On Safari in South Africa – Rhino East Lodge with Three-night Cape Town Extension

Travel to South Africa on an overnight flight.

Upon arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city, you’ll be met by your local tour manager and set off on a scenic transfer to the Sebatana Rhino Lodge. Once you’ve unpacked and settled in, lunch will be served.

After breakfast, you’ll venture into the reserve in an open-air vehicle on your first game drive. During this journey, your guide will provide a wildlife talk about the different animals, birds and plants that inhabit the area, as well as the area’s history.

This drive will be followed by lunch and some free time back at the lodge before you return on an afternoon game drive, with a local tracker, who’ll do his best to seek out wildlife. Keep an eye out – and have your camera at the ready – for zebras, meerkats, giraffes, wildebeest, and impalas.

In the evening, dinner will be served at the lodge.

Following breakfast this morning, you’ll join a ‘Big Five’ game drive and visit one of the best private reserves in South Africa, Welgevonden Game Reserve.

Set within the UNESCO-protected Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, this expanse of wilderness is home to more than 50 mammals, including lions, leopards, rhinos, buffalos, and elephants. Access to the reserve is subject to extensive restrictions, so it’ll feel like you have the whole place to yourself.

After the sun has set, you can choose to join an optional tribal dinner, with the opportunity to gain insights into African culture and lifestyle. You’ll be able to taste local dishes and beverages, learn about traditions and customs, as well as watch a performance of dancing and music in a replica of a cultural village.

This morning, you’ll join an experienced guide for a gentle bush walk into the Sebatana Private Reserve. Listen intently as your guide points out animal breeding areas, local plant life and the Waterberg Mountains. After the walk, return to the lodge for some well-earned lunch.

After lunch, you’ll be collected in an open-air vehicle for a game drive to Christina’s Wallow, a hide with direct views of a waterhole, which is often teeming with giraffes, wildebeest, and impalas. For a truly authentic wildlife-spotting experience and to have the least impact, you’ll complete the journey on foot. 

At dusk, you can join the optional night game drive, giving you the unique opportunity to witness how the bush changes as the sun goes down, and a different animal kingdom emerges. With the help of powerful spotlights, you’ll hopefully see nocturnal creatures, like caracals, bush babies, porcupines, and ant bears.

On the way, you’ll stop at ‘Flintstone Cave’, where the chef will have prepared a special three-course dinner spread across beautifully set tables and looking out over a fire – a wish-list experience.

You’ll rise early this morning for a game drive and the chance to spot herds of antelopes moving in the open. Antelopes and other prey animals tend to move around in the morning to find the best protection from predators, so this is time best time to see them.   

Around mid-morning, you’ll stop at Kudu Rock for a lavish Champagne brunch, enhanced by the backdrop of the African bush. Here, you can tuck into your meal while soaking up the surrounding vista, perhaps even seeing an animal or two.

Afterwards, you’ll return to the lodge to unwind and in the afternoon, you have the chance to go on an optional tour to a school or local community. This excursion allows you to better understand the people who live in the area.   

Enjoy breakfast and a day of leisure at the lodge, taking advantage of the amenities, or join an optional 'Echoes of the Past, Hope for the Future' excursion.

On this memorable optional experience, you'll rise early and head back into Kaingo Private Reserve under the morning light for another game-viewing experience. With the lower temperatures, the wildlife you spot across the bushveld will be more active, making for even more dramatic animal encounters. Kaingo isn’t only famous for its resident creatures, though, and your expert guide will introduce you to a series of world-famous archaeological sites which chart humanity’s evolution across millions of years. You’ll see ancient stone tools, delicate Bushman paintings, and cave shelters which were once used by the earliest homo sapiens.

After a fascinating glimpse of the region’s history, you’ll learn about the initiatives in place to give hope to vulnerable local children with a visit to The Fold, a part of the New Roads Mission. This non-profit centre provides food, housing, and education to over 30 local children, and you can learn about their invaluable efforts with a guided tour.

After breakfast, you can spend another day at the lodge lounging by the pool or join a last morning game drive into the Kaingo Game Reserve. If you still want to tick some of the ‘Big Five’ off your list, this is the perfect opportunity.

In the mid-afternoon, there will be one more game drive to Sunset Rock, a fitting finale to your South African adventure. This spot is where you’ll have a magnificent vantage point and a chilled glass of Champagne while looking out over the Waterberg Mountains as the sky turns a cascade of red and orange. 

You’ll then return to the lodge for a final dinner with your newfound friends.

Have your last breakfast at the lodge and say goodbye to your hosts as you depart for Johannesburg for a flight to Cape Town. Upon arrival, you’ll check into your charming, centrally located hotel ahead of the rest of the day at leisure.  

Enjoy breakfast and get ready for a full day at leisure in Cape Town, perhaps venturing out into the city for some self-guided exploration.  

If you’d prefer a more structured day, why not join an optional drive around the Cape Peninsula? The first stop on this unmissable excursion will be breath-taking Chapman’s Peak (weather permitting), famous for its idyllic picnic spots and glorious 180-degree views of the Cape’s rugged coastline. This legendary route encompasses nine kilometres of mountainous seafront and promises some of the region’s finest natural landscapes from Hout Bay to Noordhoek.    

After an extraordinary time on the road, you’ll visit the Cape of Good Hope, a stretch of flower-strewn headland leading onto the Atlantic Coast. Here, you’ll have time to admire the fields of native fynbos in the heart of the Cape Floral region, which is home to a fifth of Africa’s total floral species. Reconnect with the natural world, or perhaps search for the perfect photo spot, amongst the colourful wildflowers and imposing clifftops overlooking the open ocean. If you visit between early August and late September, you’ll experience the region’s flora at their most vivid as the Cape enters the height of its flowering season.    

Another wildlife encounter awaits on the return leg of the day’s journey as you make a stop at Boulders’ Beach, home to flocks of free-roaming native penguins. Though their species is endangered, this group of African penguins, numbering around 3000, often nest along the bay’s craggy rock faces and make for a perfect picture stop.

Please note: this optional excursion can only be booked locally while in South Africa.

Those in favour of a more laid-back day will be spoilt for choice of coastal gems to enjoy in Cape Town, with Clifton Beach and Bloubergstrand Beach amongst the most popular options. Table Mountain is another must-see landmark and promises a relaxing, scenic ride to its summit onboard its dedicated cable car service.   

Later, enjoy a final evening in Cape Town ahead of the return journey.  

Early morning arrival after a wonderful South African adventure