Experience the Luxurious Beauty of a South African Escape

With delicious delicacies, tantalizing scenery and robust culture, South Africa is the ideal getaway. In fact, during a South African summer, take in the colors, sounds, sights, and tastes – as they are at their absolute peak! Here are my top 3 recommendations for a luxury escape to South Africa.

Johannesburg

Johannesburg is one of Africa’s biggest and most vibrant cities. It is the economic capital of Africa and the gateway to Southern Africa. Although not as famous as other South African destinations, there is plenty to do in Johannesburg and nearby Pretoria. The old city is a multi-cultural mixture of traditional medicine shops, Chinese restaurants, taxi ranks, and ultra-modern skyscrapers. There are excellent museums, art galleries and organized tours of historical and political interest. The shopping is Southern Africa’s best and the many restaurants cater to all tastes. The nearby township of Soweto is Johannesburg’s most popular tourist attraction.

The Waterberg Biosphere

The Waterberg District, located in the majestic Waterberg Mountains, is a tourism gem with several great nature reserves and a wealth of wildlife roaming its bushveld savannah. Its major attractions include hot springs, South Africa’s first-ever savannah biosphere reserve, the bird-rich Nyslvley Wetland and the archaeological site of Makapans Valley.

• Leisure Recommendation

Safari Plains Mabula is set against the backdrop of the magnificent Waterberg Mountains in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. The exquisite beauty of wide-open savannas with its rich wildlife heritage and spectacular vistas are a melting pot for a majestic wilderness destination.

Accommodation the property features 20 luxuriously appointed tents. All tented suites are perfectly appointed with a sunken bath, separate showers, and toilet. The hospitality armoire offers a fully stocked minibar and tea and coffee making facilities. Air conditioning ensures guests can enjoy year-round temperature-controlled tented accommodation.

Guests can also dine and wine in the sophisticated dining rooms or experience a candlelit bush dinner accompanied by spectacular African entertainment. A wide array of activities is available such as hot air balloon safaris, horseback safaris, quad biking adventures and guided bush walks.

Cape Town

Cape Town is perched between the ocean and the mountain, with a national park as its heart, there is nowhere like Cape Town. Cape Town, the “Mother City,” is the oldest city in South Africa Large numbers of tourists flock to Cape Town to enjoy this unique city with its fascinating history, interesting culture, natural beauty, award-winning wines and laidback lifestyle. The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, one of the city’s main tourist attractions, offers the visitor a unique shopping and holiday experience on a scenic working harbor. A visit to Cape Town is synonymous with a visit to the peninsula south of the city, and for good reason. With pristine white-sand beaches, hundreds of mountain trails, and numerous activities from surfing to paragliding to mountain biking, the accessibility, variety, and pure beauty of the great outdoors will keep nature lovers and outdoor adventurers occupied for hours, if not days.

• Leisure Recommendation

Highlights of a trip down to Cape Point include; one of the world’s most spectacular drives, Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak, Noordhoek Beach, the Cape Point Nature Reserve, two lighthouses on the tip of Africa, Boulders Penguin Colony, Simon’s Town, Kalk Bay, and the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

Huguenot Memorial

The Huguenot Memorial and the adjacent Museum are a fitting reminder of the French emigrants’ contribution to this beautiful valley and to South Africa.

Blaauwklippen Wine Tasting

Blaauwklippen is one of the Western Cape wine region’s oldest and most respected wine farms and strives to be one of its friendliest and most welcoming.  Wine aficionados and casual quaffers will feel equally at home in the tasting center, which is devoted to the love of wine and encouraging people to taste and try different wines. In keeping with the relaxed, casual atmosphere, visitors can take their wine outside and enjoy it on the veranda or lawn. There is also a children’s play area.

Fairview Wine Estate

One of the most popular stops along the Paarl wine route, Fairview is more than just a winery – it’s also famous for its range of cow’s and goat’s milk cheeses, which have won numerous awards and are distributed countrywide. A range of local produce can be purchased directly from the farm – cheese and olive oil from the deli, fresh bread from the bakery and vino from the cellar. Or if you prefer dining indoors you can follow up a wine tasting with a Mediterranean meal from the farm’s Goatshed Restaurant.

Cape Town City Tour Half Day

On a clear day from the summit of Table Mountain, you get spectacular views of the City, its Waterfront, Camps Bay, the majestic Hottentots Holland Mountains to the East and the mountains of the Cape Peninsula all the way down to Cape Point to the south.

The Table Mountain cableway, a must for all visitors to the Cape, boasts revolving floors, giving passengers a 360-degree view. After descending the mountain, you will depart on a tour of the “Mother City” taking in Signal Hill – where the Noon Day Gun is fired at midday, every day except Sunday – through the colorful Bo-Kaap or Cape Malay Quarter, past the Grand Parade, City Hall and the Castle of Good Hope and South African Cultural History Museum.

Drumming & Dinner (Gold Restaurant)

Enjoy a private drumming session with a master facilitator. Provided with a djembe drum, you are taught the different sounds and rhythms. Soon African rhythms are heard vibrating through the night. The lesson concludes with a hand washing ceremony, dinner of a variety of different African dishes and live entertainment at Gold Restaurant.