Start Location: Cape Town, South Africa; End Location: Hoedspruit, South Africa
Duration: 9 Days
Travel Season: Year round (Best: May to September)
Accommodation: The Royal Portfolio - The Silo Hotel / Royal Malewane
One family owns both ends. The Silo is built inside a grain silo above a contemporary art museum, its pillowed glass windows looking from Table Mountain to Table Bay. Royal Malewane, in the Greater Kruger, has the deepest bench of guides in South Africa and is known above all for leopard.
Highlights at a Glance
• Big Five: Thornybush is unfenced to the Kruger system, so lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino are available all year.
• Also at Malewane: Wild dog - cheetah - hyena den sites - nyala and kudu in the riverine bush - night drives with a spotlight, which the national park does not permit.
• Cape Town: Table Mountain and Table Bay from the room - Zeitz MOCAA, the African contemporary art museum directly beneath the hotel - the Cape Peninsula, Boulders.
Itinerary
35°S30°S25°S20°E25°E30°EJohannesburgDurbanMaputoGqeberhaBloemfonteinEast LondonGreater KrugerFranschhoekCape Town123500 km
1 Cape Town · 2 Franschhoek · 3 Greater Kruger
Days 1–4The Silo Hotel, Cape Town — four nights, bed and breakfast
Arrive in Cape Town and check in to The Silo Hotel, built into the grain elevator portion of the historic silo complex above the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in the V&A Waterfront. The stay is on a bed-and-breakfast basis across four nights, one of which The Royal Portfolio gives complimentary as part of the package. Days are free for the city, the Cape Peninsula and the museum below the hotel, with The Granary Café, The Willaston Bar, the rooftop pool and The Silo Spa in house.
Cape Winelands dayLunch at La Residence, Franschhoek
One day of the Cape stay is given to The Royal Portfolio's sister property La Residence in the Franschhoek valley. Lunch at La Residence is included in the package, as is the transfer out to the Winelands and back. The setting is the estate's vineyards, plum orchards and formal gardens beneath the Franschhoek mountains.
Transfer dayCape Town to the Greater Kruger
Travel from Cape Town to Royal Malewane in the Thornybush Private Game Reserve. Flights and the transfer to Royal Malewane are NOT included in the package; guests either fly to Hoedspruit and connect by road, or fly directly to the lodge's private airstrip. The Royal Portfolio reservations team arranges charter flights, domestic flights, private jets, road transfers, car hire and concierge services at additional cost.
Days 5–8Royal Malewane, Greater Kruger — four nights, fully inclusive
Four fully inclusive nights at Royal Malewane in the Big Five Thornybush Private Game Reserve, adjoining the Greater Kruger. The rate covers all meals and snacks, a full mini-bar with South African reserve wines and beverages, daily game drives and bush walks with the lodge's award-winning guiding and tracking team, laundry and WiFi. Between drives there is the spa, the 25m pool, the gym, heated lap pool, steam room and hot and cold African baths, and the lodge library.
Day 9Departure
A final morning at Royal Malewane before departing by road or from the lodge's airstrip. Onward flights and transfers are arranged separately and are not included in the package rate.
Accommodation
The Royal Portfolio - The Silo Hotel / Royal Malewane. The Silo Hotel Silo Room; The Silo Hotel Deluxe Superior Suite; The Silo Hotel Duplex Suite; The Silo Hotel Family Duplex Suite; The Silo Hotel Royal Suite; The Silo Hotel Penthouse; The Granary Café, The Silo Hotel; The Willaston Bar, The Silo Hotel; The Silo Rooftop and rooftop swimming pool; The Wisdom Room, The Silo Hotel; The Silo Spa and gym; Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), beneath The Silo Hotel; Royal Malewane - Malewane Lodge (eight suites); Royal Malewane Luxury Suite.
All-Inclusive Package
• Gathering city: Cape Town; dismissal from Royal Malewane / Hoedspruit, Greater Kruger
• 4 nights at The Silo Hotel, Cape Town, on a bed-and-breakfast basis
• One complimentary night at The Silo Hotel as part of the package
• Lunch at La Residence in the Cape Winelands, including the transfer there and back
• 4 nights at Royal Malewane, Thornybush Private Game Reserve, fully inclusive
• All meals and snacks at Royal Malewane
• Full mini-bar at Royal Malewane, including South African reserve wines and beverages
• Daily game drives and guided bush walks with Royal Malewane's guiding and tracking team
• Laundry service and WiFi at Royal Malewane
• Airport transfers to Royal Malewane's private airstrip (Jackalberry)
• Access to The Silo Spa, rooftop pool and gym, and to Royal Malewane's spa, 25m pool, gym, heated lap pool, steam room and African baths
• Priced per person on a Luxury Room or Silo Room category; surcharges apply for other room categories
Not Included
• International and domestic flights, and the road transfer from Hoedspruit to Royal Malewane
• Meals other than breakfast at The Silo Hotel, and drinks and mini-bar in Cape Town
• Spa treatments, French champagne and the Thornybush conservation levy at Royal Malewane
• Visas, travel insurance and items of a personal nature
• Gratuities for guides, trackers and lodge staff
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