South Africa - Featured Trips

Stay Another Day in hidden gem of Limpopo and get to know the real Land of Legends. Extend your itinerary to include interesting and off-the-beaten track experiences, such as the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site, Baobabwe Peace Trail or Art & Craft Workshops. Below you will find more examples of activities and excursions that you can add to your Limpopo itinerary to extend your stay and learn more about its natural environment, people and cultures.

All of our Stay Another Day suggestions create jobs & social upliftment and are as environmentally friendly as possible. They are also carefully chosen for their sustainability and many are FTTSA accredited. For more information and prices, please contact us.

Experience the rich culture of the Venda and Tsonga people in depth and first hand with a practical day workshop in making sculptures in wood and clay, pottery, music instruments, textiles, bead work, jewellery, weaving or papermaking. All workshops at Madi a Thavha are led by a local artist and are FTTSA accredited. Traditional healing workshops visiting a sangoma to learn more about traditional healing and medicinal plants are also available.

Restore your soul with the splendour and majesty of giant Baobab trees, undisputed king of the African savannah. The Baobabwe Peace Trail wends its way among ancient baobab trees, each has its own character and name and many are 1000s of years old. Be enthralled with the stories, superstitions and beliefs about these monoliths of the Africa bushveld during this one- or two-day walking trail. It is also possible to follow the route by mountain bike.

Experience the mystery of ancient Kingdoms and revel in the beauty of the new Mapungubwe Park. Mapungubwe Hill ('the hill of the jackal') is at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers and was once the capital of a sophisticated and powerful African Kingdom. It was on the top of Mapungubwe Hill that the royalty lived and were buried. The area is also where the first known Bantu settlement was established in South Africa, when the Zinzho people migrated south from East Africa, and was occupied by the San and Khoikhoi people. The latter two of these peoples left legacies of wonderful rock art in this area. Archaeological excavations have yielded priceless gold and ivory artefacts. Items of Arab, Chinese, Indonesian and Indian origins believed to be the result of barter within the Indian Ocean trade network have also been identified.

Take a guided bird walk and find & identify the birds of the Woodbush-Magoebaskloof and Polokwane areas, boasting over 250 species in 5 different habitats. Rare sightings such as the Grey Wagtail and the Pectoral Sandpiper can be expected. The forest habitat offers birds such as the Black-fronted Bush Shrike, Narina Trogon, Green Twinspot Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatchers, Knysna Turaco, Olive Woodpeckers, Chorister and White Starred Robins. The hard work and stiff necks of forest birding is usually rewarded by 15-20 forest species. The more mountain areas at altitudes of about 1,900 m provide opportunities to see Guerney's Sugarbird, Drakensburg Prinia, Striped Pipit and Barrett's Warbler among a host of other grassland and raptor species. The fallow lands and bushveld areas are also productive with Grassbirds, various Cisticolas (including Croaking, Wailing and Lazy) as well as Shelly's Francolin being spotted. Further afield the Short-clawed Lark is a regular and there is a Bat Hawk nest near Debengeni.

Take the unique opportunity of staying at a Sotho village and be welcomed into the home of families living in the Ga-Malahlela or Mafefe villages. These modern Sotho villages still follow the cultural traditions of the Sotho people. Their chiefs are still well-respected and weddings and funerals are big community affairs.

You will be taken into the fascinating world of Sotho culture - visit the graves of chiefs, Cannibal Caves, sacred Baobab grove and hear about Chief Sekukune and the legacy of the Sotho Chiefs. As you settle into the rhythm of village life, the cow bells and the pumping of water or chopping of firewood blend with the exuberant voices of kids playing soccer and of women discussing the day's events. You will help your family with the daily chores of collecting wood and water, herding the cows and goats and preparing the family meal. After you have enjoyed your traditional Sotho meal, you can sit around the campfire and hear the Sotho myths and legends, still relevant to the modern villagers. This homestay experience will enrich you and leave you with the knowledge that you have truly experienced Africa.