McFarlane Safaris offers a Touch Trails Tour
Intinerary:
An exciting new South African Safari especially designed by McFarlane Safaris
in association with, and especially for the visually impaired.
AN 11 DAY SAFARI FEATURING THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CAPE, GARDEN ROUTE, DRAKENSBERG ESCARPMENT AND EASTERN LOWVELD WILDLIFE AREAS - INCLUDING THE KRUGER PARK.
Day1 – We will meet you at Cape Town Airport and transfer you to the hotel in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront to relax. In the afternoon we visit the Two Oceans Aquarium. You will be able to feel the different temperatures of the tanks containing sea life from the warm Indian Ocean to that from the cold Atlantic Ocean. In the specially designed touch pool you can feel starfish and other marvels of the oceans. PORTSWOOD BB
Day 2 – After breakfast we travel along the Atlantic Seaboard to Camps Bay where we go for a walk on the secluded beach which is renowned for its soft, clean sand and cool Atlantic sea water. The tour continues to the fishing harbour of Hout Bay, full of sounds and smells of a historic fishing community. Here you board a boat for a cruise to Duiker Island - home to a large, fairly noisy, colony of Cape Fur Seals and various birds. Your guide will help you identify each type by the calls they make - be ready for the rather pungent aroma when the wind is blowing towards you.
We then continue over Constantia Nek to Groot Constantia - the oldest wine farm in South Africa. Here you will have the opportunity to taste some of the wines that have made this Estate famous. It is said that when Napoleon was in exile he would only drink Groot Constantia wines.
After lunch we visit Kirstenbosch National Botanical gardens where there is a braille trail where one can experience the different textures and smells of a wide variety of indigenous flora.
Tonight we enjoy a seafood dinner at a V&A Waterfront restaurant. PORTSWOOD LDBB
Day 3 - We leave Cape Town and travel to a local township where we visit the Uncedo pottery project and a local carpet weaving factory - you may even have the chance to taste some locally brewed traditional beer
We continue to the Spier Wine estate on the outskirts of Stellenbosch. After a conducted tasting of 7 of the finest local wines we invite you to enjoy a taste of Cape Malay cuisine at the Jonkershuis.
This afternoon the brave can go horse riding (accompanied by an experienced rider) through the vineyards while the more cautious can enjoy the same experience in a horse drawn buggy. THE VILLAGE AT SPIER LDBB
Day 4 – Today we travel through the Hugenot tunnel and on to the farming village of Worcester where we visit Kleinplasie - a living farm museum. Here you will be introduced to the implements that early farmers used and you may be able to taste bread and preserves made as they were in days gone by.
We continue through the Small Karoo to Calitzdorp - the home of South Africa’s Port industry – once again, you may wish to taste their produce as well as other sweet desert wines like muscadel and hanepoot.
Then it is on to Oudtshoorn - feather capital of the world. Here we visit Highgate Ostrich Farm where you will be encouraged to hold baby ostriches, feel the tanned and very expensive ostrich skin and the soft feathers. You may want to sit on an ostrich and sense the strength of ostrich eggs by standing on them. At dinner will be able to taste of the very healthy ostrich meat. HLANGANA LODGE DBB
Day 5 - This morning we visit the Cango Crocodile Ranch where you will learn more about these prehistoric beasts. You will be able to feel the roughness of their skin and sharpness of their teeth (not on a live one!) You will also feel the shells of the large variety of tortoises at the Ranch - from the tiny to the huge with all the wonderful different geometric designs on their shells.
We cross the Outeniqua Pass to George and continue to Knysna in the middle of our Lake District. It is also the centre of South Africa’s indigenous wood industry and you will be introduced to the textures of artifacts made from Yellowwood and Stinkwood.
This evening we enjoy a sundowner cruise on the Knysna Lagoon with champagne and local Knysna oysters. KNYSNA RIVER CLUB DBB
Day 6 - You will be transfered to George airport for your flight to Johannesburg. Here we connect to the capital of Mpumalanga Province, Nelspruit where you will be met and tour to Berg n’ Dal rest camp in the Kruger National Park. Berg n’ Dal has a braille trail within the camp. The Kruger Park, because of its size and shape and differing habitats, is home to the greatest diversity of wildlife species of any park in the world. Apart from Africa’s wildlife, this area is also home to a magnificent variety of indigenous vegetation, from the thorny Acacia species to the powdery barked Fever Trees. Your ranger / guide will introduce you to these species. (With due caution for the sharper kind!)
Tonights dinner will be a traditional braai (BBQ) prepared for you by your guide on an open fire made from the aromatic hardwood, Hardekool. We enjoy an evening around the fire to the calls of the African night and maybe even the roar of the King of the Beasts echoing in the surrounding hills? BERG n’ DAL RESTCAMP DBB
Day 7 – An early wake up call to enjoy coffee and rusks in the cool African dawn. The safari continues through the Kruger. Your ranger guide will be equipped with recordings of the calls of the species we pass on our way out of the park to Sabie in the heights of the Drakensberg escarpment. This is the heart of South Africa’s timber farming area and we will visit the forestry museum in Sabie. We then take a short drive to the source of the Sabie River (River of Fear) at Lone Creek Falls. Apart from enjoying a delightful picnic lunch in the forests we will also take a short walk to the pool, where the cool spray from the 89 metre high falls, plunging from above, is a welcome experience on a warm day.
We continue along the escarpment to Bourkes Luck Potholes. Your guide will relate the delightful gold mining history of this area and the geology of this 3.5 Billion year old rock. At Boukes Luck there is a brail trail where one not only gets to feel these rugged rocks but is also introduced to the unique and diverse textures of the lichens that grow on them. We descend back to the lowveld and Tshukudu Game Lodge in the heart of big game territory. Here we once again enjoy dinner and the calls of the African night. TSHUKUDU GAME LODGE LDBB
Day 8 – Another early wake up call before we enjoy a wonderful walk in the bushveld with your armed ranger. This is however a walk with a difference as you are accompanied by some of Tshukudu’s animals. Tshukudu have several orphaned animals who have been hand reared. A walk with an elephant, accompanied by lion cubs or occasionally leopard cubs or even a warthog is an unforgettable experience. Your ranger will also point out and explain interesting vegetation types, smaller insect life and maybe even the texture of dry elephant and antelope dung.
After lunch at the lodge we travel to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Population pressures and habitat changes have regrettably seen many animals and birds suffer injury and this center becomes home to them during the rehabilitation process. Here, we are not only told of these changes and the work the center does, but also get to play with and touch some of the birds and animals living here. One can even enter the vulture cage to assist in the feeding of these large, and surprisingly heavy, birds.
On the way back to the lodge we will stop at a giant Baobab tree. These trees live for thousands of years and amazingly attain a girth at their base of up to 80 metres. TSHUKUDU GAME LODGE LDBB
Day 9 – After breakfast we travel to the Nyani Cultural Village. The indigenous people of this region are the wonderful Shangaan nation. Axon Khosa is the grandson of the former Chief Kapama and today we visit his village for an insight into the culture and traditions of these lovely people. The village is the original and retains the traditional mud and grass roofed huts. Demonstrations are given in which one can participate. These include rope making, mat making from reeds, maize crushing using a round and concave stone and even the opportunity of the Sangoma (Witch doctor) telling your fortune. We share in a meal of chicken with traditional vegetables and maize accompaniments, eaten with the fingers.
After returning to the lodge one is welcome to go on the evening game drive or relax and enjoy the sounds of roosting birds and other calls of the evening before dinner. TSHUKUDU GAME LODGE LDBB
Day 10 – Today is the last day of your safari so we decided to give you a day to enjoy the warm African sun, swimming pool and lodge facilities or just to reminisce on the exciting experiences you have had. Maybe another early walk, game drive or just a day of leisure. TSHUKUDU GAME LODGE
Day 11 – After a relaxed morning and breakfast at the lodge it’s a sad farewell. We travel to the copper mining town of Phalaborwa for your return flight to Johannesburg and onward connection back home.
BON VOYAGE!