Day 1

Johannesburg

On arrival we depart through Johannesburg to the Cradle of Humankind, the first of the World Heritage Sites we will visit. En-route we visit the South Western Township, today called Soweto. We also visit the Apartheids and Hector Peterson Museums. Overnight in the area of Johannesburg.

Day 2  

Cradle of Humankind

We have the whole morning to explore the various sites in the Cradle of Humankind where many fossils were found. The Taung Skull Fossil Site, part of the extension to the site inscribed in 1999, is the place where in 1924 the celebrated Taung Skull – a specimen of the species Australopithecus africanus – was found. Makapan Valley, also in the site, features in its many archaeological caves traces of human occupation and evolution dating back some 3.3 million years. The area contains essential elements that define the origin and evolution of humanity. Fossils found there have enabled the identification of several specimens of early hominids, more particularly of Paranthropus, dating back between 4.5 million and 2.5 million years, as well as evidence of the domestication of fire 1.8 million to 1 million years ago. From here we drive to the Vredefort Dome and overnight in the area of Parys and Vredefort.

Day 3

The Vredefort Dome
More than 2000 million years ago, a meteor, the size of Table Mountain hit into the earth, expelling an estimated 70 000km³ of dust into the atmosphere. If there was any life on earth at that stage, it would have gone extinct. It is said to be the largest known impact site in the world.  The only proof of the impact are the upturned rocks and the very distinctive “shatter cones” on the rocks and the black mineral lines in the granite in the area.  It is said that the impact would have caused an earthquake that would have registered 14 on the Richter scale. Overnight in the Dome.

Days 4-5

The Drakensberg

The road takes us southeast to the “Great Spear” as the Zulus call the Drakensberg. uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park has exceptional natural beauty in its soaring basaltic buttresses, incisive dramatic cutbacks, and golden sandstone ramparts. Rolling high altitude grasslands, the pristine steep-sided river valleys and rocky gorges also contribute to the beauty of the site..

Days 6-7

St. Lucia
We drive through Battle Fields of Natal where the mighty Zulu Nation and the mighty English nation clashed in the Anglo-Zulu Wars of 1879. It was in this area where the Second Anglo-Boer War raged from 1899 to 1902, tearing nations apart. We stay for two nights in the quaint town of St Lucia on the edge of the World Heritage Site of iSimangaliso Wetland Park. 

The ongoing fluvial, marine and aeolian processes in the site have produced a variety of landforms, including coral reefs, long sandy beaches, coastal dunes, lake systems, swamps, and extensive reed and papyrus wetlands. The interplay of the park’s environmental heterogeneity with major floods and coastal storms and a transitional geographic location between subtropical and tropical Africa has resulted in exceptional species diversity and ongoing speciation. The mosaic of landforms and habitat types creates breathtaking scenic vistas. The site contains critical habitats for a range of species from Africa’s marine, wetland and savannah environments.

Days 8-9

Kosi Bay
Today we drive to the amazing Kosi Bay. Here the locals have been catching fish for millennia by means of their fish traps. We are taken to these traps to see how it is done and to try our hand at catching some of the fish.

There will also be ample time to photograph the traps and some of the locals as they go about their daily business.

We stay two nights in a camp at the estuary mouth, giving many opportunities to photograph birds and the activities at the traps.

Days 10-11

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Nature Reserve
Before sunrise we have breakfast and drive the hour to the oldest nature reserve in South Africa, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi. The reserve is home to the Big 5, African wild dogs and many different mammals and bird species. On our arrival we get onto an open game drive vehicle. This vehicle will take 6 persons per vehicle on a day safari in the reserve. You will have opportunities to photograph all the animals you come across to your hearts content. The second day will again be spent on an open safari vehicle in the park. Overnight in the reserve.

Day 12

Departure
After an early morning drive through the park we depart south to Durban and catch a connecting flight to Johannesburg before we fly home.