South Africa
Fri, April 21, 2017
Drive up to LA 1p at the latest
Emirates EK 218
Duration 15:50
Sat, Apr 22
In the air
Sun, Apr 23
Duration 9:45
Thrifty Car Rental
Cape Town CPT
Datsun GO
***be careful of speeding tickets on Garden Route***
- Address: Victoria Road, Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
- GPS Coordinates: 33º58’59.37” S , 18º21’31.43” E
19:00 Reservation
Dress code: smart casual
Shop 153 / Victoria Wharf / V&A Waterfront / Cape Town
This was an epically long flight. First there was the drive from SAN to LAX at 3pm, which means we didn’t get to Ross’ family’s place til about 6p. After a quick meet and greet and dinner with his fam, they dropped us off at the international terminal. We boarded the plane for our 11p departure on Emirates to Dubai. That was 15 hours! Then, once in Dubai, we had a two hour layover where we grabbed a beer and stretched our legs a bit. It was impressive to see so many people in the Dubai airport at 2am! We then boarded our flight to Cape Town on Emirates to complete that 9 hour segment. So in total, it was 34 hours of travel from when we left our home to get to Cape Town. Emirates is an incredible airline and is worth every penny. Their service is incredible! Once we landed in Cape Town, we picked up our lil Datson from Thrifty car rental and got acquainted with our wheels. First, it’s opposite to the way we normally drive in the US. The driver is on the right and the passenger sits on the left. Additionally, the manual stick shift is in the center console… so instead of doing US shifting with the right hand,….. it’s done with the left hand. My 🐻 did such a fantastic job getting us from the airport to our hotel safely! Once we checked in at 12 Apostles, they greeted us with some sparkling wine. The view from the bar/patio area was fantastic. You can see both Table Mountain and the ocean! The weather here is perfect — more like a drier windier version of San Diego. After a quick bite and bevie out on the terrace, we went for a quick dip in the pool that overlooked the ocean. Dinner reservations at Belthazar were excellent. South African game meats paired with terrific wines! We tried ostrich, kudu, and eland! Ostrich was surprisingly delicious and more beef-like than poultry. Terrific evening out in the waterfront district. We finished it off with an ice cream cone and a turn on the Cape Wheel. And we highly recommend Uber in Cape Town as it’s more affordable than the taxis.
Mon, Apr 24
Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa
Breakfast Included
8am hike to Lions Head
Lunch:
Mon 24 April 2017, at 13:00
Silo Top Floor, The Old Biscuit Mill
373-375 Albert Road Woodstock, Cape Town
Dinner:
La Colombe, Silvermist Wine Estate
Constantia Main Rd, Constantia, Cape Town, 7848
We woke up at 7:30 am to meet Sial our hotel guide for the hike up to Lion’s Head. This was a gorgeous peak that sits across Table Mountain with 360 degree views of Cape Town. We definitely recommend this hike — but it does involve quite a bit of scrambling. It’s basically 1.5 miles of straight up climbing. It took us about 2 hours to complete the hike and that’s with 20 minutes at the top to enjoy breakfast and the view. After the hike, we had lunch at The Pot Luck Club — which is located in a loft on the top level with an open airy and floor-to-ceiling window viewing area of the ocean and mountains. It’s a fantastic tapas-style Asian fusion restaurant that I’d easily recommend to any foodie! After that, we searched high and low for a place to rent SUPs and couldn’t find one anywhere. It’s no longer the season for people to rent SUPs so all the places are gone from the beach. There were such perfect conditions at Clifton beach for SUPs! Since we were slightly let down, we opted to wander around the next beach (Maiden’s Beach) that had an ocean pool. We stayed for a bit to explore then headed back to the hotel to catch the sunset. Dinner tonight at La Colombo is currently No. 76 on the 2017 World’s Best Restaurants.
Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa
Hike Table Mountain? India Venster Route – four hours, go if clear weather Hike Table Mtn Tripadvisor
- Platteklip Gorge 1.5 hours – cable car back down
Cable car option: buy tickets in advance online, go weekday/early, long lines Cable Car Tripadvisor
We woke up at 7am and headed to our hotel’s breakfast which was a massive spread of eggs, meats, made-to-order omelets, oysters, champagne, fruit, cheeses, cereals, yogurts, coffee. Anything you could imagine for breakfast was on the menu. Luckily, we needed to burn off breakfast so we headed to Table Mountain (definitely get your passes online for the cable car ahead of time). There’s a full 360 degree view of Cape Town and surrounding towns. After 2.5 hours at Table Mountain, we headed down to Cape Point, the southern most tip of South Africa — also where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. The day was perfect for viewing the coastline. We saw ostrich, eland, dassie, black lizards! Tons of animals out! I’d recommend getting to the Cape Point around 2 or 3p when the tour buses are leaving. We checked out Buffels Bay beach within the Cape Point park. The park closes at 5p in April, so we headed down to Boulder Bay to see the penguins. It’s a gorgeous drive along the coast as it was such a wonderful sight to see these cute penguins at the beach! We decided to head back home along a very scenic route back to our hotel and catch the sunset.
We didn’t make it to Keerom bc I was so tired. But we got room service and enjoyed the eats in the comforts of our home. Now that’s a honeymoon!!
Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa
Check-out 11:00 am
Raats Family Wines (Jason recommendation)
Emailed for 10:30 am appointment
Jordan Restaurant 12:30 lunch — There was a delivery truck that broke down on the only dirt road leading to access to Jordan. So we opted for lunch at Rust en Verde (wine tasting pairing with yummy steak!)
Check-in: 14:00
Auberge room
We headed out to Muizenberg where we heard the surf is good! Well it was. There was a great beginner sandy beach break for me and some nice chest to shoulder high waves for my bear! The conditions were just perfect: chilly, rain/thunder/lightning, and they were sailing the black shark flag. It was the first time we had surfed in a shark warning area.
Shark flag warnings:
- blue flag = clear visibility, no shark sighting.
- Black flag = water was cloudy/murky/poor visibility but no shark sightings.
- Red flag = shark sighting recently, but ok to get back into the water after 2 hours.
- White flag = shark sighting now; sirens will go off; everyone out of the water
Off to Stellenbosch — wine country!
We were headed to Jordan winery for lunch but a big ol cargo truck was having issues and blocked the road into Jordan. So, we opted for DeMorgenzon and had a lovely wine tasting there! We ended up picking up the Reserve chenin blanc as well as their Reserve Syrah. After that, we felt hungry and opted for a quick bite at Rust En Verde — home of some exquisite reds and food! Definitely check them out if you love nice medium to full-bodied quality reds. One thing we’ve noticed is that South Africa has quite tannic reds — but we love that — esp since loving the tannic Barolos in Piedmont, Italy!
Checking into our hotel Le Quartier Francais! This place is gorgeous! We were upgraded to the House Suite and it was enormous! It was located right by the pool with beautiful views all around us with the mountains. The service was incredible. Everything in the mini bar was complementary – two bottles of wine, 3 craft beers, gin, sherry, whiskey, and brandy. We even had our own mini pool off the master bedroom. There was another upstairs loft that had two beds and a bathroom that was decorated for kids. Everything about this hotel was incredible!
Dinner at The Tasting Room was so delicious! It was incredible. Basically, we took a journey through South African foods and culture. Each dish was meticulously executed, beautifully plated, and wonderfully described. On one of our dishes, we even heard some clicks in the description of our dish. I’m not sure what language or dialect that it was from, but we very much appreciated it! Our chef was a lady from the Netherlands and she was incredible! We enjoyed this restaurant so much we felt it should’ve easily been in the Top 50 restaurants in the world. After dinner, we went back to the kitchen to meet our chef. She was gracious and had plans for her future after leaving The Tasting Room (I was actually very sad to here that she would no longer be the chef at Tasting Room and that La Colombe would be overtaking her restaurant). In reality, Ross and I both felt that she rated higher than La Colombe. So far in our rankings here in South Africa, we loved The Tasting Room, followed by La Colombe, and very close was Pot Luck Club (only bc it didn’t come with wine pairings and it was definitely a more casual atmosphere).
Le Quartier Francais
Check-out: 11:00
Potential options:
– Franschhoek Wine Tram
– Rust en Vrede (Jason recommendation)
25 min from 43 on Sandstone
Tasting room open 9:00 to 17:00
Winemaker’s lunch, first come first service, 12:00 to 15:00
– Perdekop Hike, Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve
– Hermanus
Creation wines
– Pringle Bay, Betty’s Bay penguins
– Helderberg Nature Reserve
Hikes in the area: http://www.ridgwayramblers.co.za/western-cape-hikes
43 on Sandstone Guest House
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43 Sandstone Drive, Boskloof Estate, Somerset West, 7130, South Africa – Show directions
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Phone: +27827831048
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Check-in: 2:00 pm
Breakfast included
After an incredible breakfast at Le Quartier Francais, we hit the road taking the Franchoek Pass through the mountains towards Gordon’s Bay. It’s a beautiful drive with plenty of hairpin turns and breathtaking scenery. Once we got to Gordon’s Bay — we headed to a place just west of GB called Strand and hit up Natural Energy surf shop just in time to catch some waves out here. It was such a fun beach break. After the surf, we headed to our lodging which was a room at Boskloof Eco Reserve — 43 on Sandstone. Gorgeous room with a view! Dinner was at Waterkloof. The food was beautifully presented and very rich. The food was paired with only the wines from their winery. It was a nice dining experience, but we still loved The Tasting Room and La Colombe and Pot Luck Club better.
43 on Sandstone Guest House
Check-out: 11:00 a.m.
Creation Wines – 11:00 a.m., confirmed via email
Tapas and tasting
Surf rec for Arniston
Arniston to Mossel Bay (2:40 min drive)
We headed out from our Guest House and skipped breakfast as we were still full from last night’s dining experience. On the way now to Creation Wines!
Mossel Bay
Surf rec for Mossel Bay: https://www.wavescape.co.za/spots/spots-by-region/garden-route.html
Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay (1:50 min drive)
Plettenberg Bay
We stayed in Tsala Treetop Lodge which is basically a connection of treehouses overlooking the landscape!
Plettenberg to Jeffrey’s Bay (1:37 min drive)
JBay
Jbay
Safari
Car Rental Drop Off – Thrifty
9:30 am, Port Elizabeth (PLZ)
Qatar Airways QR6325
10:30aPLZ —> 12:10P JNB
Duration 1:35
Qatar Airways QR1364
2:00P JNB —> 11:30P DOH
Duration 8:20
Qatar Airways QR672
2:15A DOH —> 9:00AMMLE
Duration 4:45
Maldivian sea plane
11am –> 12pm
18:30p EDGE ressie
20:00 Dining destination – at the villa
Qatar Airways QR675
8:20P MLE —> 11:00P DOH
Duration 4:35
8 hour layover in Doha, Qatar
Qatar Airways QR739
7:30A DOH —> 1:30P LAX
Seats 23A and 23B
Duration 16:00
BRAINSTORMING:
Fly Emirates or British Airways to Capetown
To Maldives from Port Elizabeth or Durban
Garden Route
- TripAdvisor recs
- * Enchantment Tours* – map and itinerary
- GoToAfrica.com
- Johnny Africa blog
- Lonely Planet
- Show Me South Africa
- African Budget Safaris
- Fodors
- Southern Circle
- Flyer talk
- Route 62
The otter trail
Tsitsikama trail
Whale trail
Mother City Hikers: Mother City Hikers Tripadvisor
Sample Itinerary drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth:
Recommendations for private driver hire:
Wine tastings around Cape Town:
Wine Country:
Stellenbosch (approx 40 min from Cape Town)
Jordan restaurant there, mentioned by Luke Dale-Roberts
Top ZA wines – Jordan, Creation, Fairview
Top 100 – Mullineux, Demorgenzon
Cape Town Breweries:
Devil’s Peak, The Taproom
Cape Town Restaurants:
Cape Town’s Best by Luke Dale-Roberts: Article by Luke Dale-Roberts Chef at Test Kitchen
Eat Out List: http://www.eatout.co.za/article/best-of-cape-town-2/
Top 100:
No. 22 Test Kitchen, Cape Town
Dale-Roberts has two other ventures within the same Old Biscuit Mill complex in Cape Town: Pot Luck club is the Test Kitchen’s more relaxed sibling, serving global-inflected sharing plates, while the newly opened Naturalis, is focused, Ottolenghi-esque deli-style dining.
Local/African Food:
Mzoli’s grill/bbq/meats – good Tripadvisor reviews
The Diplomatic Bar & Restaurant – good Tripadvisor reviews
Mama Africa – been there long time
Amazink – food and performance/dance show, good reviews
Hermanus – town broken head hotel
Great if whale watching
Cape of good hope
Muizenberg warmer surf spot
Not Betty’s Bay — too windy
Wine country: close to hermanus
Valleys: hemelmenaarde (pinots)
Surf spot Victoria bay
Table mountain (in Cape Town) – restie on top then cable car down. Buy tix online first is easier
Tsitsikama Forrest – can stay in Tree Houses
Hotels: the 12 apostles – base of the mountains (this looks awesome babe!)
Cape View Clifton, some great reviews on Tripadvisor
-Constantia (green and amongst vineyards)
The cellars (on other side of mt), winery
– buitenverwachting winery and great restaurant (other side of mtn)
– steenberg hotel and super duper restie
– August cycle tour
Horseriding in J Bay:
J Bay surf school:
Kruger Park
Addo Elephant Park
Humans
Knysna
Mandy Sapsford: karibagirl@att.net 619-244-3447
Maldives:
** TripAdvisor how-to-Maldives**
Which island to stay in Maldives?
- Kuoni — definitely check out this list: http://www.kuoni.co.uk/maldives/hotels
- TripAdvisor
- Telegraph
- VirtualTourist
- Conde Nast Traveler
- CNN Travel
- Tiny Travellers Top 10
Kris’ epic stays in no particular order:
- Per Aquum Niyama: http://www.minorhotels.com/en/peraquum/niyama/offers
- Six Senses Laamu: http://www.sixsenses.com/resorts/laamu/experiences
- Baros Maldives: http://www.baros.com/
- Como Cocoa Islands: http://www.comohotels.com/cocoaisland/experiences
- Four seasons resort Maldives Kuda Huraa: http://www.fourseasons.com/maldiveskh/landing_3/?source=dis_mal_tripadvisor_acr_tabl-website
- Kurumba Maldives: http://www.kurumba.com/
- Constance Moofushi:
- Kandolhu Maldives
- Milaidhoo Island Maldives
- Constance Halaveli
- Gili Lankanfushi
- Taj Exotica
- Four Seasons at Landaa Giraavaru
Per Aquum Niyama: Central Atoll @ Dhaalu
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