South African Road Trip
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?
A dream of mine has always been to visit South Africa and over Easter my family and I managed to do just that! I can honestly say it lived up to my expectations….and more.
It is such a diverse country that in just a few days you can experience bustling cities, breathtaking mountain views, beautiful beaches as well as spotting wildlife on safari.
One of the great advantages of a trip from UK to South Africa is the lack of jet lag. A 12 hour flight to Cape Town, a short detour to drop off our bags, and by lunchtime we were at the top of Table Mountain. I’d always heard that the views were stunning and we weren’t let down – even the infamous “table cloth” was absent, ensuring far reaching views.
Unfortunately our camera did let us down so the following shot is courtesy of CapeSpirit.com
A drive around Cape Town and down to Cape Point is a must – spectacular roads cling to the hillside with stunning views of the beaches below. The route took us back up to Cape Town via Boulders beach where you can see the colony of African penguins.
We only had a few days in Cape Town so didn’t manage all the sites, but of course that’s a great excuse for a return visit!
Penguins at Boulders Beach
Driving in South Africa is another plus for the UK visitor as they drive on the left just like at home. The roads are well maintained and generally traffic free.
A drive along the R62 was a great alternative to the main N2 and took us along a combination of vineyards, stunning mountain passes and roads the Romans would be proud of!
R62
A short stop at Oudtshoorn allowed us to come face to face with the bird for which the town is famous – the Ostrich. Boasting the world’s largest ostrich population, the town has a number of farms where you can get up close to learn about these huge birds. For those brave enough – such as my son – you can even have a ride. Health and safety rules fly out of the window – just climb on, hold on to the wings and off you go!
The next day we were off on another picturesque but long drive to Addo Elephant National Park. No trip to Africa is complete without a safari, and Addo is home to the big 5 plus has the added advantage of being outside the malarial zone – so no nasty medication needed.
We enjoyed both a self-drive safari and a tour through a private game reserve, and managed to see lion, Rhino a Caracal and the amazing Dung Beetle which is a protected species in the Park which results in some interesting driving manoeuvres to avoid them!
Night time was spent in an amazing lodge overlooking the park, where we could see elephants and zebra from the comfort of our balcony.
No time to unpack the suitcase though! 2 days later and we were off on our route back to Cape Town, this time stopping off at the beautiful Plettenberg Bay.
This stop was more leisurely and we chose to book our own self catering villa for a week and enjoy the coastal location. Wow…what a view from the villa! Was this really ours to enjoy for a whole week?
View from balcony
Plett as it is known to the locals, is in a fabulous location. The beaches were fantastic and pretty deserted when we visited. We also managed to pack in some great other sites, such as visiting an elephant sanctuary, where you can ride or feed the elephants, plus a wonderful cat sanctuary where we actually went in with beautiful cats including Caracals, Servals and Cheetahs – that was highlight for the whole family.
The last leg of our trip took in Swellendam and then finally Stellenbosch. The second oldest town in South Africa, Stellenbosch is a picturesque relaxed university town. We stayed in a centrally located apartment which meant we could wander around on foot, enjoying the wonderful shopping, art galleries and top notch restaurants. Of course, no trip to Stellenbosch is complete without a little wine tasting so we paid for an afternoon tour and headed off to 3 vineyards – with someone else doing the driving we could ensure we enjoyed the delicious wine to the full!
Flights back to the UK tend to be in the evening, which meant we had almost a full day at the end to fit in any last minute trips. The food in the cape was first class so for our last day we met some friends for a delicious meal at La Petite Ferme- a wonderful restaurant in Franshhoek with the most breathtaking views.
Franshhoek
In just over 2 weeks we drove almost 3,000km, spotted numerous species of wildlife, ate some memorable meals and met some wonderful people. A wonderful trip and still on my wish list for a return visit!
