Family and Friends - Lodge-Safari in South Africa

You arrive at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. A shuttle service picks you up and takes you to the lodge, which is located very close to Kruger National Park and Hazyview (the name of the place refers to the 'heat shimmer' that occurs during the summer heat). The lodge is run by Anja from Germany and Gideon Barnard from South Africa, making it an ideal starting point for safaris and tours with participants from the German-speaking region. In the restaurant or by the pool, you can relax from the rigors of travel. Numerous activities ensure that boredom does not set in. This safari is ideal for families with children who are eager for adventure, such as the Skyway-Trail (high ropes course) where you can 'slide' along a cable car over the vegetation by the Sabi River. For water enthusiasts, a rafting tour on the Sabie River is recommended. The tour includes 20 rapids of the second to third grade over a length of 8 km and offers impressions that can only be experienced from the water side. Or you can take it easy and sway on the back of an elephant through the African bush. Adventurers can explore the surroundings instead on an ATV. A safari in an open 4x4 vehicle in Kruger National Park is a must. With a bit of luck, the whole family will get to admire the Big Five (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard) during the safari.

Arriving in the approximately 3.7 million strong metropolis of the Western Cape, you will be picked up at Cape Town International Airport (CTIA), which was awarded the best airport in Africa at the Skytrax World Airport Awards, by a shuttle and taken directly to the guesthouse run by Germans and tailored to the wishes of German customers. The guesthouse will serve as your base camp in the coming days from which you will embark on your endeavors. A must and a delight for the palate of children, parents, and grandparents would be a wine tour in THE wine-growing region of South Africa, which supplies the whole world with high-quality wines. In beautifully located historical wine estates nestled among endless vineyards, you will taste various wines – including guaranteed Pinotage grown in South Africa. On a tour to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, you will enter the southern part of the Table Mountain National Park and get to know the unique flora and fauna of the Cape Peninsula. The Cape of Good Hope got its name either from Bartolomeo Diaz, who was the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa in 1488, or from the Portuguese King John II, who hoped to discover the way to India and is today one of the most famous places in South Africa.

Here, a safari in the Addo Elephant National Park, unique in this form in South Africa, is planned. It was founded in 1931 with the aim of specifically protecting the elephants that live in this region and are heavily hunted. Since then, the population has recovered, and one can admire more than 350 elephants on 164,000 hectares. Especially in the dry summer months (German winter), it is great for children to observe the herds with their baby elephants at the waterholes, as they then frolic in the water and mud.