Cape Town and the Garden Route

I have just returned from a fabulous few days away exploring the Garden Route and Cape Town. We flew into George, midway along the Garden Route, via Johannesburg and transferred to the Fancourt Manor House and Hotel, which is a beautiful hotel with a championship 18 hole golf course. The staff couldn't do enough for us, and added plenty of homely touches to our stay. It is ideally placed to spend a few days exploring the area. Very easy to hire a car, or transfers are possible. About an hour north is Oudtshoorn, where you can visit an ostrich farm, explore fantastic Cango Caves or enjoy some wine tasting. We did just that and returned to the hotel for a relaxing spa treatment, and then cycled around the stunning gardens and golf course. The following day we headed east along the coast. First stop was at Knysna and time spent close to the elephants at Knysna Elephant Sanctuary… fantastic to touch these beautiful creatures! We then continued to Plettenberg Bay, where we donned our wet gear and went whale watching, and managed to see some penguins, and a seal colony too. Great fun keeping watch at sea, even though we all got rather wet! We returned to the Fancourt in time for hot tea and pastries before a relaxing bath.

The next morning we took an early flight to Cape Town, which to drive takes 4-5hrs, and drove straight to Steenburg, which is just south of Cape Town on the eastern side of Cape Peninsular. This is an ideal place to stay if you you'd like some peace and quiet. Again the setting was very pretty and next to another good golf course and Steenburg Winery. We had a tour around the winery and a tasting before enjoying an excellent reasonably priced lunch. I noticed it was also busy with locals. Steenburg is about 20mins south of Capetown and they will arrange a transfer twice daily to the V&A Waterfront. You can hire bikes and explore, or drive and easily get to Cape Point, and see the penguin colonies about 10mins away. We drove towards Cape Town via the west coast road to Chapmans Peak and through Camps Bay and Sea Point, which are all places where you could stay as an alternative to Cape Town. I liked the look of Camps Bay, about 20mins from Cape Town, It has a beautiful sandy beach and a real tourist buzz.

We headed across from there to Stellenbosch, which is a pretty characterful University town. It has plenty of shops, bars and restaurants. We stayed at Majeka House, which had a really quirky feel to it. Possibly an acquired taste, but certainly memorable. We had a fantastic evening meal here, with a knowledgeable sommelier and an organically locally produced menu. The Springbok was melt in your mouth divine! Next morning we visited Franschoek, a short drive away, and strolled down the main street which was full of pretty boutiques and cafes. We drove to Mont Rochelle on the edge of town, where we had a gourmet tasting, matching 4 local dishes with various wines. The hotel was possibly my favourite, lovely decor, and glorious views across to the mountains.

Our drive back to Cape Town took about an hour. We caught sight of Table Mountain, with a clear top and checked in the Victoria Hotel at the V&A Waterfront, just 3 mins walk away. My room had a clear view of Table Mountain. We strolled across to the V&A Waterfront, which buzzed with shoppers, street theatre, craft stalls and cafes. Boats were leaving to visit Robben Island and the surrounding bay. We saw a few seals by the boats too. It would be easy to drive in Cape Town, but if preferred, taxis are abundant, although you have to be careful and get one recommended by the hotel, or they will try and overcharge. There is also a popular open top Hop on Hop Off bus, which is ZAR150 per day and covers 2 routes. We had hoped to go to the top of Table Mountain, but it was too windy. Visitors will queue for hours if there are time limitations due to the weather. We looked around and dined at the Victoria and Alfred hotel, which was formerly a coal warehouse, and so has that industrial chic styling. Many of the hotels have a contemporary interior with grey walls, very typical of the region.

Having had my taster trip, I shall definitely return!