On Safari in South Africa – Rhino East Lodge

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 excursion to Pilanesberg National Park, the fourth largest of its kind in South Africa.   This expansive park is situated in a volcanic crater and presents further opportunities to spot the ‘Big Five’ as well as the endangered white rhinos, cheetahs, hippopotami, and over 300 bird species. When you arrive, you’ll board an open-air vehicle and traverse through the park with an experienced guide who’ll provide you with facts about the park and the animals that reside here.   In the evening, dinner will be served back at the lodge.

After breakfast, you can spend another day at the lodge lounging by the pool or join the last game drive into Welgevonden 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 and say goodbye to your hosts as you depart for Johannesburg.  Depending on the season and availability, your driver and guide will try to make as many cultural and historical stops as possible. Visits will include the Apartheid Museum, which documents South Africa’s troubled past and racial segregation, as well as Soweto, an urban settlement or ‘Township’ just outside of the city.  After this excursion, you’ll be driven to the airport for your flight back to the UK after your African adventure.

You'll arrive early this morning after a memorable South African adventure.