Study Abroad in Stellenbosch: Cultural Travel

Optional 3-day visit to the Cederberg Mountains ($99)

Friday, July 23 to Sunday, July 25 or Friday, February 11 to Sunday, February 13 Discover nature at close quarters in a weekend of adventure in the Cederberg Wilderness Area. This wild and unspoiled land, two hours north of Cape Town, has lots to offer, namely the beauty of the mountains, rock art, bird-watching, historical buildings and the scenic beauty of wild flowers. Cederberg, proclaimed a wilderness area in 1973, is also ideal for hiking and rock climbing. Accommodations in mountain cabins at a local farm. Meals will be cooked the South African way, on an open fire called a "braai." Vegetarian food will also be provided. Included meals: Friday dinner; Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner; Sunday breakfast and lunch.

Garden Route tour (Included in fee)

Every semester the AIFS Resident Director organizes a trip to the famous Garden Route during the break. There is much to experience on the Garden Route, including kayaking with seals and dolphins, visiting a crocodile farm or an ostrich farm (if you like speed, try riding one of these). The Garden Route boasts unspoiled stretches of rocky coast, mountains covered by indigenous forests, beaches, amber-colored rivers and chains of lakes. At the Knysna Elephant Park you can join the elephants that live in a free-range environment, and for a unique and exclusive early morning or late afternoon walk, touch them and even feed them. If you have time left, there are always the game reserves and safaris elsewhere in South Africa and neighboring countries.

Saturday , September 4 or March 19 Leave Cape Town via the Winelands area and Du Toits Kloof, heading for Worcester. Visit the Kleinplasie Open Air Museum for an insight into the lifestyle of an early Cape farming family. Continue via Robertson to Swellendam and from there through the Little Karoo via Barrydale and Calitzdorp to Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of South Africa. After a visit to the limestone caverns at the famous Cango Caves, check into a country lodge.

Sunday, September 5 or March 20 Morning visits to the crocodile and cheetah farm and to one of the many area ostrich farms. Travel by bus across the Outeniqua Mountains to George and along the coast to Wilderness. Board the old steam train, the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe, at Wilderness Station for a scenic two-hour ride through the lake districts of Wilderness and Sedgefield to Knysna.

Monday, September 6 or March 21 After breakfast, enjoy a cruise across the Knysna Lagoon to the Featherbed Nature Reserve. A guided trailer ride to the top of the reserve reveals marvelous views of the area. Join the guide for a walk back, or jump on the trailer for a slow drive back to the lagoon. Lunch will be served under the milkwood trees before cruising back to Knysna in the late afternoon.

Tuesday, September 7 or March 22 Leave Knysna and head east toward Plettenberg Bay, stopping at the Knysna Elephant Park to see, feed and touch these amazing animals. Stop next at Monkey Land to "meet" the different species of monkeys and apes living in the reserve. Continue to the indigenous forests of Tsitsikamma and the Tsitsikamma National Park. Enjoy an afternoon walk to the suspension bridge at Storm's River Mouth and head to Jeffreys Bay.

Wednesday, September 8 or March 23 Today is a free day at the world renowned surf town of Jeffreys Bay. Enjoy optional surf lessons, horseback riding on the beach, sandboarding and a visit to the local Township. Overnight in Jeffreys Bay.

Thursday, September 9 or March 24 Morning visit to the Big Tree and Nature's Valley while making the way back to Knysna. Continue along the N2 highway through Sedgefield and Wilderness to Mossel Bay, the site of the first landfall made by the Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias in 1488.

Friday, September 10 or March 25 Visit the Bartholomeu Dias Museum and the Old Post Office Tree after breakfast. Leave Mossel Bay on the N2 highway past Swellendam, Caledon and across Sir Lowry's Pass back to Stellenbosch.

Includes accommodations, transportation, breakfasts, dinners, sightseeing and entrance fees.