South Africa – Our “best ever” holiday. (South Africa)

Member Name: nimrodimc

Product:	South Africa
Date:	16/01/02 (190 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very good exchange rates - great value for money, The people are very friendly, The weather is great in their summer time

Disadvantages: Long journey from UK

Why did we go?

My wife and I have had some very enjoyable holidays in various parts of the world but we had never been to South Africa. I suppose we were a bit concerned about safety because of reports we had seen in the press about high crime rates and violence. However, last Christmas we met an old friend who had “discovered” South Africa a few years ago. He assured us that South Africa was just as safe for tourists as many other places, provided that you follow a few common sense rules. We decided to give it a try and booked a 2-week holiday there for November last year. We chose November as this is the early summer down there and we reckoned it would not be too hot or too crowded at that time of the year.

We decided to limit our visit to Cape Town and the Western Cape area with a drive along the Garden Route as far as Port Elizabeth. This was primarily a self-drive “package” with a route that we decided ourselves and arranged through RCI with South African Airways; they were slightly cheaper than Virgin Holidays for the same itinerary. There is a lot to see in this part of the country, the summers are not as hot as they are further north and it is also free from malaria so you don’t need to take anti-malaria tablets.

How did we get there?

Most of the flights to South Africa are overnight, we left Heathrow just after 8 pm and arrived in Cape Town just after 9 am (local time) next morning, they are 2 hours ahead of UK time. We flew direct (with South African Airways) and though the journey was long and the aircraft (a Boeing 747 “Jumbo”) was full the seating in economy was not too bad, with a reasonable amount of legroom. The meals were quite acceptable and all drinks were free, even in economy class. The in-flight entertainment was quite good and the cabin staff very efficient and helpful. Conditions on the return journey were very similar.

We decided to have a pre-b
ooked chauffer driven car to take us to our hotel in Cape Town and this was well worth the £25 cost as it avoided any “hassle” over finding a taxi or picking up a hire car from the airport, especially after a long overnight flight. We arranged to have our hire car delivered to our hotel a couple of days after we arrived as this would give us time to get orientated before we took to the road. This turned out to be a good idea and we relied on taxis for the first two days, which were quite inexpensive for the relatively short journeys we made. The car hire firm (AVIS) also had a special deal that included a free mobile phone (known as cell-phones in S.A.) the only charges were for calls (about 25p per minute) and a small fee (about £5) for insurance against loss. This was well worth having as some of the journeys we made were through some quite sparsely populated areas so it was nice to have the reassurance of a phone in case anything went wrong (nothing did).

Where did we stay?

The first 5 days in Cape Town were spent at the President Hotel in Bantry Bay. This was one of the premiere hotels of the Protea Hotel Group that has a range of mid-priced hotels throughout South Africa.
We were very impressed with everything about this hotel. The rooms were very spacious, comfortable and spotlessly clean, whilst all the staff gave a most efficient service but were also genuinely friendly and went out of their way to make us feel welcome.

Indeed this friendly and helpful attitude was to be a common theme in hotels restaurants and shops throughout our stay. It was streets ahead of the rather surly, uncommunicative attitude to service that you still experience all too often in the UK and much more genuine than the “have a nice day” approach that is the norm in the USA. Tips are expected (around 10% is usual) but we often gave more because the service we received was so good. Even with a generous tip we rarely spen
t more than 275 Rand (about £20) for a substantial meal for 2 including a good quality bottle of South African wine. The exchange rate is so favourable at present that almost everything is about half the equivalent UK cost.

What did we see?

There is a great deal to see and do in the Cape Town area and we only had 5 days there so didn’t cover everything but concentrated on the main tourist attractions:

Table Mountain

The weather was sunny and clear on the day we arrived so we decided that conditions were ideal for a visit to Table Mountain, Cape Town’s famous landmark that looms over the centre of the city. There are several trails that lead to the top of the mountain and if you are fit and energetic you can walk/climb to the top in about 4 to 5 hours. We decided on the easy way i.e. take a taxi to the cable car station and ride up. This provides a wonderful view because the cars rotate on the way up to ensure everyone gets a good all round observation, very spectacular. The top really is very flat and you can walk around on various paths and enjoy magnificent views of the whole area. There is even a restaurant on the top that serves various refreshments. You can also abseil back down to the lower slopes if you feel really adventurous.

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

We spent many hours at the Waterfront, which is one of Cape Town’s most popular attractions. It is easily accessible, with its own bus service and there is ample car parking. It has an air-conditioned shopping mall that is a shoppers’ paradise, open from 9am to 9pm every day with everything from major stores, designer boutiques, health and beauty shops to speciality stores selling all kinds of gifts. There are also dozens of eating-places both inside and out with a diverse array of food and drinks to suit every taste. Many of the cafes and restaurants have harbour views and some of the bars and bistros have live music
most nights and many stay open until well after midnight. During the day there are many buskers and outdoor entertainers (rather like Covent Garden but with more sunshine). Lots of excursions start from the Waterfront, boat tours around the harbour and to Robben Island, helicopter trips around the peninsula and even sunset champagne cruises. The Two Oceans Aquarium also situated here is well worth a visit.

Robben Island

Our visit to Robben Island was a very moving experience. The island which contains the notorious prison in which Nelson Mandella was incarcerated for 20 years, lies about 7 miles north of Cape Town and there is a high speed ferry which runs about every 2 hours. When the last political prisoners were released in 1991 the island became an important historical heritage site. A conducted tour of the island is included in the price of the ticket (about £5) and the whole tour lasts 4 hours, including a half-hour journey each way. The tours are conducted by former political prisoners, a very dignified and articulate group of men who are clearly dedicated to the task of giving visitors some idea of what conditions were like in the very harsh regime that existed when it was a penal settlement. The most uplifting part of the visit was to learn that these men, who suffered such hardships, were now living in the same community and even socialising with some of their former guards. Such a spirit of forgiveness bodes well for the future of South Africa.

The Cape Peninsula

On the first day that we took delivery of our hire car we decided on a tour of the Cape Peninsula. The total distance of the round trip is about 100 miles. We started from the Atlantic coast side and followed the route via Chapmans Peak. This is a really spectacular drive, with parts cut out of the cliff face and many splendid lookout points. The highlight is the panoramic view from Cape Point at the southern tip of the peninsula. The whole of the
southern tip is a nature reserve and is home to several animal species including small antelope, baboons and ostriches. On the return journey we also visited the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens but found this a little disappointing because most of the colourful plants were past their best. Apparently the best time of year for a visit to this attractive garden is between July and September when the spring flowers are in bloom.


The Garden Route

The main reason for hiring a car was to enable us to drive the famous Garden Route. This extends from Mossel bay in the west to the mouth of Storms River in the east, a distance of some 400 miles. We decided to go as far east as Port Elizabeth, staying for 3 nights at Knysna on the way there, with 2 nights at Port Elizabeth and 2 nights at Widerness on the return journey to Cape Town. We expected the journey to be full of interest and we were not disappointed. The main attractions are the scenic drives, forest walks and the brilliant coastline with many wonderful golden beaches, bays and lagoons. There is something for everyone in this area. For the more adventurous there are great surfing beaches, river canoeing on white water stretches, bungee jumping from some of the bridges over steep gorges, horse riding and many nature treks, particularly in the Tsitsikama National Park. For the less hardy there are some marvellous boat excursions, nature trails and a visit to the Cango Caves near Oudtshoorn is a must if you are in this area. This is an underground network of chambers and passages where various minerals have dissolved and crystalized over thousands of years to form huge stalactites and stalagmites and dripstone formations in many wonderful shapes such as fluted columns and ruffled drapes in all colours. There is a standard tour which takes about 1 hour and covers the first 6 chambers while the full tour takes about 1.5 hours. This has many more steps and steep parts and is best attempted
only if you are reasonably fit.

Addo Elephant Park

The visit to Addo was one of the highlights of our holiday. It is situated about 50 miles north-east of Port Elizabeth. In the past elephants were common throughout the Cape Colony but they were hunted almost to extinction by some of the early settlers. By the early part of the last century there were only about 15 survivors. When public opinion became more favourable to preservation a small area was set aside as a national park. This has subsequently increased in area and is currently about 230 square miles whilst the elephant herd has grown to around 300. There are plans to increase the area to 4 times its current size in the near future. Among many other animals in the park are buffalo, black rhino, kudu, eland, hartebeest, warthog, zebra and the ubiquitous ostrich. There are plans to introduce lion when the area is extended. A network of game-viewing roads allows visitors to explore the southern part of the park and there are several lookouts and vantage points from which the elephants and other animals can be observed. It is much better to employ an official guide to take you through this wonderful place, you will learn much more and the guides have a better idea of where to go to spot the animals which can roam freely throughout the whole area. The receptionist in our hotel at Port Elizabeth arranged the tour for us. We were picked up by the guide from the hotel at 9.30 am. He drove us to Addo in his own car and spent the whole day with us, finally dropping us off at the hotel at 6 pm in the evening. The whole day cost around £50 for the two of us,
well worth the money!


There were many other things that we saw and did during a very enjoyable and eventful holiday in this wonderful country but I have just set out some of the highlights to give an idea of what is available. If you can put up with the long flights there and back it is well worth a visit. We wil
l certainly be going back again before long.

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