South Africa November 2012

Staff Members: Robin & Dean Paschall
Travel Dates: November 2012
Destinations Visited:  Cape Town, Hermanus, Stellenbosch, Sabi Sands

This trip to South Africa was with 4 adults and 3 kids (11-13 years old).  We were able to find activities to make everyone happy!

For more information on planning your trip, start with our 10-Day Highlights of South Africa and Victoria Falls.

DAY 1 – Day at the V&A Waterfront

• Aquarium — Highlights of the aquarium were the penguins and the big tank with sharks and huge rays.
• Scratch Patch and Cave Golf — The kids loved both of these, but they were maybe pushing the upper age range.
• Craft Market — Next to the Aquarium and cross the street from Scratch Patch.  It lacks ambiance, but we managed to buy quite a lot!
• Sundowner at Den Anker Belgian Restaurant — Located on a quieter dock at the V&A Waterfront with good Belgium beer, wine, and appetizers.
• Dinner at Belthazar Restaurant & Wine Bar at the V&A Waterfront — A little more expensive, but we ate ostrich, springbok, impala, and wildebeest!
• Overnight at Cape Royale Hotel — A great upscale option walking distance to the Waterfront.
• See More V&A Waterfront Photos >>

DAY 2 – Robben Island, Table Mountain, Double-Decker Bus

• Robben Island:  9am-1pm — They tell you to to get to the dock 30 minutes early.  This isn’t so bad because there is a small museum there.  However, even more importantly is to get on the boat early for top-level seating.
• See More Robben Island Photos >>
• Lunch at Quay Four (too cold night before)
• Double-decker bus
• Table Mountain (gondola)
• See More Table Mountain Photos >>
• Camps Bay (stolen shoes, ice cream)
• See More Camps Bay Photos >>

DAY 3 – Cape Peninsula Tour

The tour lasted 9:30am-5:30pm with various scenic stops around the peninsula including:

• Hout Bay (shopping)
• Cape Point (hike, funicular, lunch, beach)
• Boulders Beach (penguins)

We were back our hotel, Cape Royale, for an amazing sunset at the roof bar.

Dinner was at El Burro just down the street from the Cape Royale, and was excellent with great atmosphere.

DAY 4 – Hermanus

Drive to Hermanus via scenic route takes 3+ hours.  We stopped at Stony Point to see the penguins, which was much better than Boulders Beach!

We stayed at the Misty Waves Hotel, which is a couple of blocks out of town, but it is an easy walk, has great views of the whales, and a nice swimming pool.

Hermanus has a boardwalk through town, which is great for a nice walk or run.

Hermanus also has a nice outdoor market for souvenirs.

Dinner was at the Lemon Butta Restaurant right downtown for great seafood and views over the water.

DAY 5 – Shark Cage Diving

From Hermanus, the drive to Gansbaai is about 30 minutes (versus 2+ hours from Cape Town).  On this day, they offered Shark Cage Diving at 7am, 10am, and 1pm.  We did the 10am boat, so we were out and about 9am – 2pm.

For the Shark Cage Diving, they offer a breakfast and hot drinks beforehand.  Then you walk across the street to the dock where you will load up on the boat.  It’s 2-3 hours on the boat itself.  They offer sandwiches, fruit, drinks, and hard candy.  One woman out of 20 people was very seasick (I did not think it was rough at all).  People get into the cage 5 at a time.  Other people can go up top on the boat to watch the sharks swim around.  After the boat trip, you go back to the office for a video and group photo.

Tonight, we had dinner at Lizette’s Restaurant, which was a cozy but trendy restaurant away from the water.  It also has a nice garden for lunch.

DAY 6 – Stellenbosch

The drive from Hermanus to Stellenbosch is about 1 hour (it’s a little bit farther from Cape Town).

We stopped at the Cheetah Outreach in Somerset West.  It was okay but not great.

We stayed at the Spier Hotel in Stellenbosch.  This is great place for groups and kids.  There is a nice swimming pool, Eagle Encounters program, winery with wine tasting, and the Moyo Restaurant.

The adults spent the afternoon wine tasting at the Stark Conde Winery while the kids played in the large pool.  The Stark Conde Winery is in an absolutely beautiful location with a restaurant.  If there is room, ask to do the wine tasting on the island in the lake.  Tastings were $4.

Dinner was at Java Café downtown Stellenbosch with nice outdoor dining and very reasonable meals.

DAY 7 – Stellenbosch

Our first stop was wine tasting at Villiers Winery.  It has a lovely patio for tasting.  They offered 4 tastes for free, but two hours and many sips later, they were still going through their options.

The kids were dying to stop at the World of Butterflies.  It was so good, all the adults went along.  Yes, there were butterflies but also marmosets, blue druiks, tropical birds, turtles, and lizards.

The adults were dying for one more wine tasting at the Amani Winery.  It’s a nice small winery with lovely views and better wine than Villiers.

Back to the Spier Hotel, the kids enjoyed the Eagle Encounters where you can hold a number of amazing raptors.

The evening was spent at the Moyo Restaurant, which has a set per-person price, but offers an amazing experience.  We requested a table in a tree house, they painted our faces with white paint, local drummers played, and there was a huge buffet that included exotic meats like springbok and wildebeest.

DAY 8 – Fly to Kruger for safari

It was an easy 30 minute drive from Stellenbosch to the Cape Town Airport.  There are non-stop flights from Cape Town to Hoedspruit, but there are a bit more expensive, so our flight made a stop in Johannesburg.  Our driver met us at the airport, and it was a quick 45 minute drive to Honeyguide.

Honeyguide is tented camp with large, comfortable tents that sleep 2-4 people.  The bathrooms are large with open shower areas. The main building is open-air with a bar, dining area, sitting areas, and bonfire.

After orientation and settling in, it was a warm enough that we all took a dip in the pool.  Very refreshing!

The evening game drive was 4-8pm with sundowner.  The vehicles are 4WD with open sides but with a roof.  We had a guide and tracker.

DAY 9 – Safari at Honeyguide

We started our morning game drive at 6pm, enjoyed a coffee break about 7:30am, and were back for breakfast at 9am.

After breakfast, the safari guide too the adults on a nice walking safari.

We were back for lunch and a couple of hours by the pool.

We had an evening game drive with sundowner and then back for dinner and bonfire.

DAY 10 – Safari at Honeyguide

This day was very similar to yesterday, but the safari guide took the kids out for a walking safari.

We also had a visit to the other Honeyguide camp — Mantobeni Camp.  It is an adult-only camp that is a little more sophisticated, but I sure liked our swimming pool!

DAY 11 – Honeyguide to Mala Mala

Our last morning at Honeyguide was spent on a game drive with coffee break (5:30-8:30am).

After breakfast, we drove to Mala Mala (3.5 hours).  We had been in the car for so long, we just felt like relaxing at the pool overlooking the hippos and elephants in the river.

Mala Mala is quite upscale. The rooms are 2-room suites, which can sleep 2-4 people.  There are two bathrooms, and a patio overlooking the river.  There is a large pool, fitness center, spa, media room, bar, dining area, lounge, and large deck.

What I love best about Mala Mala is the location.  They have a huge parcel of land that is bordered by Kruger on one side and the Sabi Sands on the other side with a river running through it.  The animals come from both sides to the river.  They just have an amazing quantity and diversity of animals.

Dinner was in their outside boma, which is nicely decorated, and the staff sang local songs.

DAY 12 – Safari at Mala Mala

Morning starts with tea, coffee, and snacks on the deck.

Each group heads out on their morning game drive (5:30-9am).

Breakfast is at lodge starting at 9:30am.

Our group did a walking safari after breakfast.

Lunch was served at the lodge at 1:30pm.

The afternoon was at the pool and fitness center.

Our evening game drive went from 4:00pm to 7:30pm with sundowner.

Dinner was served inside at 8:30pm.

DAY 13 – Johannesburg

I would recommend an early afternoon flight out of Nelspruit, but ours was early, so we just had time for our morning tea, coffee, and snacks.  Our drive to Nelspruit was 2.5 hours, and we had snack boxes from Mala Mala.

Our flight MPQ-JNB was 45 minutes.  We drove to our hotel in Sandton (30 minutes), Garden Court Sandton, and then took a taxi to the Apartheid Museum.

Dinner was at nearby Nelson Mandela Square.

DAY 14 – Johannesburg

Free day
Transfer to JNB (45 minutes)