MS Columbus - Walvis Bay - Durban

MS Columbus Walvis Bay to Durban - courtesy of Hapag Lloyd CruisesAn 11 day /10 night cruise itinerary

Highlights

• Cape Town at your feet: what a reception in South Africa
• Grandiose views afforded by Table Mountain
• A path along the coast, world-famous for its beauty: a stroll along Garden Route
• Behind the mountains of Outenika, the ostrich is the boss
• Commanding pachyderms in nature – your adventure in the Addo Elephant park
• The highlight of every safari: the impressive “Big Five”, at home in the Kwantu Game Reserve
• Lions wander the steppe of the Phinda Reserve – try and find the hiding place of the king of the animals
• There is a lot going on in this flat lake: it is home to hippos, crocodiles and flamingos
• Have you got your camera ready? Breath-taking images of flora, fauna and landscape in the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Reserve

Daily Itinerary

  • Sat., 01/26 Walvis Bay/Namibia - Individual arrival Embarkation onto the COLUMBUS, departure 5:00 pm
  • Sun., 01/27 Luederitz/Namibia, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
    The colourful founding settlement of Namibia is situated by the edge of the desert. Take a walk along Bismarckstraße in the morning, past lovingly looked after buildings from German colonial times.
  • Mon., 01/28 Cape Town/South Africa, arrival 8:00 pm, until Wed., 01/30, departure 12:30 p.m.
    What is perhaps the most beautiful town in the world is shimmering romantically by your feet as you prepare yourself for a wonderful time in South Africa with the Cape Town sea of lights* by Signal Hill. The very next day, you will “crest” up the city’s landmark, Table Mountain. Go on the city sightseeing tour* and take the cableway up to an altitude of 1,000 m within only a few minutes. Enjoy a spectacular view across Cape Town, beaches and the ocean. The notorious Cape of Good Hope* - or “Cape of Storms” - is the south-western-most point of Africa. Here, 205 m below you, the sea surges against the steep rocks.
    In the heart of the Constantia Valley, the Steenberg Golf Club* (18 holes) offers you a true challenge that Tuesday.
    Good wine grows in the wine region of Stellenbosch*, your destination on Wednesday. Wine has been grown here since 1679. Take a walk through the town with its pretty houses in the Cape Dutch style and visit one of the famous vineyards.
  • Thurs., 01/31 Mossel Bay/South Africa, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
    The wonderful Garden Route is just what the name suggests. Follow this famous road through green woods, past picturesque lakes and long sandy beaches until you get to the Featherbed Nature Reserve of Knysna*. This holiday resort is by a lagoon which is overseen by impressive sandstone cliffs. Take the ferry across and walk through the unspoilt countryside of Featherbed Nature Reserve. The route via the Outenika mountains takes you to Oudtshoorn and to an ostrich farm*.
    The great master Gary Player designed the Bramble Hills Course of the Fancourt Golf Club* (18 holes), which invites you to swing your golf club today.
  • Fri., 02/01 Port Elizabeth/South Africa, arrival 12:00 noon, until Sat., 02/02, departure 9:30 p.m.
    This animal sanctuary was founded in 1931, which is why you will encounter impressive pachyderms on the dusty pistes and by the watering places of Addo Elephant Park*. At the time, there were eleven elephants here. Today, there are hundreds of these grey giants around, sharing the wilderness with rhinos, antilopes and the rare cape buffalo. The next day, another adventure is waiting for you in the steppe: the “Big Five” in the Kwantu Game Reserve*. Elephants, buffalos, rhinos, lions and leopards promise wonderful moments as you take the open safari vehicle through the plain.
    A championship course welcomes you at Bushman Sands Golf Club* (18 holes). Two rivers have to be played across on this demanding course, after a design by Gary Player.

    • MS Europa itinerary map courtesy of Hapag Lloyd ruises

  • Sun., 02/03 Relax at sea
  • Mon., 02/04 Richards Bay/South Africa, arrival 1:00 pm, until Tue., 02/05, departure 6:00 pm
    The “King of the Animals” is yawning in the shadow of a tree, and you don’t know what to do with all that excitement: follow the call of nature to the exclusive Phinda Lodge*. The Phinda Reserve is the main destination for South African eco-tourism and peaceful home to many lions. Hippos are at home in St. Lucia Nature Reserve*, the first UNESCO world natural heritage in South Africa. Not only hippos feel at home in the huge, flat lake of St. Lucia: here crocodiles look for food, turtles hatch their young and flamingos, pelicans and white-tailed eagles hunt for fish. On Tuesday, the country’s oldest game reserve awaits you: Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Nature Reserve*. You will take the open cross-country vehicle through hilly landscape which has two rivers running through it. Even the commanding buffalo, of which there are many, can hide in the high grass by the waterside. The rare black rhino and the white rhino also live in the vastness of this wilderness.
  • Wed., 02/06 Durban/South Africa, arrival 5:00 am - Individual departure

Also tagged with: Cruise Expeditions, Africa, Namibia, South Africa, Seychells, Deluxe Cruises, Hapag Lloyd, MS Columbus, World Cruises


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