Country visited: South Africa & Swaziland
This tour gives you the best of South Africa & Swaziland. From Pretoria we head to the Drakensberg for 3 days. Drakensberg is considered the premium hiking destination in South Africa. The Drakensberg also has the higest concentration of rock art in the world. We head off to do a 14km hike with magnificent views of the Amphitheater and the base of the Tugela falls. Then we are off to Balito near Durban. As we make our way north, we stay 3 nights in St Lucia. Here we do an afternoon boat cruise on the estuary and the next day we visit Isimangaliso Wetlands Park and Cape Vidal for a dip in the Indian ocean. We cross the border into Swaziland where we spend the next 3 days walking, cycling, horse riding or whitewater rafting. Before we get into Kruger, we visit the Jane Goodall Chimp Eden. It is the first and only Chimpanzee sancuary in South Africa. After this, we head to Marloth Park on the border with Kruger National Park. The famous Kruger National Park, where we keep our eyes peeled for the Big 5 and do a full day game drive and 2 night drives in open jeeps. We are then off to Hoedspruit for some very informative, fun activities! We stay in Balule Nature reserve where you do a morning walk with a qualified naturalist on her Big 5 farm. We also visit the Hoedspruit Reptile Center. We spend a day with Rhino Revolution in Khaya Ndlovu in Hoedspruit as well as an open jeep safari. Before making our way back to Pretoria we visit the Echo Caves and then the breathtaking Blyde River Canyon. The last night we spend in Sabie, where you can enjoy hiking through the forest and swimming in the hot swimming pool.
Tour Code: SA/7/2027
Tour Price: € 2195,-
Tour price includes:
Tour price excludes:
Visas, flight ticket, additional spending money, optional activities, sleeping bag, camping mattress & pillow. 2 dinners (St Lucia & Sabie) & 1 lunch (Hoedspruit)
Per person price is based on a minimum of 7 students.
Please make sure that you are at Twana Lodge 1 day before departure date...so arrive at Twana Lodge on or before the 21st of July 2027.
Departure Date for July 2027: 22 July 2027
Return Date for July 2027: 8 August 2027
Please book your flight back to the Netherlands on or after the 9th of August 2027.
Please make sure that you are at Twana Lodge 1 day before departure date...so arrive at Twana Lodge on or before the
Departure Date for August 2027: 12 August 2027
Return Date 2027: 29 August 2027
Please book your flight back to the Netherlands on or after the 30th of August 2027.
Utrecht
This year the Safari course has become a new ‘Biologie in het Werkveld’ course (2.5 ECTS): (http://biologieinhetwerkveld.
Wageningen
The trips for Wageningen and other students remain a Capita Selecta Course (3 ECTS).
Looking for an adventure coming year?
Would you like to do something completely different?
And have you always wanted to explore the exciting nature and wildlife of Southern Africa?
If you are looking for more info contact us via studentsafaris@gmail.com, and/or add me as a friend on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/africastudenttours/.
Hope to see you soon :)!
Depart: Pretoria
End: Pretoria
Day 1: Drakensberg
Day 2: Drakensberg (hike to Tugela Gorge) - included
Day 3: Drakensberg (free day for activities) - optional activities
Day 4: Durban
Day 5: St Lucia (afternoon Hippo & Croc tour) - included
Day 6: St Lucia (game drive through iSimangaliso Wetlands Park to Cape Vidal) - included
Day 7: St Lucia (full day for optional activities)
Day 8: Swaziland
Day 9: Swaziland (full day optional activities)
Day 10: Swaziland (full day optional activities)
Day 11: Marloth Park (Jane Godall Chimp Eden) - included
Day 12: Kruger National Park (Night drive with open jeeps) - included
Day 13: Kruger National Park (full day game drive in open jeeps & Night drive with open jeeps) - included
Day 14: Balule Hoedspruit (half day game drive through Kruger NP) - included
Day 15: Balule Hoedspruit (morning walk in big 5 game reserve, Hoedspruit Reptile Centre) - included
Day 16: Balule Hoedspruit (Rhino Revolution & open jeep safari) - included
Day 17: Sabie (visit the Echo Caves and Blyde river canyon) - included
Day 18: Twana Lodge
Day 19: Depart Home
| Day 1: | Drakensberg Driving day to the Drakensberg passing by the Sterkfontein Dam which is South Africas largest dam by storage capacity. |
| Day 2: |
Drakensberg Tugela Gorge Hike |
| Day 3: |
Drakensberg Today we have a free day to do various activities like a cable tour, quadbiking, ziplining or paint balling. |
| Day 4: |
Durban (Balito) |
| Day 5: |
St Lucia Once we reach St Lucia, there is an afternoon Hippo and Croc boat cruise on the St Lucia estuary. - Included |
| Day 6: |
St Lucia This town originated as a result of the good fishing in the area. The estuary is a combination of fresh and sea water and has its own unique ecosystem. Today we take you to Cape Vidal as we game drive through the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park. - Included |
| Day 7: |
St Lucia Take a day to relax by the pool, explore the markets or do other optional activities. (see the activiy page for optional activities and rates) |
| Day 8: |
Swaziland. We head north to Swaziland (Eswatini) then the afternoon to chill and book your activities for the next 2 days .(see the activity page for optional activities and rates) |
| Day 9: |
Swaziland. Full day of various activities to do. (see the activity page for optional activities and rates) |
| Day 10: |
Swaziland: We cross the border into Swaziland and you can spend the afternoon hiking, swimming or just relaxing with a good book. |
| Day 11: |
Marloth Park: a 3000 hectare wildlife sanctuary and holiday town in Mpumalanga, South Africa, that shares a 15km fence with the southern section of Kruger National Park along the Crocodile River. |
| Day 12: |
Kruger National Park Kruger National Park where we spend the next 2 days game driving. On the way to Kruger National Park Park, we visit the Jane Goodall Institute Chimp Eden where you get a 2 hour tour with the Chimps. At 20:00 we head off on a night drive in an open Jeep. - Included |
| Day 13: |
Kruger National Park Spend the day game driving in open safari jeeps looking for animals, such as elephants, lions, buffalos, rhinos and leopards. Don't just focus on the Big 5, but also see the beauty in the small things. This will be done in an open safari vehicle, the evening another night drive in open Jeeps. - Included |
| Day 14: |
Balule Hoedspruit |
| Day 15: |
Balule Hoedspruite |
| Day 16: |
Balule Hoedspruit We spend the morning at Rhino Revolution and learn about their efforts to save the rhino and their anti-poaching program. There we do an open jeep safari to find the Big 5! - Included |
| Day 17: |
Sabie We head to the town of Sabie via the Blyde River Canyon. We sleep at Merry Pebbles campsite where they have a hot swimming pool! Echo Caves - Included Enjoy an hour long guided tour through the spectacular caves.
Blyde River Canion - Included |
| Day 18: |
Twana Lodge We head back home to Twana Lodge for our last evening together. |
Student Safaris are accredited (3 ECTS) Field Courses for university students that provide field experience with conservation issues, ecology, wildlife and plants in Southern Africa, while focusing on the importance of wildlife conservation and understanding actual conflicts concerning protection of wildlife species and their habitats. The course will provide a deeper understanding of the structure and functioning of animal communities, population control, translocations, wildlife diseases and animal behaviour. From experts in the field, students will learn more about wildlife conservation, doing ecological research, and the management of national parks during visits of protected areas, research institutes and other field excursions.
To facilitate an understanding of conservation on Southern Africa, students will prepare presentations that will be giving on site. These presentations will mainly focus on biodiversity, conservation, human-wildlife conflicts and ecology in certain areas and habitats.
Students will gain knowledge about wildlife, habitats, flora and the applicability of all of these to ecological studies. The course will provide a unique opportunity for students to learn new skills and concepts. This course enables students to orient themselves on a potential internship, thesis or research project and will trigger them to evaluate their ambitions and further steps in their academic career.
Learning goals
- Student presentations
- Final discussion on assignment: GPS sightings/monitoring rare species/body condition scores
- Certificate for overall participation and motivation
- Final report per group
Qualification of guides General guides
The guides that accompany the students during the complete trip have nearly 20 years of experience with overland travels in Southern Africa. Therefore, they have varied general knowledge on the nature, culture and geological background and history of all the locations. The guides also stimulate the students to reflect on their career aspirations and give them some life experiences and flexibility when working in developing countries. Local guides Qualified, certified local guides and game rangers are arranged at all specific sites. They offer essential knowledge of the park, nature and animals present.
Learning outcomes:
After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- critically discuss and evaluate the conservation and management of wildlife/ problems in wildlife management
- understand species distribution and adaptation to specific climate circumstances and resource availability
- understand the major physiological and behavioural adaptations of animals in different habitats and ecological systems
- describe different strategies aimed at prioritizing areas for conservation and effective management - discuss human-wildlife issues on an academic level
- students can set up a small experiment and analyse and discuss collected data
- explain some of the techniques relevant for the management of wildlife populations
- present the results in an understandable way for both managers and policy makers.
Activities:
The course consists of one week preparation and three weeks in the field in which students from different disciplines will be exposed to a large diversity of mammals, birds, invertebrates, fish, reptiles and amphibians.
- preparing for field trip and oral presentation
- Presentation of results in an oral presentation (field practical)
- Plenary discussions;
- Writing a final report based on the acquired knowledge
All activities are mandatory.
Examination:
- Oral presentation
- Final group report
- Overall motivation and participation
Optional Activities for South Africa: Prices are subject to change at any time without notice. We do our best to keep prices current and provide accurate information.
Drakensberg Optional Activities:
Rock Climbing - R1180 (3 people or more)
Pocolane Peak Abseil - R800,-
Zipline - R1250,-
Extreme Cable Tour - R1100,-
Quadbike Mountain Outride - R1300,-
St Lucia Optional Activities:
Horse Riding (Bush and Beach) - R1500,-
Bicycle Tour - R275,-
Bird Watching Tour - R425,-
Swaziland Mlilwane National Park
Horse Riding 1h - R395,-