Choosing a holiday destination every year is not an easy thing to do – so little time but so much to do and see around the world! For those of you who have decided on a visit to South Africa and want to incorporate a safari experience during your stay, I thought I would go into a little more details about my 3-day safari tour from Durban itinerary.
Before I get into the meat and potatoes of it all, there are two options I offer, a budget friendly 3-day safari tour from Durban and a standard 3-day safari tour from Durban; it’s really just the accommodation type that changes, everything else stays the same.
3-Day Safari Tour from Durban
Pickup and Drop-Off
Regardless of which tour you choose, the budget or standard option, all safari tours have to start somewhere. As part of my service, I will pickup and drop-off at no extra cost from the greater Durban area. This means,
- the hotels on the Durban beaches,
- the Highway area (Westville, Hillcrest, Pinetown),
- Umhlanga and surrounds (Balito, Salt Rock, Shaka’s Rock) and,
- south of Durban.
If you are outside these areas, in say Margate, Pietermaritzburg, Umbigintwini etc, I can still collect you and drop-off but there will be a small extra charge to account for the extra distance.
Day 1 of Your Safari Tour from Durban
The Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve is 2,5 hours north of Durban, so usually I’ll pick you up at 6:30am to get out of the city before the traffic builds up.
On the Road North
Once on the road you’ll be travelling thought the lovely rolling green hills of KwaZulu-Natal. Some of the places you’ll pass that will be of interest are KwDukuza, the uThukela River, Gingindlovu, nDondakusuka and more – your guide, either myself or my colleagues, will tell you more about the history of the areas and places we pass by.
As we head through Zululand you’ll much about the traditional Zulu way of life, from the formation of the Zulu empire by King Shaka kaSezangakhona to the practise of “lobolo” and much more.
St Lucia Estuary Cruise
Your first Durban safari experience will be an amazing 2 hour cruise on the St Lucia estuary. Named by the Portuguese for Saint Lucy in 1575, the wetlands have been a perfect spot for animal sightings right up until today.
Once in town you’ll board the river boat and begin the two hour estuary cruise with a passionate guide at the helm who will be pointing out birds, crocodile and of course the ever present hippo!
After the cruise it’s time for lunch at one of the nearby restaurants in St Lucia, or if you have booked a braai (barbecue) instead, we’ll do a little shopping for ingredients and then head into the reserve for a late lunch and then enjoy a braai under the southern stars in the evening.
Checking In and a Sunset Game Drive
Next up you’ll check into your accommodation for a well deserved rest – either at Bonamanzi (read up why I love staying at Bonamanzi) or at Mpila Camp – there are other options which I will go through with you when you book.
The day typically ends with your very first safari, either a sunset open vehicle game drive with the camp’s vehicle or perhaps a drive with me instead – we’ll chat about the options everyday.
Finally, at the end of the day, and depending on the weather, we can do a little star gazing as well as I or one of my colleagues point out the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere.
Day 2 of Your Safari Experience
It’s another early day, but it’ll definitely be worth it! Depending on time of year (summer or winter), your first game drive is at either 5am or 6am. Either which way, you’ll be headed into the bush nice and early to catch animals as they shake off the long night and get a start on their day!
Optional Extras
After your early morning game drive you’ll head back to the camp for a hearty breakfast or perhaps you’ve elected for a bushveld breakfast (bacon and egg buns in the bush) and then you’ll have the option to rest up or, pick an optional extra activity.
- Head to Emdoneni Cheetah Project for a a tour of their facilities and a chance to get up close and personal to their cat species; cheetah, caracal, serval and African wild cat.
- Experience getting close to an African elephant! At Bayete Zulu you’ll learn more about elephants than you ever thought possible and get to touch Rambo, a resident elephant!
- Take a drive through to False Bay and enjoy a walk through the wetland sand forests; you’ll have a guide alongside to help identify animals and birds on the paths.
Afternoon Game Drive
After a spot of lunch and a well-earned rest, you’ll get to enjoy an afternoon game drive – you can elect to head out with your guide again (me or a colleague) or if you prefer, you can elect to book an optional open vehicle game drive.
Which ever you choose though, I guarantee you’ll experience lovely game sightings as well!
Day 3 of Your Safari Tour from Durban
It’s the final day of your tour and you have the option to get up nice and early and head out into the game reserve, or you can elect to sleep in a little, enjoy a hearty breakfast and then go out spotting animals.
Which ever way your prefer is fine with us.
Checkout is at 10am and so we’ll head back to camp to retrieve your gear and then head back our for the last game drive trying to track down species you may not have seen yet.
Lunch is in the park at one of the two restaurants in the area and then finally, after lunch it’s time to start the journey back to Durban, arriving at around 6pm.
Got questions about my 3-day safari tour from Durban?
There is a lot of information about my 3-day safari tour from Durban itinerary I know, and I may not have covered everything you need to know, so please contact me if you need some more info and of course if you would like to book.