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South Africa: An Elegant Adventure
2009 Itinerary featuring 11 days from $5,990        Two Week  
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Only on Tauck's South Africa tour can you experience inspiring game drives, the majesty of Victoria Falls, and the drama of the Cape of Good Hope, interspersed with tasting fine wines, strolling formal botanical gardens, and visiting a historic Dutch town. Stay in a private game reserve where you may spot leopards, lions, elephants, impalas, and zebras. Explore Cape Town, the wine country, Johannesburg, and Soweto. Learn more about the struggle against apartheid, board a cable car for ocean views, and ride an elephant for the ultimate wildlife experience. This South Africa tour does it all.
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2009 Itinerary


Day 1: Tauck's South Africa tour begins in captivating Cape Town
Your South Africa tour and safari begins at the Cape Grace hotel at 6:30 pm. A transfer from Cape Town International Airport to the Cape Grace hotel, which is perfectly situated right on the waterfront in the heart of this beautiful city, is included. Found on the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List, the hotel offers marvelous views of Table Mountain. Meet your Tauck Director and your fellow travelers at our welcome cocktail reception and dinner tonight.
Meals: Dinner
Lodging: Cape Grace, Cape Town, South Africa

Day 2: The story of South Africa's freedom fighters
Your day begins with a cultural sightseeing journey. Take a ferry ride across Table Bay to Robben Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fascinating history of the island unfolds during a guided tour, and the struggles of South Africa’s freedom fighters come alive as you view the infamous prison and the cell in which Nelson Mandela was confined for 27 years. This island, formerly a whaling station, also boasts a beautiful nature reserve. The remainder of the day is free to explore Cape Town as you wish; dine this evening at a local restaurant.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Cape Grace, Cape Town, South Africa

Day 3: Cape Peninsula kaleidoscope
Get a bit of a look at Cape Town today on an orientation sightseeing tour in and around the city. Following a journey by cable car, you’ll find yourself atop famous Table Mountain. As you stroll along the trails, admire both the 14,000 species of plants that grow here and the magnificent views of the sea far below. Board a funicular for a ride up to Cape Point to admire its historic lighthouse and see the tumultuous Cape of Good Hope for yourself. This evening, indulge yourself in the dining and entertainment options on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront as you please.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Lodging: Cape Grace, Cape Town, South Africa

Day 4: A five-star day and a five-star wine estate
Tauck's South Africa tour offers memorable sights, scents and tastes today. Head to South Africa’s wine country, stopping to taste the country’s wines at a historic estate. Visit the decidedly Dutch town of Stellenbosch, located in one of the oldest and most important wine-producing regions in South Africa. Founded in 1679, it features whitewashed Cape Dutch buildings along oak-lined streets. You’ll always remember your stay tonight at a 5-star wine estate renowned for the quality of its food and wines.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Lanzerac Manor & Winery, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Day 5: At home on safariRhinoceros
A South Africa tour just wouldn’t be complete without an opportunity to view Africa’s unique wildlife up-close-and-personal. From Cape Town fly to one of South Africa’s finest private game reserves situated along the Sabie River adjacent to Kruger National Park. You’ll set out on game drives from a luxurious lodge in the heart of the bushveld. The nearby watering hole attracts the animals that make the surrounding plains their home.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Day 6: Private game reserves and "Big Five" antics
With the help of experienced Shangaan trackers, set out this morning in search of Africa’s "Big Five" – the elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and rhinoceros – in an open-top Land Rover on morning and afternoon game drives. Look for gamboling gazelles, stately giraffes and watch the antics of the antelopes as your guide shares insights about their lives. The resident rangers will tell you all about the geography of the area, the wildlife and the efforts being made to conserve these living treasures. Return to your private luxury lodge for a buffet lunch, followed by an afternoon game drive.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Day 7: Bush safari to city sophistication

Enjoy one more game drive early this morning before bidding the bushveld farewell and flying to Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city. The Westcliff, your city home for the next two nights, is set in one of the city’s most sophisticated residential neighborhoods. Add your name to its prestigious guest list that included Peter Ustinov and U2.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: The Westcliff, Johannesburg, South Africa

Day 8: Sights and sounds of Soweto
During a guided tour, you’ll see the diversity of Soweto, from its thriving business environment of today to its historical importance as a residential township in the time of the apartheid. View the homes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Winnie Mandela as well as Freedom Square and the Hector Pieterson memorial. The evening is free to spend as you wish.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Lodging: The Westcliff, Johannesburg, South Africa

Day 9: Experience the grandeur of Victoria Falls
Your South Africa tour ends when you fly to Victoria Falls, regarded as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The Zambezi River plunges more than 300 feet into the Zambezi Gorge, often creating rainbows in the spray. It is nearly twice as wide and twice as high as Niagara Falls. Enjoy elegant accommodations at The Victoria Falls Hotel, established in 1904. In your free time, stroll the hotel’s private pathway atop the gorge for inspiring views of the Victoria Falls Bridge crossing into Zambia. A private sundowner cruise is an excellent introduction to the historic Zambezi River - and watching the setting African sun is a particularly moving experience on this South Africa tour.  Note: Guests who booked the shorter, nine-day itinerary have a private transfer from The Westcliff to Johannesburg Airport following breakfast for departure home.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: The Victoria Falls Hotel, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Day 10: The ultimate elephant experience – elephants everywhere
Take a morning walking tour into Zambezi National Park before learning all about the African elephant from your guide. Then climb onto a special seat atop an enormous African elephant for a lumbering stroll through the bush in search of wildlife, traveling with a guide… it’s the ultimate African wildlife experience! You may even still be talking about it at this evening’s farewell cocktail reception and dinner when you have a chance to share memories and stories from this enriching South Africa tour with your fellow guests, now friends.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: The Victoria Falls Hotel, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Day 11: Homeward bound or bound for Botswana
Enjoy a final morning at Victoria Falls before your flight to Johannesburg at the conclusion of your South Africa tour. Tour ends at Johannesburg Airport. Hop on your flight home or travel on to Botswana for a memorable four-night unescorted, locally guided safari extension at a luxury tented camp. Whichever way you go, we wish you a safe and pleasant journey.
Meals: Breakfast

Space is limited! Book now for Tauck's South Africa tour and safari combining game drives with natural, cultural, and cosmopolitan sights.



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