Name: The Cape, Penguins, Vineyards, and Coastlines
Brand: Discover Africa
SKU: cape-town-hermanus-winelands-self-drive
Price: 2611 USD
Availability: InStock

Is the Private Big Five Safari for Me?

This exclusive Big 5 Safari is based on 4 people (adults) travelling together. The 7 day journey includes accommodation in private villas, 3 nights at Thornybush Kamara House and 3 nights at Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge Amber Villa. You will get your own private vehicle at the lodges to customized your safari experience. This is a great way to travel with special friends and/or family, to celebrate an occasion, time to bond and let yourself be pampered while you get the opportunity to see some of the best game viewing in South Africa.

** The safari is based on 4 adults travelling **

Your 7-Day Itinerary

The trip starts at Johannesburg OR Tambo where you take the flight to Hoedspruit. On arrival you are met by the lodge for the short transfer into camp. Your safari is starting at the special Thornybush Game Reserve and you check in at Kamara House, your private villa for the next 3 nights.

Chat to your guide in order to schedule your game drives, as per your preferences. With a steady stream of the Big Five roaming freely under the vast skies of the Greater Kruger Park, you will enjoy thrilling sightings of these iconic animals. From giraffes and zebra, hippos, hyenas, wild dogs, antelope and hundreds of bird species, to name a few, the diversity of wildlife in this area is astounding.

You’ll get close to them all with your expert guide-and-tracker team, who has a deep understanding of the bush and an inherent knack for finding the action. Your meals are all included on a private basis, all local drinks are also included. Sit back and relax, experience spectacular game viewing, eat delicious food and read a book by the pool.

You’ll wake with the birds and feel the sun warm the earth, and sleep to the sounds of nature as the night sky dances silently with the stars.

Thornybush Game Lodge

Includes & excludes

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Drinks: (Local Brands) Included

Activities: Included

Transport: Included

After breakfast, you are met for the road transfer to the Sabi Sands, this drive takes about 4-5 hours and you will arrive at the lodge on time for a late lunch. Alternatively you can fly hop from lodge to lodge (additional cost).

Arrive at Earth Lodge and the warm welcome of the magnificent Amber Villa, reflecting both privacy and space. The 2-bedroom villa boasts an expansive master bedroom with elegant en-suite bathroom, dressing room and a private fitness area. The second bedroom comfortably accommodates two people and also has a dressing and vanity area. Leading from the sizeable living area is a terrace lounge complete with oversized couches and leather hanging sling chairs. The private plunge pool adds the finishing sparkling touch. You will have your own private vehicle and guide for some of the most rewarding game viewing in the Sabi Sands and enjoy the most delicious meals prepared by the local chef. Dine under the stars, in the award-winning wine cellar or the privacy of your suite, the choice is yours.

You will have the best chance to view the Big 5, you will get very close to animals and fully appreciate the magnitude of their beauty. The height of a giraffe lumbering past the game vehicle, the whump of an elephant fanning its ears, or the earthy scent of a hyena den are experiences one never forgets.

Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge

Includes & excludes

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Drinks: (Local Brands) Included

Activities: Included

Transport: Included

Today is the last day on safari, enjoy breakfast at the lodge before the transfer to the airstrip and the scheduled charter flight to Johannesburg OR Tambo. Time at leisure until your own onward flight or contact us to extend your trip. You can combine this safari with a stay in Cape Town and the Winelands, or fly to Mozambique for some beach time, for example.

Every itinerary can be crafted to your needs, from adjusting the length of your stay to including different accommodation and refining the route. Your safari is yours, shaped around your idea of a dream experience.

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Discover Africa , and Matthys van Aswegen in particular, was a pleasure to work with. Firstly, his patience and understanding is a true fine attributive of his. We started talking about a safari to South Africa in mid-2019. We had both phone calls and email exchanges, and he was always responsive with concrete intelligent answers.

In fact, he sent me many options/packages that were only in Kruger, and others that included Botswana, whatever combination I asked him for, he put together happily. However, by the end of 2019, not knowing about Covid yet, we simply weren’t ready to go on Safari yet. He never put any pressure and was quite understanding.

We then spent most of 2020 emailing back and forth again during the pandemic, with many more questions and options. In Dec 2020, I finally booked a Safari with him to Mala Mala camp in Sabi Sands(one camp , 4 nights, seven game drives), as well as visits to Johannesburg and Cape Town.

We continued to exchange emails during 2021, updating and tweaking the itinerary, when suddenly the Omicron variant hit during Thanksgiving. Since there was MUCH uncertainty with Omicron and our trip was a few weeks away, I couldn’t take chance with my family’s well-being and potentially getting stuck in South Africa.

So I postponed the entire trip for a year to Dec 2022. Matthys, once Again, was only understanding and flexible! He helped me re-book everything to Dec 2022 AND I even rearranged the itinerary completely, and he was accommodating and cooperative. He was also able to transfer all of my pre-payments for Mala Mala, other hotels, flights, to Dec 2022 so that not one penny was lost!

In short, he was amazing ! We just returned a few days ago and the safari at Mala Mala was something me and family will always treasure. We also very much enjoyed Cape Town and the winelands! Discover Africa gets an A+ !

"Excellent trip -- tour operators were professional and on time. Safari lodge choices excellent. Adelle communicated issues that cropped up in a timely manner and the whole process was a pleasure."

Jake Sanderson, United States · 29 May 2026 ·

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"All advising given by Discover Africa (in our case, by Justin Van Wyk) was really helpful and the programe they have outlined was great. Everything went really smooth and professional."

Luis Cortez, Portugal · 15 Apr 2026 ·

"I just got back from a truly wonderful trip to South Africa, organised by DiscoverAfrica. We spent 4 nights in Cape Town, 3 in Franschhoek and 3 at Arathusa Lodge in Sabi Sands. The transfers organised between all these locations..."

Neil, United Kingdom · 19 Apr 2025 ·

"Barry helped plan the perfect South Africa honeymoon! From the very beginning, his flexibility and responsiveness made the entire process so smooth and stress-free. Barry took the time to truly understand what we were looking for and used his expertise..."

De Zhang, United States · 14 Jan 2025 ·

"Discover Africa , and Matthys van Aswegen in particular, was a pleasure to work with. Firstly, his patience and understanding is a true fine attributive of his. We started talking about a safari to South Africa in mid-2019. We had..."

Avi, United States · 5 Jan 2023 ·

"Megan was so helpful in helping plan our safari in SA. She went out of her to get lots of options and research our extra requests and we had the most amazing trip! Megan and Alice were also fantastic at..."

Emma, United Kingdom · 7 Apr 2022 ·