Arrive at Cape Town International Airport in the morning. Collect your hire car then follow our directions to your accommodation to drop off your bags. With our guidance, head to a nice place for lunch and spend the afternoon relaxing after your flight. For those who don’t wish to drive, we can arrange transfers throughout the tour. A dedicated guide can also be arranged for the Cape and Winelands stages, up until you reach Sanbona.

Overnight in Cape Town at one of our recommended hotels or guest houses

Enjoy a day of leisure in Cape Town, or we can arrange a guided day excursion or hike for you. One recommendation is to do a morning trip to Robben Island, then return to the V&A Waterfront in time for lunch and a wander round in the afternoon. A tour of the Cape Peninsula is also an excellent option. We will provide ideas on what to do in Cape Town and the environs.

Overnight in Cape Town at one of our recommended hotels or guest houses

Enjoy a guided day hike on Table Mountain. A recommendation is to ascend Platteklip Gorge to the top of Table Mountain, then traverse to McLear’s Beacon (the highest point), before descending via Smuts Track and Skeleton Gorge to the trail endpoint at Kirstenbosch Gardens. This is a superb hike (approx 5 hours + stops). Your guide will arrange transport from and back to your accommodation and provide a picnic lunch. An alternative is do a day trip along the Cape Peninsula and enjoy a guided hike on the coast in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve.

Overnight in Cape Town at one of our recommended hotels or guest houses

Drive out to the Cape Winelands at leisure. A suggestion is to take lunch in the Winelands then visit one or two estates during the afternoon. We will give you guidance on where to visit.

Overnight in or near Franschhoek or Stellenbosch at one of our recommended hotels or guest houses on a B&B basis

A full day to explore the Cape Winelands under your own steam. The vast majority of estates offer tastings and are easy to visit; many estates contain historic homesteads built in the Cape Dutch style, set in beautiful gardens, so even if wine does not interest you, there is much to enjoy and take in. The historic centres of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch are also worth exploring. If you’d like to walk, we recommend you spend the morning hiking in the Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve, where there is a network of well-marked mountain paths, accessed from the top of the Franschhoek Pass.

Overnight in or near Franschhoek or Stellenbosch at one of our recommended hotels or guest houses on a B&B basis

Set out from the Winelands after breakfast and enjoy a very scenic morning drive to Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, ready to join the Sanbona Explorer Walking Safari. This small group safari is led by a very capable and engaging guide, supported by a camp chef. It’s run over summer weekends (October to April) from a delightful, fully-serviced, back-to-basics bush camp, located in a wonderful position in the north-east corner of the reserve, surrounded by the sparse, rugged mountain scenery of the Klein Karoo.

Sited on sand (you can wander around barefoot), this imaginative camp features a Bedouin style awning shading a laid-back lounge area scattered with rugs, an outdoor shower discretely positioned within a small grove of trees, an eco-loo with a view and a shaded, secluded hammock. Furnished tents, which look onto mountain ridges, put this firmly in the comfy camping bracket. It’s a great place to relax and soak up the special atmosphere of the Klein Karoo.

Although this safari is very much focussed on walking, a vehicle will remain on hand close to the camp for the duration, allowing flexibility to drive out to walking areas located some distance from camp, or enjoy a game drive if preferred – you may wish to try and spot one of the reserve’s resident White Lions. On this first afternoon, you’ll take lunch at Dwyka Tented Lodge before heading out to settle in at Explorer Camp and enjoy your first safari activity, returning to relax and take dinner around the camp fire.

Overnight in furnished tents at Sanbona Explorer Camp on a fully inclusive basis

An early start can be expected as this is the best time to see wildlife and enjoy high quality light before colours bleach and the heat builds up. Enjoy muffins, rusks, tea and coffee before setting off on a morning walk, which usually lasts for up to 4 hours, depending upon temperatures. Return to camp in time for lunch and enjoy a welcome siesta in readiness for an afternoon walk or game drive after tea. Sundowner drinks are usually enjoyed out in the bush, before returning to camp at dusk.

Overnight in furnished tents at Sanbona Explorer Camp on a fully inclusive basis

Expect another early start for an activity before the heat builds up – this is usually a short walk so that you have time for a proper breakfast before departing Explorer Camp mid-morning. You’ll then game drive towards Dwyka Tented Lodge, where you will be staying tonight, with the opportunity to do a final walk over the last section into the lodge in time for brunch. The Explorer Safari ends here and other members of the group may depart at this point. However, you will stay on and spend a night enjoying the creature comforts of the Dwyka Tented Lodge, which will include an afternoon game drive and a final safari outing in the morning. This will make your stay on Sanbona Reserve more rewarding and unrushed.

Overnight at Dwyka Tented Lodge on a Fully Inclusive basis

Enjoy a final morning game drive at Dwyka Tented Lodge before returning for brunch, followed by departure from Sanbona. You should expect to exit the reserve by around noon and you then face a pleasant 2h30m drive to Porcupine Hills Guest Farm, the launching point for the Green Mountain Trail.

This is an extremely enjoyable, very high quality accommodated trail that is slickly organised and hosted by degree-qualified botanists who’ll engage you on flora, conservation, Cape history and more besides. Throw in a wine tasting each day, delicious, “cut-above” food both on and off trail, and exceptional home-from-home farm house accommodation, and this 4-day/4-night walking route is transformed into a full-on sensory experience.

Overnight at Porcupine Hills with all meals provided

Meet the guides early for coffee, tea and rusks. You’ll then be driven by minibus to a fruit farm at Twaalfontein, where you’ll jump into the back of a bakkie for a short ride up to the fringe of the mountain fynbos reserve, where you’ll start your hike.

The hike today is essentially a traverse of the northern rim of the Groenlandberg, enjoying the montane fynbos and gorgeous, sweeping views, mostly out over the Tweewaterkloof dam, a sprawling patchwork of wine and fruit farms, and the serrated ridges of the Hottentot Hollands and Sonderendberge ranges arcing across the northern horizon. A delicious picnic breakfast will be taken at a viewpoint at 1,100m.

Descend to a pick up point at the end of the range (Nuweberg) then return to Porcupine Hills by road for a late lunch and an afternoon of relaxation (there are pleasant gardens and a pool) then dinner.

Overnight at Porcupine Hills with all meals provided

Following another early breakfast, you’ll bid farewell to Porcupine Hills and be transferred round to yesterday’s end point at Nuweberg. Your luggage will be taken on to Wildekrans by vehicle. For the next couple of days of walking, you’ll be contouring round and below the steeper southern slopes of the Groenlandberg, dipping in and out of fynbos, sections of rhenosterbos and cultivated winelands.

Having started down a pleasant track following a line of ancient gum trees, the path strikes across fynbos-covered slopes to a picnic spot located on the upper reaches of the Oak Valley Wine Estate. Continue contouring round before eventually dropping drop down into the Paul Cluver estate, where you’ll enjoy lunch or high tea (depending upon timings) and a wine tasting beside the homestead. Transfer to Wildekrans afterwards (about 15 minutes) and relax/swim before dinner.

Overnight at Wildekrans Country House with all meals provided

Once again, transfer after breakfast to resume the trail where you left off. This pleasant and quite different walk commences at the winery, which you can stop and look at, then heads out through the Paul Cluver poplar forest. You might be lucky enough to spot antelope, but the key enjoyment here is to traipse through protected sections of fynbos and rhenosterbos, as well as the private vineyards of this lovely, rambling estate.

Climb more steeply up through fynbos onto the Houw Hoek section of the Groenlandberg range, before dropping down directly into the garden at Wildekrans. Enjoy lunch beneath the trees at Wildekrans and a relaxed afternoon at this lovely property. A wine tasting precedes dinner.

Overnight at Wildekrans Country House with all meals provided

The final leg of the trail leads out through the nek of Houw Hoek, close to the old wagon route that provided the crux for the early settlers seeking to head east, away from the Cape colony. Having crossed the railway track a couple of times, the path breaks up fairly steeply into a craggy section of the Houw Hoek mountains, offering extensive views east towards the farming country of the Overberg and the coastal mountains surrounding Hermanus. A small picnic with tea and coffee is enjoyed on a ledge at the top on a steep crag.

Follow a pleasant contour round the next bluff then drop down pleasantly to the vineyards surrounding the settlement of Bot River, ending the trail at Beaumont Wine Estate, where you enjoy lunch and a final wine tasting. Afterwards, you’ll be driven back to Porcupine Hills to collect your car (30 minutes). From here, retrace your steps a little, then drive to Hermanus on the coast. Enjoy a spell on the beach or follow the cliff-top path to spy whales in season.

Overnight in recommended accommodation at Hermanus, on a bed and breakfast basis

You’ll have time to enjoy a full morning in and around Hermanus, perhaps venturing up the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley behind the town to take lunch on one of the small wine estates. After lunch, drive to Cape Town International Airport (allow 2 hours) in time for your international departure.

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