Midwifery in South Africa
About the tour
This midwifery study tour shows you the many faces of this beautiful and diverse land. Travel from Johannesburg into the safari country of Kruger National Park, along the famously spectacular 'Panorama Route', into stunning Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Zululand, ending in the cosmopolitan harbour city of Cape Town.
Your journey is punctuated with regular professional visits and talks and provides real insight into the medical and social issues surrounding midwifery and maternity care in South Africa.
There is the also the opportunity to take the pre-tour extension at spectacular Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
Download our brochure Midwifery in South Africa Book now
Your tour leader
Dr Mary Ross-Davie
Dr Mary Ross-Davie is a UK-based midwife with a varied career across clinical practice, national and leadership roles. She is currently Director of Midwifery for the largest maternity service in Scotland, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. After qualifying as a midwife in 1995, Mary worked in London; first as a core hospital midwife, then continuity midwife for a team caring for women with HIV and substance misuse problems, before working as a community midwife and labour ward coordinator. Mary then developed into specialist roles in HIV and perinatal mental health. After moving to Scotland in the early noughties Mary worked as a Sure Start midwife, then consultant midwife, before undertaking her PhD which focussed on measuring the continuous support behaviours provided by midwives during labour. Mary also undertook national roles in perinatal mental health, quality improvement and education. From 2016-2022 Mary worked for the Royal College of Midwives, first as the County Director for Scotland, then taking on a UK professional Director role.
Mary has published widely and presented at a wide range of national and international conferences. Her key focus in her work is on creating the right conditions to enable midwives to provide excellent maternity care, with a particular focus on reducing health inequalities and enabling a positive transition to parenthood.
Mary has travelled widely through her work, undertaking two volunteering trips to Nepal, as well as attending the International Congress of midwives conferences in Prague and South Africa. In 2023 she co-led the Jon Baines Midwifery tour in Japan and is supporting the tour to Scotland in September 2023. She runs and climbs Munroes in her spare time.
Need more information?
- Tel: (Toll Free) 1-8777-398-764
- Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm
Itinerary at a glance
Pre-tour extension to Victoria Falls: 1 – 3 November 2024
- Pre Tour Day 1: Victoria Falls (Fri, 1 Nov) Arrive early afternoon*. Transfer to A’Zambezi River Lodge and at leisure.
- Pre Tour Day 2: Victoria Falls (Sat, 2 Nov) Breakfast at the Lodge’s open-sided Amulonga Restaurant before heading for guided tour of Victoria Falls. Lunch at the Lookout café. Afternoon at leisure. Take an evening cruise on an open sided boat towards Palm Island and enjoy a beautiful Zambezi sunset.
- Pre Tour Day 3: Victoria Falls/ Johannesburg (Sun, 3 Nov) Late morning transfer to the airport.* Arrive in Johannesburg in the afternoon and transfer to the Garden Court Sandton City Hotel.
*NB: Flights to and from Victoria Falls connect with Johannesburg (flights not included).
Main tour itinerary
- Day 1: Johannesburg (Sun, 3 Nov) Arrive Johannesburg and transfer to the Garden Court Hotel. Welcome dinner at the hotel.
- Day 2: Johannesburg (Mon, 4 Nov) Drive to Soweto and visit Baragwanath Hospital, a specialist acute hospital; the largest of its kinds in the Southern Hemisphere and the only public hospital serving approximately 3.5 million people in Soweto. Meet with local midwives. Lunch at a shebeen. Sightseeing tour of Soweto including the Baragwanath taxi rank area, Freedom Square and Nelson Mandela’s former home.
- Day 3: Johannesburg / Timbavati Safari Lodge (Tues 5 Nov) Visit Netcare Private Hospital. Drive to Mpumalanga and safari country. Check in to Timbavati Safari Lodge and at leisure.
- Day 4: Timbavati Safari Lodge (Wed 6 Nov) Set out before sunrise in open top safari vehicles with qualified game rangers to view the “big five” on a game drive. Bush lunch and return to the lodge in the early evening.
- Day 5: Timbavati Safari Lodge (Thurs 7 Nov) Full day to explore the stunning Panorama Route including God’s Window, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, the Blyde River Canyon, the Three Rondavels and the historic gold rush town of Pilgrims Rest. Boma dinner under the stars.
- Day 6: Timbavati Safari Lodge / Eswatini (Fri 8 Nov) Drive into the Kingdom of Eswatini. Orientation tour of Mbabane and its markets. Check in to Mantenga Lodge.
- Day 7: Eswatini/ Mkuze, Kwa Zulu Natal (Sat 9 Nov) Drive to into Zululand and continue to the town of Mkuze and Ghost Mountain Inn. Arrive and at leisure. Take a safari at Mkuze Game Reserve to spot black and white rhino, elephant, giraffe, leopard, cheetah, buffalo and more.
- Day 8: Mkuze, Kwa Zulu Natal (Sun 10 Nov) Visit Bethesda Hospital and the Mtwazi School. Drive into the Lebombo Mountains and meet with Justice Mueni and his family at an authentic Zulu homestead.
- Day 9: Mkuze, Kwa Zulu Natal / Durban (Mon 11 Nov) Drive to Durban and check into hotel. Visit a maternity unit at a local hospital.
- Day 10: Durban / Cape Town (Tues 12 Nov) Morning flight to Cape Town. Braai lunch at Lelapa. Visit Langa, Cape Town’s oldest township. Walk through the community seeing the spaza shops and shebeens, a local clinic, homes, school, community centre and craft market.
- Day 11: Cape Town (Wed 13 Nov) A full day’s tour of Cape Peninsula starting with a trip up Table Mountain for spectacular views. Drive past the beaches of Clifton and Campus Bay en route to Hout Bay. Continue to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Farewell dinner on the Victoria and Albert waterfront
- Day 12: Cape Town (Thurs 14 Nov) Depart hotel after breakfast OR extend in Cape Town.
Tour cost
The tour cost sharing a twin or double room is USD $4,046. The tour cost with a room to yourself is USD $4,449 (excluding international flights and transfers)