Marakele, Mapungubwe, Kruger & Blyde River Canyon
Marakele, Mapungubwe, Kruger & Blyde River Canyon
OVERVIEW
Marakele, Mapungubwe, Kruger & Blyde River Canyon
This trip is a safari lover’s dream. This round trip venture into arguably two of South Africa’s most beautiful provinces Limpopo & Mpumalanga. With five very different regions to explore, you will visit three national parks and some of the country’s most amazing highlights. This less travelled path will provide you with beauty, adventure, wilderness and absolute solitude and quiet. Africa as it is meant to be explored.
Experience the Waterberg Region – vast, peaceful, incredibly beautiful and more than three million years old. The Vhembe Region, indigenous bush characterised by the remarkable form of the baobab, wonderful wildlife, abundance of birds and exciting adventure opportunities. The Mopani region in the Lowveld, one of the last unspoilt corners of Africa, vast, unhurried and timeless. Kruger National Park, best-known National Park of Southern Africa, beautiful, incredibly open, with very diverse landscapes. And last but certainly not least, the Blyde River Canyon is a wonder to behold. It is the largest Green Canyon in the world and it will simply take your breath away.
Price from Euro 1575 per person - ZAR 26.500 per person
HIGHLIGHTS
Trip highlights
- Marakele National Park
- Mapungubwe National Park
- Kruger National Park
- Blyde RIver Canyon
INCLUSIONS
What’s included
- All accommodation
- Car rental unlimited kms
- Car rental zero liability
INCLUSIONS
Carbon footprint
404kg Co2e
Day 1 - 4
The Waterberg Region is a harsh but rewarding area of absolute beauty, mountain gorges, clear streams and rolling bushveld hills, all rich in indigenous species of plant and animal life.
The Marakele National Park in the heart of the Waterberg Mountains, as its Tswana name suggests, has become a ‘place of sanctuary’ for an impressive variety of wildlife due to its location in the transitional zone between the dry western and moisture eastern regions of South Africa. It is a fantastic destination for birding enthusiasts. Arguably the park’s biggest birding attraction is the largest colony of Cape Vultures in the world (around 800 breeding pairs). The park is an excellent place to look for raptors, with many species using the uplift generated off the cliff faces of the Waterberg to ride thermals.
Marakele is home to most of the large mammals synonymous with the African bush, including elephant and leopard. Large predators such as brown hyena, leopard and now also lion, roam the park. Resident antelope include, sable, kudu, eland, impala, waterbuck, tsessebe and many smaller species. Chacma baboon and vervet monkey are two species to be watched carefully for mischief, particularly around the rest camps.
Day 4-6
The Vhembe Region, indigenous bush characterised by the remarkable form of the baobab, wonderful wildlife, abundance of birds and exciting adventure opportunities. The region boasts one of the most varied natural, geological, archaeological and cultural systems in the world and a fascinating history dating back many centuries when the San roamed the veld and left us their artworks on rocks.
Mapungubwe National Park is a World Heritage Site. Discover an ancient African Kingdom, Southern Africa’s first, established at Mapungubwe Hill between 1200 and 1290 AD. Home to a powerful tribe that flourished on trading with Eastern cultures such as China and India, Mapungubwe saw the rise and fall of this great civilisation more than 700 years ago. This is the place where archaeologists excavated the famous golden rhino and other evidence of a wealthy African kingdom.
Day 6-9
The Mopani region in the Lowveld is one of the last unspoilt corners of Africa – vast, unhurried, timeless. The Mopani region has a river in a valley called the Great Olifants River, which meanders through the Kruger National Park, forming the southern border of the province. This region offers vast expanses that seem untouched by the passage of time and remain unmistakably African.
Kruger National Park is one of the best-known Game Reserve of Southern Africa. It is on many people’s wish lists. The land is beautiful, incredibly vast, with very diverse landscapes. Two million hectares of pristine and far stretching horizons, wildlife, the Big 5, historical and archaeological important sites. This is the real African Bush. The subtropical climate has hot rainy summers starting in October and ending around March. The summer rains transform the arid park into a lush flowering paradise, but the increased foliage does make animals harder to see. The winter months from April to September are extremely pleasant with warm dry days and cold nights. Traditionally, the best game viewing is in the winter as the vegetation becomes sparse and water is restricted to rivers and water holes.
Day 9-11
Day 9- 11 Blyde River
Blyde River Canyon is a wonder to behold. It is the largest Green Canyon in the world and it stretches over 26 kilometres and is over 800m deep. The Blyde River Canyon is located in Mpumalanga on the northern parts of the Drakensberg Escarpment. Home to the Panorama Route and some of the most adventurous hiking trails, this area is often forgotten about, but a true gem it is, deserving of a few days in everyone’s trip.
