** SOUTH AFRICA FULL ROAD TRIP ** Explore the most breathtaking landscapes, unique wildlife, scenic roads and multicultural cities of The Rainbow Nation

Our first contact with the country will be Johannesburg, colloquially popular as the ‘city of gold’, the biggest city in South Africa that has mostly been known for being Nelson Mandela’s home. We'll do a guided tour around Soweto to get a first-hand look at the country's turbulent history. We'll also visit its most cosmopolitan and trendy neighborhood, the Maboneng Precinct, as well as its main city highlights, Market Theatre and Constitution Hill.

We'll go on with the wonderful and little-travelled Panorama Route: a scenic road connecting several cultural and natural points of interest, from overwhelming landscapes and dramatic waterfalls to infinite forests drawn from a fairy tale. The route is in Mpumalanga province and centred around the Blyde River Canyon, the world's third-largest canyon.

We'll spend three days for a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa on the flagship of the South African National Parks: the Kruger National Park. Believe me, you will never forget this experience! Here we'll make a self-guided safari drive, as well as two guided walking tours, where we'll seek for some of the most beautiful animals on the planet: the Big Five (Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion and Rhino), the Little Five (Buffalo Weaver, Elephant Shrew, Leopard Tortoise, Ant Lion and Rhino Beetle) and the Birding Big Six (Ground Hornbill, Kori Bustard, Lappet-faced Vulture, Martial Eagle, Pel’s Fishing Owl and Saddle-bill Stork)... while enjoying the park landscapes that include hills, rivers, bridges, dams, rocky outcrops and the iconic baobab tress, palm trees and fever trees.

To complete our self-guided safari, we will cross the small country of Esuatini to make a short stop in St. Lucia, the city that will open the doors for our visit to the fantastic iSimangaliso Wetland Park, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest wetland on the African continent, with five distinct ecosystems (from marine reefs and beaches to lakes, wetlands, forests and coastal forests) and home to different species such as hippos, crocodiles, pelicans and flamingos, among many other marine fauna, such as whales and dolphins that could be seen in the high seas.

We will arrive in Durban after a drive along one of the wildest and most picturesque coastline of South Africa: the Dolphin Coast. Charming villages, endless beaches, dreamy corners and home of bottlenose dolphins that favour the area. We'll stopover a few autochthonous villages to meet the fascinating mix of descendants of former colonialists, Indians, French-Mauritanian sugar-cane growers and, of course, Zulu people.

A brief flight from Durban will bring us to the starting point of the Garden Route, Port Elizabeth, not only home to stunning beaches, interesting museums and award-winning wildlife destinations, but also some of the friendliest people in the country, the reason why it’s called the “Friendly City”. Here we will visit the city on our own and take the opportunity to recharge our batteries for the next big destination of the trip!

The route between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town will take us from the seaside to the Tsitsikamma Forest, hosting awesome lighthouses, fine trails, world-famous surfing beaches, wonderful eating spots and great farm stalls. Here we'll live the adventure of flying through the forests on a kayak tour plus a 3-hours hiking on the Woodcutter’s Journey, a forest tour through the beautiful Tsitsikamma Forest National Park, with ancient hardwood, yellowwood and stinkwood trees, fascinating forest ferns, and many birds, baboons and butterflies.

Our stopover at the end of the Garden Route, an outstanding combination of world-class beaches, iridescent lagoons, rolling hills and indigenous forests interspersed with welcoming towns, and a simple, scenic, ocean-hugging highway. We'll take our time to enjoy this picturesque road trip and visit some iconic villages like Plettenberg Bay (breathtaking beaches, sheer cliffs and migrating whales & dolphins spotting), George (Botanical Garden, river canyons and over-high bridges), Knysna (upmarket restaurants, chic souvenir shops and tranquil lagoon dotted with sailing boats) and Mossel Bay (coastal hiking, exotic birds and hidden waterfalls).

Before heading to Cape Town, we'll spend a day in this charming seaside town, Hermanus, the whale watching mecca in South Africa. And, for the more daring, we will organize a Shark Cage Diving with the organization Marine Dynamics, an international award-winning organization dedicated to the marine environment through ecotourism, research, conservation and outreach projects (Price not included in the trip).

And finally, our final destination, the capital of the South Africa and one of the most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities on the planet: Cape Town. Centred around Table Mountain, one of the New 7 Wonders of the world, the Mother City is known for its beautiful beaches, stunning biodiversity, award-winning food and wine, and sheer variety of experiences on offer. We'll all together take the cable car up to the summit, which is an experience in itself. The state-of-the-art carriages will bring us up the mountain, where the views out over the city are stunning. We'll also visit the Cape Point Nature Reserve, home to a variety of wildlife including baboons, Cape fur seals and birds over green hills and a rocky coastline with stunning views again! For wine lovers, we will visit Groot Constantia, a 300 hectares peaceful landscape with working vineyards, a cellar complex, museums and beautiful gardens, to learn about the history of wine production in South Africa. For botanical enthusiasts, we will visit Kirstenbosch Garden, one of the most beautiful gardens in the world, covering over 528 hectares and being home to an incredible variety of plant life and hiking trails. For the most urbanites we will make two must-see visits to capture the essence of the city: the Victoria & Albert Waterfront, offering stunning views, a variety of shops and restaurants, and a busy calendar of events... and Bo-kaap, with its narrow cobblestone streets, laced with vibrant low houses brimming with light and color. And for the nature-lovers, two additional must-see attractions: the Boulders Beach Penguin Colony, home of African penguins which can be viewed in their natural habitat via wooden walkways... and the Cape of Good Hope, the iconic southern tip of the Cape Peninsula and the legendary home of the Flying Dutchman.