Can you see everything South Africa has to offer in a two-week holiday?

Not a chance, but if you plan carefully, you can still tick quite a few of the big boxes.

Pippa de Bruyn is the Telegraph’s South African travel expert, and she’s in charge of advising British travellers about how best they spend their time.

A while back, she covered how to maximise 48 hours in the Mother City. Thankfully, this time she has more wriggle room, so let’s get the ball rolling with the basics:

This is the kind of holiday that invites introspection, the scenery constantly changing around you, the pace of each new discovery entirely in your hands. There are fabulous places to stay, from quirky b&bs to luxury idylls. This two-week tour includes many of my favourite places in the Cape, the Karoo and the Garden Route, and is based on three decades of personal explorations.

Day one is rather simple – depart from the UK on an overnight flight, and touch down in Cape Town on the morning of day two.

Then, day two:

Freshen up and walk or take an Uber to the Table Mountain cableway. Ascend the cliffs of the city’s most famous landmark and enjoy a bird’s-eye view as the lights flicker on and the sun sinks into the Atlantic. Head back to Kloof Street or Bree Street, which have the highest concentration of restaurants and bars: both are near your hotel.

You’re now pooped, so relax for the rest of the day. On day three, you should embark on a peninsula tour, zooming past Cape Point and over Chapman’s Peak (you have to snap the iconic Lookout Point photo, of course). Be sure to include a stop in at Kirstenbosch and Boulders Beach while you’re at it.

Day four includes a township tour, and a ferry to Robben Island, with a stroll around the Waterfront for good measure.

On day five, you leave Cape Town for the winelands, and you’ll want to tick off at least one of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. You’ll spend day six exploring the latter, and if you’re a fan of classic cars, be sure to head to the Franschhoek Motor Museum.

Day seven is where the Klein Karoo enters the picture, and this is your chance to tick off the Big Five. Franschhoek is just an hour and a half from Inverdoorn Game Reserve, which means you can take your time and arrive for lunch.

On your afternoon game drive, aside from the Big Five, you can see zebras, hippos, giraffes, wildebeest, eland, and springbok, as well as more elusive creatures like the aardvark and aardwolf.

You will also visit the cheetah rehabilitation centre, where you get to watch these speedsters stretch their legs from a raised vantage point.

After a gourmet dinner, the morning drive on day eight offers a stunning view of the Klein Karoo in the morning light, and a second chance to spot anything you may have missed the day before.

Tuck into your buffet brekkie, kiss the Klein Karoo goodbye, and enjoy the drive through to Prince Albert, which includes the scenic Swartberg pass.

On day nine, you’re heading back to the coast towards Wilderness, where you’re advised to dip your toes into the Touw river and take it easy.

We hit the business end of the holiday with Day 10:

Keep heading east on the N2, a pleasant coastal route that traverses the region’s lakes and lagoons to Knysna.

It’s just under an hour direct to Lairds Lodge Country Estate, but stop first in Knysna to explore its pretty estuary, either aboard the Oyster Boat, armed with a glass of white wine and fresh oysters, or on a more serious eco-our cruise along the coastline…

In the afternoon, take a Woodcutter forest walk with Mike Dixon, whose knowledge and passion is inspiring – who knew there was so much to learn from the trees?

Sadly, you’re unlikely to see a Knysna elephant, but the forest itself is rewarding enough.

Day 11 is spent in Plett, with visits to Birds of Eden and Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre and a wine-centred lunch at Bramon Wine Estate.

In the interest of brevity, we’ll sum up the final three days by saying they include more wildlife viewing at Grootbos, with a guided marine walk on day 13.

All good things must come to an end, and day 14 sees a return to Cape Town and an evening flight carrying you back to Mud Island.

Again, you’re never going to tick all the boxes, but you’ve had a shot at the Big Five, seen the Karoo and the Garden Route, and made it back home in time for tea.

I’d advise you bookmark this one for when the overseas friends start asking for tips. Then you just tinker and tailor to their needs and voila, you’re a travel expert, too.

[source:telegraph]