A fantastic 6-day Budget South Africa Safari traveling along the scenic Garden Route and into the Klein Karoo, from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town.
Start with game viewing in Addo Elephant Park, before this Camping Overland Tour heads west to the Tsitsikamma National Park and Garden Route coastline. Then travel into the Klein Karoo to visit the famous Cango Caves and Oudtshoorn. Next, follow the famous Route 62 to the rural Overberg and visit the southernmost tip of Africa. Explore the Cape Whale Coast, pausing in the whale-watching hotspot of Hermanus. Lastly, visit the penguins of Stony Point before traveling to Cape Town where our super cheap South Africa Safari adventure culminates.
This affordable Cape Town to Garden Route Safari takes you to some of South Africa's most beautiful beaches, malaria-free national parks, and incredible natural sights!
This camping South Africa Safari starts in the coastal city of Gqeberha, formerly called Port Elizabeth, where we will spend the first night in a comfortable guesthouse. Get acquainted with your fellow travelers this morning before we head north out of town into the rugged Eastern Cape landscape.
We will spend the first day of our tour enjoying a wildlife adventure in Addo Elephant National Park, third largest national park in South Africa and a vast and diverse wildlife conservation area near Gqeberha. The park is renowned for its population of over 600 elephants. Our tour vehicle gives us an elevated view perfect for spotting animals. Keep a lookout for lions, buffalos, black rhinos, leopards, spotted hyenas and an array of interesting antelope species including red hartebeest, eland, and kudu.
We return to Gqeberha late afternoon to relax at the lodge and enjoy a hearty dinner.
Early on Day 2 our Garden Route Tour sets off west along the beautiful Garden Route, a breathtaking 300-kilometre (190 mi) stretch along the south-eastern coast of South Africa. The route offers a delightful contrast as it meanders between the Indian Ocean and the Tsitsikamma and Outeniqua mountain ranges covered in unspoiled indigenous forests. We make a stop along the way to visit the popular surfing destination of Jeffreys Bay (fondly known as J-Bay) which attracts top surfers from all over the world. The town has a beautiful beach and some quaint local stores to explore.
Our destination for the next 2 nights is the Tsitsikamma National Park, located where the Garden Route crosses into the Western Cape Province. It is a stunning destination known for its dramatic coastal scenery, lush forests, and delicate Fynbos vegetation. Among its top attractions are the Suspension Bridge over the Storms River mouth, and popular walking trails. For the next two nights of our budget South Africa Camping Safari, we will stay at a campsite in Storms River Village, a stone's throw from the magnificent Tsitsikamma National Park.
Day 3 is ours to explore the Tsitsikamma National Park at our leisure. In the morning, your guide will take you out on the Waterfall Trail, a beautiful hiking trail that follows the coastline and makes up the last section of the incredibly popular Otter Trail hike. The walk is fairly challenging, so you may opt to stay closer to camp and explore the Storms River mouth. You may opt to take the Woodcutters Journey tour later in the afternoon to learn more about the forests and the Tsitsikamma biome. There are also a host of other adventure activities available, like a tree top canopy zipline tour or bungee jumping the highest commercial bungee-jumping bridge in the world, at 216 meters (709 feet) above the Bloukrans River.
Today we continue west along the coast past scenic seaside villages of the beautiful Garden Route. We make a stop in the town of Knysna to explore this charming seaside town that lies at the side of a beautiful lagoon. Our drive then heads inland over spectacular mountain passes into the Klein Karoo (Little Karoo) region. We make our way towards the town of Oudtshoorn, known as the "ostrich capital of the world" and known for its ostrich farming.
We pay a visit to the famous Cango Caves located at the foothills of the Swartberg Mountain range near Oudtshoorn. We take a tour of the caves, estimated to be around 20 million years old, exploring a series of hidden chambers carved deep into the limestone and stopping to admire the fascinating rock formations sculptured by nature over time.
On the morning of Day 5, our South Africa Overland tour follows the popular Route 62 through the wide-open spaces of the Klein Karoo. Our first stop is an encounter with a family group of cheeky meerkats. These small mammals live in a large community of burrows. They spend their time congregating around the burrows, standing on their hind legs to keep watch. They will keep you entertained with their amusing antics.
Then we continue along Route 62, the historic scenic inland route between Cape Town and Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), passing through a collection of charming towns including Barrydale, Ladismith, and Calitzdorp, each offering quirky shops and unique attractions. We will stop to browse the produce at some of the farm stalls that dot the route. Our destination for the night is Barrydale, a quaint village nestled amidst the beautiful Langeberg Mountains and fertile Tradouw Valley. We overnight in en-suite bedrooms at a historic Karoo hotel.
The final day of our South Africa Camping Safari continues through the farmlands and rural villages of the Cape Overberg before heading down towards the south coast. Our first stop of the day is the southernmost point in Africa, Cape Agulhas. Here we stop to watch where the merging of the mighty Indian and Atlantic oceans, and taking photos to capture our moment at the southernmost tip of the African continent.
Next, our Lodge Overland Tour takes us along the Cape Whale Coast Route, headed to popular whale-watching destination, Hermanus. We take a walk along the boardwalk watching the crashing ocean and keeping a lookout for whales in season (July to November) and other marine life. Then we continue east through seaside villages and past dramatic rocky cliffs, bays, rivers, and farmlands. At Betty's Bay, we stop to visit the Stony Point Nature Reserve to view a large breeding colony of endangered African Penguins. Then its onward to Cape Town and the iconic Table Mountain.
With the last leg of our budget South Africa Camping Safari complete, our memorable journey finishes in the beautiful city of Cape Town.
We recommend booking a night of pre-tour accommodation in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) for the night before this South Africa Safari departs, and a night of post-tour accommodation in Cape Town after the safari ends.
To book affordable pre-tour and post-tour accommodation at recommended lodges/hotels in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Cape Town simply ask our friendly travel advisors to add extra nights to your safari booking.
This Budget Camping South Africa Safari (Garden Route to Cape Town) is also available as a Lodge Overland Camping Safari along the Garden Route. For more details about the different South Africa Safari options contact African Budget Safaris.
For up-to-date and confirmed pricing info for optional items, please drop us an enquiry.
This tour does take children.
There is a minimum age limit of 8 years of age, for travellers on scheduled departures, however, children aged 8 and 9 years of age are accepted on a request basis only.
A maximum of 4 children, aged between 10 - 15 years will be allowed per scheduled tour departure date.
Should there already be 4 children confirmed on a tour, any further children requests will be dealt with on a request basis only.
Age restrictions may apply to certain items listed in the respective tour activities and it is important that you are aware of these restrictions prior to confirming children on tour.
Please contact African Budget Safaris for further information.
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