South Africa is known for safaris, Capetown, penguins, the garden route, where the two oceans meet, and wine country. If you want to get inspired, I recommend a South African Youtube channel called “Like a Tourist” (I think they may soon run tours as well). Get inspired by the lesser known parts of South Africa, shown with excellent cinematic skill, by a native. I got inspired to go to Barrydale Hand Weavers, but otherwise, I relied on the recommendations of a friend who lives there… If you want to do what I did, then I’ve listed it below. Note: I will write about these places in separate blog postings in the next six months.
My itinerary:
Safari –– Four night safari at Madikwe Hills: Madikwe is a private game reserve to the north of Pretoria. It is a four hour drive of which the last hour or so is inside the game reserve (so you will be on your own game drive!). Madikwe Hills is a luxury safari lodge (Think in the $500 per night and up range). I will write more about Madikwe in a separate article. I highly recommend them. I will write about safari in a separate article.
The Garden Route — two nights in each — Capetown, Hermanus, and Knysna:
Capetown: We stayed at the Vineyard, not in downtown Capetown, and it was a lovely hotel with views of table mountain. While in Capetown, we went to the Cape of Good Hope (the “southernmost” point of Africa — actually location is Cape Agulhus which is 90 miles away), we did fancy dinners (Chef’s Table at the Beau Constantia Vineyard and Belly of the Beast). We took Uber (your account will work here too) as to avoid driving, drinking and driving, and parking nightmares. We flew to Capetown on Safair, a domestic airline, and two things to note about that — it is possible to take liquids onto your domestic flights so load up on your coffee or tea — and you can reserve the middle seat for not so much money thus making it a pleasant flight. While in Capetown, you can go up the cable car to Table Mountain. Some days you will see nothing but we were lucky with sunshine. The cool thing about the funicular is that it rotates! So you will get a good view wherever you are standing when you get in. The ride is short (five minutes?) but the line is long (buy the VIP passes). Check out the botanical gardens.
Hermanus: We drove to a secret spot to see penguins (Betty’s Bay, on the way to Hermanus, and park at the Stony Point Penguin Colony entrance — you will still see penguins even when the colony is closed. It’s an insider’s secret!), did wine tastings (more to come on those later), and stayed at the Marine One hotel. The staff are helpful, the penthouse is large with a view of the whale-filled bay, but there are no elevators). The staff there can help you get to your whale watching and wine tasting. This is the place for whale watching.
Knysna (‘nice-naw’): This is a place to see the Knysna Headlands (I really liked the East Head Cafe), enjoy a sailboat ride, eat seafood, shop at Old Nick Village (a small outdoor shopping area including Mungo and their workshop), visit Barrydale for the drive and the shopping, and explore other shopping opportunities such as a farmers market. We stayed at Mount Knysna which has amazing views (and an elevator) and very nice rooms (the presidential suite has an extra bedroom).
Another national park and small town — Clarens: Not on my list, but I went along with it. The town is known for being a cute artsy town, for the local hikes, amazing vistas in the national park (Golden Gate is not just in California), and a fun pitstop on the way to Lesotho. We stayed at the Marriott in town because then the town square and delicious restaurants were within walking distance (five minutes), but you can stay at a castle or a palace, or something more rural. Up to you. There is lots of do in Clarens, from dinosaur hunting, hiking, gin tasting, brewpub visiting, and cheese tasting. I had the most delicious Italian food there. The owner is from Bologna.
Pretoria: See the government building and giant statue of Mandela, have clothes made (or not), enjoy the malls, the low prices for steak ($20 for a steak dinner) and other meat. Enjoy the jacaranda trees in bloom in spring.
What time of year to visit? I went in October which is spring but the temperature varied depending on where we were. Some days it was unseasonably hot in the 90s F (35 C) and other days it was down to 50 F (15 C). The baby elephants and jacarandas are a springtime thing. Whale watching is in the spring.
