ITHALA/DIDIMA/GIANTS CASTLE
CATERED 5 DAY PREMIUM MOUNTAIN AND WILDLIFE SAFARI

DAY ONE
NTSHONDWE CAMP
ITHALA GAME RESERVE
Passing through the small village of Louwsburg on the crest of the Ngotshe mountains, a vista opens up of green plains and blue hills stretching into the distance. Ithala Game Reserve, full of wildlife and ancient cultures, beckons as you make your way down the steep approach to the gate. The drive to Ntshondwe Camp gives you your first glimpses of the abundant wildlife with white rhino, giraffe, warthogs and antelope along the way. Book into your comfortable chalet and after a refreshing drink on the deck overlooking the waterhole explore the camp which nestles in a hanging valley high on the Ngotshe cliffs. This award winning camp is full of birds and animals which inhabit the natural bush that forms the camp’s setting. Just before 6pm make your way to the reception area for your night drive (booked earlier). The drive will allow you to see the animals that are active at dusk and during the night such as aardvark and many small herbivores and carnivores not normally encountered. You will also see a lot of large animals in their night mode. Return at 8pm and go through to the Kraal Restaurant for a delicious dinner.

DAY TWO
NTSHONDWE CAMP
ITHALA GAME RESERVE
Rising early before sunrise and drive along the Ngubu loop road enjoying the early morning scents and sounds of the African bush. The road is full of the evidence of last night’s activities, broken branches, torn bark, piles of droppings and tracks along and across the soft sand and gravel. The road travels around the steep sides of the valley through thick bush, open grass patches and wetlands and then drops down into the thornveld taking you through a large variety of habitats for bird and animal activities.

Breakfast on the open deck of the Kraal Restaurant sets you up for the day. Visit the well stocked camp curio shop and the Interpretive Centre which displays the history of Ithala from the middle stone age through iron smelting iron age to the reserve’s goldmines and the current conservation management. The hot middle of the day is spent at the swimming pool. Lunch is a tasty snack from the Guinea Fowl Coffee Shop. At 5pm board the 4X4 tour vehicle for a drive into the more inaccessible parts of the reserve through steep valleys, thick forest and views down into the Pongola River valley, eroded so deeply by this African river that the oldest rocks in the world are exposed. Dine again in the atmospheric Kraal Restaurant.

DAY THREE
DIDIMA CAMP
UKHAHLAMBA DRAKENDBERG PARK
An early start after breakfast sees you travelling through the historic northern KwaZulu-Natal area where place names evoke the violent past. Zulu against Britain at Rorkes Drift, Zulu against Boer at Blood River and Boer against Britain at Ladysmith. The scenery changes as you ascent into the mountains and enter the World Heritage Site of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park. Book in at Didima reception office and take the opportunity to book a guide for a hike into the Didima valley to see the San rock art in the morning. Your thatched chalet, designed to a bushman theme, provides all the comforts and you can relax after your trip. A pre-dinner drink taking in the wonderful views and then dinner in the Eland`s View Restaurant.

DAY FOUR
DIDIMA CAMP
UKHAHLAMBA DRAKENSBERG PARK
An early breakfast in the restaurant and taking your packed lunch, meet your guide at reception. Hike over Mike`s Pass and down into Didima valley to see the rock art of these ‘First People’ on the walls and rocks of the many sandstone overhangs. The views are spectacular, the vegetation lush and water rushing down many boulder strewn streams. A swim or a shower and tea on the restaurant deck.. Dinner is at the restaurant.

DAY FIVE
GIANT`S CASTLE CAMP
GIANT`S CASTLE GAME RESERVE
A leisurely breakfast and leave Didima for Giants going via Estcourt. As you make your way up the Bushmans River valley past the homesteads of the Amahlubi people the Giant stands out prominently on the main escarpment. Book in at the camp and take up residence in your comfortable chalet themed to the wild flowers of the Drakensberg. After lunch in the Mbali Restaurant walk up to the Main Cave Museum where a series of rock art panels depicts the things and events in the lives of the bushmen. On your walk back, stop at Rock 75 which dates back to the Langalibelale rebellion. Dinner is in the iMbali Restaurant after sundowners on the veranda high over the Bushmans River.