I just spent a week in the Garden Route. The reason I went down, or up, depending on which way you look at it, was to run the Knysna Half Marathon. It’s one of the nicest races in South Africa. They limit the race to 7000 entrants and although that is a lot, other races attract nearly double that amount.
They also have a cycle race, a Mardi Gras, and their annual Oyster Festival at the same time, so there were plenty people and activities happening.
Knysna Quays
Knysna is a picturesque town set on an estuary come lagoon. The estuary is fed by the Knysna River and the estuary in turn feeds into the ocean between two hills or “heads”.
It is an aspirational town due to it’s great weather and natural beauty. High end activities such as golfing, painting and art collecting, sailing and fine dining are well represented. This is in sharp contrast to the local shanty town and Rastafarian village. It’s worth a visit into the townships to see how locals craft makeshift houses out of timber. You may be offered indigenous herbs by the Rastafarians. Partake at your own risk. Smokingcannabis is not legal in South Africa.
There is lots and lots to do. Just wandering around the main town taking in the haute hippy atmosphere is a great way to spend the day. You will find no shortage of cafes, bars and restaurants to while away the time.
You could visit all or just one of the many spectacular beaches or paddle a canoe in one of the national parks. How about mountain biking in the Knysna Forest or take a cruise around the estuary?  You might even fancy a visit to the elephant park?
Seafood restaurant in Knysna
Visit the Knysna Tourism website for more on what to do and where to go. Adrenaline junkies will not be disappointed at what is on offer.
If you fancy an active holiday then visit this older post which has links to the sport events calendars in South Africa – what to do outdoors in South Africa.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on –Â this link.
So for a little bit more on our last spa break at 5 Mountains Spa. We found it by Googling “spa specials”. I have to say it was a particularly good special.
We arrived Tuesday late midday and departed Saturday just before lunch. Essentially we had 4 nights and 4 days. The special included breakfast, lunch, supper and a complimentary bottle of really good wine every day. We had two different treatments each per day.
Location 5 Mountains Spa
Treatments were along the lines of Indian Head Massage or Hot Stone Massage. We also had a manicure, a pedicure and a facial.
We did pick the coldest and wettest week of the decade to decide to have a spa break. A pity because the spa is set on a vineyard just outside of Wellington. It would have been nice to take a walk or maybe visit more of the wine estates close by.
What made our stay special was a bevy of salon girls. The chef had the week off and this team cooked our food to perfection. They offered us tea and biscuits the minute we sat in the reception area to catch up on e-mails. Nothing was too much for them and I found them utterly charming.
5 Mountain Spa treatment room
We got a different menu each evening with a choice of two starters, two mains and two deserts. I had made it clear that I am vegetarian before we went and they had tailored the menu to include me. Examples of starters were “Slow roast tomato salad topped with goats cheese” or “Fried haloumi on a bed of leaves with a berry compote”.
How about “Stir fry served with cous cous & tofu” or “Caprice parcel served with veggies and crispy potato wedges” for a main? And then still chocolate brownies or meringue tarts for desert. I think I gained about 2 kilograms there. The food was that good. The price for all of this? R7500 for two.
On our way home we stopped in at Bovlei wine cellar next door and took advantage of some wine specials. There were plenty more wine estates in the vacinity.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
My other half and I are partial to spa breaks. During winter, there are bargains to be had in Cape Town. We have had spa breaks at The High Rustenburg Hydro, Twelve Apostles Hotel, Romney Park and recently we spent four nights at 5 Mountains Lodge.
The other breaks were before my blogging days so I wasn’t taking pics or making notes. But here is a little bit of information from memory about the spas, and links, should you want more information.
The High Rustenburg Hydro is one of the oldest spas in South Africa. It is set in the winelands near Stellenbosh. Their approach is very much on healing and detoxing. Our room had twin beds and we were assessed by therapists to decide which meals and treatments we would have.
5 Mountains Spa dining area
The agenda was cram packed. Breakfast arrived on a tray. One of us had fruit only, the other had fruit and muesli. Then we headed off for either a treatment, a massage or to the hydro centre for hydro therapy.
Most guests tended to remain in a dressing gown provided by the spa. We had a bowl of soup between main meals and lots of herb tea or water. Lunch and supper were buffets of nothing more than vegetables presented in different ways. They also allowed us one jacket potato with our evening meal. No alcohol.
It’s not a romantic break and we found keeping up with the program a bit hard going. The food was better than I expected. It’s the place to go for a body overhaul.
5 Mountains Spa pool area
Twelve Apostles was more about a great location, fine dining and a five star hotel with a few treatments thrown in. I can’t remember how we stumbled on this special. We loved the flotation tank and the chocolate body scrub.
We did not like the young manager who told us lunch wasn’t included. We had to drive back home to fetch the confirmation and show him that actually, it was. And from then on he had an attitude toward us.
Romney Park is a couple of meters from our guesthouse. So we stayed at home and walked down to have the day packages on offer there. I can’t speak about the food or the accommodation as we did our own detox and stayed at home.
There is a full salon and we had the works. Body scrub, facials, manicures, pedicures, massages, like I said the lot. What we saved on eating and sleeping out, we spent on pampering. The staff were thoroughly professional. We still pop in there for the odd special.
As a South African, Zimbabwe is our neighbour. We have millions, yes millions, of displaced Zimbabweans trying to make a living in South Africa. At one stage our home affairs department gave asylum seekers a period of amnesty. I don’t think they can keep on top of the problem.
South Africans have not always been kind to their neighbours. Sad stories of xenophobic attacks have been in our newspapers. So it was with this in mind that I viewed Zimbabwe. I suppose I was expecting thin people in threadbare clothing wandering around with dejected looks on their faces.
Friendly Zambian guy on border bridge
I have been to Zimbabwe before but that was a long time ago. It was a business conference and I flew in. The whole affair was lavish and we had a really good time. I do recall my boss was sick as a dog from anti malarials. I don’t take them.
The roads in Zimbabwe were a bit tired and lacking in basic markings and signs. I did find it unfair that despite no speed limit signs the traffic police bolted out from behind a bush and flagged us down. Overall Zimbabwe was green and lush and I can see why it was once known as the fruit basket of Africa.
The people of Zimbabwe rival the Namibians for being thoroughly decent and friendly. They say the reason Robert Mugabe remains in power is that Zimbabweans are too nice to revolt against him. I would go with that.
Bungee jumping at Victoria Falls
We got to our hotel, The Elephant Hills, a bit early. They allowed us to offload our luggage and have our lunch picnic on their grounds. The area was beautiful and the lawns were perfectly manicured.
After lunch we headed off to see Victoria Falls. Other excursions on offer included a lion walk, a helicopter flip, bungee jumping and even river rafting. Vic Falls are the third largest in the world if you average out all the waterfalls with regard to height, width and volume.
Victoria Falls
They were selling raincoats at the roadside stalls but I decided I didn’t need one. Mistake! The mist from the Vic Falls is like hard driving rain in parts. Thank God I had my camera, cell phone and passport in a waterproof pouch. I got soaked through to my skin. My clothes were dripping wet.
There are crafters all over. You have to just say no to them or in seconds you will be over run with over eager traders. They haggle with you for the clothes off your back in exchange for wood and stone carvings. I took the bus from the hotel (free) and went to the big market where I found fabric, jewelry, wooden bowls and salad servers, table cloths and so much more. I swapped my old running shoes and some T-shirts for items.
A soaking wet Greenie
Our hotel was fantastic. My fears of not having toilet paper were unfounded. The chamber maid popped in to freshen the room a few times and they had fancy bottles of shampoo, bubble bath and whatever they put in rooms.
No shortage of food either. The buffet was wall to wall. Stuff I don’t even see in South Africa. The service was excellent and the staff charming and so helpful.
We had a morning lie in and after our fabulous breakfast we piled into our truck for the last time to head for Victoria Falls Airport. It’s not a big airport. Don’t bank on having lunch there. I flew to Johannesburg, our guide and her partner flew to Cape Town and the Germans all flew back to Germany. And just like that. Our holiday was over!
Would I do it again? Hell yes. What would I do differently? I have to say, much as I really enjoyed camping, I enjoyed the nights we spent at a hotel or lodge. I relished having a long hot bath all to myself and not having to rush and queue for a shower. It was also great to have breakfast cooked and made and not having to do dishes and pack away.
But I will also say this, I was very, very lucky with our guide, who is also a friend of mine. I ate well. She is an excellent cook and she loves cooking. In my case, she is open to vegetarian cooking. A rubbish cook could ruin a trip like this.
Once we finally managed to get onto our campsite in Chobe, we had a mad rush to pitch our tents so we could make the Chobe River game cruise. I was in a foul mood and we were all trying to ascertain what the hell went wrong and why each party seemed to think the campsite belonged to them.
Had we had time to think before we dashed to join the boat, we might have grabbed something warm. Alas, some of us did not.
As the sun dipped, so did the temperatures. Lucky for me, one of the German guys kindly let me wear his warm top. I felt so sorry for two young girls in skinny strap tops who sat shivering.
Sunset on Chobe River
The boat had drinks on sale for those who wanted them and as we headed along the river our collective mood lifted. The boat guide pointed out creatures that we would never have spotted. We saw lots of birds, buck and deer, crocodiles, monitors, hippopotamus and a herd of elephants.
The elephant herd came right up to the waters edge and they drank their fill under our noses. There were the cutest little elephants. If only we could have them as pets. They are adorable.
The guide gave us lots of information about the animals and their behaviour which I found most interesting. He pointed out that the river runs between Angola, Zambia, Namibia and Botswana. There have been disputes over which land and which islands belong to which country.
Seeing the wildlife from the water is so completely different to viewing it from the truck on land and I am so glad I had the chance to experience a water based game drive.
Flooded campsite at Chobe
We enjoyed a spectacular sunset and arrived back at the jetty next to the main hotel. The usual rush to get showered before we took a drive to one of the other Lodges to try out the food at their restaurant. There were equally as many people staying there.
Wiki says that Botswana had 843 314 000 visitors in 1999. Income from tourism was $313 million in 2000. That’s a LOT of people and I can well believe it.
Botswana, like Namibia and most of the countries nearby have had a lot of rain. There were walkways created so people could walk about the campsite and grounds at the Chobe Safari Lodge. And our venue for supper, Thebe Safari Lodge, was no different.
While Namibians happily accepted ZAR, in Botswana, they charged you more if you paid in ZAR. So we used our credit cards.
Wild animal warning signs
Things are more expensive in Botswana and we might have had better food if we had tried one of the expensive places. Since we were camping and on a budget most of us tended toward more affordable options.
Our meal wasn’t all that and our waitress was awful. She couldn’t manage to bring me a glass of water because she only took food orders. Not that there was a separate person who took drinks orders. That person was her, but she couldn’t write that down for some reason. I went and took a glass from the pub and got my own water. All I am saying, is don’t expect service, and you will be fine. My meal was a toasted cheese sandwich with a salad and a glass of wine which was ZAR104.00 or $15.
The next morning we packed up and made our way to Zimbabwe. That was the last night we spent camping. I think the duration of the tour was about right. I can imagine that camping for weeks on end with a large party could get tiring.
I also think that if people live and exists so close together 24 hours a day, every day, tension can mount. What seemed a charming quirk can become downright irritating. I was also looking forward to a long hot bath.
Zimbabwean border
Namibian border control is so easy and the Namibians are such warm friendly people. Botswana was a lot more regulated and they aren’t the most friendly people I have met. Zimbabwe is a great place for Saffas to visit but not as easy for Europeans. I spoke a few words in Zulu to the guy behind bars and I was in and out with a smile and a stamp. The Germans had to pay for a sticky visa to go in their passports and it took a while.
