South African Experience
South Africa, November, 2002
South Africa is high on everyone’s holiday list although with so much choice it’s not easy to plan your dream trip. However, with the help of local experts, a great exchange rate, and no jet lag you can see a lot in ten days.
Pretoria is beautiful and if, like us, you are only staying a night its worth arranging for your driver to give you a quick city tour.
CC Africa is Africa’s leading safari company and with 45 luxurious safari lodges and camps in their portfolio and 35 years of experience makes them the perfect experts to help you design your very own South African Experience. Our dream trip started with a three night safari at Londolozi’s adults-only Tree Camp.
Although you can fly from Jo’burg to Kruger’s Mpumalanga airport the drive is scenic but long, especially once you get into the game reserve and the roads turn into dirt tracks with painful undulations. You also have no concept of where you are or that Londolozi is just one tiny part of Sabi Sands Game Reserve, which in turn is just one tiny part of the bordering Kruger National Park. By far the best way to appreciate the amazing scenery is to fly to and from Londolozi’s private airfield courtesy of Federal Air’s 12 seater shuttle.
Established in 1926 and a member of Relais & Chateaux, the camp’s six suites are in fact small houses that sit discretely on either side of the main lodge where your meals are served. The suites are luxurious and romantic with four poster beds and candelabras in the bathroom. Outside you have your own private wrap-round deck, plunge pool and sun loungers. However, for me the best part was the bath which sat in front of two picture windows overlooking nothing but wilderness. With a glass of wine, candles and lots of bubbles everything was perfect until a water buffalo decided to take a stroll past inches from my toes.
It’s hard to imagine what being “on safari” is like if you haven’t experienced one before. For a start the trackers and rangers only have a rough idea of where the animals are so banish any thoughts that it’s like visiting a theme park. You can drive for hours trying to pick up a trail without seeing anything. Then, just when you are about to give up, you stumble across a family of zebra or a leopard out for a walk and suddenly the long drive is forgotten and you find yourself in the middle of a wildlife documentary.
No obstacle is too difficult as your Land Rover reverses over fallen trees or plunges down steep ravines just to get you closer and into the perfect viewing position. It’s almost impossible to describe how loud your heart beats as you sit perfectly still letting your eyes take in every detail of the incredible animals in front of you.
The primary task of the rangers at Londolozi is to ensure that their guests leave having seen all of the “big five”. Once achieved, there is a tangible sense of relief as you then go off in search of the two animals that make the “big seven”, the cheetah and wild dog. There are two daily drives at Londolozi one at the crack of dawn, with a 5 am wake-up call, and the other late afternoon which turns into a night drive where it’s common to see hippos taking their evening stroll or a herd of wilderbeast heading off into the sunset. There is also a guided walk that you can do in the afternoon which is even more adrenalin pumping.
It’s difficult to pick out the most memorable parts of our drives as there was just so many but one of them had to be watching two young lion cubs playing. One cub was a real show off and after lots of rolling around playing with his brother he jumped up into a small tree and attempted to pose along one of the branches. However, he was too heavy and the branch snapped in two and he fell to the ground landing on his head. We also managed to get really close to a mother leopard and her baby cubs as well as to a gorgeous cheetah lying in the shade of a tree but no matter how much we willed her to run she just sat there and out-stared us.
The grand finale of the day is being escorted to the main building for dinner. Guests are not allowed to take the short walk from their suite on their own in case they accidentally bump into the local wildlife. So, at the pre-arranged time your butler will ring your door bell and escort you by torchlight along the dimly lit path. The darkness and the night time sounds of Africa is enough to get your heart racing and you will definitely be ready for a pre-dinner cocktail.
Dinner is served at a long communal table and you are joined by your fellow guests and rangers who happily entertain you with amusing stories and will answer any questions you may have. Needless to say the food is excellent especially breakfast which is served outside on a large deck built round a tree although you need to watch out for the monkeys dropping in to steal the fruit.
After spending three days exploring the vast plains to see it from the air took our breath away. Londolozi’s private airfield consists of a flat strip of land and a forlorn set of steps in the middle of nowhere. With no departure lounge our Land Rover parked next to the runway where we waited the imminent arrival of the minuscule plane. The co-pilot and our ranger loaded our luggage into the back of the plane as if it were the boot of a car while we struggled, almost bent in half, to a vacant seat. Once in the air there was a belated sense of awe at the skills of our ranger and tracker and at last we were able to appreciate the incredible distances we had travelled on the game drives.
The car journey to Pretoria from Jo’burg airport doesn’t take long. Pretoria is beautiful and if, like us, you are only staying a night its worth arranging for your driver to give you a quick city tour. Otherwise known as the Jacaranda City there was just enough purple blossom clinging to the branches to give us a glimpse of how spectacular Pretoria must be when the trees are in full bloom. Virtually every street is lined on both sides with these cherry blossom-like trees and the relinquished petals turn the gutters into purple streams and parked cars are covered in lilac confetti.
CC Africa recommended that we stay at Illyria House and although we were expecting a small intimate hotel our first impressions left us slightly intimidated. White linen doilies covered every surface and we were scared to move in case we accidentally knocked something over. It was as if we had stepped back in time with white gloved servants welcoming as if we were old family friends.
However, it’s these wonderful people that make Illyria House so special. From the minute you walk in the front door the staff can’t do enough to make you feel comfortable and at home. Having not one but two butlers to look after us was also overwhelming but it only took a couple of hours to get used to. Illyria House is famous for its dinner and locals and guests from other hotels come to dine here but the strangest part is there’s no menu. Instead your butler asks you what you would like to eat that evening thankfully making helpful suggestions.
The scenery is so breathtaking you won’t want to leave and it’s easy to spend a couple of hours lying on the grass gazing up at Table Mountain and the clear blue sky.
Dinner was served on the veranda overlooking the garden with the resident ducks providing the entertainment. The ducks took it in turn to cheekily enter the house crossing the highly polished floor of the reception hall to a water fountain where they had a drink before skidding and slipping back to the garden. The butlers, who by now had transformed into waiters, were far too busy serving exquisite dishes such as local fish cooked in sweet chilli sauce to notice their antics or the sniggering diners.
The departure from Illyria House was magical and one that we will remember forever but it would be unfair to spoil the surprise should you decide to stay. The hotel is conveniently only five minutes drive from Pretoria train station so there was just enough time to say goodbye before we boarded the famous Blue Train for the next stage of our adventure.
Referred to as South Africa’s Orient Express, the high standard of service is similar and the interior equally luxurious. To the non-technical eye the only difference appeared to be that the Blue Train offered two classes of suite – Deluxe or Luxury. The suites are spacious and the comfortable sofas or chairs transform into full size beds at night. The luxury suites have a full size bath as well as CD and video players and having a bubble bath at high speed is definitely recommended.
The in-suite entertainment includes movies, music channels or the hypnotic viewing of the railway tracks relayed by the camera on the front of the train. All drinks are included in the price with the exception of French Champagne so unless you purchase anything in the suite-sized boutique there are no bills to settle when you depart.
The train pulls out of Pretoria around 9 am and gets into Cape Town at noon the next day. The main highlight of the 994-mile journey is dinner, conjuring up images of travelling by train in bygone eras. The dress code is jacket and tie for the gentlemen and for the ladies the only hint is “elegant” and everyone took the opportunity to dress up.
The 5.10 pm stop to visit the Kimberley diamond mine is interesting but leaves diners scheduled for the first sitting only 30 minutes to get ready. The maitre d’ was very accommodating to those arriving half an hour late but we were glad we were on the later sitting and had time to enjoy a couple of pre-dinner cocktails in the bar.
The scenery from the train constantly changes as you travel diagonally through South Africa. Sitting in the rear observation carriage with a glass of wine watching the tracks disappear into the distance is exhilarating. However, not all the scenery is beautiful as the train passes by several large corrugated iron townships where only your window and a wire fence separate luxury and extreme poverty. The best views are saved for the following day while you enjoy breakfast in your suite and you can watch the mountains slowly transform into fields of young vines as you pass through The Winelands before arriving into Cape Town in time for lunch.
Again with CC Africa’s help we chose to stay at a small boutique hotel called Kensington Place, located in a hilly residential area near the top of Kloof Street. Table Mountain was immediately behind us and the views from our bedroom’s terrace through Jacaranda trees down across the city to the ocean were amazing. The peaceful suburban setting made taking numerous five-minute taxi rides to and from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront worth every rand.
V&A waterfront is the new heart of Cape Town and don’t be surprised if you find yourself here on a daily basis. Shops, restaurants and stunning views across the harbour make it the perfect place to have lunch or dinner. It is also from here that you can visit Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. However, if you are able to tear yourself away from the water then an afternoon at Kirstenbosch botanical gardens is not to be missed.
Nestled on the south side of Table Mountain is Cape Town’s equivalent of Central or Hyde Park and at the weekend the gardens are full of families and friends having picnics and enjoying the sunshine. The scenery is so breathtaking you won’t want to leave and it’s easy to spend a couple of hours lying on the grass gazing up at Table Mountain and the clear blue sky.
If your ambition is to climb Table Mountain don’t let the locals put you off. There are several routes that require varying degrees of exertion and as long as the skies are blue and someone knows your plans it is definitely worth doing. As its name indicates, the mountain is flat at the top with lots of trails and walks giving different outlooks out towards Robben Island or across the city. These trails are worth exploring rather than staying close to the cable car or the restaurants.
Part of the thrill of going up the hard way is that everyone recognises you as a “climber”. Perhaps it’s the red face or après marathon-like wobble in your legs but fellow tourists and even the locals, who have reached the summit by cable car, greet you with looks of admiration and respect. A change of t-shirt in your rucksack along with plenty of water, camera and binoculars are recommended and a brunch of cold beer and sausages is a perfect way to celebrate reaching the top. Succumbing to the cable car to get you back down is also an experience with its revolving floor guaranteeing all passengers a view.
Once you’ve seen enough of Cape Town its time to explore the surrounding region and the two most popular day trips are to Cape Point and The Winelands. The drive to Cape Point takes you through the wine region of Constantia and several changes of scenery before arriving at the southern tip of Africa.
The Cape Peninsula National Park is very similar to parts of Scotland with its lack of trees and heather-like fynbos but then you spot an ostrich and remember where you are. It’s worth taking the small windswept path out to the new lighthouse (not the one up the steps) so you can say you have been out to the furthest point before the land gives way to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. On the way back to Cape Town its worth stopping at Boulders Penguin Colony where you can take a walk along the beach and get up close to these noisy and entertaining birds.
A day in The Winelands will also make you forget where you are, with rolling mountains, picturesque valleys, oak trees and farmland you could almost believe you had been transported to Switzerland. It would definitely be worth staying a couple of days here should your schedule allow as there is so much to explore particularly the beautiful towns of Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. If you only have time for a day trip and want to sample some of the excellent wines avoid Sundays when most of the wineries are closed.
Thanks to CC Africa, our South African Experience was everything we wished for and with the exchange rate we felt like millionaires and didn’t want to leave. For our first trip we certainly packed a lot in although we didn’t have time to do the famous drive along the Garden Route or go whale watching at Hermanus. However, the good thing about not seeing everything the first time round is that it gives you the perfect excuse to go back.