South Africa Wilderness Safari for Couples

After flying internationally to Durban, you will be greeted at the airport for your two and a half hour drive along the coast to Saint Lucia. Nestled upon Indian Ocean waters, this small town evokes the essence of a beach escape. You will settle into your private villa on the beach, sink your toes into the soft sand, and gaze across the ocean. All may not be as it initially seems as a monkey can swing past, and you may hear hippos as they grunt nearby. Sometimes, you can even witness one of these giants in the town. Wildlife is integral to the experience, so as you drift off into the tropical promise, you will already be on safari.

These two days will be at your leisure, so you can wake up late and order breakfast to your room. The beach extends from your room, and you can walk barefoot across the sand. Relaxing beach hours will be complemented by private boat safaris in iSimangaliso, which is a UNESCO World Heritage wetland that extends behind the beach. Your boat safaris will be private and can be designed around your mood. Early morning boat rides will bring the most wildlife with animals who like to drink from the rivers usually disappearing back into the forest by the afternoon. Late afternoon can be a beautiful time as well, especially when hippos emerge from their wading space. You can safari for an hour and see part of iSimangaliso or safari for half a day along narrow and remote channels.

Despite being Africa’s oldest protected park, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi remains under the radar. It is just one hour from Saint Lucia and provides superb wildlife moments. Rhinos wander slowly across green hills with their horns being a symbol of defiance, elephants cross paths with lions, and you can sometimes see leopards and cheetahs. Springbok will prance upon the plains, and herds of zebra can be over 50 strong. This wilderness is less than 10% the size of Kruger, but it still has a very similar cast of animals, so you can gain a strong sense of what an African safari is all about. White rhinos are the premier highlight of a day trip from Saint Lucia.

A day trip on safari provides an introduction and spending the night elevates your experience. You will transfer to Richards Bay Airport and fly to the Timbavati via Johannesburg, arriving in time for an indulgent lunch. At first, your Timbavati game drive will offer sublime moments such as a leopard that hides her cubs in a riverine forest. Then, after dark, you will be alone in your standalone villa, listening to the sounds of the wild. You can watch animals as they drink from the river below, and you will be neighbors with elephants, zebra, buffalo, and many other animals. Smells will waft towards your terrace as you absorb the sense of an untouched, animal realm. For four days, this wildlife world will be yours.

Birds and hippos will announce the arrival of dawn, and down at the river, you can see a herd of zebra as they stop for a drink. By winding around the Kruger savannah, you will track animals on the move. On a vast clearing, you may encounter a springbok herd. The males will be pronking, which is a bizarre straight-legged jump that is performed to release a special pheromone. Every safari is imbued with an element of unpredictability. You can be relatively guaranteed to see many of the animals that will be encountered, but the scenes will always be different. Because it is a private reserve, the Timbavati can also provide many romantic treats. You can have dinner at a candlelit table on the savannah with a roaring campfire and animals along the horizon.

This morning, you can choose to participate in a final game drive before your flight back to Johannesburg and onward to Cape Town. After landing, you will be transferred to Constantia, which is a district of vineyards on Table Mountain’s back slopes. You will check into an old-world hotel and spend at least an hour in the spa with a couple’s treatment that will be included in your stay. Afterward, you will spend your evening at one of Africa’s finest restaurants, where the tapas-style menu changes each day and beautiful wines accompany each dish. Cape Town has an excellent dining scene, and this will be the first of two handpicked restaurants for your stay.

With two full days in Cape Town, you will have time to explore the city, including markets, beaches, colorful houses, historical sights, and streets that reflect a changing nation. Today, your local guide will lead you to Woodstock and Observatory, which are neighborhoods that are dominated by pop-up shops and wall-sized murals. These give an excellent impression of the city’s multiculturalism and are very popular with visiting couples. Later in the day, you will be taken on one of Table Mountain’s lesser-known trails for a picnic and bottle of MCC, which is South African sparkling wine. While the mountain summit is usually crowded, this enormous mountain has many hidden places that will allow the two of you to enjoy your privacy as you gaze across the ocean.

A rugged spine of mountains stretches south from Cape Town, and the ocean’s blue will begin to dominate as the peninsula narrows, which will be a mesmerizing scene when it is witnessed from the air. From a helicopter, you will appreciate the tip of Africa and how it twists and surges from between two oceans. After your private helicopter tour, you will have an afternoon and evening to discover more of the city: Camps Bay has a famous beach, the V & A Waterfront is a lovely place for a stroll, and Bo Kaap has a few stunning photo locations. This evening, you will have reservations at Africa’s most celebrated restaurant, where 12 courses provide a tasting journey through artisanal flavors.

From Constantia to Stellenbosch, you will travel to a different vineyard hotel. At this luxurious accommodation, you will be provided with a standalone villa that peers over the vines toward Franschhoek. Wine tasting will be provided in your room before your local guide explains different options for your time in the Cape Winelands. You can indulge in a tasting at up to five vineyards in one day, and your guide will choose farms that cater to your preferred varietals and flavors. Some couples prefer to see many vineyards while others like to spend a relaxing afternoon at just one. Visits to the towns of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek can be included, which are amorous, old places of whitewashed houses and charm. There can also always be a lazy hour on your private terrace of gazing across the vines.

The transfer to Cape Town International Airport will take less than an hour, and your romantic, two-week South Africa vacation will sadly come to an end.