Jumbo Tours
Fossils and the Karoo
Day 1
Dung Beetles
Depart for Addo Elephant National Park. Here we can watch these fascinating animals as they socialise in their family herds at the waterholes and interact with each other in their natural habitat.
Established in 1931 to save 11 Elephants on the brink of extinction, Addo is now home to more than 350 of them, 280 Cape Buffalo, black Rhino, a range of Antelope species, as well as the rare flightless dung Beetle,
Overnight: Addo area Guesthouse ~ Bed & breakfast basis
Established in 1931 to save 11 Elephants on the brink of extinction, Addo is now home to more than 350 of them, 280 Cape Buffalo, black Rhino, a range of Antelope species, as well as the rare flightless dung Beetle,
Overnight: Addo area Guesthouse ~ Bed & breakfast basis
Day 2
Mountain Zebra
This morning you travel through Cradock and continue to ‘The Mountain Zebra National Park’, The craggy heights of the Mountain Zebra National Park's Bankberg embrace rolling plains and deep valleys, and have become an entrancing preserve for the Cape Mountain Zebra.
The proclamation of the park in 1937 saved these animals from extinction, and currently their population stands at 300 where they roam 28 412 hectares of land. Other mammals found here include the cheetah, Cape buffalo, black rhino, eland, black wildebeest, red hartebeest and gemsbok, while mountain reedbuck and grey rhebok frequent the higher areas.
After dinner you can watch the magnificent South African night sky with its many shooting stars as only visible on a clear Karoo night.
Overnight: Cradock ~ Bed & breakfast basis
The proclamation of the park in 1937 saved these animals from extinction, and currently their population stands at 300 where they roam 28 412 hectares of land. Other mammals found here include the cheetah, Cape buffalo, black rhino, eland, black wildebeest, red hartebeest and gemsbok, while mountain reedbuck and grey rhebok frequent the higher areas.
After dinner you can watch the magnificent South African night sky with its many shooting stars as only visible on a clear Karoo night.
Overnight: Cradock ~ Bed & breakfast basis
Day 3
The Owl House
After a leisurely breakfast depart for Nieu Bethesda. After a visit to the curious ‘Owl House’ you can take part in a ‘Fossil Tour’ where you can observe the 300 million Year old Fossil’s still embedded in the Sandstone. From there you travel to a local farm and visit the only private Fossil Exhibition in South Africa.
After a visit to the fossil museum you are welcome to go on a fossil walk with JP.
Or take a guided hike to rock art sites. The rock art found here in San and Khoi shelters date back 10 000 years. This is evidence of Later Stone Age people, possibly the area's earliest inhabitants.
Overnight: Ganora Guest Farm ~ Dinner, Bed & breakfast basis
After a visit to the fossil museum you are welcome to go on a fossil walk with JP.
Or take a guided hike to rock art sites. The rock art found here in San and Khoi shelters date back 10 000 years. This is evidence of Later Stone Age people, possibly the area's earliest inhabitants.
Overnight: Ganora Guest Farm ~ Dinner, Bed & breakfast basis
Day 4
The Valley of Desolation
After breakfast visit the Camdeboo National Park and In the late afternoon visit the ‘Valley of Desolation’ and look in awe over the inspiring, gigantic Camdeboo Karoo Basin with the encircling Mountain Range in the far distance.Enjoy a sundowner and watch a magnificent sunset before driving to Graaff Reinet, overlooked by the imposing 1400m high Spandaukop Mountain. The town is also known as the ‘Gem of the Karoo’, as it has more national monuments than any other town in South Africa.
Overnight: Graaff Reinet ~ Bed & breakfast basis
Overnight: Graaff Reinet ~ Bed & breakfast basis
Day 5
Aberdeen Dutch reformed Church
After breakfast take time to explore the town. Visit the Old Library Museum with its collection of fossils of over 200 million years old as well as the Reinet House, a beautifully preserved Cape Dutch house.
Then head south to the town of Aberdeen, with its interesting mix of architectural styles. The district is renowned for its wool and mohair, being the largest mohair producing area in South Africa. The town has an extremely healthy climate, a restful and rural atmosphere and unpolluted air and offers history for the mind and peace for the soul.
Visit the Dutch Reformed Church, the steeple is said to be the tallest in South Africa, and leans by 18cm. Also spend some time viewing the Biblical Art Panels in the DR Church Hall before departing for Meiringspoort, the gateway to the Klein Karoo
Overnight: De Rust or Oudtshoorn ~ Bed & breakfast basis
Then head south to the town of Aberdeen, with its interesting mix of architectural styles. The district is renowned for its wool and mohair, being the largest mohair producing area in South Africa. The town has an extremely healthy climate, a restful and rural atmosphere and unpolluted air and offers history for the mind and peace for the soul.
Visit the Dutch Reformed Church, the steeple is said to be the tallest in South Africa, and leans by 18cm. Also spend some time viewing the Biblical Art Panels in the DR Church Hall before departing for Meiringspoort, the gateway to the Klein Karoo
Overnight: De Rust or Oudtshoorn ~ Bed & breakfast basis
Day 6
The Cango Caves
Enjoy a guided tour of the famous Cango Caves, a series of magnificent, glittering limestone caverns fashioned over millennia beneath the foothills of the Swartberg range
Take a guided tour of an ostrich farm to learn all about the world’s biggest bird. Enjoy lunch at the farm
Travel over the Outeniqua Pass to George – the capital of the Garden Route, (situated on a coastal plateau between the Outeniqua mountains and the Indian ocean) to be dropped-off at your Garden Route hotel or at George airport
Take a guided tour of an ostrich farm to learn all about the world’s biggest bird. Enjoy lunch at the farm
Travel over the Outeniqua Pass to George – the capital of the Garden Route, (situated on a coastal plateau between the Outeniqua mountains and the Indian ocean) to be dropped-off at your Garden Route hotel or at George airport
MAROPENG & THE CRADLE OF HUMANKIND
(STERKFONTEIN CAVES)
Mrs Ples
LOCATED ABOUT AN HOUR OUTSIDE JOHANNESBURG,MAROPENG & THE CRADLE OF HUMANKIND (INCL. STERKFONTEIN CAVES) IS WHERE ONE OF THE MOST INFAMOUS FOSSILS ON THE PLANET, MRS PLES, WAS DISCOVERED. UNFORTUNATELY THIS DESTINATION DOES NOT FIR INTO OUR PALEONTOLOGY ROUTE, HOWEVER WE WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ARRANGE A VISIT AND TOUR HERE WHEN YOU ARE IN JOHANNESBURG.
A FEW MINUTES DRIVE FROM THE STERKFONTEIN CAVES, IS THE MAROPENG MUSEUM. A VISIT TO THE MUSEUM TAKES YOU ON AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY BACK IN TIME, LITERALLY MILLIONS OF YEARS IN EVOLUTION.
A FEW MINUTES DRIVE FROM THE STERKFONTEIN CAVES, IS THE MAROPENG MUSEUM. A VISIT TO THE MUSEUM TAKES YOU ON AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY BACK IN TIME, LITERALLY MILLIONS OF YEARS IN EVOLUTION.
