This is an enigmatic odyssey of scenery and art; township life; wine tasting; whale watching; scenic vistas and trails along the garden route; crashing seas and tangled old forests; hours among elephants and other animals; vast sweeping arid landscapes; fossils from Gondwanaland; bushman rock art and Helen Martin's surprising and fascinating sculptural 'mecca', tucked away deep in the plains of Camdeboo.
DURATION
14 Days, 13 nights (Or 10 to 18 days).
BEST TIME
Year round. The Cape has a mediterranean climate
which has patches of warm, sunny and cold, rainy weather in winter (May - August),
and hot, dry summers (November - March). Whale season is June - December.
The Grahamstown National
Arts Festival takes place during June - July (to be confirmed). See Grahamstown Arts Festival below.
The Klein Karoo Kunsfees (Arts festival) takes place during March -
April. See Klein Karoo Kunsfees below.
DAY 1 FRANSCHHOEK
We meet at Cape Town International Airport, from
where we take a scenic drive over Sir Lowry's pass through pristine mountain
fynbos. We overnight at a favourite guesthouse of mine on one of the 21 wine
farms in this picturesque valley. Franschhoek ('French corner') was settled
by the French Huguenots in the 1688. Depending on your itinerary, you may choose
to go for a walk in this quaint village or visit other wine farms.
In the evening, dine at one of the fine restaurants in Franschhoek, which is known as the gourmet capital of South Africa.
DAY 2 & 3 DE HOOP
After breakfast we head to the coast for some whale
watching. Lekkerwater is a large comfortable thatched house within the De Hoop
Nature Reserve that has nine kilometers of private beach on each side and a
superb whale watching deck. More than a hundred southern right whales return
to the waters of De Hoop every year to calve and mate. Other whales that visit
these waters are the Humpback Whale and Bryde's Whale. Seals and dolphins may
also be seen. This is also a good place to see African black oyster catchers
and Cape vultures. As the home is only rented to one group at a time, you can
enjoy a couple days of complete tranquility and natural quietness (available
year round). Home-cooked three-course dinners including a 'braai' (South African
barbecue) will be prepared for you.
DAY 4 WILDERNESS
After breakfast we travel about 300kms east, crossing
the Breede River on the Malgas pontoon and rejoin the coast at 'Dolphin Point'
above the seaside village of Wilderness. This scenic landscape of forests, hills,
lakes, rivers and beaches is known as the 'Garden route'. Go for a walk on the
long sandy Wilderness beach, canoe on the lagoon or look for knysna louries
in the beautiful forest.
OPTIONAL EXTRA DAY: OUTENIQUA CHOE-CHOE
& KNYSNA
The area from George, including Wilderness and the
beautiful scenery all the way to Knysna can be admired from the 'Outeniqua choe-choe',
an original steam locomotive.
DAY 5 TSITSIKAMMA
After a breakfast among the 400 year old milkwoods,
we travel past tranquil lakes and rolling hills to Knysna, Nature's Valley and
stop at Tsitsikamma National Park.
" By the deep sea with music
in its roar; I love not man the less, but nature more."
- Byron
Tsitsikamma is the place to experience nature first hand. Walk along the wondrously wild coastline where huge waves dash against rocks and amber coloured rivers flow into pools. The name, 'Tsitsikamma' is the Khoisan name for this mountainous, forested region and is said to come from the sound the little streams make as they tumble over rocks. What little remains of the forest is protected now, and one can see giant yellowoods and other beautiful trees such as Cape chestnuts on the drive through Nature's Valley. There are labeled nature walks through the forest at Storm's River Mouth, a Strandloper midden and a 'storm beach' where the sea rolls pebbles up and down. Explore the fynbos and forest clad slopes and snorkel in South Africa's first underwater trail.
Spend the night in en-suite forest huts with the sea lulling you to sleep and the melodious morning call of a cape robin to rouse you.
OPTIONAL
EXTRA DAYS: GRAHAMSTOWN ARTS FESTIVAL
Organised by the Grahamstown Foundation, Africa's
largest and most colourful cultural event offers a choice of the very best of
both indigenous and imported talent.
This takes place during June - July (dates to be confirmed).
Every year for 8 days Grahamstown's population almost doubles, as over 50 000 people flock to the city for a feast of arts, crafts and sheer entertainment. Every hall or large room becomes a theatre, parks and sport fields become flea markets, normally quiet streets have to be managed by an army of temporary traffic wardens, and every available bed in the city is booked. The festival offers more than 500 shows from opera, cabaret, drama and jazz to stand-up comics and folk music.
DAY 6 ADDO ELEPHANT PARK
After breakfast we take a two hour drive past the
Groot Winterhoek mountains and farmlands to an unusual landscape - the spekboom
bush of the eastern Cape.
"Nature's great masterpiece,
an elephant, the only harmless great thing."
- John Donne, The progress of the soul.
You will get the opportunity to spend a lot of time observing, photographing and, if you wish, sketching these magnificent animals. Addo Elephant Park was established in 1931 to save the last 11 elephants in the area. It also provided a sanctuary to the remaining buffalo, antelope, bushpig, jackal and caracal. Eland, red hartebeest, kudu and black rhino were reintroduced with ease. The history of the park and its now 200 strong herd of elephant is an interesting account of early wildlife conservation.
Stay in a private luxury tented camp or a Parks Board rondawel, both of which are situated with views of watering holes, where, if you want to, you can watch the elephants and other animals interact all night!
DAY 7, 8 & 9 NIEU BETHESDA
Discover some of the secrets of the Karoo, such
as the wonderfully adapted plants that look so drab from the car, but have life-cycles
geared toward the rare and often violent thunderstorms. Then pure pink and orange
blossoms splash the dour Karoo palette; grasses shimmer with seed and bushes
carry bright daisies scattered and brilliant like the stars of a Karoo night.
We can visit Mountain Zebra National Park and see these rare animals and others.
Nieu Bethesda is a most unexpected spot. The lovely village sprawls over a valley floor at the end of a gravel road that is 25kms from the nearest tar road. It's surrounded by hills, canyons and mountains (the 2 502m Compassberg due North). It's a place that progress forgot.
The bizarre and fantastic creations of the artist Helen Martin at the Owl house are the town's main attraction and the one thing that put Nieu Bethesda on the map. She filled her yard and house with unusual sculptural figures that she called her 'Mecca' - a sort of private spiritual journey, which lasted about 25 years. Athol Fugard, the well-known playwright who owns a house in the village has written two plays about her and the village, "Road to Mecca" and "A Valley Song". More than one visit to the "Owl House" is a good idea, to fully appreciate this intriguing place. There are other artists in the village now, too, and much to see and do.
We will stay at one of the quaint houses, where you can become part of the community for a couple of days, and wander around this little village with its dusty roads and donkey carts.
Another not immediately apparent facet of the Karoo is its wealth of fossils. Among them are the fossils of mammal-like reptiles that are ancestral to true mammals and lived 230 million years ago.
Go on a "Gondwanaland tour", see bushman engravings and visit some remarkable women at their township restaurant. Visit Graaff-Reinet with its Grand Cape Dutch houses and the Valley of Desolation. This can be done as a mountain bike tour. Another option is to hike up Compasberg, which is the second highest peak in the Eastern Cape, and commands a panorama of the 'Sneeuberg' (Snow mountains).
DAY 10 MONTAGU PASS
Today
we visit Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital, have lunch at an ostrich farm, see
the famous 'feather castles' of the 1910s, learn about these strange birds and
perhaps ride one!
We spend the night at a renovated historic hotel on the Montagu Pass. In the early days of ox-wagons, the hotel could see the approach of its guests for several days - such is the view from the veranda.
OPTIONAL EXTRA
DAYS: KLEIN KAROO NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
An annual extravaganza of local talent with the
whole town becoming a stage and venue for arts and drama. This takes place from
during March - April.
DAY 11, 12 & 13 (or more) CAPE
TOWN
We drive to Cape Town through the Karoo, and the
town of Stellenbosch, lunching en-route. The
days in Cape Town are flexible, and can be tailored to include the best of the
current art scene as well as the other exciting options.
There are many elegant and comfortable guesthouses and hotels in Cape Town, where you can enjoy personalized hospitality and charming accommodation. After checking in, you have a couple of hours to relax and in summer, due to the long daylight hours, it may be possible to do a short excursion before dinner, such as a beach walk, a walk on Lion's Head, or a cable car trip up Table Mountain. In winter we can opt for some live entertainment, such as jazz, other music or a play.
ADVENTURE BLEND ACCOMMODATION
VICKY'S B & B
Spend a night at Vicky's World Famous B & B
in Khayelitsha, and be entertained by lots of friendly neighbours. Khayelitsha
is an 'informal settlement' in the Cape flats, where thousands of people live
in shacks. The government has provided electricity and water. Vicky's B &
B is actually her charming home and her guests are well looked after by her
community. You could spend the night here on DAY 13, as Khayelitsha is
very close to the airport.
DAY 14
DEPARTURE
The tour includes breakfast and an airport
transfer.