The Great Rift

Nights

14

Party

2–4 guests

Countries

South Africa · Kenya

From

US$ 48,750 per person, based on four guests sharing, including private aircraftExcludes international flights to and from Africa.

Best season

Jul–Oct

The long way through Africa by air. You start on the Atlantic in Cape Town and finish on the Mara escarpment fourteen nights later, with the Kalahari and the Kruger in between. Three nights at The Silo above the V&A Waterfront, with dinner at two of the city's best tables. Then Tswalu's red dunes, Singita Lebombo on its cliff above the N'wanetsi River, and a mid-size jet north to Kenya. Two nights at Giraffe Manor in Karen and three at Angama Mara. Every leg is in your own aircraft, from the jet that crosses the continent to the Caravan that drops you into the Mara.

Highlights

• Zeitz MOCAA
• Salsify and La Colombe
• The Kalahari at Tswalu
• Dinner on the Singita wine studio rooftop
• Giraffe Manor
• The Out of Africa picnic above the Mara

1. Day 1–3

   Cape Town · The Silo Hotel (3 nights)

   You arrive in Cape Town on your international flight and settle into The Silo, with its windows high above the V&A Waterfront. The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa is in the same building, directly below you, and you see it privately and at your own pace. One evening is eight courses at Salsify at The Roundhouse in Camps Bay. Another is the eleven-course tasting menu at La Colombe, in the forest at Constantia Nek.

2. Day 4–6

   Cape Town → Tswalu Kalahari, The Motse (3 nights)

   Your Embraer Phenom 300 flies north to Tswalu's airstrip. The pilot makes a low pass to clear the springbok off before landing, your first bush arrival of the trip. Three nights at The Motse, the legaes looking out over the grassland and the red dunes. Drive the reserve with your own vehicle and guide. It is big, quiet and nothing like the bushveld that comes next.

3. Day 7–9

   Tswalu → Singita Lebombo, Kruger (3 nights)

   A Pilatus PC-12 takes you east across the country to the Singita strip on the N'wanetsi concession. Three nights at Lebombo, the glass suites set into the cliff above the river, with drives at dawn and dusk across the concession. One evening the sommelier hosts dinner on the wine studio rooftop and pours library wines from the cellar as the bush goes dark.

4. Day 10–11

   Kruger → Giraffe Manor, Nairobi (2 nights)

   A short PC-12 hop to Kruger Mpumalanga International to clear out of South Africa, then your Embraer Praetor 600 flies north to Nairobi. It is about four hours, and you can stand up in the cabin. Two nights at Giraffe Manor in Karen, where the Rothschild giraffe push their heads through the windows at breakfast. Keep the second day easy; Nairobi sits high and the change of country takes a day to settle into.

5. Day 12–14

   Nairobi → Angama Mara (3 nights)

   Your Cessna Caravan flies you from Wilson Airport to the strip below the Oloololo Escarpment. Angama Mara's tents sit about 300 metres above the plains. Three nights of drives into the Mara with your own vehicle and guide, and one afternoon a picnic of white linen and champagne at the spot where Out of Africa was filmed, with the Mara laid out below.

6. Day 15

   Mara → departure

   The Caravan takes you back to Nairobi for your international flight, or the Praetor 600 can fly you on to Johannesburg or further if that suits your connection better.

Flown by turboprop, light and super-light jet and mid-size and super mid-size jet. How we choose the aircraft