Unforgettable Moments from South Africa!

Our 11 hour direct flight from London Heathrow to Cape Town with British Airways quite literally flew by and in no time at all we were flying next over table mountain and Cape Town. Unfortunately, Cape Town wasn't on our itinerary for this trip but fortunately for me it just means that I get to go back and explore it at a different time and I already cannot wait for that.

We connected on to our flight up to George, on the Western Cape, which was only about an hour or so and we were finally greeted by a local driver and guide, Dean, for our time on the Garden Route. We were met with drizzle but this didn't dampen our spirits. Knysna was the first stop on the itinerary with a stay at Knysna Hollow County Estate. This hotel really is beautiful - set in lovely gardens with wildflower beds and water features, the standard is very high and it was the perfect place to relax after a long day travelling and the location was brilliant too. A quick freshen up and out for dinner we went to a local waterfront restaurant, Drydock, the location couldn't have been better as it is set right in the harbour with views over the water. Our meal was delicious and it was out first experience of South African hospitality which is outstanding! Throughout our entire trip we only ever experienced the best possible hospitality with the friendliest of people - smiles so big you couldn't help but be happy in their presence. 

A short ferry ride back across to Knysna harbour and we were back in the minivan on our way to Parkes Manor for a site inspection. Parkes Manor is a quaint little hotel that is designed in a very typical British style, open fireplaces, well kept gardens and wooden beams all made me feel like I was back in the countryside at home. I think that made it feel really comforting and homely - it was in a great location to get into the centre as well as having pretty views of the water and gardens. Our visit was short but sweet and onto the next stop Plettenburg Bay (I think this might have been my favourite stop on the Garden Route). Driving through Plettenburg Bay we were surrounded by fun bars, local restaurants which seemed to have a cool vibe to them and unbelievable views! Again, I know I am repeating myself but the scenery was so familiar to me that I didn't feel far from home at all. I used to go to Wales a lot on camping holidays and the beaches reminded me of there. The waves rolling onto the sand in the same way but instead of a potential seal sighting if we were lucky, we were greeted by whales just lounging around in the waves. 

Our jaws all hit the perfectly pristine floors of the Plettenburg Hotel where we went for a site inspection followed by pre dinner drinks and dinner. This hotel really is something to be admired, the attention to detail is so high in every aspect of the hotel. From the beautiful, comfortable rooms with views over the bay to the cocktail menu hand crafted by the expert team who run the bar, it was luxurious without feeling pretentious in any way. The five-star Small Luxury Hotels of the World property, has 35 beautifully appointed rooms and two family-style villas, so if you're wanting that little haven I think this hotel would be perfect. We were treated to an outstanding meal at their restaurant with canapes to start and homemade macarons to finish, I think it is safe to say that we had to be rolled out of there and back to the Plett Quarters hotel where we were staying. 

The Plett Quarters hotel is very centrally located, in the thick of the bars and restaurants but is also a very high standard with beautifully furnished rooms ensuring you have a very comfortable nights rest before heading out to explore the rest of the beautiful Plettenberg Bay. I've never visited Australia before but some of the group said it reminded them of Sydney, a laidback feel but still lots going on! I really did love the feel of it here and I wish I could've stayed longer to do some more exploring but time just goes too quickly and the next morning had come around already so after a delicious breakfast in the Plett Quarter restaurant off we went on another site visit, this time to the Robberg Beach Lodge. Perfectly placed overlooking the calm waters of Plettenberg Bay this charming hotel has a variety of rooms suitable for a mixture of guests. Imagine waking up and watching the sunrise over the ocean, sitting and reading the newspaper on the terrace breathing in all of that fresh sea air - this hotel could give you all of that!

The Garden Route is so easy to navigate around, the roads are quiet and easy to follow. The scenery beautiful and lush watch out for the baboons though as they like to wander very close to the roads - very cute to see though! Tsitsikamma was next on the itinerary and whilst driving there we came across the Bloukrans Bridge Bungy - one of the highest bungy jumps in the world sitting at 216m above the Bloukrans river. Curiosity obviously got the better of us all as we asked if we had enough time to stop and watch. This is something that is on my bucket list and had we had enough time I would've signed myself up - another reason for me to go back! However, Tsitsikamma was awaiting our arrival as was the Tree Tops Canopy Tour, a tour that would we be taking by zipline. This quaint little village looks like a film set with its one general store and Marilyn's 60's diner amongst the few buildings there. Safety briefing done and hard hats at the ready we were driven up to the start of our Tree Top adventure of the Tsitsikamma indigenous forest. One by one we made our way across the trees and between the branches getting up to some pretty high speeds - a few nervous laughs and words of encouragement saw us all complete the tour. Stopping along the way to learn about the native trees and local wildlife, we didn't manage to see any of the Vervet monkeys however I think we got our share of the countless birds we passed. 

A little uphill walk through the forest floor back to the 4x4 was just what some of the group needed to ground themselves again and stop their legs from shaking - naming no names here (Nicky). Certificates in hand to show off our skills we had a light lunch at a local cafe before checking in at Tsitsikamma Village Inn. The hotel was established in 1946 and has served as a stop-over for travellers for more than a century. Most of the rooms are situated around a typical Village green. These buildings reflect many of the different building styles that were to be found in the Cape Colony during the 1800s, it has such a peaceful feel to it and sitting with a cup of tea overlooking the green was the perfect way to start the morning. After checking in and dropping the cases, the Micro-Brewery was just down the street and we had a little tour of the brewery learning all about the process of making the beers, lagers and ales. Beer isn't really my thing normally but we sat and enjoyed a flight of some of the beers on offer and chatted away about the time we had spent in South Africa so far. I never really knew what to expect when I finally arrived in South Africa after so many years of thinking about it but every part of what I had experienced so far had surpassed my expectations and we were not even half way through the trip yet!

Dinner at Marilyn's diner was exactly how you can imagine it would be, slow cooked brisket, fried chicken and coleslaw all washed down with milkshakes and cocktails - not what I expected from the middle of the Garden Route but this hidden gem was started from a love of Cadillacs and all things classic America. A beautiful spring morning greeted us for our final full day on the Garden Route and a wholesome breakfast was served up in the cosy restaurant at the Tsitsikamma Village Inn - who says you can't have scones for breakfast!

Back to the roads we went towards Cape St Francis, Dean telling us stories of his upbringing, giving us so many facts about the areas we were driving through and the history of his incredible country that he is so proud of. We were in awe of his endless knowledge as well as the stunning villages and landscapes that we passed by. The Sands St Francis Bay was our first taste of what was to come, this beachfront hotel is beautiful - not only in its design but in its location too. Whale watching can be done from the restaurant as well as the sea facing rooms and trust me when I say that you could spend hours just looking out to sea, drinking a coffee and enjoying homemade cake. 

St Francis Bay was decorated so beautifully, simple designs but done to such a high standard. Bringing elements of the outsides nature into the rooms with the wooden furniture and putting the inside out with private rain showers - small touches like this really elevate the rooms to make them that extra bit more special. There is even a wine cellar the guests can go into before dinner to choose their wine and hear all about the choices on offer, I thought this was a really nice touch!

St Francis Bay put on a lovely homemade spread for us which set us up for our afternoon on the water... 

A very special evening completed our Garden Route experience, a private chef in our villa. Local chef Angie along with her sister Vee made this evening one that I will never forget. Cape Francis produces some of the best calamari in the world and they even have a dedicated festival for it every September - now that is my kind of festival. As well as the fresh calamari, we had the creamiest mussel soup and homemade bread cooked on the braii to start with. After eating this I knew we were in for the most delicious meal. Freshly caught prawns and line caught fish was next to be served alongside fresh salads and a chocolate brownie to finish it all off, South African wine paired beautifully with it all and the whole evening was perfect. Vee and Angie reduced is all to tears by singing us a traditional song that they learnt as children, a very heartwarming moment for me. 

4am alarm set for the next stage of our incredible trip... safari!

From Cape Francis to Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg then Johannesburg to Skukuza and we were officially in Kruger National Park. 

Skukuza is a tiny little airport only about an hour away from Joberg which makes getting around South Africa dead easy so you can easily add safari on to a multi centre trip. 

CJ, our incredible guide made our safari experience the best it could've possibly been. His knowledge of the wildlife, stars and animal tracks left us all thinking - how could somebody retain that much information and I think the only way that is possible is through the sheer love he has for Kruger. Supplied with Savannah's we set off to Kruger Untamed Plains camp - within 5 minutes of driving we had already seen a giraffe and 3 lionesses in the dried river bed - this was only the beginning for us. 

Elephants crossing the roads right in front of the jeep was something that I never thought would happen and by the end of our time there we still didn't believe it was real. Zebras perfectly aligned like some kind of optical illusion made our journey feel like the real-life version of Lion King - one of my favourite films. I can't even begin to explain how incredible safari is and how much I would recommend it to every single person out there! They say the big 5 are the main animals to see and they're not wrong but what made it for me was not only the larger animals but the warthogs, honey badgers and ostrich that live in perfect harmony together.

With the wind in our hair and the constant 'look an elephant' exclamations our few hours of transfer times were soon coming to an end as we turned off down a dirt track, the sun setting behind us. When the sun sets in Kruger it is quite literally like someone has turned the big light off and in the distance the little lights of the camp grew and grew until we came to the perimeter of Kruger Untamed Plains camp. An electric fence keeps the camp safe from the animals getting in and it is so necessary to have that there as the animals are in touching distance. Hot towels and welcome drinks accompanied the biggest of smiles from the camp team. After a quick tour of the main parts of camp we were shown our tents, I say tent loosely because it was the most luxurious tent I've ever been in and bigger than most London flats. 

Kruger untamed plains camp and Tshokwane camp (their sister camp) are eco camps meaning that they get packed up and put in shipping containers when the season ends and brought back again next year. When setting the camps up they cannot cut down any trees, branches or make any damage to the landscapes, so much so that the only way they find where the tents go is by GPS tracking from the year before. They don't leave any carbon footprint either and I found it so impressive how they have luxury camps in the middle of Kruger National park which in a few weeks won't even be there. The hot water for the tents is filled up when you're out on game drives so are ready for when you get back, the hard work that all the team put in is fantastic and they employ local people from the surrounding communities from just outside Kruger. 

Roaring campfires just beg for local stories to be told and I wanted nothing more than to sit and listen, sipping on warm soup and homemade croutons. We were attending a bush camp the following day, meaning other groups of agents, tour operators and tourism board members were meeting for workshops to learn more about South Africa and all of the wonderful things you can see and do. Our welcome dinner was very much needed by the time we sat down and the heartiest beef wellington was served up followed by curries and malva pudding - a bit like sticky toffee pudding but imagine the sponge soaked in sweet cream... 

... sorry I am still imagining it. 

Okay, back to it! 

The guides take you back to your tents with torches as they cut the electricity out to save on power and also to make sure you don't stand on any snakes. The nights are cold when the sun goes down but the tents are warm and the beds are dreamily comfortable. Lions and hyenas roar throughout the night, serving as constant reminders of where you are and before you know it your wake up calls are stood outside your tent greeting you with 'knock knock, good morning' something I felt was a lovely touch!

Our morning game drives were fuelled by hot chocolates and rusks, sunrises and even more animals. A pride of 7 lionesses were only a few hundred metres from camp and we sat and admired their beauty. CJ was telling us stories of other groups that he had taken on safari and reminded us that we are with the animals in their natural habitat and not the other way around so respecting the place they call home and conserving it is the most important thing we can do. 

I could've sat and listened to his endless knowledge all day but we had work to do, a speed dating type day was ahead and we sat to listen to Western Cape, Limpopo Tourism and Eastern cape before hearing about Durban, the activities you can do and a luxury safari you can get involved in as well. The sun was hot but having the small bursts of information was a great way for us to learn a bit about them and made is hungry to learn more! Each day you get the chance to take part in morning and afternoon game drives to maximise your chance of seeing as many animals as you possible because, as CJ said, they have legs and will walk around to different places. Cool boxes packed in the jeeps are out we went again, everything was spectacular and tears flowed as we watched giraffes cross our paths and a mummy and baby elephant were stood munching away on the trees. The baby elephant wasn't even 3 weeks old yet and there they were just stood so close to us completely unbothered by our presence. My heart was warm and full. 

About half way through we stopped to watch the sunset with a sundowner in hand and snacking on biltong, I knew that I was meant to be there in that moment. 

Another night hearing stories sat by the campfire, sipping on soup and tucking into the heartiest homecooked food - I never wanted this trip to end. I went to bed that night feeling so incredibly happy. 

'Knock knock, good morning' 

Tshokwane awaited our arrival this morning and our game drive took us to the, passing baby baboons, hyenas, elephant and giraffe, endless Kudu and Impala too. One of my favourite animals is a hippo and I was really wishing we would see one at some point. Obviously, they spend a lot of time near or in water so heading to the camp in the dried river bed I was told that there was a small watering hole nearby... fingers crossed for this one. Turning off down the track to the camp we stopped to see if we could see any movement in the water. A crocodile popped his head up to say hello and we were already over the moon with that, as we crawled past the croc we spotted a little head break the waters still surface... a hippo!

Fun fact - Hippos can't breathe underwater so they hold their breath for 6 minutes before pushing themselves off the riverbed floor to get the next breath of air. 

Tshokwane welcomed us with open arms and we sat and learnt about the camp, its facilities all before having our final few sessions with the tourism boards. South Africa has something for everyone, the adventure seeker, the animal lover and the city adorer so I cannot rate it highly enough and think everyone should have it on their bucket list. 

Being at one with nature whilst sat in their pool to cool down really is not how I expected my September to be but there was nowhere else I would've rather been. All of a sudden we hear music and singing, a local community singing group put on very moving performance for us of traditional songs and dancing! Of those who know me well you will know how much I love to dance so when one of the group reached out a hand I didn't hesitate to take it and danced away with the locals - laughing as I tried to keep up with his moves!

Kruger Untamed work closely with the local communities providing support and funding, the performance they put on was so moving and I took time to reflect on our trip, the people I have met and the lessons I learnt.

Dancing done, we had a quick q&a with the tour operators who were explaining what we can do to try bring tourism to South Africa and some excellent ideas were mentioned. There are some very exciting projects coming up in the near future so keep your eyes peeled for updates on these!

Jumping in the jeeps we went out again to explore more of Kruger National Park and wow were we in for a treat...

A lion and a lioness 

Laid together only 50m away from us 

We sat there gobsmacked, locking eyes with these majestic creatures. 

I can't quite describe how strong and beautiful they are and how I then became utterly obsessed with watching their every move, there really is no wonder why a group of lions is called a pride. They stand proudly and they sit proudly. The sundowners tonight felt that little bit more special and we watched over the plains, the sun came down and we chatted about the day we had and what was to come of our last night in South Africa. Our campfire soup sipping evening was silent as we listened to a storyteller brilliantly narrated his upbringing and life to us. The path he was on was one of crime and poaching until he started in a conservation programme, learning how to track the animals and turning his profit into passion. 

A gala dinner rounded up our evening and our last day, beautiful food and perfect company all finished off with a game of eye spy on our drive back to camp, I'm not sure one of the elephants was too keen though as we had a very close encounter with one in the darkness.

'Knock knock, good morning'

Our final wake up call made me feel slightly sad, I really didn't want to leave but all good things must come to an end - or this is what people tell me. Today was still an exciting day though as we said goodbye to our amazing Kruger Untamed Plains camp we said hello to Kruger Shalati - the train on the bridge. 

This site visit was a little different to the rest as this hotel is built on a bridge and the guests stay in the carriages, it was one of the most unique hotels I have seen. This 5 star luxury hotel has the animals right under the bridge for you to gaze upon whilst dipping in the pool, just from where we were standing we saw elephants, wilder beast and another hippo! A perfect, perfect end to an absolutely perfect trip! 

South Africa has my whole heart and I want to explore every inch of this incredible place. 

Love, Libby xx