Southern Africa Safari: Kruger & Coast

Cross South Africa and Mozambique in search of incredible wildlife 

Combine two great wildlife-watching destinations on an adventure that goes beyond your average safari vacation. In South Africa, we scour Kruger and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi for lions, elephants, rhinos and more on multiple game drives and walks, while also cruising the hippo and croc-filled waters of Lake St Lucia. In Mozambique, we head into the Indian Ocean for a classic bucket-list moment: swimming with dolphins. Our animal-watching excursions will be illuminated by expert guides, who have a deep knowledge of the local wildlife and a keen eye for picking out those harder-to-spot creatures. 

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible.
• Read more about our other initiatives here.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• By travelling in a small group we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for re-usable bottles.
• The payment of entrance fees to natural reserves and archaeological sites generates income which is used for upkeep and development of these important sites.
• Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices regarding working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
• We rewild 100 square metres per passenger to compensate for all trip and flight emissions.
• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: we do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: please bring a re-usable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.

Visa

Mozambique

You will require a valid passport with at least six months, minimum three blank pages for the visa and stamps, visa costs US$50 in cash (in new notes). You will also require two passport photographs with a white background

The visa is issued at the Ponta Do Ouro border. You will need a letter from the accommodation at Ponto Do Ouro, which we can assist with. You will need a hard copy of your travel insurance.

Travelling with under 18s: If both parents are travelling, no additional documentation is required, When only one parent or a legal guardian, or another adult, travels with a minor he or she may be required by an immigration officer to establish the adult’s relationship with the child. In this case, documentation and a letter of consent will be requested. The consent letter will no longer need to be in the form of an affidavit.

South Africa

Travellers from the UK, US and most (though not all) EU states normally do not need a visa to enter South Africa. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/africa/south-africa
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/south-africa
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/south-africa/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/SouthAfrica.html

Please note, all travellers to South Africa who require a visa need at least two consecutive blank pages in their passport (ie a left- and right-hand page) to enable an entry visa to be issued.

Additionally, any child under 18 travelling to South Africa needs to be in possession of an unabridged birth certificate with the names of both parents. If a child under 18 is only travelling with one parent, they will also have to have an affidavit, no less than three months old, from the absent parent confirming the child can travel with the other parent; a court order granting full legal guardianship of the child; or a death certificate of the deceased parent.

Vaccination

Mozambique

There are no mandatory vaccination requirements. Recommended vaccinations are: tetanus, typhoid and hepatitis A.

South Africa

There are no required vaccinations. However, recommended vaccinations include hepatitis A, tetanus, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, rabies and tuberculosis. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you're arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission or transiting for more than 12 hours through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

Malaria prophylaxis is essential if travelling in the greater Kruger area; seek advice from your doctor or travel clinic about which tablets to take. The rest of South Africa, including the Garden Route, has a low risk of malaria.

Dengue fever, a tropical viral disease spread by daytime biting mosquitoes, is also a known risk in places visited. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available, so we recommend taking the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Eating and Drinking

All breakfasts, seven lunches and five dinners are included.

In the itinerary, we state which meals are included on which day. The list below provides an indication of what these will consist of:

• Breakfast: Cereals, coffee, tea and toast, the occasional cooked breakfast
• Lunch: Cheese, cold meats, salads, bread or rolls
• Dinner: Potjies (stew), braais (barbecue), stir fries, pasta

Where meals are not included, the leader will recommend a restaurant for a group meal. Dinners can cost on average £12‐18 ($20‐30) per person and lunches from £5 to £8 ($8 to $13).

The tour leaders do all the shopping, meal planning and cooking for each group. They will purchase fresh produce wherever possible. Each tour has two cool boxes for meats and fresh produce and one cool box for cold drinks. We will supply the following drinks: fruit squash served with breakfast and tea or coffee served with breakfast and dinner. All other beverages will be at your own expense. Please note, on days when the group are on morning game walks or drives, we have an early morning cup of tea or coffee and rusks followed by the walk. Once we return to camp, we have a large brunch at around 11am. In the early afternoon, we have a snack-style lunch and dinner will be served after completion of the optional game drives.

Please be aware, we need at least two weeks’ notice to deal with special dietary requirements (eg vegetarian or allergies).

The water provided on this trip is safe and clean drinking water, normally from boreholes. It is not bottled water, however. If you would rather have bottled water then this will be at your expense, though we would encourage you to make use of the safe drinking water provided as this helps diminish plastic consumption.

Weather

Although the greater part of South Africa lies south of the Tropic of Capricorn, the temperature is moderated by the altitude. The average midday temperature is likely to be about 22C (72F) on the coast and 24C (75F) inland. This trip covers various different weather regions. Generally, inland areas will be dry between April and October (although storms can occur). In August, the nights can be very cold. However, the days are warm and crisp with generally cloud-free skies. November through February, rain can sometimes fall and the temperature will be higher. However, as anyone who has travelled to these parts will say, rain is often a blessing, it manifests the local colours, drops the sometimes sweltering temperatures and never generally lasts too long. It also means the night times are incredibly clear.

Is this trip for you?

This 11-day tour connects some of the best wildlife-watching destinations in the region but, considering this is Africa, journey times between destinations are relatively short. The longest drive is approximately five hours (not including stops) but the rest are less than four hours unless there is a game drive. The drives between destinations are completed in a comfortable minibus while the game drives are in open-sided safari vehicles. Please note, drives in and out of Kruger National Park and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park will mostly be in the minibus but our other drives will be in the safari vehicles. The game drives in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park may be with other guests at the camp who aren’t members of our group.

The snorkelling on the dolphin excursion in is open ocean but will only be attempted if conditions are calm. The activity is optional and you should have a moderate level of fitness and be a confident swimmer if you would like to take part. If you do not wish to swim, you can stay on the boat and look for dolphins from there. We launch the boat from the beach so boarding may be difficult if you have limited agility.

There is limited walking on this trip. The longest will be a two-hour game walk over relatively flat terrain, but the ground can be uneven, and vegetation will have to be navigated.

Legal note: All group members joining this tour will be asked to sign an indemnity form at the start of the holiday. This indemnity form is a requirement of the South African Tourism Service Association, of which our local supplier is a member. As a client of Exodus Travels Ltd, your rights under the Package Travel Regulations (1992) are unaffected, and Exodus remains liable for the actions of our sub-contractors.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as not suitable for full wheelchair users, but it may be suitable for other persons of reduced mobility. Please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.