Safari in Addo, then self drive on Garden Route to Cape Town
We were a family of 5 adults, visiting SA for the first time. We drove between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town via The Garden Route. Our first destination was Schotia Private Game Reserve, were we stayed in lodges within the park for 2 nights. We had several game drives and saw plenty. The accommodation was very comfortable, our guides very knowledgeable and the food was tasty, but simple, however, they were not really geared up for catering for vegetarians!
Our next stop was Jeffrey’s Bay, which was great for surfing, but that was about all! We stayed at The Savoy, which was dated and in need of some re-decoration.
Tsitsikamma next, where we thoroughly enjoyed our Treetop Canopy Tour. We stayed at Swallows Nest, where we had a small cottage, which was well equipped and very comfortable. We ate at Rafters restaurant, which was walking distance, good food and very friendly staff.
Then on to Knysna, where we stayed for 2 nights over Christmas. We stayed in Moncrief Manor, lovely accommodation with stunning views, but a bit too far out of town and sleepy. The walls between rooms were very thin, which meant that you could overhear conversations and snoring! The breakfast was delicious and our host, Kevin, very friendly.
We had Christmas lunch at Simola Hotel and Golf complex which had stunning views and a Christmasy vibe. The food was buffet style, with plenty of choice and the wines were great. Thankfully, our Tour operator Elaine, had pre-booked a transfer there and back, so that we could indulge ourselves!
On Boxing Day we drove back along the coast, went for lunch at Cornuti Al Mare in Plettenberg Bay. The service was terrible, we waited for an hour and a half for our food, which when it arrived, was cold. This made us late for our visit to Monkeyland and meant that we didn’t have time to see Birds of Eden. In the evening we drove quite a way to eat at Butterfly Blu in Brenton-on-Sea, which was a beautiful location, but the food was average.
Next day we drove to Oudtshoorn, where we stayed in Gumtree Guest House. Our host Phil and his wife were extremely friendly, helpful and entertaining. The accommodation was lovely. We visited Cango Caves and an Ostrich farm....both well worth a visit.
A long drive the next day to the stunning Franschhoek! This place was the highlight of our trip. It is a place where we wished we had stayed for longer. Our accommodation in Cape Vue Country House was luxurious and the scenery was out of this world. We went on the Wine Tram, stopping at three different wineries, Rickety Bridge, Holden Manz and Chamonix. We ate at French Connection, where we had a fantastic dinner. We will definitely return to Franschhoek in the future, there are lots of lovely restaurants and wineries to visit and more!
We drove to St Helena Bay via Stellenbosch, stopping at Kannonkop winery and then had lunch at Delhiem winery, which was really good.
We arrived quite late in the day to St Helena Bay, but had a stroll along the vast beach. We got the impression that this is a place to chill out! Our host at Absolute Beach was very friendly and hospitable.
The final leg of our trip was 3 nights in Cape Town. We stayed centrally in Cloud 9 Boutique hotel. The rooms were very comfortable and the roof top bar had stunning views of Table Mountain and surroundings. There was a great choice at breakfast, which was served at the adjacent bistro.
We visited Table Mountain, some of us via the cable car, for which we queued for 2 hours in the heat and others walked up.....a strenuous climb taking about 2 and a half hours. Amazing views at the top. We avoided the 2 hour queue for the cable car and chose to walk down.
We had New Year’s Eve on the V &A waterfront, which we had Pre-booked. The fireworks were amazing and the whole ambience was lively.
Our trip was organised by Go Self-Drive Tours. We were very pleased with the itinerary, car, restaurant recommendations and accommodation. The communication was excellent and the trip was a great eye opener to see what SA has to offer and has left us keen to return to some of the places we visited.
