South Africa

We only stayed in Cape Town for 4nts so a lot was packed in. We flew South African airlines from Heathrow. The journey was comfortable and the best thing was that there is no suffering with jet lag as the time difference is the same.

We transferred to the Table Bay Hotel which is a 5 star luxurious hotel located in the heart of Cape Town. Cape Town had various amounts of restaurants and bars to choose from along with activities and excursions. Some of my colleagues managed to experience the great white shark dive. The tours go from the main harbour in Cape Town. I chose to do an excursion up to Table Mountain which looks over the whole of Cape Town. To get to the top you had to take a cable car. Once at the top the views are stunning and there are over 1470 species of plants. To the right of Table Mountain, Kloof Nek is linked to the aptly which is named Lion's Head. The spiral walk up Lion's Head passes through silver trees and spring flowers, and provides a 360º view of the Cape Peninsula as you go round the mountain. The walk is not terribly challenging, and is a popular family outing. At the top, you are rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views. You will also see some wildlife once at the top.

The next day we did the Aquila Game Reserve which was located within a few hours from Cape Town. We saw all of the big 5 and this was my first ever safari. There were options to stay in a lodge at the game park but we were only in SA for a few days so we didn’t get to stay over.

If you go at the right time you could also do a whale watching trip as Cape Town is where they do the tours from as well as the shark diving and fishing trips. There are many activities to choose from and I will hopefully go back one day as 4 nights was not nearly enough to fit everything in. One of the most popular tours as well is the garden route which you can do a self drive and stay at different points spread out over time.