2023 DURBAN JULY & SAFARI

We arrive into Johannesburg, OR Tambo International Airport, where you will be met and transferred by coach to our 4* hotel for 2 nights accommodation. After relaxing and settling in, we’ll head out for a nice local welcome dinner to get to know everyone and the plans ahead.

Our day begins at the Kliptown Open Air Museum where delegates met in 1955 to adopt the Freedom Charter, now the cornerstone of the Bill of Rights and the South African Constitution. We then continue to Regina Mundi Church, site of many secret underground meetings of the then banned political parties.  Our next stop is the Hector Pieterson Museum, where we start to unravel the cause of the devastating riots, before travelling past Mandela House.  We have lunch in Soweto at a local restaurant to get the full experience.

Continuing with a drive past the affluent suburb of Diepkloof, which is in stark contrast to the lower income areas seen earlier in the day, en-route to the iconic Apartheid Museum. This is an interactive voyage of discovery, one which takes you from the dark days of ‘whites only’ privilege, through to Nelson Mandela’s historic release.

After breakfast, we make our way to the airport for our flight to Durban, where we’ll then get a full guided tour of the city so we have the lay of the land for our home for the next five nights. Then evening is at leisure to explore Durban.

After an early breakfast, we head out to one of the leading stables in Durban to check out the facilities, get some tips for the races and enjoy meeting a local trainer.

Afterwards, we head to the National Yearling Sales at the Bloodstock South Africa Sales Complex in Germiston where we’ll be taken for a tour, inspect some yearlings and try to avoid buying one! This will be a great chance to get up close with local trainers, bloodstock agents and studs.

The evening will be at leisure to enjoy the Durban nightlife.

Today you have the whole day off to enjoy a relaxing day, pick up some souvenirs, head to the beach or explore more of Durban.

After breakfast, we head off to Greyville for the KZN Breeders Race Day, South Africa’s version of the Magic Millions Day. The KZN Breeders Race Day, always a major feature with owners and trainers and always very well supported with a packed Durban View Room consisting of breeders, owners and trainers – and will consist of 8 races including the Million Mile itself.

We’ll have a great spot in hospitality with all-inclusive premium food and beverage package and a great spot to watch all the races unfold. Exact hospitality location TBC.

After a relaxing recovery breakfast, we head off to visit a couple of South Africa’s leading stud farms. We’ll enjoy a tour of the farm and a stallion parade to see how their stallions compare to Australia. We’ll finish the day with a visit to a winery located in the picturesque KwaZulu-Natal Midlands for some wine tasting and lunch.

We depart for a 3-night stay at a fantastic Game Lodge where you’ll enjoy two game drives daily. All meals included in these beautiful surrounds.

We follow the programme of the game lodge as we enjoy game drives each day to see some amazing animals including leopards, elephants, giraffes, lions and many more.

After an amazing few days at our game lodge, we head back to our final location, Umhlanga, which is an affluent residential, commercial and resort town north of Durban on the coast of KwaZulu-Natal. This is the perfect place to wind down for the final few nights of the tour.

You have the rest of the afternoon and evening to explore the town.

This is our final free day, so your last chance to do some shopping. We are not far from the Gateway Theatre of Shopping which is the largest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere! There are also two beaches: Bronze Beach and Main Beach, both of which are patrolled by lifeguards throughout the day.

We’ll then meet up for a nice relaxing dinner together at a nice local restaurant on the eve of the big race day, might even have a special guest to give us a tip or two.

Today is the day we’ve been waiting for, Africa’s greatest horse racing event, Durban July!

The first Saturday of July at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse is not to be missed as the best thoroughbreds storm down the home straight to the finish of the R4,25 million, Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July. There is nothing better than being amongst the 55,000 on track, at the heart of the excitement.

We’re located in one of the main hospitality venues with fantastic views of the track and premium food & beverage package included.

Hopefully we’ve picked up a few tips throughout our travels and come away a winner!

We depart after early breakfast by coach for OR Tambo Airport for an early morning flight to Cape Town. On arrival at Cape Town International, you will be met and transferred to your hotel where the luggage will be offloaded and stored.

We then head by coach for transfer to Table Mountain Cable Way Station for a visit to the top of Table Mountain. Spend some time on the top enjoying the spectacular views of the Peninsular and the city bowl below as well as Robben Island in the distance. Descend by cable car and return to waiting coach for transfer to Clocktower at the V&A Waterfront for your trip by boat to Robben Island.
You will then be taken on a tour of all the historical sites around the Island.

On return from Robben Island, we’ll have free time at the V&A Waterfront with loads of places to have a sundowner, great restaurants to choose from for dinner with Table Mountain as a backdrop (dinner at own cost).

We’ll begin the day with an early morning visit to a local stable to see the facilities for South African trainers, and then check out the oldest racecourse in South Africa, Kenilworth.

Then after a busy few days, we have the rest of the day to relax, enjoy beautiful Cape Town or head off for a day trip to swim with the sharks!

The tour concludes today. Make your way to Cape Town Airport for the long journey home or to continue your African adventure.