Big 5, City & Beaches

Kruger

Days 5-7: Head to Kruger This morning you are transferred back to Cape Town International Airport where you board a flight to Johannesburg. From OR Tambo International Airport, you take a light airplane to Ngala Tented Camp where you are fetched at the airstrip by your ranger and driven in a 4x4 to your safari home within Ngala Private Game Reserve. Your raised suite at this exclusive tented camp neatly blends into the foliage on the banks of the seasonal Timbavati River, where crocodiles and hippos cavort both day and night. On 4x4 game drives, as well as spot-lit night drives and walking safaris, expert ranger-and-tracker teams bring guests into close contact with the Big 5 as well as cheetah and wild dog. The reserve supports several large lion prides, giving the camp its name which means ‘lion’ in the local Shangaan language. Between thrilling excursions on foot and 4x4 into the untamed wilderness, relax on the viewing deck with commanding vistas over the grasslands and Timbavati riverbed. The azure swimming pool invites swimming as well as daytime relaxation around the water, and lunch can be enjoyed in a number of scenic locations. Indulge in some ‘me-time’ in the seclusion of the massage sala, which allows you to enjoy your treatment while immersed in the captivating wilderness. Head out with your Shangaan tracker on a specially organised safari that focuses on the age-old art of tracking spoor. Let your senses go wild as you bathe under the outside shower on your suite’s private verandah. The campfire is where stories of the day’s animal sightings are shared, which are a precursor to your romantic lantern-lit dinner for two in the dry riverbed accompanied by fine wine and the sounds of nocturnal Africa. Before bed, soak in your en suite bathroom’s oversized tub with bubbles to your chin and read an ancient African tale left on your pillow about how the leopard got its spots.

Days 9-13: Benguerra Bliss This morning you board a direct flight to Vilanculos in Mozambique. From here you board a light aircraft and take a scenic transfer to Benguerra Island Lodge. Your tastefully designed villa is an island dream epitomised by white-sand beaches, turquoise waters and postcard-perfect sunsets. Snorkelling and diving are on offer, but if you wish to do nothing but sunbathe on the beach, do so with a private butler always on hand to refill your drink. Put your feet up on the shaded deck and watch as dhows criss-cross the ocean, patiently fishing for their dinner. Walk knee-deep into the turquoise shallows of the warm sea or slip into your private plunge pool. The island’s forests teem with exotic birdlife and on the shores of the freshwater lakes you might come across sun-thirsty crocodiles and girdled lizards. Enjoy a romantic picnic lunch in the middle of the sand dunes, or take a siesta on your villa’s private verandah as a pre-dinner indulgence. Paddling offshore in a sea kayak, you could be circled by a pod of playful dolphins and horse riding along the beach you watch the fiery sun dip beneath the horizon. Lavish seafood dinners are served on the beach under star-studded skies and best followed by a nightcap at the bar before retiring to your airy villa for the night.