South African Magic

The main house is an old Victorian country house built in the 1800s, beautifully restored, and it houses the restaurant and some lovely sitting rooms. We stayed in one of 12 guest rooms arranged around a garden with a fountain in the center.

Our room was huge, with beautiful antique furnishings. The en-suite bathroom had both a bath tub and separate shower. We had our own little veranda on the garden. It was peaceful and beautiful.

The grounds were manicured perfectly. We used the gym equipment in the tiny but lovely little spa, and while we did not sit by the main pool, there were several guests who were there.

In the morning, breakfast was served either under a garden gazebo or on a patio beside a small breakfast room. Breakfast included champagne.

We loved this place and wished we had booked at least another night. And all this luxury was for a relatively moderate price. Big thanks to Frommer's Guide for this one--and we will return!

We included this one because it was so fantastic, but, alas, we were among the last guests to stay here, because it was sold for private ownership. There were only six guest rooms in this ultra-modern boutique hotel-like place. We had reserved the Zen Room, the most luxurious, complete with its own private swim area and plunge pool. The enormous room was peaceful and serene, with truly Zen furnishings. We climbed to the roof-top deck for a fabulous view of Plettenberg Bay and the beautiful homes along the beach area. The Zen Room was on the bottom floor, and there was a pool on the second floor, with other rooms opening onto the deck.

This was another recommendation of Frommer's gone wildly perfect, and we would hope to find an equivalent place in the very beautiful and relaxing Plettenberg Bay area. In the evening, we dined in the restaurant on the premises and were treated to an awesome meal of ostrich kabobs. We will never forget this very special retreat and our one romantic night there.

This is an old-fashioned beach hotel that has maintained its warmth and elegance despite the fact that an enormous, new mall has risen right beside it. The rooms have clearly been refurbished a time or two, but they continue to carry the sense of times gone by. The clientele appears to be the regulars who come here again and again.

We were lucky to get a room overlooking Hobie Beach, where a weekend carnival was underway. That night we dined in one of the two well-known restaurants on the premises, The Crest. Another mouth-watering rendition of karoo lamb shank and wild pig hit the spot as an early dinner before retiring to get some sleep before our early morning flight to Johannesburg.

There are only six private, thatched hut suites. The main room of the suite has an enormous four-poster bed topped by mosquito netting. A living area with a sofa, desk, fireplace, and tables spreads out at the foot of the bed. From the bedroom, you enter a big bathroom with an old-fashioned tub beside a huge glass window, double sinks, a shower head in the corner, and even a towel-warming rack. There is another outdoor shower on the deck beside the bathroom.

The deck itself wraps around the suite, with a plunge pool with a view to the bush. For shade lovers, there is a canopy with big, comfy chaise lounges next to the plunge pool. Nothing separates the suites from the animals in the wild. We were treated to monkeys gambling in the trees above and some beautiful ngala. We missed it, but our neighbors saw a giraffe walk by one afternoon.

The main lodge is made up of levels of luxury, with areas for sitting and relaxing, the dining deck, and a closed living room for watching TV or indoor reading. There is a wonderful little shop with fine treasures for gifts. The spa is at the far end and has exercise equipment and a staff that will provide massages in the spa or in your room. We understand that when we return next year, there will also be a full-size pool with a spa. The food is all fabulous, the Rangers and Trackers provide great game rides, and the casual elegance just washes over you all the while that you are there. There are more staff members than guests, making every wish come true. This is a MUST-stay.

Best Things Nearby:
The very long, wide beach and the beach town of Strand

Best Things About the Resort:
Beautiful view of Table Mountain in the distance, nightly sunset views, and the fact that it is built over the beach and even over the water

Resort Experience:
Strand Pavilion is a very well-maintained resort built on pillars over the water.

The staff is friendly, warm, and helpful in every way. When we arrived at bout 7 a.m. after a long overnight flight from London, the Manager offered to open up the pool bar and let us relax there while we waited for our unit to be free and cleaned. She also provided the use of the pool dressing area to get refreshed. As soon as the occupants of our unit checked out, the maids were in cleaning so that we could get checked in early.

The restaurant in the same building has a beautiful ocean-view setting, and the food is not only delicious, but plentiful! The speciality is seafood and we enjoyed local Kingklip as well as local lobster.

The units are accessed from an indoor courtyard/walk with a skylight above it. We had a two-bedroom unit facing west on the first floor which allowed us to have a sliding glass door from our living area onto the huge patio area. There are only five units that have direct patio access. All other units, including the upper floor units have large sliding windows but no outdoor access.

The kitchen and living area is one very large area with a large dining table. The kitchen is equipped with full stove, microwave, lots of counter space, and full sets of dishes, pots and pans and utensils. This is a great family place for folks who do a lot of meal preparation. There was a tv on cable but no vcr and no music equipment.

The master bedroom had a king bed and was located on the west side with a large window to the ocean. The ensuite bathroom was large but had only a bathtub with no shower. The second bathroom located in the hallway from the entry had a very large stand alone shower. The second bedroom was located with high windows opening to the enclosed courtyard by the unit entrance and had twin beds.

These units had daily maid service including doing laundry if you chose. The patio and the windows and skylights were cleaned regularly so that all in all the resort was impeccable.

There were bar-be-cue grills on the large patio and this is one resort where people really did use them.

Besides the pool and a game room, this is not a resort that offers a lot of activities. It is, as stated before, located right on the enormously long and wide Strand Beach which is a main attraction.

This resort is very popular and even at this off season time, it appeared to be completely full and turned over and remained full.

This resort earns its Gold Crown status!

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

This is a seafood store as well as a fast-food seafood place. Fish-and-chips is made with the fresh line fish of the day, like kingklip. There is also calamari, crab cakes, and other great stuff. When you order fish-and-chips, it is cooked fresh for you. There a couple of picnic tables out in front, or you can take it with you. The portions of fish are huge, and it is some of the best fried fish you could want.

The dining room has glass on three sides and is built over the water, providing great ocean and beach views while dining. It is perfectly placed for a sunset view during dinner. The seafood is all very well prepared and very fresh. The prices of the food, and even the wine, are very moderate, and you will not leave hungry.

We had lunch on the patio, with a beautiful view of the grounds and the mountains soaring behind the estate. It was peaceful and tranquil. We chose a springbok steak with a bottle of Blaauwklippen Cabernet Sauvignon. The springbok came well presented on a bed of quinoa and broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini topped with spinach. A wonderful plum sauce complemented the meat and was not too sweet. We chatted with our young waiter, who was in the process of finishing school and preparing to go off to England to get some work experience. On this day, they were not serving inside for lunch because they were setting up for a wedding dinner in the evening. Other tables on the patio and the lawn filled as we enjoyed a very leisurely lunch.

We were the only customers at this noon hour on a Sunday, even though we were down near the crowded Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. This very African restaurant was in the Clocktower a little off the beaten track on the second floor. Our table had a view of Robinson Graving Docks and the ferries heading out to Robben's Island. We ordered a meal called Go Wild Steak, which consisted of springbok, kudu, and ostrich. Our waitress, Ziyanda, was dressed in South African tribal garb and had an accent tinged with tribal tongue. She brought us traditional African cornbread, which has whole kernels of corn in it. We selected a Nederberg Chardonnay for our wine, and it was very good (only about $12). At the end of the meal, Ziyanda enticed us to have some traditional African "beers." We tasted each small thimble full and that was ENOUGH! It was not our taste! All in all, it was a wonderfully satisfying meal.

Located on the Zandberg Farm, there is elegant indoor and outdoor dining. The view is very nice and soothing. We chose alfresco dining. Our appetizer was a wonderful calamari dish that we shared. Then we ordered the 750-gram prime rib for two. This restaurant is known for fabulous corn-fed beef. The beef was grand and came with a Madagascar sauce that was fabulous. We chose a bottle of Somerbosch Pinotage, a wine that is only found in South Africa. Our funny story is that there is a pig farm down the road, and after the sun set, the interesting odor of the pig farm started to infiltrate the air... but we had finished by then and were ready to go.

We did not have reservations for lunch, as we arrived to a filled parking lot at La Petite Ferme Wine Farm. It was nearing 2pm, when lunch ends and they close to prepare for dinner. We were told that they were full, but that if we wished to wait, we could go out on the lawn and they would bring us a glass of wine. We did. The view was nothing short of breathtaking!! La Petite Ferme restaurant looks to be the original farmhouse, converted. We chose La Petite ferme Cabernet Sauvignon, which was excellent as we enjoyed the view and snapped pictures.

They called us to a table inside, beside an enormous window to the view. Their signature dish is smoked salmon trout, but we selected a new dish, "warthog loin." Our waitress, Carin, was all smiles as she bought us La Patite Ferme Chardonnay 2003. Then came the warthog loin, and it was perhaps one of the top three meals we have eaten in our lives! In fact, we were embarrassing, the way we kept making those "mmmmmmm" sounds as we ate. It was so tender that it could be cut with a fork, but the loin was not white like pork, but rather like steak. The side dishes of quinoa, squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, and grilled tiny onions were also superb. Whatever the sauce was, it was excellent! We WILL go back to this one, and we recommend that you just not miss it!

We had a choice of dining inside or getting a picnic basket for the lawn beside the beautiful little lake. We chose the former. It was, again, after 1:30pm, so most of the lunch crowd was wrapping up, and the staff was preparing the lawn for an evening wedding. Our waiter, Leslie, put us at a nice little table on the patio where we could watch the wedding preparations and enjoy the lake view. He was pleased when one of us ordered the Karoo lamb shank, which he said was excellent. We also ordered an ostrich steak. The food was to be accompanied by a bottle of Zevenwacht Cabernet Sauvignon--yet another wonderful South African wine! The food was fabulous! A memorable afternoon lunch!

A warm and wonderful dining room with magnificent South African art on the walls. Our waitress, Bula, wore the traditional South African garb. The dinner comes in five courses. We selected a Berwatter Cabernet Sauvignon. The soup was a tomato-based creamy soup with almost a chili flavor. That was followed by a foccacia-type bread with melted cheese, but we also got some grainy bread that we had grown fond of in South Africa. We both ordered the ostrich steak, rare, with cherry sauce. It was absolutely wonderful! The meat was accompanied by a variety of fresh vegetables that somehow just had much more flavor than anything we buy and cook at home! The only disappointment was the brie cheese we selected for dessert. It was served cold, right out of the fridge! Ugh. In the morning, with our eggs, we had ostrich sausage that was just heavenly. All in all, this is one fine restaurant!

Dining at the Royal Malewane Private Game Reserve is actually for the guests only and included in the overall price, but it is well worth mentioning. Each meal, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is planned by the staff for the 12 guests on site, but there is a menu of choices from which to select. Everything is fresh and made with the fresh ingredients available to them.

We were awakened at 5:30am for our daily morning game drive. We indulged quickly in fresh orange juice, coffee or tea, and some delicious fresh muffins before departing. During the game drive, our ranger and tracker paused and prepared more coffee or tea and provided crumpets as a snack. We returned to the "camp" and settled at a table with white tablecloths and china and silver, overlooking the bush, and were served a full breakfast of our choice.

At breakfast, the staff provided a small menu of choices for lunch so that we could pre-select items and instruct them on the time that we would eat and whether we wanted it in our suite, on the deck, or on one of the decks of the main lodge. Lunch was always a gourmet delight. We ate lunch at about 3pm, just before the 4pm game drive. Around sunset, the ranger and tracker paused to serve us beer, wine, and snacks that included African biltong pieces, nuts, crackers, etc.

As we returned from the night drive at around 7pm, we were greeted by staff with a specialty drink. On one rainy evening, they greeted us with much-appreciated hot mulled wine. On a hot night, we got a cold, creamy African drink.

A quick shower and we returned to the main lodge for a wonderful meal, which might be a traditional African Boma or just a gourmet selection. The staff would serve any meal in your suite, but we enjoyed the camaraderie of the before-dinner drink and the dining room. The wine selection was really great!

One morning, we were treated to a full breakfast in the bush, complete with white tablecloths, silver, crystal, champagne, and scrambled eggs cooked in large pans over an open fire. The buffet was beautifully decorated, and it was as elegant as dining inside! The quality of the food is far beyond what one might expect in any place that is all inclusive. Our room also had its own minibar, and there was a leaded crystal decanter of cognac on an end table in our living room area.

This is a small kiosk featuring the handmade silver and gold jewelry of an artist who does not use molds but makes each piece separately. He does beautiful abstract pieces, as well as renderings of animals and of the African continent. The pieces range from very small to quite large and are somewhat expensive. The quality and workmanship as well as the creativity make this a great place to buy a momento of Africa. We bought a gift for a family member and a little something to keep.

We drove down the western side of the Cape Peninsula and encountered Chapman's Peak Drive as we headed from Hout Bay toward Noordhoek. Frommer's Guide says that it is closed, but that is no longer true. You pay a 20 Rand (about $3) toll to help pay for this engineering marvel of a drive. The ride is on a rocky cliff above the Atlantic Ocean and is so literally carved from the mountain that at one point, there is an incredible natural canopy of rock above. A must-see for on a Cape Peninsula ride.

These cute little "Jack-Ass" African penguins arrived in Boulder Bay, much to the chagrin of the local residents, in the 1980s. It is easy just to park and walk around the beach, snapping pictures of these little creatures. Driving further toward Miller's Point, you will see the Chocma Baboons. These creatures are not so friendly-looking, and indeed, tourists are warned to beware of them, as they can be quite aggressive.

This lighthouse, high on the hill, is at the tip of Africa. For lighthouse enthusiasts, this is one to see and ascend. Beware, because it is very busy and filled with tourist buses.

The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve is interesting, rugged land. The Cape of Good Hope holds an important part of the history of navigation around the tip of South Africa.

Wide beach of soft golden sand that is a great "walker's" beach. In the early mornings, many of the people who own the high-rise condos can be seen taking a long morning walk. It is also a beach where bus loads of children arrive for a couple of hours of swimming and romping. There is a daily flea market that sets up along the center part of the beach. The local fisherman launch their boats in the morning and evening and then return to a fish cleaning station before selling the fresh fish from the back of their trucks.

The Fat Cat Bar is part of the Surfside restaurant in the Strand Pavillion. In the late afternoon, there is a deck where you can have drinks and watch the fantastic sun set. On some nights, they have live bands, and there is a small dance floor. Our margaritas were not fabulous, but okay, and the atmosphere was nice and friendly. We got to dance to at least one Country and Western song before things turned younger and friskier.

We chose to drive out of Oudtshoorn, through the awesome Meiringspoort Pass, and up to Prince Albert before tackling the Swartberg Pass en route back to Oudtshoorn. As we turned up the road to the Swartberg Pass, we realized that the pavement had ended. Almost immediately, the road began its series of tight switchbacks. We could just barely pass those coming in our direction, as the road is mostly one lane wide.

The views grew more inspiring with each turn until we finally reached "Die Top" at about 4,000 feet. We felt some awe that Thomas Bain had engineered this road 100 years ago.

The ascent was about 6 miles long, and then the gravel road continued back toward R328 for another 11 miles. The entire round-trip back to Oudtshoorn took us about 3 hours, with only a brief stop in the town of Prince Albert. Swartberg Pass is well worth the nail biting ride!

Each day at 6am and again at 4pm, we met with our personal ranger, Geran, and Tracker and Shadrack for 4 hours of driving through the bush looking for the Big Five and many other animals, birds, and flora! In an open Range Rover, we were just a few feet from the most dangerous animals on earth: lions, elephants, water buffalo, and rhinoceros’, as well as other predators, such as cheetahs, warthogs, vultures, crocodiles, and many more. We also saw the graceful giraffes, beautiful impala and ignala, zebras, etc. Each game drive is a new and separate experience.

The night drive also reveals the entire Milky Way as seen only in the southern hemisphere. There are beautiful sunrises and sunsets and light shows provided by lightening in the clouds. If you are lucky, as we were, to be there in the months from February to May, you will see the many baby animals, along with the full-grown ones. The experience of a lifetime is to hear the sound of Africa, the roar of the lion as one communicates with another. A lavish breakfast in the "bush" was an unforgettable experience provided by the staff of the Royal Malewane.

Cape Town is a large and bustling city that has the feel of San Francisco. The waterfront area is an attraction all in itself with museums, shopping galore, and restaurant choices for every taste and pocketbook. The mall has major retailers, as well as specialty shops with South African treasures and merchandise. You can view Table Mountain from the outside walks of the V&A Mall or watch boats bustling in and out of the harbor. We noted that many of the major retailers are different than what you most often see in the US and Europe. We are not generally mall rats, but we managed to walk the long indoor corridors for hours. It is a well-lighted mall with wide walks. There are squares around the mall where there is often entertainment in the form of bands. The V&A Mall can be a destination for more than 1 day when visiting.

Our interest in a trip to South Africa may not have happened had it not been for the fact that Bob had done consulting stints in Botswana and Lesotho and brought home books showing the beauty of the country. The trip is a very long one from California, so we hoped that we were planning enough time there. We were concerned about healthcare, so we went to an international health clinic and got every conceivable shot, plus our anti-malarial pills, for our time in the bush. We planned to take very little in the way of jewelry after hearing about the dangers that might await travelers in Cape Town. We were advised not to eat fruits or vegetables that were not peeled and not to drink the water. While we were quite excited about the trip, we had just a slight fear - would we really like it? Then we arrived in South Africa and found this incredibly wonderful place. Cape Town was just beautiful and highly evolved and cultured. Yes, one must be a little careful, but that is equally true of Los Angeles or New York City! The wine country was actually more pleasing that our very own Napa, Sonoma, and Alexander Valley. The road system was so highly evolved that travel was a breeze, and the sights along the way were just beautiful. The availability of wonderful places to stay and fabulous foods to eat was amazing. AND, it was silly to think of not eating the fruits and vegetables of South Africa! Even the water is safe to drink; it is just not wonderful tasting because of high mineral content. The game preserve we visited was on the edge of a malaria zone, so we dutifully took our medication. However, we never encountered a mosquito.

We were not prepared for how much we would fall in love with the game drives. It is not something we had been dreaming of doing, so we had no idea we would get so hooked on the animals!! We just could not get enough!!

So, we have planned another trip next year, but this time we will spend a month there! We plan to use 2 weeks of a timeshare trade in one near Cape Town and another near the bush (Hazyview/Nelspruit area) or Kruger Park area. We plan on driving in between and exploring places along the way. And, this time, the entire trip will be booked by us using the Internet and travel guides, with no help from a travel agent.

We have no fear and feel that South Africa is a place that you could travel to many, many times in order to do it justice. Americans and Brits could retire and live very well in a retirement community such as the ones in Hermanus or Franschoek!

We are including a few more pictures from the game drives, as we took literally hundreds, which we have looked at and enjoyed over and over again.

If you are a timeshare owner, do consider a trip to South Africa! You too will love the country and the people - I guarantee it!