Three weeks Three Destinations!

Good morning fellow readers!

For the last three weeks, I have been discovering the beautiful country that is South Africa but now I am back to tell you ALL about it!!!

Destination 1: Sabi Sand Game Reserve for Christmas

This game reserve is situated on the south-western corner of Kruger National Park. There is actually no fence between the reserves which means the animals, including the Big Five, roam around freely between the two game reserves.

Christoph and I set off for the Reserve on Monday 23^rd December. Although Google maps said it would take us 7 hours to get there, journey times are pretty unpredictable here in South Africa as most roads are single lanes. This means if you get stuck behind a truck (which very often happens) it’s likely a 7 hour journey turns into a 9 hour one! So instead of taking the risk of not getting to the reserve in time (gates close at around 5/6 pm) we had planned to stay overnight in a Restcamp situated right at the very south of Kruger National Park.

Our journey went very smoothly despite the lack of signposts and the large amounts of potholes!! Christoph and I were both very intrigued about how the restcamp would be like as it only cost us £30 for a two people hut for one night! We arrived at the Pretoriuskop Restcamp at around 4pm where we were directed to our cute little hut:

The restcamp is self catering with communal showers and showers however it is very well kitted out with a restaurant, a mini supermarket, a swimming pool and each hut has its own barbecue! So it is perfect if you’re not looking for your typical intimate luxury lodge. Prices are also very reasonable however if you plan to do two game drives a day (also organised by the restcamp) then it actually works out more or less the same as spending a night at a 4/5 star lodge!

So after a good night’s sleep, we headed the following morning to the Sabi Sand Game Reserve which was approximately 2 hours further north of where we were. One thing to mention is that we encountered a lot of fees we were not aware of! For example when we arrived at the restcamp, we had to pay for staying in the Kruger National Park and we had the same once we entered the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. We weren’t made aware of these so both Christoph and I were a bit shocked when we were asked to cough up nearly R700 in fees (nearly £50) on top of everything else we had already paid.

In addition to these fees, what Christoph and I hadn’t realised is that we would have to drive from the gate to the lodge which was situated 15km deep in the Reserve. At the Reserve I stayed in with my mum in November, there was a car park right by the gate where we were collected by a ranger in the great big land cruiser. I just assumed Sabi Sands would have the same system but I couldn’t have been more wrong! These 15km was a gravel road with loads of potholes and hug stones but to make matters worse, we were driving a Corolla! But after scrapping the bottom of the car a few times and nearly getting a puncture, we arrived at the Umkumbe Lodge (http://www.umkumbe.co.za/) where we would spend three nights (from 24^th – 27^th December). We were greeted by Courtney, one of the rangers, who showed us to our room. The lodge’s location is amazing as it overlooks the river which is a hotspot for animals during the summer when water is scarce.

Love sun downers ;)

Christmas Day

Tom and Jerry

Velvet monkeys often invaded the lodge

We had an absolutely amazing stay with some of my key highlights being:

•  Seeing on our first drive the two animals I was most desperate to see (hyena and leopard)
• Sitting on the tracker seat (seat right at the very front of the cruiser, on the left hand side of the bonnet)
• Having two buffalos walk past the front of the car whilst I was on the tracker seat (they were about 2 meters away from me!)
• Having breakfast on the terrace and seeing elephants, buffalos and a leopard wondering around the river
• Having an elephant bull come and graze 15 meters away from our room (this happened right before we left the lodge)

In addition to the amazing sightings, the lodge itself was beautiful with a huge terrace, sun loungers, a small infinity pool, a boma (where we had our dinners every night), a well stocked bar (always important!) and delicious food! Everything we ate was made at the lodge including the bread, cakes and rusks! The staff are also super friendly; we had both Courtney and Mike, who were around mine and Christoph’s age so we got on with them really well!

As you can see, we had an absolutely incredible time here and were very sad to leave! The elephant didn’t make our departure any easier either! (I personally think he was coming to say goodbye J )

So after our last morning game drive and a lovely big breakfast we headed to Johannesburg Airport where we would take the plane the following morning...

Destination 2:  Cape Town for New Years

After a very short sleep at the lovely Southern Sun hotel (situated just 5 minutes from the airport and provides a free transfer from and to the airport) we headed to Johannesburg airport at 5 am for our 7:30 am flight to Cape Town! Two hours later we landed in the mother city but were welcomed by a very dark sky and rain... thought I was in England! However by the afternoon the skies had cleared and left a lovely blue sky and sun, which is how it stayed for the whole of our stay.

For the duration of our stay in Cape Town (one week) we stayed at a guest house called Loloho Lodge (www.loloholodge.com) which is situated at Sea Point. The location was perfect (5 minutes walk from the sea and a 40 minute walk to the V&A Waterfront), the staff very friendly (from the UK!) and the rooms nice and spacious. The lodge also had sun loungers, a pool and prepared breakfast every morning (both continental and hot!). I could not recommend this place more! Although the Waterfront is where most of the restaurants are, Sea Point has also many hidden gems and has far less people which makes it easier to get a table!

Although Cape Town could be done in 5 days, I would recommend spreading things over a whole week as some attraction can take a lot longer than you think such as Table Mountain and Robben Island. Plus it’s nice to spend a day chilling at the pool (especially in the summer... it gets pretty hot!) Here is a list of all what we did, with which company and also any tips I think could be useful for anyone going to Cape Town!

Attraction	Company	Tip
Table Mountain: AMAZING!	None	You can either trek up or take the cable car. We decided to take the cable car but we made sure to book our tickets before. Although you have to choose when you want to go and at what time (am or pm) they are valid for 14 days from that day. This is ideal as it can get quite cloudy up there (known as a tablecloth!) If you don’t buy one, you’re looking at queuing for about an hour to buy the ticket and then another hour to get onto the cable car!
Full Day Wine tasting: AMAZING	African Eagle	We could chose between a half or full day. On the half day you only visit one vineyard so we opted for the full day during which we visited three vineyards plus another for lunch! At one of the vineyards (Sevenwacht) the wines were paired with Italian cheese whilst in Marianne they were paired with Biltong! At the final vineyard, we also got to taste some brandy... not a fan but Christoph liked it and even ended up buying a bottle! We also took a small break in the town of Stellenbosch as well as at the Drakenstein Correctional Centre which is where Mandela spent the last part of his imprisonment (14 months).
Cape Point Tour: AMZAZING VIEWS BUT TOO RUSHED	Hylton Ross	Although this could also be a full day, we opted for the half day (second part consisted of visiting a vineyard which was had already visited a few days earlier). Although we had some amazing views, we only stopped at Cape Point and Simon’s Town to see the Penguins. Therefore I would recommend using your own car and doing the trip yourself. That way you can stop along the way to admire the views and also go to Cap of Good Hope, which this tour didn’t.
Robben Island: VERY MOVING	None	Again book tickets early! We were very lucky to get tickets on our last day in Cape Town. It is definitely worth seeing – it is one of my holiday highlights! Your ticket includes the boat journey, a bus tour on the island and a guided tour of the prison. The boat journey was lots of fun as we saw dolphins, seals and a penguin J The best part however is the guided tour of the prison not only because you got to see Mandela cells and find out a little about each of the prisoners in Section A but because the tours are done by ex political prisoners only. This made the whole place and the stories much more real (if that makes sense!). Whatever you do, don’t leave Cape Town without visiting Robben Island!

Cape Town in pictures:

V&A Waterfront

Table Mountain

Biltong and chocolates

Drakenstein Correctional Centre

WineTasting

Cape Point #1

Cape Point #2

Boulders, Cape Town

South African Penguins (previously known as Jackass Penguins!)

Nelson Mandela's cell

So after 7 incredible days in Cape Town it was time to take the car and drive to our next and final stop.

Destination 3: Langebaan for beach and sun!

Langebaan is where Christoph is currently working and living. It is located just two hours north of Cape Town along the Western Coast. The place consists only of holiday houses, most of which were empty. This meant I had the beach all to myself most of the time. Sounds good right? Shame it was cloudy 5 out of the 7 days I was there L I nevertheless had a very relaxing time! This is the view from Christoph’s terrace:

But on the 11^th January, it was time to say goodbye to Western Cape and head back to Saint Anthony’s, which I was actually very much looking forward to! The children are now slowing starting to return to the Home but should all be back here by the 17^th! Cannot wait J

Hope you have all had a lovely Christmas and New Year!

Sending you all lots and lots of love from a very hot SA!

Isabel x