South Africa celebration
We arrived at our first destination, Cape Town on the 10th March 2017 for a 4 night stay at the boutique Hotel Queen Victoria hotel in a great location close to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront – great place to wander around with its array of restaurants, bars, shops and street entertainment with a really good vibe.
Day 2 - Up bright and early on a lovely clear and sunny day, we head out after a fab breakfast to catch the Citysightseeing hop on-hop off red route bus to take us to the Cableway station and up to Table Mountain via cable car. We are lucky with the weather, it is warm and the views are spectacular – perfect for walking around and taking photos. We travel back down and join the bus to continue our tour through lovely beach resorts including Camps Bay and Bantry Bay before eventually reaching the Waterfront for a quick lunch before joining the bus again for the Yellow Downtown Tour.
Day 3 - Fabulous Sunday treat at the iconic Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel today, we took Afternoon Tea on the garden terrace, we thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it!
Day 4 – Pick up the car today and off we set towards Cape Point. First stop Llandudno, well, living close to the North Wales one, we had to have a photo! Stunning scenic drive over Chapman’s Peak, plenty of photo opportunities of the fabulous beaches and coastline below. Entrance fee paid on arrival into the National Park and we head towards Cape Point. We opt to walk rather than take the Funicular...very blustery, but well worth the visit. Next we drive round to the Cape of Good Hope, stopping for the Ostriches crossing the road in front of us! Heading back towards Cape Town we stop off to see the penguins at Boulder’s Beach before reaching Kirstenbosch Gardens where we stroll around the magnificent gardens – they are stunning, well worth a visit.
Days 5 to 7 – Today we leave Cape Town to drive to Franschoek in the winelands. Our first night is spent at ‘La Residence’, a truly special place. The following two nights we stay in the village at the friendly ‘Leeu House’, a well located property within walking distance of many restaurants and shops which were a pleasure to stroll around, but we also made sure we allowed some time to relax in the pretty gardens and pool area . Wine tasting at Leeu Estates and Mont Rochelle, followed by a picnic in the vineyards was a really lovely experience and one which must be done!
Day 8 – Today's journey takes us on a flight to Port Elizabeth followed by a 90 minute drive to Pumba Private Game Reserve for a 3-night stay in a Water Lodge.
We were very much looking forward to our stay at Pumba for our first ever safari, but it far exceeded our expectations – we absolutely loved it! The two game drives per day at 6:30am and 4:30pm led by our extremely knowledgeable Ranger were exhilarating and exciting – there was never a dull moment with road block elephants and zebras crossing! We saw the Big 5 and more...a fabulous experience which has left us with such special memories. When can we go again...!
Day 11 – Sadly today was our last breakfast sat in the restaurant overlooking the water, which was particularly busy this morning with several elephants at one end, hippos at the other and a display by the African Fish Eagles overhead...not a bad way to end our stay as we say goodbye to Pumba!
Our final destination is on the coast at Saint Francis Bay where we spend our last three nights at The Sands @ St Francis – a great little B&B with the most stunning location overlooking the ocean, where it is compulsory to sit with your doors open, to relax and listen to the waves from your patio...absolute bliss!
A perfect end to a perfect trip to South Africa...special memories we shall never forget.