Cape Town, Kruger & Mozambique Journey

Arrive at Cape Town International Airport where representative will be standing by to transfer you to the Cape Grace, which is your home for the next three nights.

A grand hotel within striking distance of the Cape Town city centre, the Cape Grace is located at the V&A Waterfront along the yacht marina. With beautiful views of the harbour and Table Mountain, it also have excellent facilities, including a swimming pool, spa, wine cellar and top-notch whisky bar.

You have much to look forward to, with a personalised itinerary that ranges from Robben Island to the V&A Waterfront and beyond. Pack a picnic and take to the luxuriant lawns of world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens; drink in the beauty of the Cape Winelands; take a township tour of Khayelitsha; or soak up the sun on Clifton Fourth Beach. Your southern African odyssey has just begun.

Welcome to another glorious day in Cape Town: open your window and breathe in the morning air. Table Mountain forms your backdrop as the reds and golds of sunrise breach its shadows inch by inch. After a leisurely breakfast, set off on a Peninsula tour via Chapman’s Peak Drive to Cape Point. Hewn from sheer granite with the sea crashing against huge rocks far below, Chapman’s Peak is a spectacular experience, one of the most beautiful marine drives in the world. Descend by degrees through a series of switchbacks to the white-washed sands of Noordhoek and, with the Atlantic coastline twisting and soaring through seaside villages to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, stand poised at the very edge of the world as Cape Point plunges into the depths below. It is an exhilarating moment: witnessing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meeting at the extreme south-western tip of Africa.

Return to the city centre via False Bay, through the historic naval base of Simon’s Town and the picturesque fishing village of Kalk Bay, with a stop-over to visit the thousand-strong colony of African penguins at Boulders Beach. Bring your day to a romantic close with sundowners atop Table Mountain. With its breath-taking views over the Atlantic Seaboard and the sun slowly melting into the horizon, relax and settle into the evening.

After breakfast, bid adieu to the Cape Grace and transfer to Cape Town International Airport for a scheduled flight to Hoedspruit Airport via Johannesburg. A representative will be standing by for your onward transfer to Dulini River Lodge.

Settle into your luxurious tent at Dulini River Lodge in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. Situated under a shady canopy of ebony trees and overlooking the flowing Sand River, you experience excellent game viewing on morning, afternoon and evening game drives as well as guided walking safaris. For photography enthusiasts there are also photographic walking safaris on offer, not to mention superb cuisine and discreet service.

After breakfast, head off for your scheduled flight to Vilanculos in Mozambique. A representative will be standing by to escort you to your helicopter for your 10-minute transfer to the Bazaruto Archipelago. With fishing dhows manoeuvring languidly through its waters below, get your first glimpse of paradise across the Mozambique Channel as you bank over its glittering silver-white sands and come in to land on tropical Benguerra Island, its palm trees rustling gently in the Indian Ocean breeze.

Settle into your thatched en suite cabana on the very edge of the beach and then step on to your terrace and take stock of your surrounds. Behind you, enrobed in the reds and rich terracottas that so distinguish the Arabic tones of this East African dream, lies your queen-sized bed draped with mosquito netting, and open-plan bathroom and outdoor shower, while over there within stepping distance of your private deck, are the soft waters of Benguerra Bay. Fringed by palms and sheltered by a natural acacia forest on the protected north-west coast of Ilha de Benguerra, the second largest island in the Bazaruto Archipelago, Benguerra Lodge is the ultimate island getaway.

Amble across the soft forgiving sands onto the beach and stretch out in the shade of your thatched sala, then cool off with a dip in your plunge pool before booking a massage at the Sala Nela Spa. Then wander across to the Dhow Bar – literally, an old wooden dhow drawn up onto the beach and converted into a bar – and, with the palms whispering overhead, the lap of the tide, the sun sinking into the sea, try to imagine being anywhere else.

Dive into the waters of Two Miles Reef with painted shoals of light-reflected fish shimmering through the depths of water above you, and descend into a forest of pristine coral as a hawksbill turtle glides silently by. Clown fish peek out of their rocky abodes and, over there, a moray eel gapes at you from its crevice…

The sheer unspoilt beauty of Bazaruto Archipelago’s encircling coral, combined with the abundance and variety of its marine life, singles out Benguerra as an undersea paradise for snorkelers and scuba divers alike. After breakfast, visit the lodge’s fully-equipped dive centre and chat to the instructor there about what lies ahead. With excellent visibility and warm sea temperatures, encounter snapper, barracuda, whale shark and kingfish; explore its caves and rocky massifs; spend hours mesmerised by its colourful corals, with lionfish twisting through fossilized trees; and swim with dolphins and manta rays.

Alternatively, board one of the lodge’s well-equipped boats under the guidance of its friendly professional skipper and try your hand in the bay with some light tackle fishing, or test your skills out in the open ocean, using quick sinking lines over the reefs. Go for a long walk along the beach or canter on horseback along the tideline. Relax on your sun lounger with a good book, then sink into your Jacuzzi or catch up on some sleep before bringing your day to a close with a sundowner cruise on a traditional dhow with pink flamingos mirroring the setting sun.

As your helicopter banks away towards Vilanculos, for your connecting flight to Johannesburg and your onward journey home, consider this: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Here nothing changes at all. The palm trees fringing its white-sand beaches; its rich canopy of acacia forest; those fishing dhows manoeuvring through its waters far below you – all will be exactly so on your return. Anticipate the moment, and it will happen.