Highlights of South Africa- A 2 week itinerary

Having just returned from South Africa I can honestly say that it was a truly memorable holiday, in fact my husband thinks it was straight in at number one! I was actually relieved that my itinerary fell into place as I had researched and booked everything myself. The weather held up and out of two weeks we only had two days of bad weather although people we met did say they were experiencing a mild winter. For us, visiting in their winter (off season) provided better rates (inc free nights) and less crowds which meant we could stay at places we definitely would not be able to afford in high season. In my opinion a great time to visit!

IMAGES OF SOUTH AFRICA   See the photo gallery

Here is our itinerary with highlights along the way;-

Camps BayDays 1-3 Capetown

Sleep: More Quarters - Apartment style room in a good location with friendly, helpful staff. Breakfast was really good.

Eat: Aubergine Lovely food in a relaxed atmosphere. Enjoyed talking to the sommelier Dominic who ensured we had good wine as well. 

Bombay Bicycle Club  Relaxed setting with decent food, felt a bit bohemian. Quite cramped near the door, we had to move seats.

Drinks: Bascule (Cape Grace Hotel) A great little place for a cocktail down at the Waterfront

Memorable: Afternoon Tea at Mount Nelson   Walking distance from More Quarters I have never seen as many cakes in my life. The 'Teaman' as we christened him was a real character. You could have as much as you wanted for about £15, unreal!

Climbing Table Mountain   A little more than we bargained for! We climbed the Platteklip Gorge route in the blazing sun and it was definitely not for the faint hearted. The route took you straight up the mountain via a series of steps. Enjoyed talking to people on the way up as everyone had to stop for breathers. Felt great when we reached the top and good views all around. Took the easy way down in the form of the cable car.

Robben Island Tour  An emotional tour which was informative with a former political prisoner as a guide.

The Waterfront and Table MountainWaterfront   Lively collection of shops and restaurants with good views of Table Mountain

Cape Point Drive  A scenic drive around the Cape Peninsula including a penguin viewing point.

Days 4-5 Franschhoek (50 mins drive) Franschhoek is a delightful town in the heart of the winelands with a lovely atmosphere and beautiful scenery. It is definitely 'foodie heaven'!

Sleep: Akademie Street   I would highly recommend this guesthouse where the attention to detail is second to none. We were upgraded to Gelatenheid  which was stunning and so spacious with a private pool. Katherine (owner) and Hazel were so lovely and provided good recommendations and an excellent breakfast.

Eat: Reubens  Local chef, decent food

Ryan's Kitchen: This was voted top meal of the holiday, only open for two months, Ryan and his wife Lana have succeeded in creating a lovely atmosphere (small, open kitchen) with excellent food and service. Even though my fish was delicious I was so jealous when I tasted my husband's fillet steak which was tender beyond belief for the price of approx £12. Unbelievable!

Bread and Wine:  A great place for lunch. Found on the Moresons wine farm, we ate outside and enjoyed good food, service and wine.

Memorable: Wine tasting at Stony Brook (small family run wine farm with the personal touch) and Delaire Graff Estate (stunning new winery, restaurant and boutique hotel.)

Days 6-9 Knysna (About 5.5 hours via Hermanus)

This was the longest drive we had to do and because I had read about Hermanus I wanted to call in for the afternoon. Can't say I know what all the fuss is about. It's a busy seaside town where whales can be seen. Needless to say there were no whales around when we arrived.

On to Pezula:

Horse Riding at PezulaSleep: Pezula Resort  This is a fabulous place to stay, our room was huge and the bathroom fantastic. A luxury resort that in my opinion is unstuffy with delightful staff. This is where we had a couple of days of bad weather but can't say it was a problem...I can think of worse places to be stranded in the rain! The concierge was so helpful especially when we kept trying to get out horse riding, finally made it on the last day and it was well worth the wait. The spa was also superb and a relaxing way to spend a wet afternoon. Very sad to leave....

Eat: Cafe Mario   Friendly Italian with good atmosphere and great pizza and pasta

Memorable: Horse Ride, Spa, Hike

Day 10: Port Elizabeth (3 hours)

A stopover at Manor 38 in Port Elizabeth meant that the journey up to the safari lodge was not too long. This was a lovely small guesthouse with friendly host and excellent breakfast. This was the only night I hadn't booked in advance so I was quite pleased with myself when I stumbled on this little place on the internet.

Yours truly on safariDays 11-14 (2 hours) Safari

I remember reading about CC Africa (now &Beyond) a while ago and always wanted to stay in one of their lodges. Well now I have and it certainly didn't disappoint. This was definitely the highlight of my holiday and from the moment we stepped into Kwandwe, everything was perfect. The food was excellent and the rooms were huge. We met some lovely people and this includes the staff who really went out of their way to ensure a memorable experience. I have to give a special mention to Ryan and Andy who made our game drives so much fun as well as seeing much of the wildlife at a very short distance. Still can't believe we saw a 'cheetah kill'!

Would love to stay in another &Beyond Lodge in the future..can't recommend them highly enough.

'The Dream Team' aka Andy & RyanSleep: Ecca Lodge, Kwandwe

Eat: All inclusive

Memorable:  Lodge Choir   So moving and a memory that will stay with us for ever.

The entire 4 days!!

And so it ended. Well almost- a couple of hours to Port Elizabeth airport to drop the car off and then a one hour flight to Capetown before the night flight back to Heathrow. All good things come to an end but hopefully I will return to Africa in the future...

Comments

[lara dunston]

Thanks again for directing me to this! We'll definitely be checking out some of your favorite Cape Town spots!