No matter how many times I come here, it's special and like new every time. Nature's Valley, on the border of the Western and Eastern Cape.
Took a few days out to experience the Kogelberg this weekend: absolute magic!
We were so honoured this week to be invited to !Khwa ttu, the self-proclaimed 'embassy' of the original, indigenous inhabitants of Southern Africa, the San people.
I had images in my mind of awful 'cultural villages', not all of which are bad but can be an embarrassment both to visitors and the people they claim to represent. Not so at !Khwa ttu.
You'll be greeted by huge flocks of weaver birds as you enter and a friendly tortoise too who lives just outside the restaurant. The farm buildings have been converted to house various different aspects of San history but there is also an ultra modern shell-shaped, green-roofed building which houses a living museum complete with a nine-projector surround cinema experience about San traditional life.
The entire place is run by well trained San people who guide, cook, host and sell with style and panache and with huge smiles on their faces.
There's a huge variety of things to do, including walks and bike rides but we loved the short 45 minute tours of which there are five to choose from.
At only 60 minutes from Cape Town, !Khwa ttu is really a must.
Oakhurst Farm, Wildernness
Set about 20km outside of Wilderness in a lush green valley sits the institution that is Oakhurst Farm. Clare and Jake are seasoned professionals and have created something which defies description: it’s farm but it’s so much more than that. The whole idea of Oakhurst is that once here, guests shouldn’t have to break the magic by needing to leave for any reason.
In terms of activities, you and particularly the inner child in you, as well as actual children of course, are spoilt for choice. Jake offers tours of the large working dairy farm, you can go on horse rides and bike rides on the farm’s own horses and bikes (or bring your own) and get involved as much as you like at the stables with mucking out and feeing. There’s a climbing wall, a pump track for mountain bikes, endless forest walks and trails to run or cycle along plus the farm’s old reservoir has been converted into a swimming pool.
As regards accommodation, choose from the Schoolyard Cottages which are three terraced cottages that used to be, you guessed it, the farm school. The big steel swing windows and the thin planked oak floors are still in place.
For more privacy, try the Farm Cottages, originally worker’s accommodation with rough plastered walls and huge timber decks facing the forest. They offer smaller public areas but sleep up to six. You can also stay in the Africamps permanent tents on platforms which sleep up to five and are located in a separate section of the farm. Top of the list is The Forge, a luxurious self catering villa.
How to move a sofa in South Africa
Driving along the R300 in the Western Cape this week, we spotted this very South African take on moving furniture. Literally two seconds after this, a police car passed by on the right and took no notice whatsoever.
On a recent trip to Sutherland, Northern Cape, we were taken by the rangers at Rogge Cloof to the extinct volcano on the farm (yes, the farm is so big that it has an extinct volcano on it!)
We climbed to the top of what was essentially the 'plug' that was blasted out of the top of the volcano 250 million years ago - we expected literally just a large rock and a good view but were amazed by the plant life and bird life to be found here.
Of course the 360 view at the top of the Karoo, which would have been entirely underwater at the time of the explosion, was spectacular. Enjoy!
#ExperienceNorthernCape
#NorthernCapeIsTravelReady
Total and utter silence, dark skies, starry nights, ancient fossils and superb hospitality awaits you at Rogge Cloof near Sutherland in the Northern Cape.
We were invited to come and experince first hand what is on offer at this unique farm last week courtesy of #ExperienceNorthernCape and #NorthernCapeIsTravelReady
The farm is a vast 22 000 hectares (1% of the size of Kruger) and hosts, incredibly, an extinct volcanic crater, vast herds of springbok and also totally wild cheetahs. Steeped in history, the farm was a centre of conflict during the South African (Anglo Boer)War but the old farm house has been extended with four self catering houses and the six Orion suites in which we stayed.
More posts on this sensational place coming up!
Just had to take a quick detour to Stoney Point yesterday to see the penguins. Enjoy!
Rushing down the N2 between Cape Town and the Garden Route, it's rare for visitors to take the back rounds at the base of the Riversonderned Mountains - but we strongly encourage you to do so!
Set at the confluence of the Riversonderend and Meul Rivers, Champagne Campsite and Cottage isn't easy to find but offers a delightful riverfront location set with weeping willows and apple orchards that gives way to superb country road hiking or biking for many kilometers east and west.
It was our absolute pleasure last week to spend some time at MooiBly, a beautiful working farm with self catering cottages between Wellington and Paarl and near the Du Toitskloof Pass.
Liebeth and team have created a superb garden oasis to surround the cottages, which vary in size from one to three bedrooms - it's no wonder guests come back year after year and stay for months!
Fun times for clients on a game drive at Sibuya Game Reserve. Baboons are incredible.
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#ethicaltravel #welovebaboons #dreamholiday #safariwithpurpose #findyourpassport
Resisting actual boundaries (both geographical and otherwise), the Great Karoo and Klein Karoo in South Africa are often thought of as deserts, again geographically and culturally.
Whilst the area is certainly in large part arid, it brims with creativity and panache and is awash with undulating valley floors, lofty mountain passes, beautiful old and verdant towns, spring flowers and off-the-wall things to do – take a half-day African cookery course, go to Hell and back, learnt to talk meerkat, wash your hair in a waterfall and float above the desert in a balloon.
It’s all on offer and more besides.
Three regions, three worlds, in one area. Sadly most often raced through between Storm’s River and the game reserves to the east of Port Elizabeth, the Gamtoos Valley really merits more attention than it gets.
From coast to mountain, the Cape St. Francis Peninsula, Gamtoos and Baviaanskloof have a vast amount to offer: at the peninsula, enjoy some of the best coastal walking, fishing and birding in South Africa, complete with blow holes of sea spray: venture inland to explore the history of the Black Venus at Hankey or get lost in the massive wilderness of the Baviaanskloof.
This between-worlds area with the European wealth and culture of the Western Cape on the one hand and the slow traditional and open-armed welcome of the Eastern Cape on the other merits many days of your trip.
Just north of the pretty beach town of Wilderness, South Africa, lies the Seven Passes Route.
Way before the N2 was built, a much older road connected the towns of George and Knysna along the base of the Outenique Mountains: now mostly a dirt road, this wonderful 60km will leave you open-mouthed at the scenery around you and (strange as it may seem) take you across seven passes in the process.
The N2 is also stunningly beautiful between the two towns so this makes for a tough choice, but if you're seeing SA by bike (motor or pedal), this is definitely the road to pick – it also makes a super roundtrip from Wilderness for the day, stopping off in the village of Rheenendal on the way for a coffee.
Travellers of ours from Switzerland got in touch yesterday looking for a place somewhere on the Garden Route where their family of three young boys could fish, swim and surf and most importantly, not have any access to wifi!
The perfect place? Well, that just has to be Thorn and Feather - just enough comfort to keep the adults happy but not too much luxury so as to dent the bank account or be impractical for herds of wet children, it works equally well as an active escape for a couple or a family.
http://thornandfeather.com/
It would be hard to find a better way to describe Anna and Chris Whitehouse’s place than the site’s own description: ‘we seek to promote the wonder and enjoyment of God’s world’. Whatever faith you have, even if it’s purely in the natural beauty of this planet, you’ll find Philipskop captivating.
Set along the mountains of the Klien River, you’ll love the mixture of forest, secret valleys, rivers and caves. The activities on the reserve are really inventive: they have a geocaching route which is challenging enough to keep you busy for a morning but can be done with a smartphone’s GPS and a guided walking trail to visit the only know rock art in this part of South Africa.
There are ample fun and naturally-available things to do, such as climbing in the Picnic Tree, or having a go on the Gum Tree Rope Swing.
On offer are a collection of six detached self-catering cottages which are the size of houses as you can see! All filled with light, high ceilings and wonderful views across the reserve.
Prices start at R1 400 ($98 / £78 / €94) per night based on two sharing.
Music under the trees and stars - summer at Paul Cluver
Offering a broad mix of South African popular music bands throughout the summer months, the entertainment at the Paul Cluver Ampitheatre just outside Elgin, South Africa, isn’t always the most highbrow, the emphasis being on family-friendly.
The big attraction here is the splendid setting, which is in a natural hemisphere of eucalyptus woodland on the Paul Cluver estate in the ever-lush Elgin valley.
Buy a pic-nic on site or bring your own and watch as the sun sets, the bands play and you’re warm and cosy under the tree canopy.
We'd warmly recommend starying at Tony and Cha's superb Porcupine Hills nearby:offering two beautifuly decorated houses in which to stay it sits right in the middle of the Green Mountain Trail, a mulit-day slackpacking hike.
Despite being less than an hour away from central Cape Town, South Africa, the Overberg region is totally different in lifestyle and pace. Here a collection of small towns and villages dotted along the spectacularly dramatic coastline give way to vast, green valleys filled with flowers, birds and vineyards.
The region’s connection to all things marine is apparent at every stop: there’s the largest penguin colony on the continent at Stoney Point, the cliff-top town of Hermanus and Walker Bay filled with calving whales of many species year-round, the breeding ground of the Great White Shark and the historic fishing village of Kassiesbaai.
But inland reveals even more treasures: you’ll find the glorious and well preserved villages of Elim and Stanford well worth a visit. The R320 that connects Hermanus back to the N2 hosts the Hemel en Aarde (Heaven and Earth) Valley, a collection of six boutique wine estates, many of which have achieved international renown and that’s before Elgin’s wines.
The nature reserves, in particular the vast Kogelberg Biosphere, which is a World Heritage site and public reserve and Grootbos which is luxury private one, offer visitors Eden-like escapes, totally removed from all intrusions to tranquility. There are slackpacking routes you can join through these reserves too.
Inventive and understated, Waterford Estate near Stellenbosch, South Africa, produces a superb range of ten, mainly red, wines. Unusually, the estate only gives half its terroir to vines and the rest to nature, arguing that one cannot exist without the other.
Apart from tasting the wine, you can also walk through the other half of the estate on their three Porcupine Walks, accompanied by...
https://www.whereitallbegan.co.za/travel-tips/fresh-finds/walking-through-waterford-wines
