Southern Africa Family Safari

Rising from the plains of the north, Jozi is a modern metropolis, the powerhouse of South Africa, its veins coursing with rivers of gold. Yet for all the country’s natural wonders, it is human history that is writ large in Johannesburg: moving museums chart the difficult story of Apartheid, while the Cradle of Humankind is home to the largest concentration of ancient human fossils ever discovered, a fascinating glimpse into where human life began. 

Where the bushveld meets the red northern sands, Madikwe is home to a breathtaking cast of iconic fauna. Madikwe is a private reserve, meaning overnight stays are required to experience its sensational wildlife, which ranges from elephants to lions, rhinos to wild dogs. Bed down in your very own, two-bedroom private bush house on the Marico River and fall asleep to the rustles and roars of the Big Five as ink-black nights cloak the landscape, then hear the reserve stir into life each morning. 

Where red-tipped peaks rear into vast, blue skies, Marakele awes with its exceptional wildlife-watching: all of the Big Five call this national park home, along with an impressive supporting cast of giraffes, cheetahs and zebras. Expect a truly exclusive, secluded safari experience as you spend the night in one of two camps in a private section of the national park, ending each day with a well-deserved sundowner.  

Stand atop Table Mountain and see the fertile seams of natural beauty threading through the city below, from the fynbos-covered hills of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens to the soul-melting sunsets of Llandudno Beach. Down by the docks, the V&A Waterfront is home to the Zeitz MOCAA, home to a vast collection of contemporary African art, while food and wine are an artform themselves; Cape Town is surrounded by some of the greatest vineyards in the world.

While spectacular herds of zebras and antelopes nibble the grasses along the Zambezi River, it is Victoria Falls that draws most visitors to Zambezi National Park. The world’s greatest sheet of falling water is an epic sight, formed as the Zambezi roars 300ft down a chasm on its zigzagging course between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is a place rich in wildlife and geological history, where ancient basalt rock is drenched beneath those famous mists, curling up from the gorge like the soul of the river itself.