Itinerary

World View Study Tour to South Africa

11-26, June 2000

12 June : Pretoria (140km)  (LD) {B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner}

Arrive at Johannesburg International Airport : customs and immigration “Meet and greet” by guide, Xenia Ayiotis. Depart for Pretoria in a 44-seater luxury air-conditioned coach (approximately a 40 minute drive).

Visit to UNISA, University of South Africa, one of the largest correspondence universities in the world. Lunch at Campus Restaurant.

This afternoon, discover Pretoria: the Voortrekker Monument, an art-deco style built in honor of those who took part in the Great Trek in 1835; Kruger House, the house in which the famous boer leader Paul Kruger lived as President of the Transvaal Republic; Church Square where you will see some of Pretoria’s oldest buildings, and the neoclassical masterpiece by Sir Herbert Baker, the historic Union Buildings & Gardens where in 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as President of the new democratic SA. Transfer to your hotel situated in Centurion, half-way between Pretoria and Johannesburg. Check in and welcome non-alcoholic drink.

Protea Waterfront : dinner, bed and breakfast

June 13: Johannesburg (70km)  (BLD)

Visit to St Barnabas. The school prepares historically disadvantaged young people from economically and socially marginalized communities for successful study in universities and technikons. Its Education Support Program (SBC/ESP) engages with communities to assist schools and clusters of schools to overcome the difficulties imposed by isolation and lack of adequate resources, so as to improve the quality of education offered to their students. Lunch at the school.

Enjoy a “typical South African” dinner at the Gramadoelas Restaurant before departing for the Market Theatre to see a local production: “Women in Waiting” - a play set in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa about a nanny who becomes a domestic worker and then a singer. Return to hotel.

Protea Waterfront : bed and breakfast

June 14: Johannesburg and Soweto (80km)  (BLD)

Visit to the Johannesburg College of Education, talk by Professor Hall.

Visit  Soweto Township, a “city within a city”, the largest township in South Africa and an important monument to Apartheid. Sprawling, self-sufficient, home to millions, Soweto grapples with democratic change, but its spirit resonates in a plethora of shebeens and taverns. We will visit the Hector Pietersen Memorial, a monument to the youngest student killed by the police during the 1976 Soweto Riots and Regina Mundi Catholic Church, known as Soweto’s Parliament where political meetings were held in clandestine. We will also see the homes of Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Tutu and Winnie Mandela. Lunch en route. Visit a pre-primary school and high school in Soweto. This evening the group will be hosted by families in Soweto for dinner.

Return to hotel

Protea Waterfront : bed and breakfast

June 15: Mpumalanga (450km)  (BLD)

This morning depart early to travel east to the Highveld Escarpment of Mpumalanga and the charming village of Dullstroom situated in a beautiful part of the country noted for it’s clear streams, lakes and breathtaking scenery. In Shangaan, Mpumalanga means “where the sun rises”. Visit the Hambanati Primary School in Dullstroom. A short walk along a dirt road will bring us to this small rural school where the headmaster, Mr. Sello Mokwena, and three teachers are responsible for 95 students. After a light lunch, travel on to Lydenburg where we will see the oldest Voortrekker school and church in the Old Transvaal. It was in this town that the “Lydenburg Heads”, a series of terracotta animal and human heads dating to around 500AD, were found. Onto Pilgrims Rest, a living museum, where the entire town has been declared a national monument, taking the visitor back to the days of the old Transvaal gold rush.

Royal Hotel : dinner, bed and breakfast

June 16: Mpumalanga (340km)  (BLD)

Depart on the “Panorama route”. Visit God’s Window, a beautiful view point overlooking the lowveld, Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon in the world, and Bourke’s Luck Potholes, interesting geological formations created by the meeting of two rivers, resembling large hollowed-out columns, a result of millions of years of  water erosion. Lunch en route. Travel via the scenic Abel Erasmus Pass to Kapama Private Game Reserve, 12 thousand hectares of bushveld and home to a multitude of animal, plant and bird life. Tour of the Hoedspruit Research and Breeding Centre for Endangered Species where Dr Peter Rodgers will give a short lecture on conservation at the centre. Late afternoon open vehicle safari and “boma” dinner (open air dining experience). Depart for Phalaborwa and your hotel.

Impala Protea, Phalaborwa: bed and breakfast

June 17: Kruger National Park (280km)  (BLD)

Enjoy a full day gameviewing from your coach in the Kruger National Park, the largest National park in South Africa, a two-million-hectare savannah expanse with its many living inhabitants as numerous and magnificently diverse as nature intended. Although most of the mammals are distributed throughout the park, some show a preference for certain areas. Hippopotamus and crocodiles can be seen along the rivers and the acacia thicket is home to the white rhinoceros and wild dog. The grassland Savannah area is the preferred home to wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, impala and black rhinoceros. Lion, whose favored prey is zebra and wildebeest, also prevail in this area. Enter the park at Phalaborwa Gate and visit the Elephant Museum at Letaba Restcamp en route.

Hazyview Protea: dinner, bed and breakfast

June 18: Swaziland (300km)  (BLD)

Depart hotel for Shangana Cultural Village. Learn about the culture and traditions of the Shangaan people on a tour of their traditional village and Sangoma’s kraal. After light refreshments, a traditional church service will be held in chief’s kraal conducted by a Shangaan minister and accompanied by a local choir. Depart via Nelspruit with a light lunch en route to the independent Kingdom of Swaziland known as “Africa’s Switzerland”, set in dramatic mountain and forest scenery. Swaziland is one of the smallest kingdoms in Africa with a population of one million people.

Piggs Peak Protea: dinner, bed and breakfast

June 19: Swaziland and Hluhluwe (390km)  (BLD)

Morning visit of  Waterford Kamhlaba, a United World College with a sister school in New Mexico: the Arm and Hammer UWC of the American West (website: www.waterford.sz). Specialist  shops and roadside markets throughout the Kingdom, especially in the Ezulwini Valley, display a vivid variety of locally made wares. Visit the Swazi Craft Market and the unique Swazi Candle factory. After lunch, travel south through the Swazi lowveld via Big Bend and Lavumiso, passing many traditional villages and rolling sugar cane fields, into the multi-cultural, subtropical province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, home of the Zulus.

Hluhluwe Inn: dinner bed and breakfast

June 20: Zululand and Durban (350km)  (BD)

Depart on an early morning open vehicle game drive in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve. Over 90 000 hectares in size, it was here that the white rhino was saved from extinction by the Natal Parks Board. A short lecture on conservation education to be given by a member of the Kwa-Zulu Natal Conservation Services. Onto Lake St Lucia, a wetlands area and wildlife estuary with numerous species such as hippo, crocodile, fish, eagles and which has recently been declared a world heritage site by UNESCO.  Lake cruise and lunch. Depart for Umhlanga, a thriving coastal resort where the warm sandy beaches are washed by the surging Indian Ocean, and just a 20 minute drive from Durban. Balance of day at leisure; dinner on your own account

Umhlanga Protea: bed and breakfast

June 21: Durban/ Cape Town  (BD)

Discover Durban, the country’s premier holiday resort and a major African port, with a city tour.  A century ago, Durban was the top seaside resort. Today, although it might look different, nothing has really changed. The city, alongside stately colonial facades and minarets, rises from an earth luxurious with trees and flowers. Visit the Golden Mile, Harbor, Frances Farewell Square, City Hall, and the Victoria Embankment before transferring to Durban Airport. Depart on SA 605 DUR/CPT 1215/1430 for Cape Town. Cradled by Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak and Lion’s Head, Cape Town is surrounded by scenic splendour and the timeless beauty of Cape Dutch architecture. The pervasive aura of history and the 17th century castle, a remnant of the past, are in the midst of a city serenely adapting to the computer age. Explore the “Mother City” of South Africa, also known as the Tavern of the Seas on a City Orientation Tour. View the splendid historical landmarks and the many exciting sights and places of interest including Cape Town Castle, the South Africa Museum and a walk in the Company Gardens; ascend Table Mountain by cable car (weather permitting) and enjoy the sun setting over the bay.

Hiddingh Mews Protea: dinner bed and breakfast

June 22: Cape Town (120km)  (BD)

Depart this morning on a tour of the picturesque “Malay Quarter” where we discover the culture of the Cape Muslim community and District Six”, a vibrant area from where 60,000 Capetonian families were forcibly removed. Visit the living museum which attempts to represent and recapture District Six in various ways – as a fine-spun tapestry of communal life torn apart but not forgotten. We will also visit the township of Langa where we visit the Chris Hani Literacy School. Return to the hotel; lunch on your own. Afternoon at leisure to explore or shop at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. This evening we will hear a talk by a representative of the SA Democratic Teacher’s Union followed by dinner at Africa Café, an opportunity to discover the culinary delights of Africa.

Hiddingh Mews Protea: Bed and Breakfast

June 23: Cape Winelands (250km)  (BL)

Depart for Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in South Africa, founded by Simon Van der Stel in 1679 and renowned for its Cape Dutch buildings, university, and wines. It is an academic and farming community and one of the best-preserved towns in South Africa. Visit the museum and tour the campus of Stellenbosch University. After wine tasting, cellar tour, and lunch on a wine estate in Stellenbosch depart for Boschendal Manor House, an excellent example of Cape Dutch Architecture en route to Franschhoek. Between 1688 and 1690, land was apportioned to 200 Huguenots fleeing persecution in France. Today, 20 members of the Vignerons produce wines consumed throughout the world. Visit the Huguenot Memorial and museum.

Return to hotel. Dinner on your own.

Hiddingh Mews Protea: bed and breakfast.

June 24: Robben Island (40km)  (BD)

Morning tour of Robben Island, a national monument and one of the most significant historical sights in South Africa. First used as a victualling station, it became an asylum and a leper colony. It gained notoriety as a jail for political prisoners, where Nelson Mandela spent over two decades. It has recently been declared a World Heritage Site. Afternoon at leisure; lunch on your own. Farewell dinner at the Waterfront Café, V&A Hotel situated in the Cape Town waterfront

Hiddingh Mews Protea: bed and breakfast

June 25: Cape Peninsula (180km)  (BL)

Depart on a scenic drive to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Cape Point, a 7,750 hectare reserve of indigenous flora and fauna, including springbok, eland and over 150 species of bird. In the reserve, at the end of the Table Mountain chain, is Cape Point, the dramatic promontory where the currents of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. At the naval base of Simonstown, enjoy a fresh fish lunch at the Black Marlin Restaurant and visit Boulders Penguin Colony, which is one of only two mainland Penguin breeding colonies in the world. Our final stop takes you on a walking tour of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, a world famous garden of indigenous plants including fynbos, one of the floral kingdoms of the world and South Africa’s national flower the Protea. It is farewell to South Africa as we transfer to Cape Town International Airport to board flight home SA 209 CPT/ATL 2045/0820 arriving in Atlanta on the 26 June and connecting with DL 1929 ATL/RDU 1040/1201.