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Depart at 1800 from London's Heathrow Airport on South African Airways flight SA235, travelling in Business Class to Johannesburg International Airport.
On arrival at 0705 you will be met. Your excess luggage will be collected before your family is assisted onto a privately chartered pressurised Pilatus aircraft flying direct to Maun. After clearing Customs & Immigration the Pilatus will take you thirty minutes to Vumbura Plains Camp where you stay for two nights (fully inclusive of meals and activities).
Vumbura Plains is one of the most luxurious safari lodges in Botswana. It is set on the 80,000 acre Vumbura Private Reserve in the beautiful Okavango Delta. The reserve is very large and encompasses both "dry land" areas of open grassland and forest and characteristic sparkling Okavango waterways and lagoons. The reserve has a wide variety of habitats which supports very healthy populations of animals. Visitors to Vumbura Plains can expect to see large numbers of elephant, impressive herds of buffalo and a wide variety of antelope including dry land species such as kudu, and beautiful wetland species such as red lechwe. Vumbura is also home to a wonderful variety of smaller creatures such as baboon, which can provide you with hours of amusement as you watch them interacting, playing and squabbling among themselves, and families of warthog with their 'aerial' tails scuttling around the bush. The area is also good for predators and lion, leopard and cheetah are all here, as well as packs of rare wild dog.
One of the advantages of a safari at Vumbura Plains is that you can enjoy excellent game viewing in a variety of active and interesting ways including by open safari vehicle when you can move further afield seeking out the larger herds of animals. You can also go by vehicle at night when a spotlight is used to see nocturnal animals. Armed safari guides can take you on fascinating walks through the bush when you might follow the course of an old elephant path reaching out and touching things, observing the tracks of animals in the dust and quietly stalking creatures. Experienced polers will also take you out in mokoro (dugout) canoes, for which the Okavango is famous, as well as on boat rides, giving you a whole spectrum of activities. You are able to decide each morning and afternoon what game viewing activity you would like to do.
The accommodation at Vumbura Plains comprises eight very spacious canvas suites, each with large four poster bed (or twin, as required), elegant furniture, beautifully designed light interiors and en suite w.c. and shower with wash hand basins. Each suite is set on an enormous raised wooden deck into which is set a private plunge pool. The main lodge has a lounge and dining room and a larger pool.
After your morning activity you will be transferred 20 minutes by light aircraft to stay for two nights at Jao Camp (fully inclusive of meals and activities).
Jao Camp is an eighteen bedded luxury tented camp located in the huge Jao Private Reserve which lies to the west of the Moremi Wildlife Reserve in the Okavango Delta.
The accommodation is among the most luxurious in the Okavango Delta and each of the nine immense canvas suites is beautifully designed with a wooden structure below the sweeping canvas roof and walls. Inside each suite there are large beds (twin or double as preferred), occasional tables, lamps, dressing table and luxury en suite bathroom with 'his & hers' hand basins, flush w.c. and both indoor and outdoor shower. The entire structure is set on a large raised wooden deck with spacious veranda and hammock outside where you can enjoy views of the verdant Okavango vegetation laced with the shallow waterways for which this region is famous.
Because the Jao Reserve is private, you can enjoy a wide range of safari activities in the company of the camp's expert guides. These include mokoros (dugout canoes) which are punted silently along reed lined channels, boats, open vehicles which head off in search of the bigger herds by day and after dark, as well as walking safaris where your guide will be armed. Each of these means of game viewing provides a new and exciting perspective from which to enjoy the wildlife, birds and scenery.
The abundant grassland and water of the Jao Private Reserve supports a wide variety of wildlife including elephant, giraffe, antelope (including water-adapted species such as red lechwe), zebra, hippopotamus and crocodile. It is also a place where you are likely to encounter big cats and lion, leopard and cheetah are all regularly seen on the reserve.
After lunch you will be transferred 30 minutes by light aircraft to Maun to connect with flight BP211 departing at 1500 to Johannesburg. On arrival 1640 your luggage will be returned to you before you connect with flight SA365 departing at 1830 to Cape Town. On arrival at 2040 you will be met and taken by private road transfer to the Mount Nelson Hotel where you stay for six nights in one executive suite & two superior double rooms (bed & breakfast). Two hire cars will be delivered to the hotel the following morning.
The Mount Nelson is one of the great landmarks of Cape Town - a magnificent and historic five star property which sits in sub tropical gardens at the foot of Table Mountain. The hotel was originally constructed in 1899 on the lines of the great London Hotels, and it has always retained its classic architecture style and decor with its pink painted walls and tiled roof.
Although the Mount Nelson is in the heart of Cape Town, the gardens give the property a sense of seclusion and privacy. The fifty seven suites and one hundred and forty four bedrooms are beautifully and stylishly furnished with en-suite luxury bathroom, 100% cotton linen, non allergenic foam pillows, satellite television and electronic safes. The rooms and suites are set in six individual wings, each with its own unique character, private gardens and facilities.
The hotel has two restaurants, the Cape Colony, renowned for its excellent cuisine and the more informal Oasis restaurant in Mediterranean style. There are bars, a well equipped gym, tennis courts and two good size heated pools.
In 1662, Jan van Riebeeck sailed into Table Bay on the north Cape Peninsula and laid the foundations of South Africa's oldest settlement, Cape Town. Three hundred and fifty years of history have been preserved in much of Cape Town's architecture, which combines attractively with the more functional demands of the 21st century.
The Houses of Parliament, National Gallery, Museum and Planetarium are all within ambling distance of elegant shopping malls and colourful markets, which entice shoppers to browse and buy everything from souvenirs to African art, gems and antiques. In the last ten years, the restoration of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront dockland area evokes images of 19th century seafaring activities and provides a superb setting for an array of cafes, restaurants and bars. From here, you can take boat trips round the harbour and out across Table Bay.
Dominating the city's skyline and flanked by Devils Peak is the looming mass of Table Mountain, and visitors should not miss the opportunity to ascend Table Mountain by cable car. The view of the City and the south Atlantic from the summit is quite magnificent.
There is a wide range of excursions and activities in and around Cape Town including visits to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner, visits to Townships where you can enjoy lunch and exposure to Africa's vibrant urban culture. To the south lies the scenic Peninsula with its attractive sandy bays and pretty little towns. There are remote penguin colonies which can be visited by boat and canoe, and from July to November you can set off further afield in search of southern right whales. The more adventurous can even go looking for sharks in special "caged diving" facilities.
An hour's drive to the east of Cape Town lie the Cape Winelands where you find beautiful undulating scenery covered in ancient vineyards and fruit orchards. There are literally dozens of ancient wineries, many of which are open for tastings and lunch and which have magnificent estate houses. For the golfer there are several beautifully maintained championship golf courses, and the attractive little towns of Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are each worth a visit.
In the afternoon your hire cars will be collect and you will be met and taken by private road transfer to the airport for a scheduled flight departing at 1655 taking you to George. On arrival at 1745 you will be met and taken by private road transfer to the Pezula Resort Hotel and Spa where you stay for five nights in two studio suites and one villa suite (bed & breakfast). The following morning two hire cars will be delivered for your use.
The central 'Garden Route' has spectacular coastal scenery while inland are great forests and the Swartberg mountains. George, Knysna and Plettenberg rival Cape Town/Winelands for superb restaurants, golf courses, riding, sailing and touring opportunities. The Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train can also take you on a marvellous three hour ride past the Knysna Lagoon and the coastal foothills running between George and Knysna. The area has some fine beaches of which Plettenberg Bay is the most famous.
The Pezula Resort Hotel is located in the heart of the Cape Garden Route on the "eastern heads" which provides wonderful views of the ocean on one side and the Knysna Lagoon to the other, while to the north the Outeniqua Mountains shimmer in the distance.
The hotel is set on a large private area of land and has seventy eight spacious suites, all furnished and decorated to a high standard, and each provides views of either the ocean lagoon or of the hotels own golf course.
Pezula is very well equipped and has a high quality spa, a large pool, a gym and a wide range of sports activities. In addition to the eighteen-hole golf course, guests can enjoy tennis on one of the four international standard courses, horse riding and canoeing, while a range of other watersports is available on the Knysna Lagoon.
Pezula would be ideal for couples or families seeking a substantial very comfortable and fully equipped place to enjoy a vacation in this beautiful part of South Africa, or as a base in which to explore the central "garden route" by car and to enjoy watersports & deep sea fishing in the southern Indian Ocean.
In the morning your hire cars will be collected and you will be taken by private road transfer to George Airport where you board a scheduled flight departing at 1335 to Johannesburg. On arrival at 1540 you will be assisted across to the Airport Sun Intercontinental where a day room will be made available for you. In the evening transfer across to the Terminal for the 2115 departure aboard flight SA234 travelling in Business Class to London's Heathrow Airport, arriving the following morning at 0625 (local time).