South Africa

Spend a night in a treehouse

 

If you fancy a truly adventurous night in South Africa, you can sleep under the stars in a magnificent treehouse, with all the added comforts of a safari lodge, just with no walls!

You will have dinner in your treehouse, go to sleep listening to the sounds of the bush and feeling totally at one with nature.

You will then wake up as the sun rises with the dawn chorus ready for breakfast in the bush.

Climb Table Mountain

 

If you want to explore Table Mountain via a more adventurous route, you will not only have brilliant views but also an adventurous climb.

Steep rocky trails wind up the front of the mountain to a series of short vertical faces, followed by a series of ledges that swing from views over Cape Town to vistas of Camps Bay and the 12 Apostles.

Strong walkers have the option to continue to the highest point at Maclear’s Beacon before returning to traverse the western table to go down on the cable car.

 

 

Wine Tasting

South Africa offers the most beautiful vineyards and The Rocksure Club can offer you an insight into the world of winemaking with expert guides.

Stroll through the vines, learning about farming methods and techniques. Take an intimate wine-tasting and cellar tour and possibly meet the driving force behind the estate. If lucky, our behind-the-scenes experience could include grape picking or barrel tastings.

Drive through superb mountain ranges, vineyards and Cape Dutch homesteads, starting off in Stellenbosch, followed by Franschhoek, which is widely regarded as the culinary capital of South Africa. You can see magnificent examples of Cape Dutch architecture where you can do wine tasting, coupled with a chocolate and pudding tasting at a variety of renowned wine estates.

Whale Watching

South Africa offers fabulous whale watching from approximately June to October, when the 60 foot long Southern Right Whales come to breed and calve. Also around these waters are good numbers of Bryde’s Whales and Humpback Whales.

There aren’t many places in the world where you can spot whales in the sea, from the air and also on land, sometimes not more than 30 metres from the coast.

As well as whale watching, in the same areas you can also spot sharks, penguins and dolphins in their natural habitat.

Malaria free safaris

While malaria is present in some safari destinations in South Africa, there are enough Big 5 (elephant, rhino, lion, leopard & buffalo) malaria-free safari areas available, which are especially good for families.

Madikwe Private Game Reserve is completely malaria-free and is one of the largest reserves in South Africa and is home to the Big 5 plus a thriving population of the rare African wild dog.

In the Eastern Cape, Addo Elephant Park offers malaria-free safaris and is home to a large population of elephants. There are also various private game reserves in this area offering malaria free safaris.

 

Battlefield Tours

Fugitives’ Drift is renowned for its battlefield tours to all the Anglo-Zulu War battle sites in the region and the tours are one of the most memorable  experiences in South Africa. They are led by expert, passionate guides who are superb story tellers and bring the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift to life.

You will learn of the bravery of the Zulu army which defeated the British Army at the Battle of Isandlwana and at sunset you will listen to the famous story of Rorke’s Drift, where 139 British soldiers were attacked by 4,000 Zulu warriors. This was a British victory which saw the award of more Victoria Crosses than in any other battle in history.

Our South African Charity

Uthando South Africa is our chosen charity in South Africa and serves as an umbrella for a wide range of highly effective community projects. In order to showcase these and also to offer a glimpse into the work being done to uplift the disadvantaged in South Africa, they offer daily scheduled excursions visiting the sprawling townships around Cape Town, with particular emphasis on visiting at least three of the social development projects being funded through Uthando.

The projects include agriculture and food gardens, animal welfare, human development through arts/culture and sport, children and educare, drug and alcohol abuse, education, the elderly, farmworkers and rural development, HIV / AIDS, housing / shelter, nutrition, prisoner rehabilitation, skills development and empowerment, sustainable economic development and unemployment.