Day 1: Johannesburg to Kruger National Park
We are available to pick you up at the Outlook Lodge or at your hotel situated within Johannesburg or Pretoria. For guests flying into Nelspruit airport, we advise that guests arrange their flights to arrive around 11h00 on the morning their safari starts. Your guide will pick you up and continue your safari. We depart from Johannesburg between 07h00 and 07h30 in the morning and make our way to the Kruger National Park, arriving around 12h00.Before entering the Kruger we will stop for lunch in one of the small town's en-route to the park. Your first afternoon will be spent driving inside the Kruger searching for wild animals; you will be accompanied by a professional guide, who will gladly divulge information on the parks amazing diversity of wild and plant life.We get to our first camp in the late afternoon where you check into your accommodation and have enough time to go for a swim, purchase necessary items at the camps shop, or simply take a stroll around the camp to stretch your legs after a long days driving. Your guide begins preparing the evening meal just outside your chalet, under the stars and served by candlelight. Apart from the cooking your guide is of course available to identify all the nocturnal sounds you hear, and possibly entertain you with some amazing experiences encountered over many years of guiding in Africa. Wine is served and included in evening meals. Dinner included.
Day 2: Kruger National Park to Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve
Your guide is on time, as arranged for the wake up call. Fresh coffee and snacks are enjoyed before packing up and leaving camp to start the morning's drive searching for wild animals. After a couple of hours you stop for breakfast inside the Kruger at one of the picnic spots.After breakfast we continue driving in the Kruger and slowly begin making our way to one of the exit gates. We exit the Kruger and immediately journey on to one of the many private lodges situated within the world famous Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve. Our goal is to arrive for lunch after which you have a little time to freshen up before we head off on our game drive in one the lodges open vehicles. The afternoon game drive will continue on into the evening, returning to the lodge about 4 hours later.Dinner is usually ready upon our return and is served under the stars beside a crackling fire. It's always pleasant sitting around an open fire with a drink, discussing the days events and what we can expect to see tomorrow. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included
Day 3: Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve
Another early wake up, followed by coffee before heading off again in open vehicles, searching for wild animals. We are often asked what the difference is between the Kruger National Park, and a private Game Reserve such as the Sabi Sand, and in fact why we combine the two. It's always very difficult to compare two separate wildlife destinations and in the past we have found the two locations appealing to different people. Kruger can generally be regarded as the "Great Unknown", you never know what you're getting and sightings are largely a case of being at the right place at the right time, of course our guides are extremely familiar with the Kruger and know where they have a good chance of finding certain animals which greatly increases your chances of seeing them, accompanied of course by the knowledge which they share with you. However the surprise factor is still there and that is greatly appealing to many of our guests. A private game reserve on the other hand, is almost guaranteed to deliver excellent sightings as the guides are all in radio contact so the minute one group encounters animals, they radio them in, giving everyone else in the area the chance to see them too. As a result, when we combine the two destinations, the result is often a safari that utilises one of Africa's premier wildlife destinations (the Kruger National Park) and the excellent "up close" encounters with animals in the Sabi Sand.After our morning drive we return to the lodge, enjoy a relaxing breakfast followed by some time to relax by the lodges pool. There is also an opportunity for you to go on a morning walk after breakfast if you wish. Lunch is usually served around 14hoo before we leave on another afternoon/night drive, returning to the lodge for the evening meal. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.
Day 4: Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve to Johannesburg
After your wake up call and coffee we head back into the bush in the hope of seeing and photographing more of Africa's spectacular wildlife. The Sabi Sand is particularly famous for it's brilliant sightings of leopard and whilst we cannot guarantee these sightings, you stand a more than fair chance of seeing and photographing these beautiful animals, seldom more than 3-4 metres from the vehicle! After the drive breakfast is served. There is time for you to freshen up before we pack the vehicle and begin our journey back to Johannesburg.We return to Johannesburg via the panorama route which includes Blyde River Canyon, Three Rondavels, Lisbon Waterfalls and Pilgrims Rest, where you stop for lunch. After lunch it's a good four hours drive back to Johannesburg and you arrive back at the Outlook Lodge or your hotel around 19h30. Breakfast included.