South Africa Recap

H and I went for a month and travelled with my dad and stepmom.

To start, I would never again travel with my dad and stepmom or any family members for that matter. 

On to the positive things!

Cape Town was gorgeous. I have family there so I had been previously but H had never been.

We rented a two bedroom apartment on Clifton 1 at La Corniche which was absolutely amazing! It was pricey BUT we were able to get a reduced rate for our month long stay which was about $200/night. Most places on Clifton or in Camp's Bay are MUCH more than that. We were right on the beach and had private access down and a great kitchen. We left the windows open and heard the roar of the ocean every night.

We rented a car through Avis which was easy. We preferred an automatic since we were driving on the other side of the road.  

The best meal in Cape Town by far was at La Colombe at the Constantia Uitsig winery but there are many other great restaurants. We liked Balthazar at the V&A waterfront, La Moette in Sea Point and the best find for us was a very inexpensive italian restaurant in Sea Point that takes cash only. There are only about 6 tables and the chef is from Italy. It is called Geloso and all the food was great and made to order. We went back often. We unfortunately did not make it to the Foodbarn in Noordhoek but heard great things about it.

We went on a wine tour with Stephen Flecsh who was written up in  Frommers. http://www.gourmetwinetours.co.za/  My H loved this day as he is a big wino and Stephen picks you up and drives you around to various wineries tailored to your specifications. It is not inexpensive but it was fun if you are truly interested in wines as he is very knowledgeable.

We flew up to Durban and drove to Hluhluwe. We stayed at the Protea Hluhluwe and went on safaris through the hotel. The hotel itself is very average BUT we found out via tripadvisor that they have a private, self catered lodge with its own pool on the property that you can rent. It is located a small walk away from the hotel so you do not interact with the other guests unless you go to eat or for the safaris. It is 4000 square feet with three bedrooms and three bathrooms and is absolutely amazing! We rented the lodge with breakfast and dinner included in the price for about $400 per night. For breakfast and dinner we walked over to the hotel area and ate in the dining room. Both breakfast and dinner are buffet and although the food is not amazing it is not bad either and there is plenty to choose from. You can also choose to have them serve you breakfast and dinner in your private lodge at an additional cost of course. We chose not to do this.

The price of a safari was $50 for 3 hours! If you wanted a private safari tour that was about $400 which might be worth it if you have more than two people in your group. The guides were great and we saw so many animals in the Hluhluwe Imfolozi park. We wished we had chosen to stay here longer. 

We also did a hippo cruise on the St Lucia river which we loved and drove ourselves down to Cape Vidal. We saw monkeys on the beach and zebra and kudu on the way back out although there are many other animals you can encounter along the way. We didn't plan this drive but ended up having some extra time and we are so glad we did.

As anyone researching South Africa safaris knows, the price to stay at a private game reserve or a place like Sabi Sabi can be ridiculously expensive at $1000 per person per night or more. Yes, you get treated like royalty but it is a crazy expense imo. After months of research, we found that staying at this hotel and doing their safaris was by far the cheapest way to see everything you can see elsewhere. You could even drive yourself into Hluhluwe Imfolozi park but having the guide with his radio to the other drivers, his binoculars and his knowledge of the park really made the experience better. In fact, there was an english man with his family in a white minivan that we saw almost get charged by a female elephant because she was guarding her babies as they crossed the road. He clearly didn't know enough about animal behavior to realize he needed to back up when she started shaking her ears at him. We were thankful that the moment passed and the elephant walked on. 

A few more places we would highly recommend during our trip would be the following:

We did a great white shark dive with Shark Diving Unlimited in Gansbaai. We drove ourselves there to save a bit on the rate although they will pick you up and return you to your hotel. I didn't intend to get in the cage but did. My H looked a great white in the eye but all I saw while in the water was bubbles and other fish. I did, however, see the great whites while out of the water and was able to snap some crazy photos of the sharks breaching the water from the boat. It was well worth the trip! We also stayed in Hermanus and wished we had stayed longer there. We ate at the Barefoot Cook which had really great food.

We also drove up the Garden Route and stayed in Wilderness at a B&B. We loved visiting Monkeyland in Plett as well as Tenikwa which is a cat sanctuary. We did the early morning photo tour at Tenikwa which meant we had a private tour with all the tame cats for two hours before they opened to the rest of the public. This place is a sanctuary that rescues the cats that are either abandoned or unable to be released into the wild. They also rescue and release injured birds as well. It is a long drive down a dirt road but worth it and just around the corner from Monkeyland. Just a note that they can't allow Americans into the cages as their insurance will not cover them but Canadians are allowed. I have to say that there is nothing like having a huge cheetah come up to you purring and rubbing your legs while asking to get a head scratch. Quite surreal.

Other than this, we relaxed and spent a nice time in Cape Town visiting all the places like Boulders beach with the penguins and Cape Point and such.  

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.