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Itineraries  /  Big Cats and Desert
SA20 · South Africa · Wildlife & Nature

Big Cats and Desert

Cape Town · Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Duration
10 Days · 9 Nights
The route
Cape Town · Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Style
Desert & coast
Best season
May–Sep · dry-season game
What you're tracking

What you'll see

Black-maned lion
Black-maned lion
On the red dunes.
Cheetah
On the open flats.
Raptors
Raptors
Over the desert.
Day by day

The journey, one day at a time

01Upington → Kgalagadi

Into Kgalagadi

Out at first light.

Arrive in Kgalagadi, met and transferred to your accommodation.

02Kgalagadi

Kalahari predators

Cats before the heat.

Drives along the Auob and Nossob for black-maned lions, cheetah, gemsbok and superb raptors.

03Kgalagadi

Kalahari predators

The bush wakes.

More of the desert — predators at the waterholes and raptors over the dunes.

04Kgalagadi

Kalahari predators

A sundowner to close.

Drives along the Auob and Nossob for black-maned lions, cheetah, gemsbok and superb raptors.

05Kgalagadi

Kalahari predators

Eyes on the tracks.

More of the desert — predators at the waterholes and raptors over the dunes.

06Kgalagadi → Cape Town

On to Cape Town

Out at first light.

Transfer to Cape Town and settle in, with time to get your bearings. Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula, the Boulders penguins and the winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

07Cape Town

Mountain, ocean & wine

Cats before the heat.

Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula, the Boulders penguins and the winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. More of the Cape — Cape Point, the beaches, the marine life and the wine country.

08Cape Town

Mountain, ocean & wine

The bush wakes.

More of the Cape — Cape Point, the beaches, the marine life and the wine country. Transfer to Cape Town and settle in, with time to get your bearings.

09Cape Town

Mountain, ocean & wine

A sundowner to close.

Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula, the Boulders penguins and the winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. A South African trip built only on bush misses half the country. Cape Town, the Peninsula and the Garden Route add scenery, sea, penguins, whales, fynbos and wine — a completely different register that turns a safari into a fuller, more varied journey. Pairing the two is the classic, and best, way to see the country.

10Cape Town → onward

Departure

A last morning, then the road home.

A final morning in onward — a last outing or a slow start as time allows — before the transfer onward and the journey home.

When to travel

The season changes what you see.

May – Sep

Dry-season bush

Prime bushveld safari — sparse cover, game at water, cool and clear. The Cape is wetter, but the whales are in.

Nov – Mar

Green summer & the Cape

Lush bush with newborns and migrants; peak, dry, sunny season for Cape Town, the coast and the winelands.

Destinations

Where this journey goes

Wildlife you may see
Cheetah Whales

Make it yours.

Add nights, swap a park, extend to the coast — this route is a starting point, not a fixed menu. Tell us how you travel and we'll route the rest.

Field notes, now and then.

Where to go · When to go · Wildlife in season

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