South Africa
by David Sutcliffe
As I sit in the open-sided vehicle I am only marginally assured by the ranger telling me that “the volcano that gave birth to a game reserve” is long extinct. That, and the thought of getting close to several wild animals that might well be hungry, gave me a slight sense of unease. But, with a brave, English stiff upper lip (and a bloke with a rifle next to me) I set off on of my first African safari.
The Pilanesberg National Park, some 2½ hours drive north of Johannesburg, has several things in its favour when choosing which of the many game reserves in South Africa is right for you. It is home to the Big 5 (lion, rhino, elephant, leopard & buffalo), it’s malaria free and is right on the doorstep of Sun City. I was pleased to have been able to count wild dog and brown hyena amongst my sightings as well as 3 of the big 5 – I didn’t see the elusive leopard or the much less elusive elephant. Embarrassingly, everyone else on the trip did see elephants - at the watering hole about 10 metres from the lodge.
Back to Johannesburg and a night at the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton before an early morning start. We head to Pretoria to catch the Blue Train to Cape Town.
The Blue Train is one of the world’s most luxurious methods of travel and it certainly makes for a very civilised and relaxing 27-hour journey from one end of the country to the other. The accommodation, the food and the service is exceptional and everything (except champagne and caviar) is included in the cost of your ticket.
At last, the part of the trip I’d most been looking forward to. Let me get one thing very clear - everyone must visit Cape Town at least once. The setting is unlike any other, with the magnificent Table Mountain dominating the city. The list of places to visit is almost endless – The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the Cape of Good Hope, Robben Island, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the penguins at Boulders Beach, the Winelands, whale watching at Hermanus, shark diving in Gansbaai, the beaches around Clifton and Camps Bay……
The Cape Town area also boasts some of the best hotels in the world from the grandeur of the Mount Nelson and Cape Grace to cutting edge boutique hotels such as O on Kloof and, my personal favourite, Ezard House in Camps Bay.