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Background on regions and tour packages ......for more details click on each region i.e. west coast, cape town, garden route, namibia or ....

Sanveld Tours and Safaris is a tour and safari company in Cape Town, South Africa that offers affordable guided travel packages. Affordable packages with high value experiences!

 

Our tour packages in South Africa focus on areas like Cape Town, Wine Lands, West Coast, Cederberg, Garden Route, Karoo, Kalahari and Kgalagadi.

 

Our tour packages for Namibia focus on the Etosha National Park and the Caprivi region.

 

Our tour packages for Botswana focus on the Okavango Delta- and Kalahari Desert region.

 

Our tour packages for Kenya focus on the National Parks of Masai Mara, -Amboselli and Coastal regions of Diani and Malindi.

 

Please take your time to read through some back ground information on our offerings as it will guide you in your decision!

 

Otherwise go straight to the tours/safari's packages by area to make your chioce.

 

We are looking forward to meet you!

SOUTH AFRICA : Cape Town and surrounding Wine Lands

Cape Town and Wine Lands

 

The Western Cape is home to Table Mountain, the vast Cape Winelands and two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Robben Island and the Cape Floral Region.

 

It is best known for Cape Town, South Africa’s ‘Mother City’, a popular travel destination that is home to Table Mountain and beautiful beaches, among many other attractions. The Western Cape’s beaches are beautiful, some with mountains rushing down to meet a turquoise ocean.

 

A visit to the popular Cape Winelands – which feature wine estates that date back hundreds of years, wine tasting, wine making, good food and spectacular scenery – is a must.

 

 

SOUTH AFRICA : Garden Route & Karoo

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The Garden Route : one of the most popular areas in South Africa.

 

The Garden Route is a popular stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa

 

The name comes from the verdant and ecologically diverse vegetation encountered here and the numerous lagoons and lakes dotted along the coast. It includes towns such as Mossel Bay,Knysna,Oudshoorn, Plettenberg Bay and George, the Garden Route's largest city and main administrative center.

 

It has an oceanic climate, with mild to warm summers, and mild to cool winters -  the mildest climate in South Africa. Temperatures rarely fall below 10°C in winter and rarely climb beyond 28°C in summer.

 

The Route is sandwiched between mountains and the Indian Ocean The Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma indigenous forests are a unique mixture of Cape Fynbos and coastal forests, offer hiking trails and eco-tourism activities.

Nearly 300 species of bird life are to be found in a variety of habitats.

 

The Tsitsikamma National Park is aprotected area and it is well known as a coastal reserve for indigenous forests and a dramatic coastline.

The word “Tsitsikamma” hails from the Khoekhoe language tse-tsesa, meaning “clear”, and gami, meaning “water”, probably referring to the clear water of theTsitsikamma river. Other meanings are ‘place of much water’ and ‘waters begin.

Near the park is theBloukrans Bridge, the world’s highest bungee jump at 216 meters (709 ft.).

 

Ten nature reserves embrace the varied ecosystems of the area as well as unique marine reserves, home to soft coral reefs, dolphins, seals and a host of other marine life. Various bays along the Garden Route are nurseries to the endangered Southern Right Whale which come there to calve in the winter and spring (July to December).

 

The Karoo

 

The Karoo (a Khoisan word of uncertain etymology) is a semi-desert, natural - region of South Africa.

 

 The Great Karoo has an area of more than 400,000 square kilometers. From a geological point of view it has been a vast inland basin for most of the past 250 million years.

 

The first European settlers who landed in the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, began to move inland when the arable land around the Cape became scarce. The Europeans that first settled in the Karoo were the trekboers in the mid-1700s. Before that time, large herds of antelope, zebra and other large game roamed the grassy flats of the region.

 

As the name implies, the Little Karoo is the smaller (and more southerly) of the two Karoo sub-regions. Geographically it is a valley - bounded on the north by the Swartberg and on the south by the Langeberg and Outeniqua mountains. Famous for the scenic mountain passes, wine estates, decidious fruit and other local produce.

 

Also home to the Cango Caves and Ostrich Farms.

 

The highlights of these areas

 

 

  1. The Art- and Wine Route in the beautiful hamlets of McGregor, Barrydale, Calitzdorp and Prince Albert is a must.

  2. The Swartberg- and the Meiringspoort Passes as well the Seven Passes in the Outeniqua Mountains in and around the towns of Oudsthoorn, George and Knysna are simply spectacular!

  3. A stopover in Oudsthoorn and a visit to a working Ostrich farm and a visit to the Cango Caves should not be missed.

  4. The Garden Route with its lush forests and pristine beaches offer various activities and some of the adventure activities are :

    • Bungi Jumping - highest in Africa!

    • Zip lining through the forests

    • Gravity abseiling

    • Canopy Tours through the Tsitsikamma forest (30m above the ground)

    • Surfing at J-Bay or Vic-Bay

  5. Birds of Eden is the largest single span aviary in the world and host approximately 3500 birds and more than 200 species.

  6. There is also a couple of elephant sanctuaries in the region. Here you have the opportunity to interact with these giants of the forests and be able to learn more about the behaviour of these animals – You can FEED the elephants!

  7. The absolute standout in this area is the CAT WALK with LIONS and an ELEPHANT RIDE in a private nature reserve on this route.

  8. The coast line offers some of the best spots to do Whale- and Dolphin watching.

  9. For the adrenaline junkie there is the ultimate experience to do CAGE DIVING with the GREAT WHITE SHARKS!

  10. Photography: This unique area presents excellent opportunities for the avid photographer to take home a true experience to share with other likeminded travellers.

 

SOUTH AFRICA : West Coast, Cederberg- and Winterhoek Mountains Wilderness Areas.

South Africa: West Coast, Cedarberg- and Winterhoek Wilderness Areas

 

West Coast : Discover this gem!

 

The West Coast is an undiscovered treasure trove of unspoilt beaches. Along this stretch of coastline are a series of quaint historic towns and fishing villages with names like Doring Bay, Lambert’s Bay, Elands Bay, Velddrift, Brittania Bay, Paternoster, Jacobs Bay, Langebaan, Ysterfontein, Darling, Melkbos and Blaauwberg.

 

Early pioneers make this desolate coastline their home, where snoek (close family of barracuda), mussels and crayfish are a way of life and “bokkoms” (salted mullet strung up in bunches and left to dry) is a local delicacy. This route is a seafood mecca and a number of open-air beach restaurants offer unsurpassed fresh seafood, cooked on open fires, while you enjoy the sea views.

 

This route offers some highly acclaimed wine cellars, that offer excellent white wines and is a worth your while stopover to do some wine tasting, accompanying the mouth-watering local cuisine.

 

Sanveld Safaris have access to a number of public- and private nature reserves in the area that offers a variety of fauna and flora. There are excellent areas for the avid bird watchers like the Verlorenvlei Vlei estuary (a Ramsar Site), Rocher Pan and the West Coast National Park (a World Heritage Site).  Verlorenvlei is one of the most important estuarine systems in the Western Cape and one of the largest natural wetlands along the west coast of South Africa. It is also one of the few coastal fresh water lakes in the country.

 

The Fossil Park near Vredenburg is a must for those who are interested in archaeology and dinosaurs.

 

For the more adventurous, Elands Bay offer some of the best surf in the country and Langebaan and Blaauwberg offer excellent conditions for kite surfing. For those that like to test their skills in off-road 4x4 driving or riding dunes on a quad bike, we can arrange this on this route as we have access to an excellent spot outside Lambert’s Bay.

 

Cedarberg Mountains: Wilderness Area

 

The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam Cedar (Widdringtonia cedarbergensis), which is a tree endemic to the area. The mountains are noted for dramatic rock formations, Rock Climbing, Bouldering and San Rock Art. The predominant vegetation is Mediterranean Fynbos , which forms part of the world renowned Cape Floral Kingdom.

 

Due to the clear skies most of the year, it makes an excellent site for star watching. The area's apex predators are the endangered Cape Leopard (Panthera pardus) and Caracal(Caracal caracal). Other mammals include the Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis) or "dassie", Meer Kats (Suricata suricatta), Mongooses and other larger antelopes like Gemsbok(Oryx gazella), Eland and Chacma Baboons (Papio ursinus). Other threatened species found in the Cedarberg Wilderness Area include the Clanwilliam Yellow Fish. 

 

In caves and overhangs throughout the area, San Rock Art can be found, evidence of the earliest human inhabitants. In the north, the old Moravian mission station of Wuppertal still remains, the heart of a small subsistence farming community, and home to a local industry producing velskoene, traditional soft leather shoes. This small village also provides visitors with an interesting view of rural life.

 

Rooibos tea is the area's most famous export and The Cedarberg area includes one winery the highest in South Africa.

 

The area has a well-known hot spring, called the Baths. According to legend, the discovery of the spring is closely related to animals. A herdsman roaming the district boasted a huge ox by the name of Kolberg, who kicked open the spring with his mighty hoof.

 

This hot water spring has been a focus for human activity for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years. The San, or Bushmen were indigenous to the area, and they used this hot spring as a pivotal life source for many years. Because their physical and spiritual worlds were so intertwined, the San would have harnessed supernatural power from the hot water for healing purposes.

 

By the 1720s European settlement had spread along the Olifants River as far as its confluence with the Doring River. The Baths was first mentioned in VOC (Dutch East India Company) documents in 1739 and the Batavian Government managed the hot springs, until the British took over again in 1806. It was later sold to a private owner namely James McGregor.

 

As a wilderness area, the primary activity is eco-tourism including camping, rock climbing, bouldering and hiking. The Cedarberg is renowned for its quality of rock climbing routes.

 

Winterhoek Mountains: Wilderness Area

 

The Winterhoek Wilderness Area comprises a conservation area of 30608ha, and contains waterfalls, swimming holes, pristine rivers and mountain wilderness. As a wilderness area, the primary activity is eco-tourism including camping, paragliding, hiking and mountain biking.

 

The highlights of these areas:

 

  1. Surfers coast from Blaauwberg to Lambert’s Bay with the hotspot in Eland’s Bay.

  2. Game and Bird viewing in the West Coast National Park (World Heritage Site), Verlorenvlei estuary (RAMSAR site) Cedarberg- and Winterhoek Wilderness Areas, Bird Island at Lambert’s Bay.

  3. Game and Bird viewing in Private Nature Conservancy’s such as Zevenputs, and Donkieskraal.

  4. Adventure activities like surfing, kite boarding, diving, rock climbing, bouldering, fishing, mountain biking, dune riding, 4x4 off-road driving, hiking and camping to name a few.

  5. Landscapes and rock formations such as the Stadsaal Caves, rock art, clear rivers and waterfalls, dune landscapes, water estuaries and unspoilt coastlines. The blooming of the wild flowers when in season!

  6. Health and Spa: Leisure time at the hot springs - The Baths.

  7. Cuisine: West coast seafood feast and traditional food from the Sandveld - mostly prepared on open fires. Wine tasting and yes the medicinal and magical indigenous Rooibos tea!

  8. Scenery: Back roads of the West Coast, Sandveld and Swartland through the quaint towns and hamlets of Langebaan, Paternoster, Velddrift, Elands bay Lambert’s Bay, Redelingshuys, Doring Bay, Clanwilliam, Wuppertal, Citrusdal, Piketberg, Aurora & Darling. Driving over mountain passes like Pakhuis, Eselbank, Piekenierskloof and Dasklip.

  9. Photography: This unique area presents excellent opportunities for the avid photographer to take home a true experience to share with other likeminded travellers.

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