View from the Inside: South Africa
Written by Adele Hegarty, Senior e-Business Coordinator at Voyages Jules Verne.
"I was fortunate enough to be invited to a friend's wedding in Franschhoek, South Africa in February of this year and took the opportunity to visit some of the well-known and regarded highlights of South Africa. Following 'A Taste of South Africa' arrangement the first part of our tour was in Cape Town where we spent 5 nights at the Inn on the Square, which has a bustling market outside and is in walking distance to many landmarks in Cape Town, including the V&A Waterfront. My tour started out with a day trip of the Cape Peninsula starting off at Hout Bay where we took a short boat ride to Seal Island, and although not a planned part of the itinerary was definitely worth a visit. From here we progressed to Cape Point where we walked up to the most southern point where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet and home to the historic lighthouse built in 1860. Leaving through the Good Hope Nature Reserve we travelled on to Boulders Bay where we wandered through the boardwalk to hundreds of penguins completely undisturbed by our presence. On arrival at our final stop, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, you are instantly aware of the tranquility this garden offers. We were told many locals will spend their weekends here with a picnic and it's easy to see why!
The following couple of days we viewed many of the highlights within Cape Town itself, including a visit to the Castle of Good Hope, the ever popular V&A Waterfront, Company Gardens and high-tea at the famous Mount Nelson hotel, to name a few. On our last couple of days in Cape Town we enjoyed a 3-hour game drive at Aquila Game Reserve and of course the spectacular Table Mountain.
Set in our 4x4 our guide at Aquila was intent on us getting up close with as many of the 'Big Five' and he certainly did not disappoint as we saw white rhino, giraffe, buffalo, elephant and zebra. The lions were there but as it was especially hot that day they had decided to take to more cooler climates behind a rock.
Table Mountain was as incredible as expected, and at approximately 3563ft high it was astonishing the cable car only took 4½ minutes to get to the top! Once at the top you are greeted by a cold wind but the spectacular views soon make you forget about that as you look across at Devil's Peak, Signal Hill and Lion's Head, Camps Bay, Robben Island and now a bird's eye view of the new sports stadium.
My final journey, independent from the standard tour, took me to the heart of the Cape Winelands, Franschhoek, where I stayed in the quaint and stylishly decorated Protea Hotel and began to relax and enjoy the eateries, as I was quick to establish Franschhoek is the culinary capital, and of course the wineries. Franschhoek also offers an array of craft, art and antique shops as well as the Huguenot monument at the top of the village.
My time in South Africa was not long enough but it certainly gave me a taster and desire to go back. One word of advice as many locals said this to me and I was certainly witness to; in South Africa you can have four seasons in one day, so be prepared!" (February 2010).
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