Planning Elephant Sanctuary Tour – Things to Know About

Are you seeking for adventure on vacation? And need to experience something before your time is up on earth? Then, take a stroll in the African bush with a gentle wildlife creature – elephant. If you want to get up close and personal with an elephant or need an elephant as a tour guide, it’s time to experience the magic of elephants in their natural habitat – Elephant Sanctuary!

Elephant Sanctuary –

Nestled in the natural indigenous bush in the Magaliesburg Mountains, the Elephant Sanctuary  is just 45 minutes drive from the bustling cities of South Africa – Pretoria and Johannesburg. Taking a tour to this magnificent sanctuary offers a truly unforgettable, hands-on educational experience.

Being surround by natural indigenous bush, Elephant Sanctuary is home to impala, baboons, porcupine, leopard, other small mammals, 350 bird species and of course African elephants. Besides, the sanctuary provides a “Halfway House” for young African elephants who are in need of a temporary home. Please remember one thing that, it’s the only operation in South Africa that offers for elephants. The main objective of this step is to release all the elephants into an environment where they can live independently once they get older.

What Makes Elephant Sanctuary Unique in South Africa –

Get to see the elephants that are not kept in enclosed areas. In short and simple words, you’ll watch here how the elephants roam freely and know their natural behaviors like ripping down trees, digging up roots, spraying water over themselves to cool down etc.

You will get to experience and interact with these truly amazing creatures as well as see yourself how intelligent and human-like they are.

10 Things to Do on Elephant Sanctuary Tour –

1. You can choose a guided tour to be carried out in small groups on foot to experience the sanctuary at its best.

2. Take a professional and local tour guides who will help you know in-depth information and insight into African elephants.

3. On a guided Elephant Sanctuary trip, you can introduce yourself to the elephants in the forest area.

4. You need to touch, feed and interact with the elephants for a completely unique experience.

5. You’ll know the special relationship the elephant handlers share with their elephants and try to become a part of this group of people.

6. Booking a tour to Elephant Sanctuary, you’ll walk trunk-in-hand with gentle elephant species.

7. See the stables at the sanctuary where exactly the elephants sleep and rest at night.

8. Know more about elephant anatomy from local personalized tour guides.

9. If you’ll visit Elephant Sanctuary on hot days or rainy season, you may watch the elephants swimming.

10. Plan a bare-back elephant back riding tour – allowing travelers to feel the power and the bulk of an elephant and experience the contrast with quietness, delicateness, and grace of this mammoth creature’s movement while they walk or glide around the ground.

Conclusion –

Worldwide visitors come to Elephant Sanctuary in a large number for unforgettable experiences with these creatures in their natural habitat. So, it’s time to enter the world of elephants to touch, feed, interact and know the elephants while walking hand-in-trunk with them. Therefore, understand the height at which an elephant stands and experience the environment from an elephant’s perspective by booking Elephant Sanctuary tour with Mount Zion Tours and Travels – a certified SATSA member assuring clients with superb quality tourism services under SATSA Code Of Conduct. 

Being the winner of Luxury Travel Guide Global Awards 2016 and Tripadvisor Certification of Excellency 2016, we have been conducting specialized tour itineraries in South Africa best suiting client’s unique preferences and requirements.

For a tour to remember lifetime at Elephant Sanctuary, make it happen with Mount Zion Tours. Stay connected with us through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr and LinkedIn!

Top 10 Best Restaurants to Dine around Johannesburg

Johannesburg’s current restaurant scene is flooding with new flavors and varieties day-bay-day. One of the largest yet vibrant cities in South Africa, many districts and suburbs of Johannesburg has to offer something for everyone – starting from local, international cuisines to the most unusual flavor combinations or the heartiest comfort food options. Here we’ve picked up our top ten restaurants to help you get a unique flavor of the South African city on vacation:

Top Johannesburg Restaurants to Enjoy Dining on Vacation –

1. Cube Tasting Kitchen –

Cub Tasting Kitchen is one of the best restaurants in Johannesburg offering a completely unique dining experience. Located in Johannesburg’s North Parktown suburb, the Cube Tasting Kitchen is in the friendly residential street offering intimate ambiance to visitors of every kind. Besides, here the menus change from month to month and combine elements like Nutella on toast, a selection of beetroot, nachos, and gazpacho.

2. Pigalle –

Situated in the Sandton Towers, Michelangelo, Pigalle has become an incredible benchmark providing urban-chic dining opportunities. Specializing in international cuisines, the menu of this Johannesburg restaurant comprises of impeccably prepared meat, fish and poultry dishes. However, the elegantly decorated restaurant offers spectacular vistas of the Sandton CBD skyline like no other.

3. Yamato –

Equipped with peaceful white interior and tasteful décor, Yamato offers sophisticated dining experience with beautifully presented and authentic bento boxes, sushi, and sashimi; which are unmatched in Johannesburg. Hence, it’s highly suggested to come to Yamato for dinner to taste one of their lunch specials while visiting Museum of Military History and the Johannesburg Zoo.

4. Coobs –

The eclectic restaurant in Johannesburg, Coobs set in a lively suburb of Parkhurst. The contemporary design of this eatery fits best with the atmosphere of the 4th Avenue location. Offering natural, local produce, this restaurant is must-visit in Johannesburg. In fact, three-quarters of foods served at Coobs come from the organic farm of the restaurant in Magaliesberg. Rest assured, all of its dishes are home-cooked and organic.

5. Five Hundred –

Situated in the exotic Saxon Hotel, Five Hundred offers the finest dining at its best in Johannesburg. Prides itself on its unique combo of experiential dining including all five senses and fresh ingredients from its on-site vegetable garden, this restaurant is one of the best venues to dine around in Johannesburg. The exotic restaurant provides menus including local and international wines that are scrupulously chosen complementing the menu. While dining in Five Hundred, you’re assured to find something you’ve never tried before!

6. Licorish –

This stylish restaurant specializes in offering South African delicacies with a modern twist. One of the trendiest dining scenes in Johannesburg, Licorish has menus like South African classics – bredie (a South African stew) and bobotie (a meat and egg stew) along with steaks, salads, and salmon. If you want to taste endlessly tempting arrays of dishes, consider booking your table at Licorish restaurant.

7. Signature –

Signature serves foods alongside international, local wines and unparalleled service that you will be sure to remember. Therefore, consider making a reservation at Signature – one of the most fashionable restaurants in Sandton. Here, you can enjoy Signature cocktails while enjoying splendid views of African sunset through the floor reflecting on ceiling windows. Make your booking at Signature today and choose your favorite from a huge selection of dishes – from sushi and seafood to all vegetarian, meat and poultry options.

8. DW Eleven-13 –

DW Eleven-13 is a modern, well-presented European restaurant serving simple yet delicious cuisines in a relaxing environment. This is the best place to have a fine dining experience. However, the menu and the restaurant are always evolving and adding new names, aiming to bring a great dining experience.

9. Chez Girard –

Chez Girard offers French cuisines in a relaxed environment complemented by delicious foods and unmatched service. You can find here a lot of options – from starters to dessert course with different flavors and textures in order to broaden your views on food delicacies. No matter what, you will get well-priced food with full of flavor at Chez Girard.

10. Carnivores Restaurant –

Carnivores Restaurant is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed restaurant located in the countryside of Muldersdrift overlooking the Krugersdorp hills and is next to the Misty Hills Hotel. You can make access to Carnivores Restaurant through a beautiful thatched walkway surrounded by indigenous gardens and featuring a stunning water feature. Offering a great array of dishes and menus, Carnivores Restaurant continues to provide Africa’s greatest dining experience.

Conclusion –

Planning for a holiday in Johannesburg? Not sure, where to start and dine around the City of Gold, Johannesburg? Consider booking a Johannesburg city tour with Mount Zion Tours and Travels and get to taste unique delicacies with rich South African influence. Feel free get in touch with Mount Zion Tours and Travels today and let us design your best French guided tour in Johannesburg perfectly suiting your travel desires and preferences as well as budget!

For more updates and notifications on Johannesburg city tour, please stay connected with us through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest  social media networks! Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comment section below!

7 Things To Add In Your Cape Town Travel Package

Popularly known as “The Mother City” Cape Town features a never-ending list of fascinating things to do for the keen tourists. From hiking Table Mountain (one of the new 7 wonders of nature) to relish shopping at South Africa’s most renowned shopping centers (V &A Waterfront), the list of things to do in Cape Town simply goes on. Here in this post I’ve compiled a list of things to add in your Cape Town travel package.

Visit the Kristenbosch Botanical Gardens:

The combination of unique flora and wonderful location make these 52,800 square kilometer botanical gardens amongst the most prettiest in the planet. In 2015, the beautiful garden has been awarded as ‘International Garden of the Year’ by the International Garden Tourism Awards Body. About 9000 of South Africa’s 22,000 plant species can be found here.

Cape of Good Hope:

Also, known as Cape Point, this 77.50 square kilometer section of Table Mountain National Park encompasses incredible scenery, superb walks, beautiful birdwatching and often isolated beaches. Some 250 bird species have been spotted here, encompassing cormorants and a family of ostriches.

Hike the Table Mountain:

For that sweeping & expansive views of Cape town, a trip to Table Mountain is a must. If you want some real exercise, consider a 2 hour trek to Table Mountain’s peak. However, if you are one of those faint hearted tourists, you can consider the aerial way (cable car) to reach at the peak.

Go for the peninsula tour from Cape Town:

A full-day Peninsula tour will take travelers around the whole Cape peninsula and show them the wonders of Cape Town – from the immaculate beaches, to the awe-inspiring view of Cape Point, where the ocean meets.

Take a trip to the historic Robben Island:

The function of this island has changed over the last few years, but is mostly known for its past use of being a political prison house throughout South Africa’s apartheid. This Unesco World Heritage Site is preserved as a memorial to Nelson Mandela (former president of South Africa) who spent several years incarcerated here.

Visit Muizenberg Beach:

When you are in the South Peninsula, ensure you visit Muizenberg Beach. The famous sandy shoreline is a major spot for surfing and boasts those popular color changing booths that emerges in several Cape Town related tourism pictures.

Go Shark diving in Gansbaai:

Just 2 hours drive from Cape Town, Gansbaai is renowned as the Great White Shark capital of the world. There is no better way to discover the water than by a face-to-face encounter with the frightening yet lovely creature of the sea.

To enjoy the best of Cape Town packages, feel free to contact us at Mount Zion Tours And Travels. We will customize a package while keeping your budget and needs in mind. For any further inquiry, get in touch with us at +27(11) 492 1740! For more information you can stay connected with us on our facebook ,twitter ,and google+ pages .

Top 10 Tips for Children in Safari

As a parent, you may be looking to introduce your children to the splendor of African wildebeests; the bush camps are a great option for your kids to learn the life cycle of animals on the planet, the hierarchy of predation and the wonderful ways of animal survival in the African habitat. So booking family safaris in Africa could be the best decision you ever make to spend a quality vacation with your kids. But you need some serious thinking before taking children on safari as they may grow impatient of game drives or fall sick during safari tour, getting you nowhere. 

African safaris have the best record of making family friendly vacations. It involves many kids-friendly spots where parents and children alike enjoy staying in lodges or tents, sleeping hearing the sounds of African wildebeests, walking through the Savannah, swamp or bush and taking horseback riding or boat riding safari. Family safaris are all about sharing an African Safari experience that would create ever lasting memories for families and would often allow them to shape up the character of their children too. For kids, these safaris are undoubtedly the most educative sessions in the world, bringing the awesome nature to their real lives with perfectly knowledgeable tour guides and interactive exhibits. They are a lifetime opportunity for parents to share an African adventure together with their young kids. 

Involving your children in Safari and introducing them to the magical bush and the wonderful wildlife of Africa they have watched on TV is a great idea. A Family Friendly Safaris In South Africa can bring your family a lot of adventure and fun but it also requires you to do careful thinking and planning for the comfort of your kids. Below are given ten top tips for children in safari that would ensure your family maximum enjoyment.

Mount Zion Tours’ top 10 tips for children in Safari 

1. Know the interest and choice of your children – Your children in safari will behave in no different way than they are on any other vacation. What kind of family holidays do they enjoy? Adventurous or relaxing? Lots of fun activities ( walking, boating or horse-riding) or spending time alone in a calm environment? Do they like to interact with other children or want to be always with you? Do they love watching wild animals and traveling great distances for it? All these things are crucial information that will help you choose the right kind of family safari. 

2. See how fast they can adapt to a safari schedule – A safari tour for a few days can be the perfect option for making your kids get organized in life and get settled temporarily in a new environment. Some children are silent in nature and can fast adapt into the schedule of early morning and evening game drives mixed with other leisure activities. But more active and noise making children can hardly bear it. 

3. If planning for a long safari with children: Stay where various entertaining activities are available – For impatient children on long safaris, it is ideal to stay somewhere where the kids can get engaged in various engaging activities like game drives, horse riding, boating, poo tracking and more.

4. Consider how long the children can withstand the pressure of Safari – The truth is that children as young as 3 to 4 years old may end up getting hungry or tired soon. They are less likely to cope with a 3-4 hours long game drive. So, its better to plan your family safari with 6 to 9 years old or seek out a lodge for very young kids especially since you want them to be part of a safari. You can even book a private vehicle to come back once your small kids start to feel hungry or sleepy. 

5. Let them be adventurous: Try outdoor camps or tents – Your children should learn to be brave and adventurous. So, go for either a luxury tent or fly safari camping which will expose them to outdoor and make them connect with nature and wildlife rather than putting them in a large safari lodge.

6. Check out sleeping facility for kids in the camp – Not all family safari camps allow the kids to sleep with their parents. If your child is too young, choose for large family tents having sleeping arrangement for a family of four together. If there is a large family group, privately managed safari houses can be rented within the parks for comfortable sleep of all the children.

7. Don’t pick up a lodge with the children’s activities only – Many safari camps and lodges highlight their children-friendly activities, but have a look at their services carefully. Most of them have compulsory baby-sitting services so that parents can head to game drives themselves. In real, you need a safari experience to make your child learn the lesson of animal life in the company of a good guide who can deal with children properly. 

8. Know special discounts offered for children in camps – Some of the African safari camps charge as much as 75% of the adult price for a child below 12 years while others charge only 25% of it. So, it is necessary to know which of them offers the best pricing for children to reduce your safari cost a bit. If you are a family of four or even more, private safari house or higher end camp rentals will be more economic due to per person charge.

9. Binoculars and cameras should be carried along with you – Make sure to carry at least a single pair of binoculars to let your children view the game drive and landscape from a great distance. You also need to take a camera to capture the special and memorable moments your kids spending in the safari. 

10. Your children should go to the bathroom just before going on the game drive – Often, it won’t be possible for you to get off the vehicle and take your children for toilet. So, take them to toilet just before you board on the game drive vehicle.

Mount Zion Tours and Travels has the best family safari solution for fun and enjoyment of families with their children – A safe and affordable mobile African camping safari, where your children can learn the best lessons in their life. Call us at +27(11) 492 1740 for an enquiry today!For more information you can stay connected with us on our facebook ,twitter ,and google+ pages .