Highlights of South Africa: Cape Town, the Winelands & a Kruger Safari

Today you explore Cape Town, one of the world's most beautiful cities. Weather permitting, you ride the revolving cableway to the summit of Table Mountain for breathtaking panoramas over the city bowl, Table Bay, Robben Island and the curving Atlantic coast, walking the summit paths among fynbos and dassies. Back below, a city tour takes in the historic Company's Garden, the pastel-painted, cobbled Bo-Kaap quarter with its Cape Malay heritage, the buzzing Greenmarket Square, and the story of the city from Dutch settlement to today. You take in the beautiful City Hall, from whose balcony Mandela spoke on his release, and the lively harbour. The beauty and history are captivating. As the day ends, you return to your hotel, perhaps savouring the sunset from the waterfront. Rest well, for tomorrow you explore the wild Cape Peninsula.

Today you follow the spectacular Cape Peninsula south from the city. You drive the coast past Camps Bay and along the cliff-hugging Chapman's Peak, pausing at pretty Hout Bay harbour. At Boulders Beach near Simon's Town you walk the boardwalks among a delightful colony of African penguins, then continue into the Cape of Good Hope, where the land narrows to the wild headland of Cape Point, riding the funicular up to the old lighthouse for dizzying views over the meeting of the oceans. You watch for ostriches, baboons and antelope in the fynbos, and perhaps enjoy a seafood lunch by the sea. The drama and beauty are unforgettable. As the day ends, you return to Cape Town along the False Bay coast, the light golden over the water. Rest well, for tomorrow holds Robben Island and the waterfront.

Today brings a moving encounter with South Africa's recent history. From the V&A Waterfront you take the ferry across Table Bay to Robben Island, the UNESCO-listed island prison where Nelson Mandela and many other freedom fighters were held during the apartheid years. Often guided by former political prisoners, you see the limestone quarry and stand in the small cell where Mandela spent eighteen years, an experience both sobering and uplifting. Back on the mainland you have time to explore the lively V&A Waterfront, with its harbour, markets, museums and restaurants, perhaps visiting the striking Zeitz MOCAA museum of contemporary African art, or simply enjoying lunch with a mountain view. The history and humanity are profound. As the day ends, you relax in the city. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey to the Cape Winelands.

Today you leave the coast for the beautiful Cape Winelands, one of the world's loveliest wine regions. A short scenic drive inland brings you to Stellenbosch, a graceful university town of oak-lined streets and whitewashed Cape Dutch gables set beneath jagged mountains. You settle in, then spend the day touring celebrated wine estates, tasting award-winning wines, from crisp chenin blanc and chardonnay to bold cabernet and the uniquely South African pinotage, often paired with cheese or chocolate, and enjoying a long, sunny estate lunch among the vines. You stroll the historic town, admiring its architecture, galleries and cafes. The beauty, flavours and hospitality are wonderful. As the day ends, you relax at your estate or guesthouse amid the vineyards, the mountains glowing at sunset. Rest well, for tomorrow you fly north to the Big Five wilderness of the Sabi Sand.

Today the journey turns wild as you fly to the lowveld and one of Africa's finest game reserves. You transfer to the airport and fly north, connecting to a light aircraft or transfer into the Sabi Sand, a private reserve sharing an unfenced boundary with Kruger National Park and famed above all for its leopards. On arrival you are welcomed to your safari lodge, settle in, and enjoy lunch as game comes to drink nearby. In the late afternoon you set out on your first open 4x4 game drive with an expert ranger and Shangaan tracker, watching the bush come alive, perhaps meeting elephant, giraffe, buffalo or lion, and pausing for sundowner drinks as the sky flames. After a spotlit drive back, dinner awaits under the stars. The thrill of the wild is intoxicating. Rest well in the bush.

Today is devoted to the wildlife of the Sabi Sand. You rise before dawn for a morning game drive as the bush stirs and cools, your ranger and tracker reading tracks and signs to find the Big Five, lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino, along with cheetah, wild dog, giraffe, zebra and countless birds. You pause for coffee in the wilderness, then return for brunch and a restful midday as the heat builds. In the golden late afternoon you head out again, tracking predators as they wake, and toast the sunset with drinks in the bush. After dark, a spotlight reveals nocturnal creatures on the drive back to camp. Each sighting, close and respectful, stirs the soul. As the day ends, you dine beneath a canopy of stars. Rest well amid the sounds of the African night.

Another exhilarating day in the Sabi Sand unfolds at the rhythm of the wild. A dawn drive may bring a leopard draped in a tree, a lion pride on the move, or a breeding herd of elephants crossing the road, while your tracker's skill turns the bush into an open book. Back at the lodge you enjoy brunch and time to relax by the pool, watching game at the waterhole, or perhaps take a guided bush walk to learn the smaller wonders, tracks, dung, birds and plants, on foot with an armed ranger. The afternoon drive again seeks predators and sundowners in the wilderness, followed by a spotlit return. The immersion in nature is complete and profound. As the day ends, you share stories over dinner around the fire. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey to Johannesburg.

Today you leave the bush and connect to Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city and the crucible of its modern history. After a final morning drive or a relaxed breakfast, you fly to Johannesburg and transfer for a guided visit to Soweto, the vast, storied township that was the heart of the anti-apartheid struggle. You drive its lively streets, see the modest house on Vilakazi Street where Mandela once lived, and pause at the moving Hector Pieterson Memorial to the 1976 student uprising. You visit the powerful Apartheid Museum, whose galleries tell with unflinching honesty the story of segregation and the long road to freedom. The history is sobering and inspiring. As the day ends, you settle into your Johannesburg hotel. Rest well, reflecting on all you have seen across this remarkable country.

After breakfast and perhaps a last morning at leisure, you are transferred to O.R. Tambo International Airport for your onward departure. You leave having experienced the astonishing variety of South Africa: beautiful Cape Town beneath Table Mountain, the penguins and drama of the Cape Peninsula, the moving story of Robben Island, the vineyards of Stellenbosch, the raw thrill of Big Five game drives in the Sabi Sand, and the powerful history of Soweto and the Apartheid Museum. The images stay vivid long after you land, the view from the summit, a leopard in the golden light, sunset over the vineyards, and the courage remembered on Robben Island. South Africa offers beauty, wildlife, wine, history and a genuine welcome in abundance, and you depart already dreaming of a return to the Rainbow Nation.