South African Safari & Bike Adventure: Kruger, Blyde River, and More
9 nights from €2790
Embark on a Thrilling Expedition: Cycling, Safari, and Culture in South Africa
This unforgettable journey combines cycling and a safari experience to lead you through South Africa's diverse landscapes! You'll have the chance to interact with both the diverse culture and South African Wildlife!
Beginning in Gauteng, you will cycle through the Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces of North-East South Africa. You'll have the opportunity to visit the celebrated Kruger National Park and the magnificent Blyde River Canyon. Visit the Three Rondavels and Bourke's Luck Potholes, along with the numerous other highlights on this amazing tour!
Daily Program
Day 1: Johannesburg
Individual arrival to O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) where you will meet your guide and be transferred to your hotel. Feel free to explore and visit some of the highlights of South Africa's largest city. Recommended is a visit to Nelson Mandela Square, located directly across from your hotel or the hop-on-hop-off Johannesburg bus. Another possibility is the 4-hour-long Soweto bike tour. Departures are at 10 am and 1 pm and includes lunch and a transfer to and from your hotel (see pricing).
Day 2: African Bush
At approximately 8 am, you depart the hotel for a 5-hour transfer to the Private Game Lodge near Bandelierkop where you'll spend the next two nights. Along the way is an opportunity to visit an open-air museum that allows you to understand the daily life of the Bakone people who inhabited the Polokwane area 250 years ago. After arriving at your accommodation, enjoy an evening bushwalk followed by a delicious dinner in an African boma.
Day 3: Safari Cycling (15 miles/ 25 km, 180m elevation)
The first cycling tour through the bushveld gives plenty of opportunity for you to have up close and personal encounters with some of the infamous animals of the African Bush including giraffes, impala, zebra, kudu, and a plethora of bird species. This safari will teach you about the lifestyles and habitats of these animals, along with the tracking of animals. You have the choice to take a sunset drive or enjoy a relaxing afternoon by the pool followed by another delicious dinner in the boma.
Day 4: Town of Tzaneen and surroundings (19 miles/30 km, 500 m elevation)
After breakfast, a 60-minute transfer brings you to the start of today's bike ride outside the town of Tzaneen. Its name is derived from a Northern Sotho word 'Tsaneng', which means gathering place. This large, tropical garden town in a high rainfall, fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 sq mi) region. It is also home to Limpopo's highest mountain, the Iron Crown Mountain, lying more than 2,200 m (7,200 ft) above sea level. This paradise has been nicknamed "Land of Silver Mist" because of the frequent mist that occurs on the mountains above it. The bike ride is an undulating ride with beautiful views of Tzaneen and its surrounding areas. Lucky riders may spot the Samango Monkey and/or the rare Bat Hawk. You reach the lunch spot after 40 kilometers, where you can put your feet up and relax. After lunch, there's only 5 more kilometers until reaching your accommodation for the next two evenings.
Day 5: Wolkberg Mountains (9.5-28 miles/ 15-45 km, 420-650 m elevation)
The Wolkberg Mountains divide the highveld and the lowveld of Limpopo, and they contain incredible, well-established avocado and macadamia nut farms. The cycling route will take you on a loop through pine and eucalyptus plantations, where you'll see incredible views of the mountains surrounding you. Lunch will be in a local restaurant with a view of the valley, and you will have the afternoon to relax at the hotel.
Day 6: Blyde Dam and the Kruger National Park (23 miles/ 37 km, 410 m elevation)
Following the Blyde River through the canyon, you'll arrive at the Blyde Dam, offering unforgettable views of the Blyde River emerging from the western slopes of the Drakensberg near Sabie in Mpumalanga. You'll see the river drifting north past Pilgrim's Rest for over 100 kilometers. This area is filled with spectacular beauty along the eastern escarpment. You may even see some baboons and kudus on your tour! The Blyde Dam was completed in 1974, and you'll have the opportunity to explore the river on a boat cruise, where you'll hopefully get to witness hippos and crocodiles in the wild. Make sure to look out for the Three Rondavels from below! After lunch, leave for the Kruger National Park and end the day at your accommodation in Kruger where you can enjoy authentic South African Barbeque or "braai".
Day 7: Kruger National Park
Today is the big safari day! Kruger, renowned for the "Big 5"—elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions, and leopards—has so much to offer! This national park is one of Africa's largest; covering an area of covering an area of 19,485 sq. km. This wildlife sanctuary provides a unique way to experience the "heartbeat of Africa". After your day in the park, you'll enjoy a delicious dinner and share photos and stories of your spectacular day in the bush with your fellow travelers.
Day 8: Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (25 miles/40 km, 620 m elevation)
The Blyde River Canyon is the third largest and greenest canyon in the world, and it is here that you will spend your day. The bike tour begins at the Pinnacle Rock, where you can enjoy this striking view of South Africa's diverse landscapes. The route will follow the escarpment to Wonder View, which, on a clear day, allows you to see all the way to Mozambique! You can visit a beautifully cascading waterfall before you head to Bourke's Luck potholes, formed over centuries of water flowing from the Treur and Blyde Rivers. From there, a short transfer brings you to the Three Rondavels lookout point and finally to today's accommodation with a view of this renowned escarpment.
Day 9: Echo Caves (17 miles/ 27 km, 330 m elevation)
Enjoy a final view of the Three Rondavels before hopping on your bike to head on today's mostly downhill tour through citrus farms! The destination today is the Echo Caves, an underground paradise discovered by a local farmer in 1923. Appreciate a visit to the caves before a transfer along the Abel Erasmus Pass through Lowveld for the last evening. A highlight of today is a guided afternoon game drive in an open game viewer. Relish one final dinner in a boma around a fire, listening to the African night!
Day 10: Departure
Begin the day with a final bushwalk with a game ranger through Big 5 territory. A replenishing breakfast sends you on your way as you say your final goodbyes before taking the included transfer to the Eastgate Airport in Hoedspruit (HDS). From here, you can depart on your flight (to be booked by yourself), or we can arrange a 6-hour road transfer back to Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) (pricing on request).
Extensions
A 4-night extension in Cape Town is also possible either before or after your tour. Please contact us for a detailed itinerary.
Take the time to extend your holiday by one night with this pre-tour extension! Arrive a day early and enjoy an additional evening (Saturday) in Johannesburg with a 4-hour cycling tour in Soweto on Day 1.
Interested in extending your tour by two nights? The post-tour extension in Hoedspruit is offered with different levels of services to suit your preferences!
Itinerary
Day 1: Upon arrival, lunch is served at 2 pm. Your first game drive will take place at 3:30 pm for about 3 hours. Enjoy the evening around the fire with dinner being served at about 7:30 pm.
Day 2: It is an early morning start with coffee and rusks to wake you up. Hop onto the open vehicle for your sunrise drive at 5:30 am. Upon return, breakfast is served. Relax until lunch time and enjoy another sunset drive at 3:30 pm.
Day 3: Before the end of your safari extension, enjoy the last sunrise game drive. After breakfast, your transfer will take you to Hoedspruit Airport.
3-star Experience: Buffelshoek Camp or Ndzhaka Camp
Would you like to experience South Africa’s wildlife even more intensively after your hotel or cycling trip? Then the three-day additional program at Buffelshoek Camp or Ndzhaka Camp is just for you! The program offers you both pre-organized and leisure activities. If you are looking for a Big 5 experience, then Buffelshoek or Ndzhaka is the perfect place for you. Located in the heart of Manyeleti Game Reserve, which shares its unfenced borders with Kruger National Park, Sabi Sand and Timbavati Private Nature Reserves, Ndzhaka or Buffelshoek offer a rustic bush retreat. Manyeleti is renowned for Big 5 animal sightings and offers a real African bush experience.
Included services:
- Transfer to the Camp
- 2 nights’ accommodation at the Camp (including breakfast, lunch and dinner)
- 2 guided game drives per day
- Transfer from the Camp to Hoedspruit Airport at the end of your stay
4-star Experience: The Sausage Tree Camp
If you are looking for more luxury, the Sausage Tree Camp is a small, intimate, luxury tented camp in the Greater Kruger National Park offering you a Big 5 experience. Situated within the Balule Conservancy with dramatic hilltops, valleys and open plains providing breath taking views of uninterrupted bush all the way to the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains.
Included services:
- Transfer to the Camp
- 2 nights’ accommodation in luxury tent (including breakfast, lunch and dinner)
- 2 guided game drives per day
- Transfer from the Camp to Hoedspruit Airport at the end of your stay
5-star Experience: Kapama Buffalo Camp
Spanning 15 000 hectares of the pristine South African bush, Kapama offers the perfect sanctuary for a wide variety of wildlife. Here, over 40 different species of mammals including the Big 5 – elephant, lion, leopard, African buffalo and rhinoceros – as well as 350 bird species, thrive in their natural habitat. High in the treetops, accessible only by elevated wooden walkways, the old-world luxury tents of Buffalo Camp are the closest you’ll get to living alongside the wildlife. This luxury tented camp, in Kapama Private Game Reserve near the Kruger National Park, is a quiet and intimate lodge where you can unwind in the shade of the trees and simply absorb the surrounding peace. The perfect luxury South African Safari escape. Each luxury tent features en-suite bathrooms and air-con, as well as additional blankets for cooler weather comfort. Tea and Lavazza coffee facilities come standard, along with a fully stocked minibar. Kapama Camp also features a spa, if you would like to book any treatments during your stay!
Included services:
- Transfer to the Camp
- 2 nights’ accommodation in luxury tent
- All meals, teas and snacks
- All local drinks, a selection of wine and premium drinks
- 2 guided game drives per day
- Transfer from the Camp to Hoedspruit Airport at the end of your stay
Hotels
These are sample hotels and may vary by availability.
Johannesburg: Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel
Bandelierkop: Private lodge
Tzaneen: Coach House Hotel
Kruger National Park: Orpen Rest Camp
Graskop: Blyde Canyon Forever Resorts
Hoedspruit: Tshukudu Bush Camp
Bikes
Hardtail MTB
Silverback Spectra Comp 2017 (29”-wheel size)
- 27-Gear Hardtail
- Sizes available: S, M, L
- Flat handlebar
- Water bottle cage
- Ergonomic non-slip rubber handles
- Flat pedal
- Shimano hydraulic brakes
- Aluminium frame
- Comfortable Saddle
or
Silverback Splash 2 2018 and 2019 (27.5”-wheel size)
- 24-Gear Hardtail
- Sizes available: S
- Flat handlebar
- Water bottle cage
- Ergonomic non-slip rubber handles
- Flat pedal
- Shimano hydraulic brakes
- Aluminium frame
- Comfortable Saddle
We also have a limited number of e-bikes available on request:
We have 29″ and 27.5”-wheel size e-bikes with a mid-motor. The mid-motor drives the crank, instead of the wheel itself, multiplying its power and allowing it to take advantage of the bike’s gears.
Sizes available: XS, S, M, L, XL
Small handlebar bags are also available for small items.
Surface and terrain
Most of this tour is on tar or gravel roads.
How to get there
Tour start:
The tour starts at the O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg on Sunday. Arrival is possible at any time on Sunday and your transfer to the hotel will be organized accordingly. A guide will welcome you at the Arrivals Terminal with a sign with your name on it. This transfer will still be included if you have a pre-tour extension or extra nights.
Tour end:
The tour ends at 10 am on Tuesday followed by transfer to Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport (HDS) in time for their flights. Please do not book flights before 12 pm. If you prefer to travel to Johannesburg by car, a shuttle transfer can be reserved. Please note, this transfer takes approx. 6 hours with a stop along the way.
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