Possible highlights
- Interacting with elephants from the wild
- Safari boat cruise with sightings
- Accessible beach with beach wheelchairs
- Game drives
- Visiting a Cheetah Park
- Visiting game reserves in Isimangaliso Wetland Park
- Accessible viewpoints
It should be on everyone’s bucket list. Going on a South African Safari and spotting the big five. Impossible as a wheelchair user, you might think? Think again. We made it possible for you to enjoy a care-free 12 day trip of a lifetime. This is only an example of the itinerary. Your trip can be adjusted completely to your wishes, requirements, budget and timeline.
Accessible activities include interacting with elephants from the wild, safari boat cruise with sightings, accessible beach mat and beach wheelchair, game drives, visiting a Cheetah Park, and more. Furthermore, accessible activities include visiting game reserves in Isimangaliso Wetland Park a World Hertiage Site with accessible viewpoints.
Your South African Safari holiday starts with a warm welcome at the airport, with meet & greet and adapted transfer to your lodge. Here you have the opportunity to enjoy luxurious facilities and 30 acres of private botanical gardens. The grounds and buildings have a wheelchair friendly design with 18 ponds, waterways, and prolific birdlife.
There is a swimming pool with full access for wheelchair users. Located in the rolling hills of Kwazulu Natal and near the Valley of a Thousand Hills, this is the perfect place to unwind, relax, and to get enchanted by the gorgeous scenery. The beautiful gardens are an oasis of peace and serenity with indigenous and exotic plants, and provide the ideal backdrop to achieve the desired levels of relaxation for all who visit.
Enjoy strolls through the 30 acres of gardens incorporating artworks, sculptures, a magnificent Japanese garden, cycad gardens, ponds and meandering pathways leading to waterfalls.
Soak up your first day in Africa by spoiling yourself at the Health Spa with its unique refreshing and holistic treatment range. Besides, you enjoy the African sun next to the large fully accessible rock swimming pool.
Spend the day in Durban Central at Ushaka Marine World that has accessible beach wheelchairs and snorkeling ponds with over 5000 fish. Included at Ushaka Marine World are attractions such as Shark Feeding, Turtle, Dolphin. Penguin and Seal shows.
In the afternoon you head along Durban Beachfront with its colorful markets to Moses Madiba Stadium, built for the World Cup in 2010. This stadium has a cable car with beautiful views of Durban and Coastline 40 stories high.
This day you head out to go on the African safari. The safari takes place in Isimangaliso Wetland Park which is a World Heritage Site and Africa`s second-largest Big Five Game Reserve.
Your accommodation is in a private game sanctuary, and your chalet with glass walls has its own private outdoor jacuzzi. Afternoon leisure at your lodge with its abundant bird and wildlife. Besides your safari, today’s adventures include a visit to a traditional Zulu Village. Here you learn about the African Zulu Tribe as you visit its cultural village. Be fascinated by the energetic Zulu Dancing with its excellent rhythm of drumbeats and African dancing!
These are the days where the spirit of Africa touches your soul. We embark on a laid-back extended game drive to all areas of Hluhluwe Game Reserve. Your experienced ranger helps you spot and identify many animals species. At the Elephant Coast, you can find over 500 bird species.
With a little assistance, most people can distinguish the more common families of birds in no time at all. Look out for the abundant animal life such as black rhino, nyala, kudu, hippo, crocodile, waterbuck, reedbuck, red duiker, baboons, monkeys, hyena, wildebeest, giraffe and the often to be seen elephant and buffalo.
You may also see lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, and other predators. Today you spend most of your time on the Hluhluwe side of the game reserve. Other days are spent enjoying the Umfolozi side of the game reserve.
Elephant Interaction – A unique and beautiful experience in the heart of Zululand where you get close and interact with these powerful but gentle creatures. Guests seeking more in-depth meaning to their visit have close contact and interaction with these elephants.
Although little can match the thrill of seeing wild elephants in Hluhluwe Game Reserve, guests are allowed to connect woth two mature elephants. These elephants were orphaned, and hand-reared but are now free to range in a private game reserve that is over 2500 hectares.
Every morning the two elephants come up to visit the viewing area for a welcome snack of game pellets. Here you get the chance to interact with them in a well-controlled situation. You also enjoy a superb explanation of the elephant species, which is enlightening and clearly shows the care and concern that is displayed. Lunch today takes place at a local restaurant.
Your South African Safari journey continues in the afternoon, with a visit to the Cat and Cheetah Rehabilitation Centre. Join us for an up-close and personal tour and learn more about South Africa’s endangered wild cat species. Come and be mesmerized by the beauty of the Caracal (Lynx), enchanted by the playful Serval, astonished by the speed and agility of the Cheetah and delighted by the African Wildcat.
There are educational tours daily, with feedings during the afternoon tour and informative talks about the animals. The Centre cares for the cats that are orphaned or injured in the wild and require care and rehabilitation.
Other attractions today include Ilala Weavers with its restaurant where you enjoy lunch and shops featuring traditional Zulu basket weaving and beading.
Today you enjoy a full day Safari Game Drive to Hluhluwe/Umfolozi side of the game reserve with your field guide with a picnic lunch overlooking the river.
You head to St Lucia, a picturesque village situated within a nature reserve which is surrounded by five distinct ecosystems and iSimangaliso Wetland Park. In the afternoon you go on a safari boat trip on an accessible boat with sightings of hippos, crocodiles, and birds in the estuary. This days dinner is at one of the numerous restaurants in town.
Explore markets in the village and the beaches. Safari at Cape Vidal Game Reserve with Rhino, Waterbuck, Kudu and many other wildlife species. Cape Vidal is part of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park – a World Heritage Site with beautiful game reserves and wild beaches.
Transfer to Durban to a hotel near the beach. You can spend your time relaxing on the beach and enjoy some shopping. The hotel is about 15 min drive from the airport.
Optional extra activities:
This is the last day of your South African Safari! It ends with a goodbye from the people working on the premise and a transfer to the airport.
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