Arrive Mpumalanga Airport, collect your hire car and drive to your hotel on the scenic Panorama Route. Check into your hotel in this beautiful region.

This morning we recommend driving to Hazyview Elephant Sanctuary to experience a very special close-up encounter with these gentle giants. Afternoon at leisure to relax at your lodge, or enjoy other optional activities on offer.

Today we recommend you explore the splendour of the Drakensberg Panorama Route and drive through the green Blyde River Canyon, the third largest 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.

Today drive to your game lodge situated in the world famous Kruger National Park. After checking in to your lodge, enjoy your first thrilling game drive in an open-top vehicle accompanied by a lodge ranger. Game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately and hopefully you will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe today - as well as several of the Big Five - before dining under the stars in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide!

Rise at dawn to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day, as you enjoy an open-top game viewing drive with a lodge ranger in the world famous Kruger National Park. Explore some of this vast 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 lodge for breakfast. The rest of the morning is free to relax by the swimming pool or enjoy bird watching at the lodge, before setting out again in the late afternoon for another game drive. 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. With over 500 different bird species including eagles, kingfishers, vultures and storks, outstanding bird watching is also guaranteed. 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. Children < 6 are not allowed on open top game drives

Enjoy some final early morning game viewing in the Kruger National Park before driving 4-hours through the mountains and farmlands of the Eastern Transvaal towards the Zulu Battlefields. Check into your Ermelo hotel for overnight.

Continue 4-hours through rural Zululand to the remote battlefields at Isandlwana. Check in to your Zulu Battlefields hotel and enjoy dinner whilst absorbing some of the fascinating history of this great conflict between Britain and the proud Zulu Kingdom.

This morning join a full day tour arranged by your lodge to the poignant Zulu Battlefields. 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. Recommended Reading: The Day of the Dead Moon - David Rattray Brave Men’s Blood – Ian Knight

Today leave early and drive 4-hours to the spectacular uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains. Along the way you can stop at Dundee to visit Talana Hill battlefield and museum, where the first battle of the South African War of 1899 took place and where khaki was worn for the first time. Continue via Ladysmith which was besieged for 118 days and where there is a small Siege Museum. Time permitting, you may be able to visit Spioenkop, where one of the bloodiest battles took place in efforts to relieve Ladysmith. Visit the mass graves atop Spioenkop Hill and see for yourself how poor military decisions affected the outcome of this battle (pay all entrance fees locally). Then drive 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

At 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.

This morning enjoy the beauty of the Natal Midlands on your 3-hours drive to your hotel on the Durban North Coast, renowned for its wonderful beaches and reliably warm holiday weather all year round. Stop at craft shops along the Midlands Meander and enjoy views over the Valley of 1000 Hills, before continuing to the Durban North Coast. Check into your hotel and relax in lush sub-tropical surroundings on the shores of the warm Indian Ocean.

Relax on the warm golden beaches of the Durban North Coast. Many optional activities are available such as a marine cruise to search for dolphins, turtles, sharks, whales (in season) and other fascinating sea life. Championship golf, horse riding and deep sea game fishing are also available.

Drive to Durban Airport for your flight home.