Sunway Safaris - Garden Route“Garden Route Adventure”

In a nutshell
· Explore the Garden Route on a participation safari staying in chalets, hotels and guest houses each night.
· See the best of the Southern Cape including the Southern most tip of Africa.
· Malaria free area.
· Cape Town, wine tasting, whale watching, forest walks!

Why travellers like this trip
1. Variety - this tour is an in depth exploration of the beautiful Garden Route, one of the most beautiful areas of South Africa.
2. National Parks and wildlife areas - We visit 5 national parks en route ranging from the unique penguins at Bouldes Beach to the Cape of Good Hope and even whale watching from Hermanus.
3. Culture and history - South Africa has a unique and interesting cultural diversity, which we experience through contact with local people as often as possible.
4. Scenery - breath-taking scenery along the entire route – it isn’t called the Garden Route for nothing!
5. Small group - travelling in groups of up to 12 people creates a friendly, holiday atmosphere.
6. Walking - every opportunity to get out and walk in the areas such as Cape Point Nature Reserve, Knysna Forests and the Hermanus coastline. Walks are easy to moderate exertion and optional. Duration from 1 - 3 hours.

Accommodation
· Cape Town, guest house / hotel – in a central metropolitan area of Cape Town near the V&A Waterfront. Rooms are twin with en suite facilities. (or similar guest house)
· Stellenbosch, Rosenview Guest House (or Soverby Guest House) – twin share with en suite bathroom. Swimming pool, lounge, telephone. (or similar guest house)
· Karoo, chalets – 2 bedrooms per chalet which are twin share with 1 bathroom shared between 2 rooms. Telephone.
· Knysna, Ashmead Resort chalets (or Lagoona Resort) - 2 bedrooms per chalet which are twin share with 1 bathroom shared between 2 rooms. Swimming pool, restaurant, telephone.
· Hermanus, Baleens Guest House – 2 nights in a comfortable, guest house in Hermanus, with a view of the ocean, all rooms are twin with en suite facilities. (or similar guest house)

Please note that the accommodation specified above and in the itinerary, is a guide only and is subject to change subject to availability, without prior notice. Alternatives will be of a similar standard.

Transport
· On foot - easy to moderate walks throughout the tour.
· Vehicle - for longer distance travel, place to place, we use custom-built Sunway Safari trucks with 12 forward facing seats. Comfortable touring and good for game viewing. Large, sliding windows and viewing hatches give everyone a good view; or Toyota Hiace minibuses with 10 forward facing seats (roof rack and trailer for equipment and baggage); or Mercedes Sprinter minibuses with 16 forward facing seats (and trailer for equipment and baggage). There are a couple of long days of travelling but the vehicles have a comfortable cruising speed. The emphasis of the trip is “getting out and doing things”.

Local Payment
· A local payment is required on this safari and this will be collected by the tour leader on departure. This covers a portion of the local operational costs including entrance and park fees. This ensures that a major portion of your tour price goes directly into the country you are visiting, benefiting local communities and contributing to the conservation of the area.

Participation
· An essential part of your Sunway Safari is participation – from packing away in the morning to helping with cleaning up – it’s all part of your adventure and when everyone puts in a little effort the trip will run smoothly. Your tour leaders will do all the meal preparation but we do ask the clients to help with the washing up. Team spirit is part of the fun!

Shopping
· Craft shopping for carvings, candles, batiks, wirework, paintings and clothing, in Cape Town and Knysna, is some of the best in Southern Africa.

Food
· We pride ourselves on giving very good healthy meals to our clients and will provide three meals per day, except where shown in itinerary above, where we try out local restaurants.
· The tour leaders do the shopping and meal planning for each group. He/she will always try to obtain fresh produce wherever possible. A rough idea of what these will consist of is: Breakfast - cereals or coffee and toast or the occasional fried breakfast, Lunch - cheese, cold meats, salads on bread or rolls, Dinner - braais (local barbecue), potjies (stews), stir fries etc. We use regular plates, cups and cutlery. All cooking and eating utensils will also be provided.
· We do cater for special dietary requirements (e.g. vegetarian or allergies.)
· We will supply fruit squash served with breakfast and tea or coffee served with breakfast and dinner. All other beverages will be for your own expense. We will not supply bottled drinking water although it is available at many shops on tour.

Difficulty
· Anyone who is generally active and in good health should enjoy this trip. The accommodation used is simple and clean, but full of character. This trip offers excellent value for money safari.
· Full itinerary with a couple of long driving days but also plenty of outdoors activity. Most places we visit we spend 2 nights allowing time to explore the area.

Things you should know
· Includes park entrances
· You will need a valid passport and visas for entry into South Africa. Consult the tour dossier for a more detailed list of visa requirements and consult with your travel agent or Sunway Safaris.
· Luggage, please pack to a limit of 12kgs in a soft sports tog bag. Bring a daypack for walks.
· We recommend that you bring South African Rand for personal expenses on this trip. Travellers cheques can be changed in most large towns. Major credit cards can also be used for optional activities and restaurant bills.

Common questions about this trip
1. What do I need to bring?
Comfortable clothes for warm days and cool evenings, walking shoes, a raincoat, hat and sunglasses, swimsuit, a small pair of binoculars also comes in very handy and most importantly - a sense of adventure!
2. Is it safe?
South Africa, like any many countries, has it’s problems but your guide knows the country intimately and will endeavour to show you the best parts while looking after you. Be aware, but not paranoid, and you will have a great trip!
3. Do I need malaria tablets?
No, at no point on this tour do we enter a Malaria area.
4. Can I buy camera film?
Film and other accessories will be available several times on tour. A camera with a zoom lens from wide angle to telephoto, 35-200mm, is advisable to capture both scenic and wildlife shots.
5. Can I wash my clothes on tour?
There are coin-operated laundries available in Cape Town (day 1&2) and Knysna (day 5&6). There is also a laundry service available at the hotel in Port Elizabeth (day 11)