Hi Jon, Lize-
We were talking about the great time we had on our South Africa trip last night, and realized we never gave you any feedback on our trip. I apologize profusely!
Overall, the trip was fantastic. Lize, the places you arranged for us were terrific.
The only downside was the flight arrangements, which led to issues in 3 airports. In Providence, we were told we had missed our flights to Detroit (we hadn’t), then the Delta rep spent 20 minutes talking to KLM to get things corrected. We ran into problems on the return in Johannesburg, when we couldn’t get boarding passes for Amsterdam-Detroit, which led to some stressful conversations with KLM in Amsterdam. We were told a couple of times that the wholesaler in Minnesota(?) had coded the flights incorrectly. Given that the price through you, Jon, was the same as if we had bought them directly from KLM, I’m not sure we would do that again.
Our time in Cape Town was fantastic. The people who transferred us to our hotel, then to get the car, were very accommodating. Camps Bay Village & Life Resort is in an excellent location, at one end of Camps Bay beach area. This is a relatively safe area, with a lot of activities in the immediate area, including good shopping and dining. The 2 bedroom suite we had was well appointed.
Kathryn was an excellent tour guide, and made many friends in the 6 months she was in Cape Town, so we got around to a lot of interesting places, including the Mfulani Township where she did some intern work with SASDI.
We did break a cardinal rule on our last day there, when we couldn’t fit everything in the trunk of the Honda Accord and left some stuff on the back seat. Well, that led to the car being broken into, and touched off an interesting several hours where we met a really great policeman who helped us report the theft at the Central Police Station. Thrifty supplied us with a replacement Hyundai Sonata, which turned out to have a huge trunk. All my efforts to get a large car by insisting on the Accord didn’t work out- next time we go with the Hyundai!
That day ended with a very late arrival in Franschhoek at the Franschhoek Country House. One of Kathryn’s friends had called ahead and told them we would be late due to the theft, and when we arrived they had upgraded us to the villa suites. WOW-very beautiful, incredibly spacious luxury lodging that beat every place we had ever stayed, anywhere. After a long day it was more than perfect.
The next morning we had an excellent breakfast (hot and cold) with excellent service in the main lodge area overlooking the gardens. We were given terrific suggestions on things to do in Franschhoek, and off we went for a fun day touring wineries and restaurants in this beautiful area. Lize, we can’t say enough good things about this lodging.
Next we had a long days’ drive to Knysna where we ended up at the Leisure Isle Lodge. The lodge is in a terrific location, and Knysna is stunningly beautiful. The food at the lodge was excellent- we ate every meal there as it was so good.
In Plettenberg Bay we stayed at the Bosavern Guest House. We spent 2 delightful nights here, exploring the hikes and beaches of this beautiful Garden Route town.The Guest House is an architecturally interesting home set on a cliff overlooking Plettenberg Bay and area. The views from the full wall of glass making up the rear of the house are incredible. The rooms are very comfortable and very clean (as is the entire property). Vivian and Gerald are superb hosts- offering tea, coffee, wine, and touring advice. The breakfasts were superb. We hiked the Robbens Headlands and enjoyed several of the beaches. Following Viv’s advice, we spent time at various restaurants on the waterfront watching surfers and seals at play. We highly recommend this guest house!
Next we headed to Durban and the Drakensberg region to catch up with 2 of Kathryn’s friends, who gave us a tour of the Hilton high school, which they both attended, and the Drakensberg Boys Choir school, where we enjoyed a concert.
We ended the trip at Notten’s Bush Camp, which was the highlight! Notten’s is a very luxurious, intimate lodge with highly attentive service. The proprietor, Dave Notten, and his team treated us like family. The rooms were well appointed and lighted by paraffin lamps, which were much appreciated as they improved the ambience. Notten’s provides morning and evening game drives, which we enjoyed with our knowledgeable and entertaining guides, Thomas and Craig. We saw an amazing number of animals, and got a lot closer than we ever imagined! The pride of 7 female lions and 10 cubs was the highlight of the trip. Meals were excellent and varied. Drinks in the bush around a campfire at night was another highlight.
Thank you again for your work to book the trip for us, and for finding such terrific places to stay. It’s a looong flight, so I’m not sure when we will return, but we will certainly ask for your help if we do!
Regards,
Brian, Lynn, Kathryn and Jon Arthur
May 2011
