Capetown and Garden Route and Safari
My tour started out in Capetown; a city that has it all. For the first two nights we stayed in a three star downtown hotel, for those on a budget the hotels at this end of the town are more reasonable and the standard was very good. Most tourists head to the V&A Waterfront and I would recommend a hotel around this area. The V&A Waterfront is set in the middle of a working harbour and the original dockside buildings are now converted into a great collection of bars, restaurants, art and craft shops, and an upmarket shopping mall which houses plenty of shops that I happily spent my rands in. After a hard days sightseeing the waterfront is the place to go for a cool drink at one of the many outdoor cafes and listening to the live bands playing in the square, bliss!
In Capetown we had got a day pass for the hop on hop off bus and this was excellent value. The route took us all round Capetown with a guide on each bus. The city tour was a great way to start orientating myself with the city. After the tour we headed up on the cable car up to Table Top mountain and to be greeted with such fantastic views made the nail biting ride up worth it. Those of the more energetic nature can hike it and there are specific walking trails mapped out. Onward to one of Capetowns beach, Camps Bay. Here you will find a lovely stretch of sandy beach, albeit the water is quite cool being on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The whole area has a real cosmopolitan feel to it with the array of cafes and restaurants to sit back in, soak in the atmosphere and watch the beautiful sunset.
With the many day trips to take from Capetown, one of the more popular is the ferry from Capetown to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated, I would advise to prebook to avoid disappointment.
Due to our limited time we took an internal flight to Port Elizabeth and made our way to Lalibela Private Game reserve. Our accommodation was a stone thatched room with private viewing decks overlooking the magnificent park and to wake for our early morning game drive to the call of the animals was nothing shot of magical. The park is home to the 'Big 5' whom are roaming free throughout the reserve. We took in three game drives and our guide pulled out all the stops to ensure we saw everything there was to see. In the evening we were treated with a safari cuisine dinner which was shared with other guests and rangers - a great way to share our safari experience and end a fabulous day on the reserve.
Next was the garden route, we made our way via the coastal road taking in Plettenberg, Storms River, Kynsna, George and Oudtshoorn. The views along this route are amazing from beaches, lagoons and the forested mountains. Taking in Monkeyland in Plettenberg, the Tsitsikamma National Park, the Ostrich Farms and Cango caves in Oudtshoorn, Fancourt Golf Resort in George and for the more active kayaking, balloon trips, the worlds biggest bungy jump and plenty more for those up for a challenge or not as the case may be.
Our final leg of the journey was driving back to Capetown via Route 62 which I can recommend to anyone as the views driving through the spectacular mountain ranges and stopping at the small villages along the way is a must.
To sum up, South Africa to me has that piece of magic that I have not found anywhere else yet, and I think the reason for that magic is the scenery, fantastic cuisine and last but not least the hospitality of the South African people. From guest houses to 5 star properties everyone I visited went out of their way to make me feel welcome and allow me to sample a little bit of their South African culture.