6 Day Wildlife and Scenic Luxury Safari
Price
Package Features
- 6 Days / 5 Nights
- Greater Kruger & Panorama Route
- Starts: KMIA, Hoedspruit or Skukuza airport
- Ends: KMIA, Hoedspruit or Skukuza airport
Overview
Explore the astounding beauty of Mpumalanga and take a walk on the wild side in Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve with this exciting 6-day luxury photographic safari. This tour is one made for hobby and professional photographers and includes a dam cruise on the Blyde Dam in the amazing Blyde River Canyon, a drive along one of South Africa’s most spectacular routes, daily game drives and walking safaris.
Tour Features
- 2 lodges, each in a luxury bushveld setting (4-star lodges).
- Tours are shared unless arrangements are made for a private tour.
- A guided tour of the Panorama Route, including a boat cruise on the Blyde Dam.
- Daily game drives with experienced guides and trackers.
- An introductory photographic session, with tips and editing sessions.
- An optional Big 5 bushwalk with an armed guide.
- This tour requires at least 2 guests to run.
- Only 1 single supplement traveller is allowed per tour.
Activities and Transport
Activities: Open-air 4×4 game drives at dawn and dusk, plus a Panorama Route tour in a luxury vehicle and a boat cruise on a passenger barge.
Optional Activities
- Photographic tips and editing session on day 4
- Big 5 bushwalk, alongside further optional photographic tips and editing session on day 5
Transport: Pick-up or drop-off points and times need to be arranged before the tour departs. Game drives take place in open-air 4×4 safari vehicles, while the Panorama Route is covered in luxury transport.
Rates
Single Supplement: R 121 160.00
Per Person Sharing: R 114 300.00
Accommodation and Meals
Throughout this tour, you’ll be staying at 2 luxury lodges, each set inside a Big 5 private nature reserve in the Greater Kruger region.
Your first 2 nights are spent in Guernsey Private Nature Reserve, with the final 3 nights in the Sabi Sand Private Nature Reserve.
At both lodges, you’ll have a luxury en-suite room with air conditioning, a bar fridge and Wi-Fi. The lodges have a swimming pool, a bar, a lounge and a restaurant, so there’s always somewhere to relax between game drives.
Meals are served in the restaurant, in the boma, or outdoors beneath the stars, and attentive, personal service means every stay feels special.
Route
- Day 1 – Arrival at Guernsey Private Nature Reserve
- Day 2 – Panorama Route
- Day 3 – Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve
- Days 4 to 5 – Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve
- Day 6 – Final game drive and departure transfer
Day By Day
Day 1 – Guernsey Private Nature Reserve
Your tour starts inside Guernsey Private Nature Reserve.
Once you’ve settled in and had a refreshing light lunch, the afternoon begins with a relaxed introductory session, giving you the chance to share your photographic experience and equipment, while your guide outlines the days ahead and shares a few pointers on the varied styles of photography that will best suit your time in the bush.
As the afternoon stretches out and the light starts to become favourable for photography, you will set out on a sunset game drive, stopping a while for sundowners beneath the wide-open African sky before returning to the lodge for a warmly lit dinner in the Boma, where the evening draws to a close in true African style.
Day 2 – Panorama Route
The day begins with coffee, before your guide arrives with a comfortable, luxury vehicle to take you out onto the Panorama Route.
Unlike a conventional tour of this famous stretch of road, you won’t be spending all your time driving from one attraction to the next.
The first stop today will be along the Blyde Dam, where you’ll set out on a boat cruise.
For a few hours, it’ll just be you and the calm waters. Floating along the dam, surrounded by massive mountains, will give you a moment to relax while also giving you the opportunity to flex your wide-angle lens and capture a few landscape scenes.
From there, the tour continues along the rest of the Panorama Route, where you’ll see waterfalls, unique rock formations, mountains, forests, small towns, and so much more.
After a day of road tripping, you’ll return to the lodge for dinner.
Day 3 – Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve
After a laid-back breakfast, you’ll be leaving your lodge and heading to Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, where you’ll be spending the rest of your tour.
You’ll arrive at your new lodge at around midday, after a short drive through the reserve that will give you a taste of the wildlife sightings to come, and have the rest of the afternoon to settle in, have a nap or just relax with your favourite drink.
In the late afternoon, you’ll set out on your first official game drive.
Sabi Sands is well-known for giving travellers some of Africa’s very best leopard sightings, while the reserve is also home to the rest of the Big 5. Game drives here are peaceful, unrushed, and you’ll never be jostling the crowds at a sighting, due to the reserve’s strict guest quota policy.
In the evening, you’ll arrive back at the lodge for dinner.
Day 4 – Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve
The best time for a safari anywhere in Africa is right before the sun rises. The earlier you can be out in the bush, the better your chances of seeing something extraordinary.
On this day, you’ll be in the bush just as the sun comes up, leaving your lodge as soon as you’ve had coffee or tea, whichever you prefer.
The Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve is renowned for having the closest and most consistent Big 5 sightings in Africa, an experience made possible by its unfenced border with the Kruger National Park and decades of wildlife habituation to game viewing vehicles.
This openness allows guides to get unusually close to animals, often with clear sightlines and soft, low-angle light, when driving during the early morning and late afternoon, just the kind of conditions every photographer dreams of having while exploring the bush.
Leopard sightings are a particular highlight here, and alongside sightings of lion prides, elephant herds and a wide range of birdlife, photographers are spoiled for choice.
After a considerable amount of time driving through the best regions of the reserve, there’ll be a coffee stop half way through the game drive, and just as the day begins to get hot, you’ll return to the lodge hungry and ready for a revitalising breakfast.
Following breakfast, you can join an optional photographic tips and editing session, which will help you further refine your skills.
The afternoon continues after lunch with another game drive and sundowners, and the day comes to a close with dinner.
Day 5 – Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve
Once again, the day starts refreshingly early with coffee and a quick snack, before you head out with your guide on a morning game drive in the iconic Sabi Sands Reserve.
After some time spent searching for animals and filling your memory card with incredible images, you’ll be taken back to the lodge for breakfast.
Guests are then invited to join a Big 5 bushwalk (optional). During the day you’ll receive more photographic tips and there will also be an option editing session.
A mimosa trolley and social gathering bring everyone together ahead of lunch.
The afternoon continues with a further game drive, and the day closes with dinner in the Boma or a bush braai beneath the stars.
Day 6 – Departure
On the final day of your tour, you’ll have one last morning game drive, a chance to take a few final photos and perhaps see wildlife you’ve not yet encountered.
Once back at the lodge, you’ll have time for breakfast before you are transferred to the airport.
This tour ends in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, with a departure transfer to the airport.
Inclusions/Exclusions
Inclusions
- A licenced and professional tour guide (available 24/7)
- A licensed and professional guide on all activities
- Transfers to and from airports (including Hoedspruit Eastgate, KMIA, and Skukuza Airport) or other pre-arranged points (such as hotels and guesthouses around these airports or in Nelspruit, Hazyview and Hoedspruit)
- All entry and conservation fees
- 2 nights’ accommodation in Guernsey Private Nature Reserve
- 3 nights’ accommodation in The Sabi Sand Private Nature Reserve
- All meals
- A sunset drive with sundowner stop on day of arrival
- A boat cruise of the Blyde Dam in the Blyde River Canyon on day 2
- A Panorama Tour of the Mpumalanga Drakensberg Escarpment on day 2
- Morning and night drives every day at the second destination in the Sabi Sand Private Nature Reserve on days 4 and 5
- Morning Big5 walks are included and must be arranged with your tour host
- A morning drive on the day of departure day 6
- Photographic and editing tips sessions by your tour host
Exclusions
- Bar beverages
- Any items of personal nature or purchases at shops at the lodges or en route
- Gratuities to guides and/or waiters
Getting There
Our earliest pick-ups start at 06h00, with the exact schedule decided by the route we’ll take today.
Your pick-up point and time will be shared with you well ahead of your departure.
The cost of your transfers will be included in the overall tour cost.
If timings need to be adjusted, we’ll confirm the updated details with you in good time.
Getting to your starting point, and any stay the night before, is for you to arrange yourself.
Unless you’ve booked a private group tour, you’ll be travelling alongside other guests on a shared departure.
Offered By
For 26 years, Wildlife In Focus Safaris has been operating in and around the Kruger Park and its neighbouring private reserves. This Mpumalanga-based, family-run outfit specialises in photographic and birding safaris, with groups kept small and intimate.
The tour is offered in partnership with Kurt Safari, a Hazyview-based Kruger Park safari company. Now in its seventeenth year, Kurt Safari holds SATSA accreditation, has built a strong reputation on TripAdvisor, and employs local guides whose knowledge of the bush comes from years of experience.
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What makes the Panorama Route worth including in this itinerary?
The Panorama Route is home to some of South Africa’s most memorable natural landmarks, including the Blyde River Canyon, the 3rd largest canyon in the world. Combining the boat cruise with a scenic drive along the route allows guests to experience the canyon from the water before taking in further viewpoints along the way, offering a well-rounded introduction to the region’s natural beauty.
Is this tour suitable for beginner photographers?
Yes, the tour is designed to welcome photographers of all levels. The introductory session at the lodge allows guides to understand each guest’s experience and equipment, while the optional photographic tips and editing sessions throughout the tour offer further guidance for those wishing to develop their skills at a comfortable pace.
What can guests expect to see in Sabi Sands?
Sabi Sands is one of the most reliable reserves in southern Africa for leopard sightings, thanks to decades of habituation and a reserve system that allows off-road tracking. Lion, elephant and buffalo are also regularly encountered, along with healthy populations of general game such as kudu, impala, giraffe and zebra. Rhino sightings do occur, though many reserves in the area now follow dehorning and anti-poaching protocols that affect how and where animals are viewed. Wild dog and cheetah appear less often but are far from rare. The open boundary shared between Sabi Sands and the Kruger National Park means animals move freely between the two, adding to the range of sightings on any given drive. For birders, the reserve’s mix of riverine bush and open savanna supports well over 300 recorded species.
What is included in the optional Big 5 bushwalk?
The optional bushwalk offers guests the chance to explore the reserve on foot, accompanied by an experienced armed guide. Walking safaris provide a different perspective to game drives, allowing guests to engage more closely with the smaller details of the bush, from tracks and vegetation to the finer signs of animal life.
What should guests pack for the tour?
Guests are encouraged to pack light, neutral coloured clothing suited to early mornings and warm afternoons, along with a hat, sunscreen and a light jacket for cooler evening drives. Photography equipment such as a zoom lens is recommended for capturing wildlife at a distance, though camera equipment is not essential for those simply wishing to enjoy the experience.
