Sunday 17 April - Tour participants make their own way to Cape Town. Overnight at the Fritz Hotel. Meals for own account.
Monday 18 April - Designated drivers collect cars at Avis, 123 Strand Street, at 07:30. Pack up and travel via Paarl and Worcester to Montagu to visit Montagu Cave. Continue to Barrydale, where we will stop for a quick lunch (for own account), Ladismith and Calitzdorp on the R62. Overnight at Kruisrivier Guest Farm (three nights) on a DBB basis. Accommodation in cottages with shower and/or bath sleeping either four (in two double rooms) or two, and in the main house.
Tuesday 19 April - Travel to the Cango Caves and meet with Hugo Leggatt, our rock art specialist from Wilderness, who joins us for three days, at about 09:30. Visit the Boomplaas exhibit at Cango, as well as some of the cave chambers to view rock art. Picnic lunch or lunch at the caves (for own account). In the afternoon visit a couple of rock art sites in the De Hoek Valley nearby. Return to Kruisrivier for supper and overnight.
Wednesday 20 April - From Oudtshoorn we travel through Bongolethu into Kapteinskloof to a farm owned by Hazel Jonker who will talk to us about the history of the area. Continue south into the western Langkloof to visit the Ezelsjagdspoort rock paintings (swifts, swallows or mermaids? Access to the site may be difficult if there is water in the river). Lunch en route or as a picnic lunch from Kruisrivier (for own account). Our next stop is at Herold where we will see the ‘Falling Buck’ painting. On the way back to Kruisrivier we could stop at another rock art site. Return to Kruisrivier for a braai and overnight.
Thursday 21 April - Bid farewell to Kruisrivier. The plan is to visit the cave with the best rock art in the area, according to Hugo Leggatt, namely Uitkyk, also known as Leeublad. It is situated in the Kammanassieberg past Dysseldorp, but requires a 90-minute walk up hill and down dale each way. Afterwards proceed to Mossel Bay on the R328 via Oudtshoorn, stopping at Attaquas Kloof to the west of Robinson Pass to visit more rock art sites. (A decision on whether to visit Uitkyk/Leeublad will be taken on tour; if we decide not to go there we will visit the ‘Ship’ painting in Attaquas Kloof - a steep walk, but we may be able to travel part of the way by tractor.) Lunch en route or as a picnic lunch (for own account). At Mossel Bay we book into the Point Village Hotel (three nights), 200 m from the sea. Accommodation is in 4-sleeper suits (two bedrooms each) on a B&B basis. Free Wi-Fi and laundry service. Dinner for own account.
Friday 22 April - Breakfast (included) is at Delfino’s on the beach. Visit the Diaz Museum and the Cape St Blaize Cave at Mossel Bay. After lunch at Cape St Blaize (for own account), proceed to Pinnacle Point for an afternoon tour (13:30 – 17:00) with Peter Nilssen, who excavated the site with Curtis Marean (the site has extensive wooden staircases). Return to the Point Village Hotel. Dinner for own account.
Saturday 23 April - After breakfast at Delfino’s, travel via Riversdale to Stilbaai to visit the Blombos Museum of Archaeology in the historic De Jagerhuis-opstal, Palinggat. This small but specialised museum is dedicated to presenting the Stone Age history of the area and specifically the findings at Blombos cave, the site discovered and worked by Prof. Chris Henshilwood and his team. The displays include descriptive panels and stone artefacts of the Earlier, Middle and Later Stone Ages. Lunch at Stilbaai for own account. Subsequently, we look at Khoekhoe fish traps and shell middens along the coast on a one-hour walk. Return to Point Village Hotel. Dinner for own account.
Sunday 24 April - After breakfast at Delfino’s, depart from Mossel Bay in the direction of Port Elizabeth. At the Robberg Peninsula near Plettenberg Bay we visit Nelson Bay Cave (short, steep 15-minute walk) excavated in the 1960s and 1970s by Ray Inskeep and Richard Klein. From there we will go to Keurboomstrand for lunch (for own account) at the seaside restaurant, followed by a walk along the beach to the Matjes River Rock Shelter (tide-dependent). Overnight at the Tsitsikamma Village Inn in the Storms River area on a DBB basis.
Monday 25 April - 07:30 Depart for the Humansdorp area to visit the Klasies River Cave (long walk with steep path down to the coast – carry a picnic lunch from hotel – for own account). Continue to Port Elizabeth, drop off rental vehicles and fly home.
Charge: R6 350 per person sharing twin room, Single R7 640
Please pay a deposit of R1000 to confirm your place. See booking conditions for outings below.
Price Includes:Transport in rental vehicles between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, accommodation as indicated (eight nights), meals, as indicated, entrance fees and the costs of local guides at venues indicated
Not included: Travel arrangements to Cape Town and return from Port Elizabeth, all lunches, dinners in Mossel Bay, Personal expenses
Booking is essential: Phone Anita Arnott at 011 795 4056 or email arnottanita@gmail.com. For itinerary enquiries phone Reinoud Boers at 011 803 2681 or email fox@boers.org.za