Christmas in South Africa

Just found a leaflet from the Cheetah Outreach near Stellenbosch. We visited this place on our recent trip to SA and had the wonderful experience of stroking a cheetah. Not to be missed!

website: www.cheetah.co.za Info from cheetah@intekom.co.za

The place also has lots of birds of prey and displays in addition to the cheetahs.

Cost of touching the cheetah is R60.00 which at todays travel ex rates is about £5.00.
 
The crocodile farm at Oudtshoorn also gives the option of stroking a cheetah. I have no idea what the rates are.
 
Hi Folks,

I've a rough idea of my trip but wondering is there anything / anywhere I should be going that I'm not.

Capetown 5 nights staying out in Camps Bay - Do all the tours etc. Any particular ones not to be missed??

Collect car and then up to the winelands for 1 night.

Then out onto the Garden Route. We have 5 nigths to travel up the route and planed to stay in Oudsthoorns for 1 night, then Knysna for 1 night and Plettenbery Bay for 3 nights. Is there anywhere else we should visit? Which is the best place on the route to stay for 3 nights e.g. to go out in town at night and relax by day??

Then heading to Safari above Port Elizabeth, and then after that 1 night in Port Eliz and fly home.
 
Hi,
In Cape Town the open top bus tour of the city is good for getting the lay of the land.

If the Table Mountain cable car is open on your first day go for it as the mountain can cloud over easily and remain closed for several days in a row.

Other places worth seeing in and around Cape town include - Robben Island, District six museum, driving down to the Cape including Chapman's Peak and the penguins on Boulders beach at Simonstown.

Franschhoek is a nice town to visit in the winelands...it's a lot smaller than Stellenbosch and has countless wineries in the area, lots of accommodation and some of the country's best restaurants.

Boschendal is very nice for tastings as is Grand Provence.

If you are there in time for lunch the lunch in la Petite Ferme above the town is a very pleasant experience.

Several of the wineries also offer picnics in the vineyards.


http://www.lapetiteferme.co.za/restaurant.htm
http://www.grandeprovence.co.za/
http://www.boschendal.com/

In the Oudtshoorn area, if you'd like to put your car through its paces, take a drive up the Swartberg pass. It's a great drive (on a sometimes steep, narrow and unpaved mountain road) through some quite remote and rugged landscape, and you can come back via the town of Prince Albert and another mountain gorge. Takes a couple of hours round trip. Jemima's is a lovely restaurant in town...we had lunch and dinner there!

I see that you are staying in Oudtshoorn and Knysna for one night each. Be aware that you'll more than likely arrive in Oudtshoorn in the afternoon if you are driving from the winelands, and again, if you wish to do anything in that area the following morning it will be the afternoon by the time you get to Knysna.

I guess I'm just saying that you should enjoy the drives and the views along the way as you may not have a massive amount of time in either town to 'smell the roses' unless you drive like crazy...which would defeat the purpose of driving Route 62 to Oudtshoorn in the first place. By the way, "Clarke of the Karoo" roadside cafe in Barrydale is a nice stop for lunch along the way from the winelands!

Along the garden route we stayed in Kynsna for a couple of nights, and to be honest found it to be a bit of a let down given the amount of hype it gets. Still, the Waterfront area is nice in the evening and there's lots to do in the area. Nearby Buffels bay and Brenton on Sea are nice for a drive and a swim or surf, and The Heads area of town are nice for a look around too particularly if you like ogling luxurious houses. Plettenberg bay looked nice - we passed through a couple of times- but didn't see the beach.

There are endless activities within about 30 minutes or so of Plett so depending on your interests you'll have no shortage of things to do, from jumping off the highest bridge in Africa (with bungee cord attached) to surfing, canoeing, walking etc.

You'll have a great time, enjoy.
 
Is there any advantage in staying in Camps Bay over staying in CT itself??
 
We only stayed in Camps Bay so can't comment on the city really but we got the impression that the city center (beyond the V&A Waterfront) is very quiet after dark while Camps Bay is a more residential area so you can eat and drink down by the beach etc at night.

You are still only minutes from the city center when in Camps Bay (and many of the other suburbs that people commonly stay in) as well so you aren't ruling yourself out from getting into town very quickly.
 
Without knowing your budget it's hard to say...we stayed in Auberge du Cap which was lovely, but we were on our honeymoon so it's not the cheapest option available, and you'd definitely need a car as it is practically the last house before you hit the side of Table Mountain (amazing views).

http://www.aubergeducap.co.za/

Both of these sites below have great listings for Camps Bay and other areas in Cape Town. If you find somewhere you like the look of, then check it out on tripadvisor.com where you'll more than likely find some reviews.



http://www.capestay.co.za/

Finally, if you go to fodors.com, click on 'Talk' and Click on 'Africa and the Middle East' you'll find a message board full of experts on SA and Cape Town who will given and have given tons of advice on good places to stay in the city.
 
Hi,
I did the Garden route (for 4 weeks) and then did a organised (overland trip) from Cape town up to Victoria Falls.
The overland Trip was absolutely amazing, best trip i have ever done on many levels.

Trip went through Namibia mostly and then through Botswana.
I have reccomended to others who have done and agreed it is unbeatbale.

The trip has about 20 people on it and you camp out at night.
ages varied from 17 to 65. everyone enjoyed equally.

[broken link removed]

if you like camping wildlife, activities and some spectacular scenery its perfect.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tagasafaris.co.za/images/Sossusvlei-Pic1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tagasafaris.co.za/sossusvlei-namibia.htm&h=326&w=500&sz=63&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=H0Z177SO7IwxqM:&tbnh=82&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsossusvlei%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DGGLD,GGLD:2005-42,GGLD:en%26sa%3DN


if you like hotels pampering and all that stuff then the garden route.

p.s. if anyone has done or heard from someone who has done this trip and knows of one better, let me know...
 
Has anyone stayed at 'Botelierskop Game Reserve'??It is somewhere close to George on the Garden Route.Or, does anyone know of another Reserve in that area that would be suitable for an over-night stay??Don't really like the idea of heading out the other side of Port Elizabeth to Kariega etc. as time is short.
 
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