Kruger - Zulu Battlefield Privately Guided Tours

Package Overview

This privately guided South African Battlefields tour combines the beautiful Blyde River Canyon & wildlife of the Kruger National Park with the Zulu Battlefields at Isandlwana & Rorkes Drift, with an expert battlefields guide. Continue to Ladysmith & the Boer War graves atop Spion Kop, before relaxing in the spectacular Drakensberg Mountains.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Blyde River Canyon • Kruger Park • Game Drives • Night Drive
• Photography • Zulu Battlefield Tours • Isandlwana • Rorkes Drift
• Drakensberg • Spion Kop

Day wise Itinerary

• Day 1 : Arrival

  You will be met at Johannesburg Airport by your guide, who will introduce you to the beauty of South Africa on your 4-hour drive through the farmlands of the Eastern Transvaal to Mpumalanga and the scenic Panorama Route.
  
  Check into your hotel in the beautiful Lowveld.
• Day 2 : Drakensberg Panorama Route

  This morning your guide will share with you the splendour of the Drakensberg Panorama Route as you drive through the green Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon in the world.
  
  Enjoy wonderful views from Graskop Gorge Lift and God's Window, view several lovely waterfalls and visit the unusual Bourkes Luck Pot Holes - cylindrical holes formed from the swirling waters of the Blyde and Treur Rivers.
  
  Continue to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre where you have the unique opportunity of viewing wild lion, leopard, cheetah, eagles and vultures at close quarters. Animals found injured, poisoned or orphaned are given a second chance and released back into the wild. Afterwards check into your lodge in this region famous for its wildlife.
  
  Note: Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is closed on Sundays.
• Day 3 : Kruger National Park

  Today we enter the world famous Kruger National Park.
  
  Game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately and hopefully you will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe before you reach your rest camp.
  
  The Kruger National Park offers a choice of self-catering rest camps, each situated in a different section of the park with its own unique flora and fauna - e.g. Skukuza, Letaba, Olifants, Lower Sabie, Pretoriuskop, Satara and Berg-en-Dal. Accommodation is in simple but comfortable thatched bungalows, with your guide having an allowance to purchase breakfast at the camp restaurant each day.
  
  After checking in, settle in and relax in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide.
  
  Note: You will need your passport to enter the Kruger National Park.
• Day 4 : Kruger National Park

  Today is devoted to game viewing in the Kruger National Park. As you will have the services of a private driver/guide, you will have the flexibility of discussing preferred routings and travelling times with him each day. However we recommend setting off early each morning as the camp gates open (04h30 to 06h00 depending on the season), to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day. All game drives will be in your guide's air-conditioned vehicle.
  
  Explore this vast 2-million hectare game sanctuary that is the size of Wales, offering magnificent game viewing opportunities and the highest concentration of lion in the whole of Africa. Hope to see several of the Big Five today - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino - as well as many other species before returning to your rest camp for breakfast (or buy provisions at camp and cook breakfast at a picnic spot).
  
  The rest of the morning is free to relax by the camp swimming pool and enjoy bird watching, before setting out again at the time of your choice - usually the late afternoon - for another game drive. One game drive during your stay will be in a large open-top game viewing vehicle operated by the Kruger National Park (normally at night) but this can be substitued for a bush walk subject to availability.
  
  With nearly 150 different species of mammals and over 100 species of reptiles in the Kruger National Park, you can hope to see cheetah, giraffe, hippo, kudu, crocodiles, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, wild dogs and many other interesting animals. Outstanding bird watching is also guaranteed, with over 500 different bird species including eagles, kingfishers, vultures and storks.
  
  After a beautiful African sunset, enjoy the balmy evening and pristine stars of the Milky Way as you have never seen them before – as well as the spectacular Southern Cross.
  
  Note: Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road in any national park in South Africa. Children < 12 are not allowed on open top game drives, but may enjoy unlimited game drives in your guide's vehicle. Minimum age of 16 for bush walks.
• Day 5 : Kruger National Park

  Enjoy some final early morning game viewing in the Kruger National Park before travelling through the mountains and farmlands of the Eastern Transvaal towards the Zulu Battlefields – a scenic drive of around 5-hour, depending upon how much game viewing you do whilst travelling through the park.
  
  Check into your Ermelo hotel for overnight and bid farewell to your Kruger guide, who will transfer you into the care of your Zulu Battlefields guide.
• Day 6 : Transvaal

  Today we complete our 4-hour drive through the farmlands of the Transvaal to the the remote battlefields at Isandlwana in rural Zululand.
  
  Enjoy dinner at your lodge, whilst absorbing some of the fascinating history of this great conflict between Britain and the proud Zulu Kingdom.
• Day 7 : Blood River

  Today we travel to the battlefield at Blood River where the Voortrekkers won a defining battle against the Zulus as they fought for the right to establish a homeland south of the Thukela River. The loss of life here was so great that the river ran red with blood.
  
  We leave Blood River for the banks of the Itshotshozi River, where the Napoleonic dynasty came to an end when the Price Imperial, Louis Napoleon, was killed by the Zulus on 1 June 1879.
  
  After lunch we visit the Mangeni Gorge to follow in the footsteps of Lord Chelmsford on the day of the Battle of Isandlwana, and learn more about the poor military decisions made on that fateful day.
• Day 8 : Zulu Battlefields

  Today enjoy a full day exploring the poignant Zulu Battlefields.
  
  After an updated briefing, your guide will recount the events leading up to the fateful battle of Isandlwana, where in 1879 the mighty British army suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in its history following the controversial invasion of Zululand. See for yourself the events portrayed so passionately in the film Zulu Dawn, as the regiment was wiped out almost to a man by 20,000 Zulu warriors.
  
  After returning to your lodge for lunch, we visit the famous mission station at Rorkes Drift where later that day a handful of British soldiers (outnumbered 30-to-1) fought off over 4,000 Zulu warriors for almost 12 hours. This battle - unforgettably brought to life by Michael Caine in the film Zulu - saw 11 Victoria Crosses awarded, which is more than in any other engagement in the history of the British Empire.
  
  We continue to Fugitives Drift where two young officers attempted to carry the Queen's colour to safety, before returning to our lodge.
  
  Recommended Reading:
  The Day of the Dead Moon - David Rattray
  Brave Men’s Blood – Ian Knight
• Day 9 : Drakensberg Mountains

  Today we travel 4-hours to the spectacular uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains, recognised as a World Heritage site for its vast collection of Bushman rock art paintings.
  
  We follow the Boer line of advance, stopping at the Talana Hill battlefield and museum, where the first battle of the South African War (Anglo Boer War) of 1899 took place and where khaki was worn for the first time. We continue to Elandslaagte and Ladysmith, which was besieged for 118 days by the boers. Here we can visit the small Siege Museum. On Christmas Day, the Boers fired a carrier shell without a fuse into the town containing a Christmas pudding, two Union Flags and the message "Compliments of the Season". This shell is still kept in the museum.
  
  We continue to Spion Kop, where one of the bloodiest battles took place in efforts to relieve Ladysmith. Visit the mass graves atop Spion Kop hill and see for yourself how poor military decisions affected the outcome of this battle. Incredibly three future world leaders were in the area at the time this battle took place - Winston Churchill as a young newspaper correspondent, the future Mahatma Gandhi as a stretcher bearer, and Louis Botha as the Boer general who would go on to become the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa.
  
  Continue to the dramatic Drakensberg Mountains. Known locally as the "Barrier of Spears", this mountain range is the backbone of Southern Africa and runs all the way down from the Great Rift Valley. Check into your mountain resort in this area of unspoilt natural beauty.
  
  Recommended Reading:
  Boer War – Thomas Pakenham
• Day 10 : Drakensberg Mountains

  t leisure to relax in the Drakensberg Mountains and enjoy the facilities of your resort, with superlative scenery and fresh mountain air making it ideal for walking holidays at any level of fitness. Your hotel will organise guided walks each day – typically one short walk and one long walk, or a walk to a Bushman painting.
  
  The mountains also offer an outstanding location for bird watching – particularly raptors, but also sunbirds, waxbills and the numerous other species found in the grasslands, riverine scrub and natural forests.
  
  Your hotel has a swimming pool and offers many activities in or near the resort including golf, horse riding in the mountains, fly fishing for trout, tennis, lawn bowls, badminton, mountain biking, table tennis, darts and pool.
• Day 11 : Departure

  Transfer 3-hours through the beautiful Natal Midlands to Durban Airport for your flight home.

Inclusions

• Hotel
• Sightseeing

Price & Rates

Package Start From

• Cape Town, South Africa, Africa

Terms & Conditions

This Tour is Offered by

• Ancient Olympia Ilias, 270 65, OlympiaGreece
• XXXXXX9527 View Contact
• XXXXXXXXXX@gmail.com View Mail ID

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