites, plus 7 luxury, and 3 family suites, each guest is ensured total privacy as they enjoy top notch facilities and an airy design that feels like a natural fit to its bush surrounds. In between game drives, guests can escape to either of Kapama Southern Camp’s two wellness centres for a spa treatment.
Game drives take place in the early morning and late afternoon, when the air is coolest and the animals are at their most active. Seated in open 4×4 vehicles, guests keep their eyes peeled for the ‘Big 5’ (lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and African buffalo), along with giraffes, zebra and many other creatures. There is a running joke claiming there are two rites of passage for every modern African safari-goer – taking lots of photos of zebra, and deleting lots of photos of zebra. For a different perspective on the surrounding bushlands, guests can even book a hot air balloon ride.
A Taste of Millionaire’s Paradise – and the Rest of the Magnificent Cape
The cities aren’t usually what lures travellers to Africa, but Cape Town is one great, glittering exception. Neatly surrounding Table Mountain on the edge of South Africa’s Western Cape, the beauty of this city’s natural location has earned it comparisons to San Francisco or Sydney. That’s before one even scratches the surface to discover the incredible stories of this place. Cocktails on the terrace of the Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa – where guests on the Splendours of Southern Africa stay – are a great introduction to the city. Gaze out over the Atlantic Ocean with a sundowner in hand, with majestic Table Mountain to your right and the explosive orange of the setting sun to your left, and you’re already just a little in love with Cape Town.
A full day tour of the Cape seals the deal. Where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, this is one of the most dramatic locales in the world. Some manifestations of this are small and adorable, like the penguins of Boulders Beach. Others are jaw-droppingly extravagant, like the homes that line Millionaire’s Paradise, a popular dive overlooking the ocean. This unique tour also takes guests to Simon’s Town, an historic naval village, and offers the first chance to sample some of South Africa’s much-lauded wines as part of a 5-course lunch showcasing the local cuisine.
Apartheid is of course a sobering part of South Africa’s story. But amid tragedy there are inspiring stories of resistance, and the communities that have thrived since. Splendours of Southern Africa includes a private Walk to Freedom tour, which visits local townships and District Six. Visitors can meet the locals on the tour, before taking an optional guided visit to Robben Island, the former political prison that once held Nelson Mandela, and current President Jacob Zuma. Alternatively, spend some time on Cape Town’s waterfront, which has emerged as a major recreational and culinary hub for the city.
Speaking of food, Cape Town is one of Africa’s tastiest destinations, and the Winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are ready to serve the perfect accompaniment to any meal. A full day tour of Franschhoek – where French wine making techniques were first brought to South Africa – lets you experience things first hand. Even those who aren’t so big on wine might still enjoy the Franschhoek Motor Museum, and it’s almost impossible not to be wowed by the landscape, as rocky peaks soar above the vines.
Letting Nature Lead the Show
The natural wonders of Southern Africa extend well beyond a single country. Stretching more than 1.5 kilometres across the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, with a height of over 100 metres, Victoria Falls are known as ‘The Smoke That Thunders.’ They send the mighty Zambezi River plummeting into a series of zig-zagging gorges, each one a former location of the Falls, eroded into the soft rock of the riverbed. A guided tour takes Splendours of Southern Africa guests to all the best viewing points, with a sunset cruise on the Zambezi, and a dinner and drum show at a traditional African restaurant completing the experience.
One final country, and one final safari experience awaits in neighbouring Botswana at Chobe National Park. Botswana has been singled out as one of the world’s best destinations for an African safari, outlawing game hunting in all its forms, and protecting two major wildlife areas, the Okavango Delta, and Chobe National Park. It is Chobe that invites guests on the Splendours of Southern Africa to enjoy some of the best game viewing on the continent. Elephants and hippos are commonly sighted along the Chobe River, while buffalo are a favoured prey of the park’s sizeable lion population. There are several different ways to see the animals, including traditional game drives and boat cruises. Individual activities adapt to give passengers the best game viewing opportunities.
