South Africa Family Adventure Self-Drive

Helicopter flights: Table Mountain 360 - 24 minute flight

Cape Town

Take an exhilarating scenic helicopter ride for aerial views over Cape Town and the rugged Atlantic Seaboard. There’s no better view of Cape Town than from the sky, flying over the mountains and perhaps spotting whales and dolphins in the ocean. This Table Mountain 360° flight is a unique way to experience the Mother City on this 24-minute thrilling journey. The pilot will give a commentary pointing out the landmarks, allowing for plentiful photo opportunities along the way.

Taking off from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is a highlight. Out at sea you will see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated. From the air, you can fully appreciate the sheer scale of Table Mountain, one of the world’s Seven Natural Wonders. Passing Signal Hill and the Twelve Apostles you will be flown along the coast and over the white sand beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay. Circling above the picturesque harbour of Hout Bay, you may see ocean rip currents, whirlpools and, if you are lucky, whales.  After flying above the dramatic coastal road of Chapman’s Peak you will see the colourful beach huts of Muizenberg. Heading inland, the lush vineyards of the Constantia Valley unfold before you descend over the city bowl to land back at the V&A Waterfront.

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My Cape Town City Tour

Cape Town

Discover Cape Town on this day trip, where you’ll experience everything from Table Mountain to Bo-Kaap street food and the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

The day starts with a cable car ride up Table Mountain where you’ll enjoy views over the city to the coastline and Robben Island. Your guide will point out the mountain’s exotic fynbos and wildlife such as the rock hyrax. After taking the cable car back down, the tour continues in Bo-Kaap, which was originally home to slaves from Malaysia and Indonesia who were brought over by the Dutch in the 1760s. The area is famous for its colourful houses and offers a mix of history, culture, music and flavour. Taste some samosas and vetkoek, a type of doughy bread that can be filled with jam, cheese or curry. From here, you’ll visit the nearby Company Gardens, where many of the Cape Malay people worked, supplying Dutch ships with fresh fruit and vegetables.

Next, you’ll be driven to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens which has thousands of species of plants and trees set over 528 hectares. There are themed areas to explore, such as a fragrance garden and greenhouses, canopy walkways and lawns where summer concerts are held. Then you have a choice of two options for the remainder of the day, visiting either the Groot Constantia winelands or Kalk Bay.

Groot Constantia is the oldest wine farm in South Africa. Here you’ll enjoy a three-course lunch and wine tasting session at Simon’s Restaurant, in the stunning vineyard. Alternatively, you can go to Kalk Bay for lunch at Harbour House, which overlooks the ocean and is known for its fresh seafood. Boulders Beach lies Just 20 minutes from Kalk Bay, where you’ll finish the tour by observing a colony of cute African penguins.

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My Cape Peninsula Tour

Cape Town

Discover the Cape Peninsula on this private scenic day trip, at your own pace, which includes the option of vineyard lunches, penguin encounters and kayaking with seals. This tour is a great way to get out of the city for a day and explore the Cape’s incredible nature, wildlife and scenery.

The tour starts with a 30-minute scenic drive down the peninsula to Cape Point, one of the southern-most points in Africa. You can either walk from here or take the Flying Dutchman funicular railway to the Cape Point Lighthouse for the best views over the coast.

For the second portion of the tour you have three options. The first is to stop at Boulders Beach, which is a breeding site for African penguins, followed by lunch at Cape Point Vineyard, a mountainside estate with views over Noordhoek Beach. Alternatively, you can visit Hout Bay, where you’ll take a short boat trip to Seal Island which is home to a colony of Cape fur seals. You’ll have time to observe the seals from the boat before heading back to Hout Bay for a seafood lunch. The last option is perfect for adventurous travellers as it involves a kayaking trip from Simon’s Town to view the penguins.

Whichever tour you choose, you’ll make your way back to Cape Town in the afternoon via Chapman’s Peak Drive. This spectacular curvy road twists alongside the ocean and the 12 Apostles Mountain Range. You’ll drive by the popular sandy beaches of Camps Bay and Clifton before being dropped at your hotel in Cape Town. This tour is a great way to get out of the city for a day and explore the Cape’s incredible nature, wildlife and scenery.

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Walk to Freedom and Robben Island

Cape Town

Learn about apartheid in South Africa on this unique Walk to Freedom tour. You’ll hear Nelson Mandela’s story on Robben Island and visit the townships where residents were gravely affected by apartheid laws. You'll also get the chance to talk to the people who live in these communities today.

This full-day tour starts at 9.00am on the site of District Six, one of the old residential areas of the city. This once busy, multi-racial community was destroyed during apartheid when the government ordered mass evictions and sent people to townships miles outside of the city centre. Next, visit Langa, a typical black African township where you’ll be greeted by a community site guide who lives here and will show you around, perhaps even introducing you to their family.

The tour continues with a visit to Bonteheuwel, a former mixed heritage township where you’ll learn how people were classified as ‘non-white’ during apartheid and separated into different areas. The final stop is at Gugulethu, where you will visit the Gugulethu Seven Memorial which commemorates the deaths of seven young black activists killed by police in 1986 and the Amy Biehl Memorial, who was a young American student and anti-apartheid activist who was murdered here.

At about midday, you will be dropped at the V&A Waterfront where you can grab a bite to eat before boarding the boat to Robben Island. This part of the trip is run by the official Robben Island Museum and is split into two legs, a one-hour bus tour of the island and a tour of what used to be the maximum-security prison, led by a former political prisoner. You’ll get to see Nelson Mandela’s cell representing an incredibly important moment in South Africa’s history.

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Hermanus Whale Watching

Hermanus & Gansbaai

Take to the seas for a whale-watching adventure where you’ll enjoy a close encounter with some of the largest creatures on the planet. Every year, between June and November, southern right whales arrive here in their hundreds from their feeding grounds in the southern ocean to mate and calve in its warm sheltered waters. Seeing these gentle giants, which can grow to 17 metres long, can be a profoundly moving experience.

You’ll begin in Hermanus’s New Harbour with a 15-minute pre-trip briefing over a cup of tea or coffee, covering the basics of whale behaviour, the plan of action on the water and a few safety tips.

After that, it’s time to board the Miroshca, a 60-foot catamaran that’s been specially designed for whale watching in comfort, and head out into Walker Bay, keeping your eyes peeled from the start. Even though the bay – much of which is a marine protected area – covers around 400 square kilometres, you have an excellent chance of spotting whales thanks to the knowledgeable crew and the flexible length of the trip, which can range from 1.5 to 3 hours. Thanks to the onboard commentary from the specialist guide, you’ll also come away with a fuller understanding of the life of these beautiful cetaceans. If you’re very lucky, you may also spot migrating humpbacks or the shy resident Bryde’s whales that tend to stay further offshore.

Please bring: windbreaker jacket, flat sturdy shoes, suncream, hat and on colder days gloves are recommended.

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Dolphin watching from Plettenberg Bay with Ocean Blue Adventures

Plettenberg Bay

Go in search of dolphins and marine life on this eco-friendly boat trip in the protected marine reserve of Plettenberg Bay. The geography of Plettenberg Bay is very special, with the Robberg Peninsula, creating a half-moon shaped bay that stops a lot of open-water swells. There are two marine protected areas that attracts whales, dolphins, seals and sharks.

You will meet 30 minutes before the boat departs for a safety briefing and to be fitted with a life jacket and, if necessary, a poncho. The boat trip lasts around an hour and a half and begins with an exciting beach launch. The boat gets dragged into the ocean by a tractor and then launched into the waters.

As you cruise alongside Keurbooms beach towards Arch Rock, endangered Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins may be seen. There are only about 500 left in South Africa so it’s a special experience if you do get to see them. Bottlenose and common dolphins often surround the boat and occasionally you may see whales.

You will get to see plenty of seabirds such as the Cape gannets that dive into the water after fish. As you sail past the cliffs of Robberg, there is a colony of 7,000 Cape fur seals and where sometimes you may see great white sharks. The tour ends with a thrilling beach landing. A proportion of the cost of this tour goes towards the ORCA Foundation to continue vital conservation and research work.  This tour operates from December to May.

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Robberg Nature Reserve hike

The Garden Route

Explore Robberg Nature Reserve on this guided hike along prehistoric cliffs where you can spot marine life in the ocean below. Designated a National Monument, the reserve lies between the Tsitsikamma Mountain range and South Africa’s whale migration route known as the ‘humpback highway’. The Robberg Hiking Trail is probably one of the most popular and well known trails in the area and one of the most scenic.

The peninsula sits about 120 metres above sea level so you’re looking down on the wild ocean on one side and the calm waters of Plettenberg Bay on the other – both have marine protected status. From 'the gap', you climb up towards the cliffs overlooking the Cape fur seal colony, keeping a lookout for patrolling sharks. Then you head down a large sand dune onto the southern 'wild side' and across the Tombola beach for a walk around the island, before heading back towards the starting point. The route is a circular trail along the Robberg peninsula with two shorter variations available ranging from easy to moderate. Your guide will talk you through the history of Robberg and point out the various plant species and their traditional uses. You'll be stepping on bedrock that dates back around 120 thousand years, so it’s almost a spiritual experience walking on this ancient landscape covered by colourful fynbos. Robberg also attracts a number of bird species. As well as seabirds such as the Cape cormorant, you may also see Cape robins, Cape white-eyes, red-winged starlings and orange-breasted sunbirds. Robberg is a beautiful place to experience many different features of the Garden Route.

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The Tsitsikamma Woodcutter Journey

The Garden Route

Take a journey through Stormsriver Pass, surrounded by indigenous Tsitsikamma forest where woodcutters once worked. You’ll board an open-sided safari-style vehicle, which is pulled by a tractor along forested paths, for the three-hour tour. The route takes you through an ancient elephant migratory route that’s full of huge yellowwood and stinkwood trees. Along the way, you'll learn about the history of this area and its indigenous flora and fauna.

Guests love being out in the wilderness, with the sound of insects and colourful birds rustling in the leaves. Listen out for fish eagles and the colourful Knysna loerie and Narina trogon. At one time, this forest was home to hunter-gatherers called the Khoisan people, who lived off the land. Tsitsikamma is a Khoi word that means ‘place of many waters’. You’ll stop to see specific plants, including the knob wood tree which was used by the Khoisan people for toothache, as well as bushman’s bedding, a natural insect repellent.

A highlight of the trip is meeting the Forest Guard, a nearly 500-year-old tree that has a human-like face on the trunk and is said to watch over the area. You’ll also get to stand next to a giant hard pear tree – these can live for up to 800 years – and see one of the oldest buildings in Stormsriver, a former stone hunting lodge. At the end of the tour stop at a beautiful picnic site where wagons used to park over a century ago, for some drinks and snacks.

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Visit the Born Free Big Cat Sanctuaries at Shamwari Private Game Reserve

Eastern Cape Game Reserves

Born Free Big Cat Sanctuary and Education Centre was established in partnership with Virginia McKenna’s Born Free Foundation. Guests of Shamwari Private Game Reserve can visit the centre to learn the importance of keeping wildlife in the wild.

Behind each of the big cats in their care, there is often a traumatic story. The rescued lions and leopards at the sanctuaries have grown up in appalling conditions of captivity. Whilst they should have been born in the wild, where they belong, unfortunately re-wilding them is not possible. With a dedicated team to monitor them as they adapt to their new surroundings, the sanctuaries give them a better home than they have ever known.

There are two centres that Shamwari guests can visit. Located in the southern part of Shamwari Private Game Reserve, the Julie Ward Centre was established in 1999 and provides sanctuary for the rescued cats. Education is also a vital role of what they do and at the Jean Byrd Education Centre, in the northern part of the reserve, guests, local schools and colleges come to learn about South Africa’s wildlife and the importance of conservation for future generations.

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