Cape Town, South Africa

Life is an adventure. Let’s go!

Garden Route and Karoo road trip.

I’d always dreamed of Africa. So when the big five-oh-my-how-did-this-happen came knocking on my door, I knew I had to jump at the chance to check it off my bucket list. This was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with wildlife, wine, wilderness, and waves.

The first no-brainer was the flight. Expecting multiple connections and long layovers to get me anywhere remotely exciting, I was pleased to find direct daily flights from DC, NY, and Atlanta to choose from. You can board, enjoy dinner and a movie, fly through the night, and wake up for the afternoon in Cape Town. That’s pretty civilized for a 16-hour straight shot.

Not just a family road trip, a milestone birthday, and fulfilling a safari dream, this trip was also a reunion of old friends—a band of Saffers, Brits, Kiwis, and Aussies I knew from Dubai when I lived and worked there back in the day. It was a big ask to get everyone together, but with many of them already living in South Africa, it was the perfect destination to come together and braai, and braai some more.

With so many things to do and see, I have to thank my friends at the Tribal Tourist Travel Agency for their amazing insight and an awesome itinerary to make the most of our twelve days on the road. The absolute star was the WhatsApp group chat, which kept us on the right track with much humor and animated conversation, offering recommendations along the way and a plan for contingencies when they happened. This proved to be invaluable with inclement weather on our departure day. Tribal Tourist afforded us the same care and attention to detail as they would for clients headed out on their tailor-made luxury African adventures. If you want to know the difference between all the national parks, private game reserves, game lodges, and the many different safari experiences out there, these are the guys to ask so you’ll know what kind of the wildlife adventure you are signing up for.

Cape Town and Cape Penninsular

I’m a believer that an airport’s arrivals and immigration experience is a good indication of what to expect from the country you’re visiting. Landing in South Africa, people were genuinely welcoming and courteous every step of the way. Getting from the plane and checking into our hotel was seamless; we found ourselves at dinner with a glorious sunset view in no time. The ‘Mother City,’ as Cape Town is fondly known, is a melting pot of different cultures with historical significance, creative districts, and the buzzing Waterfront filled with world-class shopping, dining, and entertainment. After our fill of seafood towers and smoking sushi platters, just wow—what a way to acclimatize and start on this adventure!

We took in the sights on the red bus city tour, and of course we did Table Mountain. We visited the suburbs of Constantia with its prestigious vineyards and old Dutch colonial houses and enjoyed a braai with friends. We explored the charming fishing village of Kalk Bay with its cool bohemian vibe. And an old friend took us on a ‘surf tour’ to check out all the local surf spots and famous breaks in the area, find the penguins of Boulders Beach, and do the trip down to Cape Point to climb the lighthouse and see where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet.

Hermanus and Garden Route

The Western Cape’s scenery is breathtaking. Majestic mountainscapes, lush valleys, stunning beaches, and a mild Mediterranean climate supports the unique Cape Fynbos shrubland, and the thistle-like Protea, the national flower of South Africa. The Garden Route (N4 highway) is a 190-mile (300km) coastal journey that begins in Mossel Bay and ends at Storms River to the east. The road takes you through epic scenery, a series of wide bays, headlands, and charming towns, with many nature spots, wild baboons, and points of interest along the way.

First we stopped in Hermanus, a seaside town famous for its whale watching. Our plans were to have a whale of a time, enjoying the local restaurants and exploring the local art scene. It helps to have big-hearted friends that run the Spirit of Hermanus Distillery and the Folke & Goode craft brewery—who are also big foodies at that! Plus Lucky Friday, a graffiti, digital, and mixed media artist, and a carpenter-professional firestarter in our motley crew. All aboard and ready to go for a magical mystery road trip tour to Wilderness!

When they said we were going to Wilderness, I was under the impression ‘the wilderness’ was some outback remote place far off the beaten path, where we needed plenty of supplies for days, and camping at one point was seriously an option. Our journey to get there included stops at a few traditional ‘padstals’ like the eclectic Dassiesfontein (a roadside farm stall filled with wrought iron and pots and pans and pastries and coffee and pies and jam and farm-fresh eggs and donkeys and sheep for our entertainment) and a lunch stop at Die Skeerhok for bunnychow (there’s a fascinating story behind the name). Here we stocked up some more with hand-reared meat from the butchers, rusks and huge rustic loaves from the baker, cheese from the dairy, and plenty of chutneys—because life is just better with chutney!

This is why it is fun sometimes to not read every travel guide when you go on vacation and just let someone else take the lead on your adventure. Wildness was not wild. Maybe we were the ones who were a little wild at times. Wilderness was, in fact, very green and beautiful with rivers and lakes, stunning hills perched over wide beaches, deep valleys, a ‘map of Africa’ view point, nature trails throughout the national park, and watersports for the outdoor enthusiast. A truly delightful village at the heart of the garden route with fabulous restaurants, farm-to-table cafes, local artisan cheeses, and oysters. A place where we connected with nature, really slowed down and enjoyed each other’s company in our cosy ‘rondavel’ thatched-roof cottage overlooking the common. If this is what being in the ‘Wilderness’ means, I’d happily spend 40 days and 40 nights!

Leaving the gang behind, we traveled on through the Garden Route. We passed through Knysna, Tsitsikamma National Park with its suspension bridge, Plettenberg Bay, and crossed Bloukrans Bridge near Nature’s Valley, home of the world’s highest bungy jump. Like their ‘nature’ namesake, all areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Jerffreys Bay and Route 62

All along the coast, my husband was able to stay salty and paddle out to catch a few waves in Hermanus and also in Wilderness, close to the legendary Vic Bay. What was more on his radar was to head further east and make the ‘Endless Summer’ pilgrimage to J-Bay and meet with Supertubes, the fastest right on the planet. A couple of days in this ‘do-nothing-but-surf’ town did not disappoint, and with the epic views at African Perfection, you couldn’t get closer than this!

On our return journey, we cut through George with its death-defying gorge and connected somewhere along Route 62, famed for being the world’s longest wine route at 520 miles (850km). This road takes you through the dramatic mountain passes, the dry desert-like Karoo with succulents and prickle bush, and roadside ostrich farms in Oudtshoorn before turning into rolling farmlands, the citrus groves of Ceres, and endless wine estates. There are magnificent views at every turn of the road, farm stalls, quirky stops—including Ronnie’s famous shop, funky little towns, and watering holes to keep you refreshed along the way. We stayed overnight at the Karoo Moon Motel and the artfully themed Diesel and Crème roadstop cafe. When a working steam train chuffed past us, we felt we’d been transported to another era. If only we had more time to explore but we had animals to go see!

Wild Animals

Turning off onto a gravel dirt road, you are suddenly hit by huge open vistas, exactly how you’d imagine the plains of Africa to be. We stayed overnight at Inverdoorn Game Reserve. It may not be Kruger or the Serengeti, but we were blown away by seeing lions, zebras, giraffes, hippos, elephants, buffalo, rhinos, and the elusive cheetah on our game drive, like being in our own live Attenborough documentary. Throughout the Western Cape, there are numerous national parks, game reserves, and private lodges offering everything from rustic camping to the ultimate in luxury for your wildlife safari experience. You have the opportunity to witness the big five in their natural habitat, visit watering holes at sunset, get involved with conservation initiatives, try glamping under the stars, and if you are short on time, day sarafi excursions are possible just a few hours drive from CapeTown. Some of the other established operators include: Garden Route Game Lodge, Botlierskop Game Reserve, Gondwana Private Reserve, Buffelsdrift Game Lodge, Swartberg Game Reserve, Aquila Private Game Lodge, and Sanbona Wildlife Reserve.

For a truly immersive and authentic wildlife experience, you may wish to venture further afield for a multi-day fly-in-fly-out safari adventure in South Africa or to nearby countries, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Uganda.

Definately Not My Last Wine

We had hoped to end our trip in the Cape winelands amongst the ancient vines in Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. Crazy winds, bushfires, and road closures called for a change of plan and an earlier return to Cape Town to catch our flight out.

Looking back, it was quite the road trip, particularly when my gorgeous, fabulous girls got together and the wine flowed freely. Dotted amongst the miles were many amazing wine estates that were on the list but we never made it to. What this cemented is a future return and a possible girls trip with a wine tour and wellness. I raised my last glass in the airport lounge; and I was reminded of the journey, how it is better to travel well than to arrive. South Africa, you stopped at nothing short of being spectacular.

Notes

Photo credit: Marlin Clark