WUPJ South Africa
Led by Rabbi Lennard Thal
July 6 - 17, 2016


Tour Rates & Dates:

There are no Departure Dates available for this Package.
*Please note that all rates displayed are based on standard room double occupancy.
All rates above are in US Dollars, and are based on full payment by credit card unless otherwise noted.
If check payment discount is available for this tour, it can be selected after clicking "BOOK" above.
(Deposit can still be paid by credit card).
Upgraded room categories may be available to book later in the booking process.
If Land & Air price is displayed, the air portion includes tax and fuel surcharges, which are subject to change until ticketed.

Tour Overview:

Download a PDF version:

Join us as we encounter the best of the Animal Kingdom on Safari in Pilanesberg National Park, connect with South Africa's Progressive Communities, tour the Garden Route, and enjoy outstanding food and wine throughout on this unique adventure. Participation in the SAUPJ Biennial Conference in Cape Town is included with the tour cost (July 15-17).

First Time WUPJ Tour Travelers - Save $100 regardless of when you register! *
(*Note: Discounts (early bird & first timers) cannot be combined)


To download the PDF flyer/registration form, click HERE

About your tour leader:
Rabbi Lennard Thal, the designated tour leader, is the Senior VP Emeritus of the URJ and has spent time on every continent (other than Antarctica) partly as a result of his longstanding involvement with the WUPJ, including two trips to South Africa. He also had led many group trips to Asia, South America, Europe and Israel and looks forward to sharing the excitement of a return visit to South Africa. Rabbi Thal is the recipient of the World Union's 2015 International Humanitarian Award

This Unforgettable Experience Includes:

*  Participation in the SAUPJ Biennial in Cape Town

*  Exploring the beauty of the wild on Safari in Pilanesberg National Park

*  Meeting with Progressive community leaders in Johannesburg & Cape Town

*  Learning from world class scholars, including South Africa's top Reform Rabbis

*  Touring key sites - from Soweto's Apartheid Museum, to Robben Island Prison

*  Gourmet experiences, including a visit to a wine estate


3 nights Protea Wanderers Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa
2 nights Bakubung Game Lodge Pilanesberg National Park, Pilanesberg, South Africa
5 nights Portswood Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
Breakfast daily, 10 group dinners & 2 lunches
Transfers included if arriving/departing with the main group
Entrance fees as per itinerary
Porterage

These prices do not include:

Roundtrip airfare & departure taxes and fuel surcharges
(listed separately)
Internal flights (Unless booking international group flights)
Any border taxes or visas
Tips to guides, driver, and dining room waiters
($15.00 per person, per day-pre-collected)
Any items of a personal nature
Travel Insurance
(Highly recommended)

** Note: While we are not currently planning to travel to any areas where Malaria is known to be present, we recommend you talk to your physician in advance of departure regarding whether Malaria medication is recommended for you.

Return to Main WUPJ Tour Page

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1, Wednesday, July 6, 2016: DEPARTURE

• Those on the group flight depart NY on our overnight flight to South Africa (not included - contact Ayelet Tours for assistance).

Day 2, Thursday, July 7, 2016: JOHANNESBURG

• Arrival at O.R. Tambo International Airport Johannesburg.
• Transfer to our hotel.
• Following lunch (on own), we will be taken on a guided tour of the City of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is the provincial capital of Gauteng, which is the wealthiest province in South Africa.
• This evening, we enjoy a dinner reception at Bet David together with congregational board and invited regional leadership including Gauteng Rabbis. Evening program will be topped with a major address by a high-level personality.

O/N at the Protea Wanderers Hotel, Johannesburg

Day 3, Friday, July 8, 2016: JOHANNESBURG

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with high-profile individuals and executives from the SA Board of Deputies and the SA Zionist Federation.
• This afternoon, we enjoy a Township Tour including a visit to Soweto, an urban area of the city of Johannesburg, including the Apartheid Museum. The Apartheid Museum illustrates the rise and fall of South Africa's era of segregation and oppression using film, text, audio and live accounts to provide a chilling insight into the architecture and implementation of the apartheid system, as well as inspiring stories of the struggle towards democracy.
• Time to refresh.
• Evening services at Bet Emanuel followed by a Shabbat dinner with members of the Bet Emanuel Board.

O/N at the Protea Wanderers Hotel, Johannesburg

Day 4, Saturday, July 9, 2016: JOHANNESBURG

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Shabbat morning service and special ceremony at Johannesburg's “Mother Shul”, Temple Israel, Hillbrow, followed by a light lunch.
• This afternoon, visit the Women's Prison, an apartheid relic and now a national monument.
• Havdalah together this evening, followed by a dinner reception at the home of a prominent member of Temple Israel.

O/N at the Protea Wanderers Hotel, Johannesburg

Day 5, Sunday, July 10, 2016: PILANESBERG NATIONAL PARK

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Check out of our hotel.
• Early morning departure from Johannesburg to the Bakubung Luxury Bush Lodge situated in the Pilanesberg National Park. (3 hours' drive from Johannesburg)
• Arrival and check in to the Lodge.
• Light lunch (on own) followed by a Safari excursion into the bush in an open four wheel drive Safari vehicle. See amazing wildlife, including the Big five - rhino, elephant, leopard, lion and Cape buffalo, as well as herds of giraffe, hippos, zebra and more.
• Dinner at our hotel this evening.

O/N Bakabung Luxury Bush Lodge

Day 6, Monday, July 11, 2016: PILANESBERG AND SUN CITY

• Breakfast at our hotel.
OPTIONAL: Sunrise Safari excursion (included).
• Lunch (on own).
• This afternoon, we relax at our Bush Lodge on own, OR Enjoy the afternoon at Sun City. There are diverse entertainment options and an opportunity to visit places of unique interest which form part of the Sun City complex.
• Dinner together this evening.

O/N Bakubung Luxury Bush Lodge 

Day 7, Tuesday, July 12, 2016: CAPE TOWN

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Transfer to O.R. Tambo Airport Johannesburg for our flight to Cape Town, known as the Mother City.
• Upon arrival we will be transferred to the Protea Breakwater Lodge Hotel in Cape Town. This is one of the few hotels that borders on the famous Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.
• Free time - You may wish to do a walk-around, some shopping, have a meal or just enjoy the experience of visiting South Africa's most visited attraction. If the weather is good and time permits, your guide can drive you to the top of Signal Hill for a different overview of the Cape Peninsula.
• Dinner and an evening program hosted by the Temple Israel (Green Point).

O/N Protea Breakwater Lodge Hotel, Cape Town

Day 8, Wednesday, July 13, 2016: CAPE TOWN

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with leadership of the Cape Town Jewish community and visit the Jewish Campus where we will visit the world class Cape Town Jewish Museum as well as the Holocaust Centre. We will also be able to visit the first Synagogue in South Africa. The South African Jewish Museum was, opened by Nelson Mandela in 2000. It is situated on the heritage site of the Gardens Synagogue, which was built in 1863. Explore this highly acclaimed high-tech museum, which provides a host of interactive experiences (including audio-visual presentations and reconstructed setting) in its narration of the story of South Africa Jewry from its early beginnings
• Lunch (on own) at the Café Riteve, one of only two kosher restaurants in the Western Cape.
• Visit the District Six Museum, a museum in the former inner-city residential area District Six in Cape Town. The museum was set up as a memorial to the forced movement of 60,000 inhabitants of various races in District Six during the Apartheid in South Africa.
• Next we visit the Company Gardens. Enjoy a leisurely walk along the tree-lined paths while taking in some of the more than 8,000 species of plants contained in the Company's Garden, before stopping for tea and cake at the tea room.
• We continue with a visit to Bo Kaap, Traditional Malay Quarter, a multicultural area, tucked safely into the fold of Signal Hill. Using the cobble stoned streets as our guide, we will be lead into a lively suburb filled with brightly colored houses from the seventeenth & nineteenth century, Muslim saints shrines (“kramats“) and many beautiful “Mosques” including the first established Muslim Mosque in South Africa.
• Weather permitting; take the cable car to Table Mountain for a breath-taking view of Cape Town, Table Bay & the Cape of Good Hope.
• This evening, we enjoy an entertaining evening Show and dinner at the well regarded Richard's Supper Club.

O/N Protea Breakwater Lodge Hotel, Cape Town

Day 9, Thursday, July 14, 2016: CAPE TOWN

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today we enjoy a tour of Robben Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We tour the prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years by the Apartheid government.
• We enjoy a Winelands Tour including a cellar tour and a wine tasting session at a historical Wine Estate.
• Continue to Stellenbosch, a famous university town. Explore this, the second oldest town in South Africa, with its Oak-lined Streets and visit some of its fascinating venues.
• Dinner/Reception this evening at the home of a prominent member of the Cape Town Congregation.

O/N Protea Breakwater Lodge Hotel, Cape Town

Day 10, Friday, July 15, 2016: OPTIONAL CAPE PENINSULA / START OF SAUPJ BIENNIAL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Enjoy a free morning to explore on own, shop along the waterfront, and enjoy this beautiful city.
OR Optional half day excursion to the CAPE PENINSULA (should return by 1 pm)
• We depart for the Cape Peninsula. This will be an unforgettable journey to the mythical meeting place of the two great oceans where you will experience the breath-taking scenic beauty that contrasts with the harsh rugged conditions of the most south westerly edge of the African continent. We enter the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and travel among the fauna and flora for 11 km to arrive at the spectacular Cape Point Light House. We will take the funicular up the steep promontory right at the southern point of the Cape Peninsula where the lighthouse signals it's position to the many thousands of ships that round Africa yearly.
• Our return route will take us back along the False Bay Coast through historical Simon's Town
ALL:
• 1 pm: Light lunch in Green Point, and welcome at the Biennial Conference in Cape Town.
• 2pm: We join the Biennial Conference
• 4pm: Plenary meeting at the conference
• 6pm: Join the community for an evening service followed by Shabbat dinner hosted by the Cape Town Progressive Jewish Community.

O/N Protea Breakwater Lodge Hotel, Cape Town

Day 11, Saturday, July 16, 2016: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Shabbat Services together with the local community.
• Afternoon: Presentations and panel discussions.
• Saturday Evening: Havdalah service followed by Dinner together.

O/N Protea Breakwater Lodge Hotel, Cape Town
 
Day 12, Sunday, July 17, 2016: DEPARTURE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Indaba and a special closing conference program.
• Those on the group flight transfer to Cape Town's airport, and fly to Johannesburg airport to connect with our international flight back to NY.


The Memories Last Forever!


*Itinerary subject to change