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Family of 5 in South Africa
  • Matt Treanor
  • Simi Treanor
  • Arushi Treanor
  • Millen Treanor
  • Eashan Treanor

Family of 5 in South Africa

A 18-day adventure by Matt, Simi, Arushi and 2 others Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 25, 2025
    Family of 5 in South Africa
    The Premium Plaza Lounge
    A bit bling or not?Heathrow to FrankfurtWe are heading to Africa!

    Day 1 Leaving London by Simi

    July 25 in England ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    The day had finally come. This trip, an epic trip to celebrate our 50ths, Arushi’s 18th and the fact we are now finally outnumbered by adults to children, we we booked a trip of a lifetime to South Africa thanks to brilliant Ali. Safari, Capetown, and the Garden route; here we come South Africa!! 🇿🇦

    Our budget however didn’t quite stretch to a direct flight but that just added to the excitement .. however we did get another massive perk… time in one of the lounges! So we left home extra early and extra hungry and hung out in the secret world of the privileged airport lounge .

    We all stuffed our bellies with an array of salads, pasta, Thai curry, bean chilli, Pepsis, gin and tonics, rose wine, beer and most importantly yummy chocolate brownies !

    We had just enough time to take in a bit of airport shopping - Matty as often happens at airports liked to peruse the sunglasses which was fun. Then before we knew it our flight was called for Frankfurt and we were off on our first leg!

    Unfortunately the smoothness of the travel stopped abruptly .. settling into our seats for our short haul flight waiting for take off, the pilot announced there was a storm in Frankfurt and we would not be able to fly for around 2 hours! Other passengers were aghast and questioning the cabin staff as to why we were sitting on the plane for 2 hours rather than in the airport. They replied that it was due to being able to get away quickly in case the weather cleared up. With a 2 hour transfer in Frankfurt for our 10 hour flight to Johannesburg, we thought this was a sensible idea… the idea of missing our connecting flight was totally spirit crushing!

    Luckily it did clear up and we left about an hour late so all was good!    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Jo'berg airport greeting
    Third flight .. but the last one for nowHow big this country is!Flying towards KrugerThe lounge areaThe poolThe fire areaBoys' eyes popped open when they saw what was inside our fridge !Check out our villa!! Ooh la laOur own pool! WowsersOur vehicle ! This is the tracker's seatOur first safari driveCape buffaloKudu

    Day 2 Safari by Simi

    July 26 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We arrived in a rather chilly Jo’berg around 9:30am .. amazing service with Ali of course as we were met by a smiley Loyiso with his sign and he quickly ushered us through the VIP transfer… taking on the role of airport dad and giving Matt a break … even still it was a long queue and you could see he had taken on all our worries as apparently making the connecting flight, this time to Hoedspruit was going to be extremely tight. He even collected our baggage for us and loaded it onto a trolley and then requested us sweetly that we all sprint to the internal check in desk… we made it by the skin of our teeth!
    But we made it… and a massive thanks to Loyiso as we deffo would have been shuffling around the arrivals lounge trying to fathom our next steps aka missing our flight if it had not been for him ! But hooray we made it! Ali triumphs again! What a bloody amazing service!

    So why are we flying to Hoedspruit? So we can get to our safari lodge!

    We were picked up by Den and drove through to our Lodge in the Klaseri private reserve. The Greater Kruger is the collective name given to the private reserves on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park.
    These include the Klaserie, Umbabat, Timbavati, Balule, Manyeleti, and Sabi Sand reserves. According to their website these reserves dropped their fences to become part of one pristine tract of protected wilderness in the name of biodiversity conservation. Basically Kruger has a lot more tourists / more vehicles but is more affordable whereas this area has the same amount of animals as it’s the same land but everyone can’t come in so therefore it’s more expensive…. So this is deffo the even bigger treat of the holiday for us.

    Kruger is a huge national park.. basically the same size as Wales.. bigger than some countries such as Slovenia, Kuwait and Fiji. It’s approx. 220 miles long and 49 miles wide . The park includes diverse landscapes like savanna, woodland, riverine forest, and mountain ranges and of course the big 5!
    Rhino 🦏
    Elephant 🐘
    Buffalo 🐃
    Lion 🦁
    Leopard 🐆
    Will we see all 5?🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽

    Anyway our home for the next three nights was the rather lovely Xanatseni resort-a place of the Mopane. Mopane is the name of a type of tree that is very popular with the elephant.

    We were staying in the rather plush 2 bed villa! Check out the photos! Just gorgeous! We had a bottle of chilled fizz waiting for us courtesy of Ali . It’s an all inclusive place and the drinks on tap were insane and the food was never ending. I’m already feeling my clothes are getting rather tight and we’ve only been here a day! We’ve got the most stunning villa- lovely little touches .. our own coffee machine, a fridge full of drinks, huge beds, our own fire pit ( the staff make up a fire for us each night) , our own pool, the views of the reserve.. staff who can’t help you enough … they’ve already given us a new milk machine (to heat up the milk for Arushi’s hot chocolates and three adapters for charging phones / watches etc)

    Lunch was a huge pork steak ( breaded aubergine for the veggies) with potato salad and coleslaw and ice cream. MASSIVE portions and we can tell we are about to embark on more meat we’ve had all year! Millen is uber excited! Midway through lunch a huge herd of elephants accompanied by a load of impala arrived at the water hole just opposite our lodge so we all raced to the viewing platform to gaze in wonder at these majestic creatures . The great thing about this place is it is small so there is no chance of over crowding - besides our villa there are 5 other rooms!

    We have two game drives a day. One from 6-9am and then one from 3.30-6.30pm. Our first family safari drive was about to begin. .. another luxury .. it was just for the 5 of us! We were in a cool 8 seater open top safari jeep whose wheels could take on the world! Our ranger, a gentle mannered woman called Bryony filled our heads with both facts and awe.

    The vehicle was very impressive with a “tracker” seat.. the tracker isn’t here this week so no tracker for us (luckily our ranger is brilliant but also Millen seems to be rather gifted in this department too having spotted so many animals before the rest of us) with huge boxes between the seats filled with water and blankets! Brilliant .

    Bryony midway even took us to a little picnic spot where she then magically set up a table (complete with table cloth) and some sundowners and snacks (warm veggie spring rolls, crisps and nut… see they think of everything)!

    So today this is what we saw!

    Impala
    These graceful antelopes are known for their incredible leaping ability, capable of jumping up to 10 feet high and spanning distances of up to 30 feet in a single bound. Watching them bound elegantly across the reserve was so relaxing. Their agility was very admirable .

    Elephant
    These are the largest land animals and are highly intelligent and social creatures. They can communicate through low-frequency sounds that can be heard over long distances. They have caused quite a lot of chaos to all the trees and so many have been uprooted due to their large appetites ! They are totally mesmerising to watch. Their trunks are just phenomenal!

    Kudu
    Known for their impressive twisted horns and striking markings, the kudu is meant to be quite elusive and often found in dense bush. Their ability to blend into the environment made spotting them a thrill. They were far bigger than I had imagined .

    Warthog
    These fascinating creatures have a unique appearance with their tusks and bristly fur. Warthogs often kneel to graze, which is a humorous sight apparently but we did not see that. We definitely have also spoke a LOT about Lion king on this trip and spent a while trying to recall the warthog’s name in this Disney Classic (FYI it’s Pumbaa)

    Hippo
    Despite their bulky size, hippos are surprisingly agile in water and can hold their breath underwater for several minutes. We only saw a solitary hippo deep in the water but still totally stunning. This is a fierce animal with the most human deaths, despite being a vegetarian and not even one of the big five !

    African Cat
    Sadly no photos as it was towards the end of our drive so pretty dark but this wild cat is quite a rate sighting according to Bryony..

    Cape Buffalo
    These buffalo are known for their strength and resilience, often forming large herds.The Buffalo has height of up to 1.5 m and a mass of 750 kg. Both sexes have horns, those of bulls characterised by a heavy boss and upward curved. Thrt definitely looked like they were judging us and had a sense of James Earl Ray about them!

    Scrub hare
    The upper parts of the scrub hare are a grizzled-grey and the under parts white. They have long ears which are grey in colour, and together with the black-and-white tail these become most visible whilst fleeing.

    Red billed and yellow billed hornbill
    These striking birds ( Like Zazu in Lionking) are everywhere! While the character Zazu is a red-billed hornbill, the Yellow-billed Hornbill is a more common species here and is sometimes nicknamed the "flying banana" due to its large, yellow beak!

    Oxpeckers
    These little birds seem to be on all the big animals apart from the elephant ( elephants are not keen apparently). Oxpeckers and rhinos have a symbiotic relationship, where both species benefit. The Oxpeckers eat ticks and parasites off the rhino's back so basically get a free lunch and provide a cleaning service. In turn, the rhino benefits from the removal of these parasites and also gets an early warning system from the oxpecker's alarm calls, helping them detect approaching predators or humans. How clever is this!

    The sun sets around 6 here so the last half of the drive was done in the dark with a carefully used flashlight to help us spot animals . We even had an elephant in our garden when we got back. Amazing!

    Overall, seeing these animals in their natural environment during a safari has been such an exciting experience and we have 5 more drives! Whoop whoop. Totally makes you appreciate the rich diversity of life on our planet.

    When we got back we had a fire made for us outside our villa so we enjoyed the champagne and warmed our toes before another huge feast for supper- chicken, venison, vegetable curry and poached pears for pud. Yum!

    This first full day surpassed all expectations ! Loved it!    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Bull
    Male giraffeFemale giraffeBullSaddle billed storkBreakfast timeWhite rhino dung!Rhino midden'Go away' birdFunny elephantAfternoon snackMorning safari!Gym time

    Day 3 Safari by Arushi

    July 27 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Our wake up call was bright and early this morning with alarms set to 5.30 Our trusty guide Bryony picked us up at 6 and we rumbled off into the bush. Sleepy eyed we were delighted to find hot water bottles on our seats, which were definitely needed in the cool wind. The camp was full of elephant dung, as the herd had been inside the gates again last night, even venturing as close as the verandas of one of the lodges!

    Trundling along we were relying on the torch again in the dark to light up the way until the sun rose revealing the cloudy sky. Our first spot of the day was a wilderbeast Millen saw. The animal was alone and he had the most peculiar coat with half stripes and half almost mane like. He galloped off in a fashion very similar to a horse and we were with him for a few minutes watching his random sprints showing off his surprisingly fast speeds.

    We were then in pursuit of white rhinos which had been spotted nearby. Bryony led us to some spots of midden, shown in the picture, which is essentially a pile of dung. These piles are essentially a form of communication, showing the dominant male rhino’s territory. They’re also surrounded by the female piles who are part of his herd. The poo was somewhat fresh and gave us hope for a rhino seeing, but unfortunately we had no luck this morning. However, we then did happen across a tower of giraffes (called a journey if they’re walking), consisting of one male (darker shadings and no hair tufts) and three females (smaller, lighter shadings and brush like tufts of hair on their ossicones). They were surprisingly easily camouflaged for such tall elegant, and it was hard to spot them again once you lost sight of them. They’re my favourite animal so it was so breathtaking to see such magnificent creatures in real life, with their extraordinarily long necks and funny knees. They are so silent, and it’s not even fully known how they communicate to each other. Interestingly, google also claims they only drink water every few days, mostly owing to the difficulty in drinking it with their front limbs I think.

    Then we were off again after the giraffe left us, and came across two large bull elephants about half an hour later. They were both munching on grass, filling their daily need of 25kg a day (5% of their body mass which is around 50,000 kg!). One elephant even ventured close we could examine every wrinkle and count every eyelash as he ate the shrubbery next to our jeep. At one point he warned us to move further away with a flak of his ears and small trumpet sound, and he then resumed his munching, indicating he was comfortable with us where we were. We then moved on for our mid morning break, which was muffins and hot drinks, so I enjoyed my second hot chocolate (and then third when eashan passed his on to me), whilst eyeing up the surrounding bushes and even seeing the flash of a hyena, who’s head just darted above the shrubs. He was bigger than I’d imagined and fast! After that excitement we piled back into the jeep for the rest of our morning drive with Bryony, who we learned was former teacher turned paramedic turned safari guide!

    The last hour was fairly uneventful, featuring a few kudus and a stork in a watering hole. Back at the lodge we had a hearty breakfast, with our out selected items including french toast (savoury), eggs, tomato and bacon.

    Then we had a few hours to ourselves, which we filled with blog writing, gym time, pool time, naps and reading, before it was time to eat again at 2. Since the other Dutch group left this morning after breakfast, we ate in our villa a delicious lunch of meat and veggie burgers with sides of chips and salad. The burger was scrumptious and was homemade with veggies, and the meal was completed with brownies as the cherry on top. The staff cleared the meal as quickly as they lay it out and then we were left for 45 minutes or so before our afternoon game drive at 3.30.

    It was quieter this afternoon, starting with a fleeting appearance of a warthog running away. We then saw a herd of elephants, the females with some of their young (adult males get kicked out the herd). It’s still so amazing seeing such magnificent creatures up close, watching them eating. Their trunks are like slinkies, expanding and so flexible bending round branches. We even saw one break off a branch with her tusks. The calves are funny too, as the young ones around 1/2 years old still don’t know how to fully use their trunk, so they instead seem to entertain themselves by swinging it around in circles!

    We then moved on and saw a shy steenbok, another antelope member. She was very still and possibly pregnant, her mate is likely nearby since partners travel close to each other, and they mate for life. We saw a red crested korhaan bird too, with a long ish neck that kept bobbing around. This bird is nicknamed ‘suicide bird’ due to the male’s performance of diving and then opening his wings near ground in a showy manner to impress females. We also saw (or heard) a ‘go away’ bird, which made a very loud almost squeaky calling sound, which certainly rivalled the volume of Eashan’s snoring last night.

    We then had our afternoon snack break, with tomato crisps, nuts and raisins, and biltong accompanied by g&ts and soft drinks for the boys. We were on the cusp of hilltop reserve, where we weren’t permitted to enter, so after our break we turned around and drove into the dusky evening, pulling our oodie blankets on.

    Our final sighting of the day was a bush baby, which was buried in a bush ironically, and appeared ferret shaped from our jeep, and was so hard to spot we could only really glimpse it when the animal moved across a branch.

    We then returned to the lodges just in time to stream the remaining half of the Euros final (spain vs. england), and even had the luxury of being served dinner straight to our villa, so we could watch the match at the same time, as we requested (felt like royalty!).

    The match was nail biting and went to penalties due to the 1-1 score, but the Lionesses clawed the game back with a thrilling win that was a very high point to end the day on!    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Beautiful sky with elaphant in our garden
    White rhinoWhite rhinosZEBRA CROSSING!!!Alpha hippoSafari jeep

    Day 4 Safari by Millen

    July 28 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After I was woken up by a bright light shone in my eye, I looked up expecting to see a lighthouse but instead found dad, as he switched the torchlight off, I crawled out of bed and hobbled into the shower and quickly changed. After gulping down my tea, we climbed into the safari vehicle and set off into the wild.
    Being shaken up by the bumps in the road and the cold wind galloping into our faces really makes you wide awake. Luckily, we had our hot water bottles and blankets to keep us warm. After victory with the lionesses the night before were hoping for victory with some real lionesses today. Bryony was determined to spot a cat, so we headed to the south, an area that the camp didn't go to often. Luckily for us, we were about to find out the south would be abundant of safari spots ! Within minutes of setting off, we had spotted some impalas, even though they were probably the most common animal we had spotted, they never disapointed. Watching them run like profesional long distance runners, while the dominant male would give us a stern looking at, before bringing up the rear was always incredibly exciting. Within minutes of finding the impala, we found our third big 5 animal, a WHITE rhino. 2 Non-dominant males. Bryony could tell because it did a poo in the miden and didn't wipe it on its feet. One of the rhinos had been dehorned for its safety but they were still very cautious of us, munching away whilst never taking its eye off us! After almost half an hour of watching them eat, the rhinos and us decided to part ways as we carried down south.
    We drove down this long tarmac road, and even though the sun was out today, the cold wind was still biting . As we were driving Bryony spotted something and everyone looked where she was pointing, Gasping and gazing. I followed the finger to a wildebeest, and I was a little confused as even l though I know how much of an amazing animal it is, it didn't fully appreciate the wonder of this creature until I saw it …as I began to blurt this out, I saw a zebra poke its head around the tree and, realising what everyone else had been looking at, I joined in the gasping and gazing. Then further on Arushi spotted, ironicly, a zebra crossing the road. These were called the Burchell's zebra named after a british conservative who discovered them. One of the zebras had a large scratch mark which Bryony told us were from a lion attack. The zebras then continued on, walking towards the giraffes who are apparently their best friends.
    We kept on driving on the tarmac road but soon we stopped on the side of the road to have snacks while staring at the birdlife around us, even seing a brown eagle. After delicous cookies and rusks, which is similar to shortbread we hopped back in the cruiser, I spotted a clan of spotted hyenas menacingly walk in our direction, as they got closer they walked around us, they were so close if we reached out we would be able to touch them. They occasionly glanced at us but generally were unphased. It was very surreal!
    A few minutes later we passed through where we were originally going to stop, next to a lake. It had a huge pod/ float of hippos, there were 10 females and 1 large male in the centre of the float. Bryony shockingly told us that they can't swim, which is crazy as they spend all day in the sun, and only come out the water at night to eat vegetation since their skin does not do well in the sun for too long. We then returned back to the lodge spotting lots more impalas, girrafes, elaphants and even some mongoose on the route .
    We got back just in time for breakfast, where we had these south african scones, that tasted very similar to muffins. We met the other family staying in the same lodge, they were from switzerland and had an 8 hour journey to get to the lodge which should have been a 3 hour journey. However they saw a lion, so in my opinion it was worth it.
    After we headed back to our place, we just slept, read and swam. The weather was very warm today but we still couldn't stay in the freezing pool for more than 2 minutes. 5 Hours of resting later and we had lunch, which was chicken wraps, and the veggies had avocado wrap. They were so good that me and Eashan asked for another one. As for dessert we had this pannacotta which I don't think mum liked but I was happy to wolf ours both down. After lunch I had a quick shower before joining the others in the cruise to drive in to the bush.
    Unfortuantly the afternoon drive was only half as busy as the morning one. We did still see a herd of buffalos, which even though the herd was split up there were still over 100 there, these buffalo were a lot calmer then the ones we saw before, some of them were even lying down. We then had our evening stop at the area where we saw a hippo on the first night, this time he was a lot clearer in the light and he even tried to alpha dog me by opening his whole mouth and showing us all his teeth, which was pretty awesome but mine were better. As the sun began to set and mum put on her "12th layer", we began to head back, driving in to the sunset, we stopped by an elephant graveyard where there was a femur bone from a dead elaphant that had been chewed on by a hyena, after checking it out, We got back to the lodge to find an elephant in our garden tearing up a tree, before being shooed away by Dani. The elephant then procceeded to eat the soil, which apparantly was because they sometimes don't have all the minerals they need.
    After sitting round the fire and watching the cheeky elephant trying to sneak in again, the drums were beat - our signal for our meal and we made our way for dinner, where we had this delicious pork chop and potatoes and the veggies had a vegetarian steak. As we finished our last dinner at the lodge and started to walk the last 30 second walk from the main building to ours we took in all the smells of elephant poos and general wildlife that we could. Then tucking into bed early to get up the next day.    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Hyena waiting for food
    Leopard climbingLazy leopard

    Day 5 - Last day of Safari by Eashan

    July 29 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Our final safari at Kruger dawned early, and we felt a mix of sadness and hope. Bryony, our guide, was ready to take us on one last adventure in search of big cats. We set off in the Land Cruiser, spotting two buffaloes - a mother and daughter duo - almost immediately. Bryony shared that it was unusual to see just two buffaloes instead of a herd. As we continued, we saw impalas and giraffes, but our excitement spiked when the radio crackled with news of a lion sighting. We sped off, but the lion had crossed into a restricted area by the time we arrived.

    Undeterred, Bryony took us on a tour, and we spotted elephants and another giraffe. Then, the radio announced a leopard sighting, and we rushed to the location. We scanned the trees, but there was no sign of the leopard at first. Just as we were about to give up, another vehicle blocked our path, and we followed their gaze to a tree. There, lounging lazily, was a female leopard. We watched in awe as she ate an impala carcass, occasionally glancing at us. Bryony pointed out a hyena waiting patiently below, hoping to scavenge some meat. We learned about leopards' unique behavior of dragging their kills up trees and how hyenas would wait below to steal their food.

    After an incredible 45-minute encounter with the leopard, we headed to a waterhole for a break. Time flew by, and before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to Bryony and heading to the airport. The tiny airport was a breeze to navigate, but our flight was delayed due to a luggage container issue. We spent hours waiting outside, playing cards and trying local snacks. Finally, we boarded the plane and took off, albeit four hours late.

    After landing, we picked up our rental car - a spacious Mercedes van - and drove to a grand hotel that could have been a palace! We enjoyed a delicious dinner at a metropolitan food hall in the Waterfront , where we quickly learned that everyone was looking for tips. Exhausted, we dragged ourselves back to our hotel and collapsed into bed    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Bo-Kaap coloured streets
    Off to the Antartic!South Africa coat of armsWall of skullsKoesistersStreets of Bo-KaapMore streets of Bo-Kaap

    Day 6 Cape Town and Bo-Kaap by Matt

    July 30 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We woke up to a very gloomy looking Cape Town, matching our safari come downs. Breakfast lifted out spirits with a tropical selection of fresh fruits, pots of bircher and chia pudding, yoghurts, multiple honey varieties, nut butters, as well as the obligatory full English spread and egg cook. We filled out boots, even accompanied by an old chap tickling the ivories, and headed to our first destination, the South African museum.

    Pulling into a space near the museum, we were accosted by a 'parking guard', who wanted R50 to let us park in her patch. As we weren't sure how official these people are, though they seem to hang around in their grubby parking hi-vis every few hundred yards, nor the consequences of not paying, we handed over the cash and went in. We soon learnt that they inhabited every carpark, street corner, dark alley and popped up as soon as you got out of your car, welcoming you to 'their office' and expecting tips. To be fair, having someone look out for your car is usually a welcome peace of mind.

    The museum is divided into coloured zones, and we wondered into the nearest one. The subject was human evolution, race and privilege. Videos of South Africans people discussing their backgrounds and views on race ran on one wall and casts of skulls in chronological order (in Millions of Years Ago) covered another. Apparently the collective term for bipedals (walking on 2 legs) is hominins, which have evolved into multiple species, the only one remaining being Homo Sapiens.

    A disturbing theory that many white paleoanthropologists believed was that Africans, and other cultures, were further down the evolutionary chain than Europeans and sub-species. Many were used for scientific studies, often in zoo like conditions, their skulls being infamously measured using callipers.

    The next zone was much bigger and held a seemingly random collection, consisting of whale skeletons, astrology facts (our nearest galaxy, Andromeda, is 2.5 million years away!), bee facts (they communicate by performing dance moves!), Antarctic research (SA has a long-standing involvement), various curios and the family tree of Charles Darwin (who married his cousin, Emma Wedgewood, daughter of Josiah).

    Finally, we entered the rock art zone and learnt that the SA emblem is made up of the secretary bird, rising sun, protea, spear and shield, elephant tusks, human figures, ears of wheat and a moto that translates to 'diverse people unite'. Very impressive how much they squeezed in!

    Directly outside the museum is the 'Company's Garden', originally created in 1650 by European settlers to provide fresh vegetables to passing ships. It was a quiet little oasis in the heart of Cape Town, home to a few albino squirrels, which Arushi found very unnerving!

    From there we drove to Bo-Kaap, famous for it's brightly coloured buildings and multi-cultural society. Situated at the base of Signall Hill, the rear end of the Lion's Head escarpment, it was used to house slaves from East Asia, who were then emancipated by the British in 1834 (in which Josiah Wedgewood had been instrumental). As a celebration of their freedom, the population of Bo-Kaap painted their houses bright colours, when previously white had been enforced.

    It's cobbled streets and artistic vibes gave it a bohemian feel, and the funky cafe we ate in met expectations, but we couldn't help feel there was a edginess to it, not helped by some random car driver warning us there was an opportunist thief at the bottom of the street we were on. In the cafe we tried koesisters, a local sweet treat a bit like doughnuts, but not as dense and dipped in coconut flakes.

    As the Lion's head trail was not far away, we headed to the carpark at the base of it, which ordinarily would have had stunning views of Cape Town, False Bay and Table Mountain but all we could see was some of Cape Town and the cloud, mist and rain sweeping over us.

    Kloof St is lined with restaurants and cafes, and we curb crawled in our van in the pouring rain looking for somewhere with some life but space for 5. We settled on Zuney Wagyu Burgers, which was a big hit. The chips, fried in (Wagyu) beef dripping were particularly delicious. The rain seemed to playing havoc with the sensitive car alarm, which the park guard cheerfully kept us updated on, so we headed back to the dry confines of our hotel (and hotel car park!).    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Rockefeller lookalike
    Penguin mania!Lunch spotMOCAA artDualingo at the barHotel dad sorting out the roomSay cheese!Penguin picBlue sky and blue waterLots of dassies aroundJumping for joy to have the beach to ourselves

    Day 7 Boulders Beach by Arushi

    July 31 in South Africa ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    This morning we gorged ourselves on the breakfast buffet again, and followed Millen’s lead in smuggling muffins and afternoon snacks into our bags.

    We then set off on the hour drive to Boulders Beach, seeing glimmers of sunshine and even the top of Table mountain to our delight!! During the journey we attempted to brush up on our South African history, which I’ll attempt to summarise.

    Through rock art it’s been estimated that the first Homo Sapiens were the San (Bushmen) and the Khoikhoi groups.

    Skipping forwards to 1652, which is when the first Europeans settled here. The Dutch East India company (trading between the Netherlands and East Indies), pulled into Table bay to set up a refreshment centre for passing ships. The station commander, Jan van Riebeeck was forbidden from enslaving the locals by his Dutch bosses, so found a loophole by importing slaves from the Africa and the East Indies.

    The Dutch population grew until 1795, when the British captured Cape Colony (SA). They handed it back to the Dutch in 1803 but took it again in 1806. In 1814 a treaty confirmed British ownership of Cape Colony.

    The Boers (Dutch settlers) in South Africa resented the Brits. When slavery was abolished in 18344 the Dutch were more engrave. Finally, the Boers began a mass migration away from the British called the Great Trek. This rift between the two settlers was intensified when diamonds were discovered in the North Cape.

    Finally in October 1899 war began in South Africa between the Boers and the British. The Boers finally surrendered in 1902 and the British annexed the Boer republics. In 1910 a United South Africa was given a constitution. It became known as the Union of South Africa.

    From the start, black people were very much second-class citizens in South Africa. They had land owning and voting restrictions. In 1912 black South Africans founded the South African National Congress (later the ANC) but at first, they achieved little.

    In 1948 the National Party came to power in South Africa. The party introduced a strict policy of apartheid (separateness). After demonstrations against apartheid, the government banned the ANC and the PAC (a strand from the ANC). And in 1963 Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment.

    Willem de Klerk came in power and in 1990 pledged to end apartheid. He also released Nelson Mandela. De Klerk introduced a new constitution with rights for all. While he was for apartheid, he recognised it needed to be abolished to help South Africa as a country economically and politically, so surprised everyone by ending apartheid. Nelson Mandela succeeded him becoming the first Black president of SA in 1994.

    Now there are still economic struggles with high inequality and unemployment rates especially in Cape Town, but the country does benefit from high mineral exporting and tourism.

    History lesson over for now, we arrived at Boulders Beach with the sun still shining. Paying the entrance fee (£40!) arguing the money’s importance in saving the endangered species, we heard the squeaking and braying noises signalling to us the penguins’ presence. These penguins are nicknamed ‘jackass’ penguins due to their obnoxious braying sound, which reaches its peak during mating season. As mum pointed out, we had found the penguins! (get the find penguins blog joke?)

    Along the boardwalk it was fairly busy, but we were still able to see plenty of penguins, watching their funny little run down slopes, seeing them set off into the water, and even being able to look at the baby penguins, who were still brown and fluffy. It was amazing to be so close to them, and observe them in their natural habitat. Heartbreakingly, there was some small amounts of litter on the beach, such as a plastic bottle and bag which highlighted another problem this colony faces, apart from their endangered species state. Due to overfishing, habitat destruction and climate change the population of African penguins is in decline sadly, hence why they need these conservation efforts.

    We then walked along the main path to the other entrance gate of Boulders Beach. Penguins lined the path, separated by a fence which was for safety, as they’d peck your feet if you came too close! At the other entrance was the other half of the beach separated by boulders, which we even had the place to ourself for the first 10 minutes! It was a beach where swimming was allowed, but sadly no penguins ventured to this part of the beach. Mum and Dad reckoned that last time they came, the colony was much bigger, and did come to the other parts of the beach meaning people could essentially walk among them amazingly. Again, this showed the diminishing population of the penguins.

    These penguins are African penguins, and Boulders Beach is one of seven colonies in the world. They’re fairly small, around 3-5kg but efficient, and a young penguin can cover up to 45km a day, and are equally as skilled in navigation as can find their way back to their nesting site months after leaving.

    At this second location, we paddled in the water, clambered on boulders and enjoyed the sunshine. After, we walked back to the car to journey over to Kalky’s fish and chips shop.

    It was good fish and chips (or chip roll for me and Eashan, which was literally bread and chips), but nothing to write home about. It was a no frills establishment, with a sign stating no sleeping on the tables illustrating the normal crowd. It was fairly cheap at about £20 for the five of us however so can’t complain too much.

    We walked back to the car, leaving the parking attendant’s “office” as he called it, and drove back to the hotel to board the hotel shuttle, which then delivered us to the V&A waterfront.

    We entered through Victoria Wharf, the main shopping centre, and wandered over to the Zeitz MOCCA, a gallery showcasing Africa contemporary art. The art was very intense, with a lot about colonisation, oppression and realism, and the art was very modern and sometimes fairly odd. Mum ended up waiting outside she hated it so much. After some very heavy art viewing, we explored the shops some more, visiting Patagonia, Cape Union Mart and various sports shops. We also visited some shops inside Victoria Wharf, including a clothing shop where us three kids must have tried on half the store, and Eashan alone spent 40 minutes trying on different black jeans. All in all, the waterfront was somewhat underwhelming and seemed to be a glorified shopping centre, and very commercialised, so not sure we’d go back if we were staying longer.

    Finally, we ended up back in the Times Market where re raced around the different stalls ordering food. We enjoyed a selection of bao buns, laksa, pizza and empanadas followed by waffles, cookies, churros and fondant.

    Satisfied, we returned to the hotel, however one of the rooms stank of paint strangely, which did not please dad! He was on the phone to the reception and managed to get a new room to sleep in which had no risk of smell induced headaches.

    Finally, we settled in for a random movie night featuring whatever was on the TV which was all very depressing so we ended up watching a kids cooking show by the end of the night, before finally going to sleep.

    Naval camp    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    How posh!
    DelishYum!Can't get enoughTuna in a tin😋The wall of plates🌹ButterAmazing presentationFrom the head chef himselfSuper tastyLovely viewsThe parents

    Day 8 - Cape Town+ Franchhoek by Eashan

    August 1 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    I was woken up by someone hammering on the wall. Lazily I opened the door to a stressed dad telling us we had only 30 minutes till breakfast was done. I hurriedly packed my bag and got ready before heading down to breakfast. Because we had very little time, I had a small breakfast as well as needing to build an appetite for our posh lunch later. We returned upstairs to grab our bags and put them in our car while Millen and mum checked us all out. They met us in the car park and we said our final goodbyes to the hotel before setting off.
    With 2 hours before our lunch slot, we decided to head up signal hill and lions head. Lions head is so called because of the rock formation at the top that vaguely looks like a lions head. Although mum had to explain it quite a lot before I saw it. And signal hill is what used to be called lions rump as it was connected to lions head, but was changed as it was historically used to signal to the locals signs of invaders.
    We drove up to halfway between the 2 hills for pictures of the scenic view. Before long, we realised we had to leave for the resturant and so we descended the hill and drove half an hour where the restaurant was. Waiting for us at the car park was a guard. He showed us to the front of the restaurant where the receptionist was and, after signing in, we were shown to our table. On the table was a beautiful gold cutlery rest in the shape of a twig as well as a note from the owner which read "food is our theatre, we hope you enjoy the show". Already we were feeling the excitement of the atmosphere and the effort that had been put into every tiny detail. We were then greeted by our waiter, Nasa, who showed us the menu. There were 2 different menus. You would choose one as a table and then you would get all the food from that menu. As we were choosing we were brought the firat dish which was the same on both menus. It was called a vegetable garden and had 3 different mini plates. One was a smoked tomato tart which even Arushi agreed was delicious. It was like a crispy wheel-like tomato with a sauce filling. Then there was an aubergine flatbread which was a small, crsipy flatbread with lots going on but with aubergine being the main event. As I tasted it, i wondered how aubergine could taste this good! Finally there was what they called "herb garden extraction". It was a shot of a delicious drink that i can't even begin to describe.
    We then decided on the menu - a winter special, and Nasa told us a bit about the history of the restaurant, including how half of the current head chefs family is vegetarian and that he takes pride in his vegetarian options and that he hopes we enjoy it. We were pleasantly surprised by this, and with our first meal done, we went straight into the second.
    For the second meal, we had a king oyster mushroom presented in 3 different platters, while for mum, dad and Millens meal, the mushroom wws replaced by meats. The whole meal was not on a plate, no, it was in a ceramic tree branch with leaves and nests. On the nests and leaves were the meals. The first was a broth, which mum LOVED, this was on the side of the branch as a drink. Then there was a slider (mini burger) with a mushroom/ meat filling. It was absolutely delicious! This one was on the leaf of the branch. Finally there was a mushroom and artichoke chawanmushii. This was my absolute favourite of the whole experience. It was a delicious mix vegetables and sauces that worked so well together. This was presented as a cracked open egg on the nests.
    The next dish we were served was a bread and butter where the butter was made in front of our eyes. They showed us how they made the butter using a wooden turner, then adding in various nuts or other ingredients to the butter. We were then given a massive chunk of bread decorated with flowers around the plate. We each tore of a bit and tasted the butter which was incredible! We slowly chowed it all down savouring the taste in our mouths. But before long it was all gone and as quickly as the waiters had layer out our cutlery, they picked it all back up.
    Next up was the tuna "la colombe" (or beetroot "la colombe" for me and Arushi). This was something the restaurant was famous for and was beautifully presented in a tin like tuna usually is. It was delicately placed inside the tin alongside various herbs or sauce to further elevate the taste. Once we finished this, the waiter told us we were only now about to start the mains. Amazed by the sheer amount of dishes, we continued on to the next dish.
    The next meal was a girella with pine nuts, hazelnut butter and artichoke. It was like one massive, singular pasta with a deconstructed pesto sauce inside. And it was, once again, incredible. Meanwhile the others had a lamb dish.
    Then onto the penultimate dish. A popcorn, lemon and milk based dish with many components just like all he other dishes. It had lemon mascapone, miso curd, popcorn namelaka, roasted corn nuts, lemon ginger gel, cereal milk ice cream and lemon palenta cake. With all these weird combos and with so much going, it felt like it should have been too much and yet, somehow it all worked so well together. It was presented on a hole, glad dish filled with popcorn inside of it. And then, finally, after 6 dishes before it, came the very final one. The menu had simply said rose with no ingredient list like the others. It was so random that we wondered if it was even a meal. But sore enough the waiters soon brought out an edible rose. It was small, yes, but the artistic talent of the chefs was clearly evident and some through in the final dish.
    With all 7 meals done and 3 hours of eating, we lazily walked back to the car, on the way passing a wall of all the various "plates" they had used to serve meals including the branch that one of ours was served on. Anyone could have been excused to have mistook it for art! We then drove all the way to Franshhoek, a village renowned for its wine. Franshhoek literally means French corner because of the French who first asked and at up wineries all over the place. Our hotel was called little Paris and, fittingly, had a small model of the Eiffel tower outside it. We made our way in being greeted by Lovemore, the manager who showed us to our rooms. Tired from the 3 got drove and the extensive eating we crashed as soon as our head hit our pillows without even needing to have any dinner.    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Alle Bleu- vineyard number one.. and the camera came out more!
    Learning about the winesChocolate pairingBiltong pairingStunning balcony to ourselvesBartinneyWhat a viewBerry burstBeginning to forget what we are samplingGames during the picnicEven the chairs for the picnic were comfyYum!Waiting for the tramIt's here!Last vineyardDoggies!Sunshine !More purchasesPicnic timeOutside

    Day 9 Wine Tram in Franschhoek by Simi

    August 2 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Today was an early start for… not what you’re expecting… wine tasting. So we had a great breakfast at Le Petit Paris with our view from our window of the Eiffel Tower! It was old school in the fact you got given a a menu chit with a pen and marked off what you wanted! Yogurt and fruit for me with eggs and sour dough- a good lining for the day ahead!

    There are SO many stunning vineyards and estates here! As well as visiting them independently you can also take part in the Franschhoek tram and bus tour - you just choose your route and the tram takes you hopping between wine estates in the gorgeous Franschhoek Valley, and we didn’t need to worry about a designated driver!

    We chose the navy blue line. So we booked the first tram-845am! Just so we could experience as many of the vineyards as we could. The Franschhoek Navy Line features a selection of 8 wine farms along its route. We managed to squeeze in 5!

    Alle Bleu
    We arrived there at an alarmingly early hour so figured we should choose one of the paired tastings to soften the fact we were boozing by 930am!
    We opted for the chocolate and wine pairing for me and Matt took the biltong one. We had the place to ourselves and sat outside in the warm glow of the sublight admiring the vineyards. Needless to say we bought some wine!

    We met the tram bus punctually after an hour and moved onto our next estate of choice . We also found an hour to be enough time at a wine farm to enjoy a tasting at a leisurely pace.

    Bartinney
    This one is known for the best views, lived up to its reputation. The highlight is the terrace with sweeping views of the Banhoek Valley, vineyards and mountains. We tried three wines – Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. They were meant to have a gin tasting but not today. Arushi enjoyed the berry blast gin and tonic. You guessed it - We bought more wine!we found out this vineyard owes Le Plaisir.. another one en route .

    Le Pommier
    Another lovely little estate which again offered some paired tastings so we went for the pizza bites for one and the African bites for another. Yummy and yup we bought more wines!

    Boschendal
    This one was one we had heard of as this wine in readily available at home. This was a huge estate and we had actually pre booked picnics in the grounds. Wow what a set up.
    We had pre ordered picnic basket for us all (or rather a box) filled with treats. You can sit on the lawn chairs and picnic on the ground, or you can take a seat on a more conventional chair at an outdoor table. 

    The picnic baskets are generously stocked with sandwiches, salads, snacks, and drinks and, of course, no vineyard picnic would be complete without a Glass of the estate’s award-winning wine. The picnic was SO huge the staff who were clearly accustomed to this , kindly supplied us with doggy bags to pack up our left overs.

    We actually ran out of time again sadly so guess what no wine purchasing here (apart from at the picnic! )The Boschendal Farm Shop was stunning and we spent a small fortune here stocking up on locally-made food and drink.Right it was time to catch the tram to our final vineyard

    Vrede and Lust
    We really had run out of time here as the last tram was leaving not long after we had arrived .. enough time to guzzle our last trio of one ( and yes buy our final wines!) This place gets it names Vrede en Lust (Peace and Delight/Eagerness) from nurturing visions of a rural paradise where the original owner could spend his last days.
    We deffo noticed a difference in the atmosphere in this tasting room too- noisier, more falling over! I think everyone was pretty drunk! Surprising you might say! 🥴
    The children were brilliant all day- Arushi tried as much as she liked and we think there was even some white and red she almost liked! The boys sampled a little here and there.
    The weather was glorious, the service amazing and it was just a really nice chilled day.

    So rather sozzled and pretty tired,
    We headed back to our mini Parisian home stay with all our wine purchases and 2 huge bags of picnic left overs and settled in to the TV room with a fire ( the temperature had dropped rather fiercely) and our left over picnic and watched Happy Gilmore 2… a movie with so many cameos whom I did not recognise as I’m neither a golfing fiend or youthful sadly! Still it was all good.. Matt and I passed on the wine with dinner and just had cups of tea instead! Maybe no surprise!    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Entering Babylonstoren
    DonkeysEashan says helloArushi asks if we can take one homeSome of the food delightsAnd moreSuch an incredible selection of soft drinksBoys at BabylonstorenIn the Liftstyle shopWine MuseumCorkscrews!Corks!Us and the binosOrange waterproofs were very handyBack on dry landDa Da Da Da( meant to be the Jaws music...ahem)SealsBreaching whalesBabylonstoren map

    Day 10 Franschhoek + Hermanus by Millen

    August 3 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After saying our goodbyes to Lovemore, Billy and the brilliant breakfasts they had cooked up we hit the road again, heading to Babylonstoren the vineyard not the wonder. However it was quite the wonder- it’s another vineyard and hotel but it’s just a whole “experience” with a huge working farm that you can wander around that is similar to RHS gardens at home . There are several restaurants on site as well as the most luxurious shops.. ooh and even a wine museum!!!

    You were greeted with donkeys and chickens running around. It was blood orange season, so the farm was filled with them and I mean filled, even in the reception there was mounds and mounds of oranges. They were also selling orange juice which was so fresh it tingled in your mouth. Even the lifestyle and home section was spectacular, they almost had enough variety of handcream that I could have one for each day of the month. The peace and serenity of the area is hard to capture with words, so it was hard to say bye, but eventually we did.

    We were heading for Hermanus next . This coastal town in South Africa’s Western Cape, has earned a global reputation for whale watching and for good reason. Recognised by the WWF as one of the world’s top 12 whale-watching spots, it offers some of the best land-based whale viewing anywhere. The calm, shallow waters of Walker Bay attract Southern Right Whales, Humpbacks and Bryde whales each year, who come here to mate and calve, creating reliable and often breathtaking sightings. But whales aren’t the only stars of the show. The area’s rich marine life includes dolphins, Cape Fur Seals, African Penguins, and a wide variety of seabirds, turning most outings into a full wildlife experience.

    We actually booked our tour Gaansbaai, a ghostly coastal town across the bay from Hermanus .
    After being briefed, we headed out to the water putting on our life vest and flattering jacket before venturing on to the boat.

    Day 10 Whale watching continued by Simi

    Unfortunately Millen suffered from a bit of sea sickness so spent a lot of the journey horizontal so I’m writing this up for him!
    We were hoping for the Marine big 5… clearly we were totally sucked in by the marketing … but these are the whale, dolphin, shark, penguin and seal.
    The sea was unbelievably rough with the surge a startling 6-10 foot around us. So many people
    Were throwing up and looking positively green! The captain of the ship didn’t seem to be phased by this at all and just kept his foot firmly in the accelerator and we were really going at quite a pace!

    We eventually stopped and waited .. it wasn’t an easy wait as the surge was so high so people were still being sick but somehow despite a rather slow start it all turned around.. and quite unbelievably we found ourselves literally just a few feet away from a couple of amazing humpback whales .. we identified them quickly by their blowholes and could not believe their size. They were huge. We were lucky enough to see them playing in the water and swimming besides us. It was one of the most memorable things in nature I have ever seen. We were with them for a good 30 mins or so and really didn’t want to leave but clearly the captain wanted us to tick off as many of the big 5 so we zoomed off to Dyer Island, which is home to a colony of African or jackass penguins, as well as Geyser Rock, home to an incredible 50,000 Cape fur seals. The seals were great fun to watch - but the smell was not so fantastic!  We loved watching these creatures and getting to see them interacting in their natural habitat . It was totally awesome.

    Some trips also take part in Shark Alley, where sharks can normally be seen gliding through the water. Our boat company also had trips for caged divers so they took us out to see this trip- this was not comfortable viewing actually.
    It felt more like a circus with the boat men throwing meat out for the shark as baits. Obviously we still stood there totally mesmerised trying to click the perfect shot but it’s not how I had hoped to see these magnificent marine creatures - it felt totally staged and more like the zoo. It wasn’t good watching and I was more than happy seeing three of the marine 5 but it was still a privilege to see these Bronze whaler sharks, (also known as copper sharks) who we were told are considered potentially dangerous to humans, although they are not typically aggressive.. thanks God!
    We returned to dry land still exhilarated by what we had seen though . It was pretty amazing !



    Back to Millen!

    Luckily I felt better by the time we were back and the warming soup they provided helped me feel better too- it was totally brilliant seeing these animals but I was very relived to be off the boat!

    We were actually staying in Hermanus. It is known as the whale capital, but also an area recommended for elderly people, because of the tranquility
    From that description I think you would get the vibe of the place. After dumping our stuff at our apartment , we quickly headed out to look at places for dinner. We eventually landed at Pear Tree Cafe. The food was delicious. Dad and I shared lots of small dishes and the highlight for me and dad were the hake wraps.    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    museum closed☹️😠

    Day 11 Rainy Hermanus by Millen

    August 4 in South Africa ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    We woke up expecting miserable day, but the weather contrasted to all apps, and we even got a bit of sun. As we all got out of bed we found 2 things, a hungry, sweaty dad who had just come back from his run, and a street protest. More curious about the latter we were all intrigued by the protesters who were singing along the streets and waving at people, sometimes even filming us. We were trying to work what the protest was about however Dad was more intrested in breakfast and ushered us all to go to a resturant Eashan had found called The cuckoo tree which was a small cool cafe, filled with lots of locals (mostly elderly people). On our way there we had walked along the highstreet and yet again found the same protestors marching down the street. We noticed that everyone else on the road had either run off or locked their shops, Confused and a little scared, it felt like we were in a cowboy movie when 2 people were about to have a duel as it was eerily quiet . Luckily a shopkeeper had spotted us and told us we should leave the area, and before we could question why she had already shut her door. Even though our curiosity grew more than our hunger we took the lady’s advice and took a back road go get to the cafe. After the waiter had taken our orders, we asked him about the protest which we could still hear rumbling outside.
    He explained how they were supporting the “Land party “ a political party based in Hermanus made up of a group of people who had temporarily come here from other Southern African countries to make money to send back home. In his eyes they were an uneducated community that didn't see the bigger picture and apparently they hated foreigners, sometimes even attacking them which explained why everyone shut their shops. However there are always 2 sides of the story so we found it tricky to gain a balanced view. We were just pleased to be out of it!

    After finishing breakfast and the protest had moved on, we meandered around the city, struggling to find things to do as most attractions were shut. Only doing a bit of shopping and finding a laundrette, before returning back to our aparment to chill.
    Due to the nature of no places to eat being open after half 6 we set off early to try and eat at Ficks, the resturant that we attempted to go to the day before. However sadly it was closed ..again due to the protest. Eventually we drove to Lizettes, a
    Restaurant found by Arushi. Cautious at first by the lack of people we walked in- we were suprised as the atmosphere and food was great, unlike the music. We left satisfied and headed home for a quiet night.    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Breakfast
    Dodgy "green" juice at lunch stop en routeAlarm bells should have rung with this loo on a skateboard at the entrance of the lunch stopStunning Mossel bayCan you see the zipline?We are ringing them tomorrow to see if it's operating .. apparentlyBaboonsWelcome fireHiking trail at our accommodationSadly the pool is pretty chilly

    Day 12 Mossel Bay and Oudsthoorn by Simi

    August 5 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We checked out of our apartment and headed for breakfast at Oskar’s. The weather was pretty grey, windy and wet so actually it made it quite easy to leave.

    Our next destination is Oudtshoorn- not strictly on the garden route but
    Worth the detour we thought/ hoped! .90% of all ostriches worldwide live in South Africa. Dubbed the "ostrich capital of the world", Oudtshoorn is known for its ostrich-feather boom. With approximately 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest town in the Klein Karoo region. The town's economy is primarily reliant on the ostrich farming and tourism industries.

    It was a big drive though 4.5 hours so we decided to take our time and stop at Mossel Bay to take in the World’s longest over the ocean zip line… quite a mouth ful.. but worth the stop!

    Alas ( or maybe secretly there was a little relief from some of us. ) the zip wire was shut due to the wind! Whilst we were there at least 3 other parties turned up too and also looked a mixture of relieved and disappointed!

    It would add quite a bit of time to go back but we will see how it goes and what the weather is like.

    We then pressed onto our country lodge through the mountain pass- spotting dacies, baboons , ostriches and even elephants and zebras ( they were on a game reserve).
    We arrived around 530 to our accommodation and our welcome was incredibly endearing . Our “cottage” was palatial with a huge sitting room with a big roaring fire as a centre piece and then 4 bedrooms with its own massive bathroom and jacuzzi each!!!

     The host and her employee could not do enough to help us- we had a cup of tea next to the roaring fire and were given the menu to choose our food. There was no one else staying and they had already told us the vegetarian options they had made especially so we didn’t want to offend so we played games and chilled for the evening.    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Outside Cango Caves
    Eashan checking he's going to fit through the letter boxThe entrance to the cavesThe 'Leaning Tower of Pisa'Inside the first cavernPeekaboo!The second cavernMillen clambering up 'The Devils Chimney'Feeding timeOstrich selfieMillen's new friendArushi and the attack of the ostrichsOmelette for 12?Eggstraordinary strengthHangry birdsEashan's in there somewhereBig birdsPosing for a photoSerene spot for dinner

    Day 13 Oudtshoorn by Matt

    August 6 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    It was a late start today, though a bright and crisp day as we emerged for breakfast. We sat down in the restaurant, with still no other guests, but they'd put us on a different table to mix things up a little. All the other takes were still made up, making us feel very special. The lovely staff plied us with tea, coffee and food and Matilda even gave Arushi a feather fringe to sew on a dress, apparently inspired by her friends purchases from Harrods!

    Matilda made an ambitious itinerary for us, with many things to cover over the day, helpfully marking our destinations on a map and cheerily waved us off.

    Our first stop was the Cango caves, discovered by a local farmer in 1780 and formed 20 million years ago when the sea levels retreated. Water dripping through the ancient limestone creates the otherworldly stalactites (from the top) and stalagmites (from the bottom), and cracks in the rock cause flow formations, the oldest of which was 1.5 million years old.

    With 2 trip options, 'heritage' or 'adventure', a cardboard cutout with 3 holes, of decreasing size, allows you to test out the widths of the crawl throughs for the latter, the smallest of which Simi and I could barely squeeze! The cheery info lady convinced us we'd be fine on the 'adventure' despite my reservations and visions of claustrophobic long dark tunnels.

    We entered the first and biggest chamber with our guide and fellow cavers. Until 1994 they held orchestra concerts on a platform built inside though sadly had to stop due to vandalism. We tested out the acoustics and admired the ethereal formations spot lit to dramatic effect, though the lights encourage growth of algae so are kept to a minimum.

    We moved along the bricked path through another couple of chambers until we reached the end of the heritage trail, and adventure begins! From here it is allowed to touch the formations, as it's impossible to scramble through without doing so, and the path, handholds and footholds were smooth with use.

    The first challenge was called lumbago walk, the longest tunnel about 10m, and although not a squeeze was still a tricky scramble and the increasing humidity made the smooth surfaces slick with moisture. The temperature in the caves also increased as we went deeper, which seemed contradictory. I made it through rather clumsily in a part crouch part crawl, relieved to pass into the next open chamber.

    The next section began with a ladder climb then through an increasingly narrow section called the 'tunnel of love'. It was only after we all squeezed through that our guide told us that a few years ago a lady got stuck here and trapped herself and 30 others for 11 hours!! This did not help my confidence.

    Then we came to Eashan's favourite bit, and my least favourite, the 'devils chimney'. With our guide patiently helping us through, Simi ahead of me and offering loads of encouragement, it was a vertical wriggle in which you had to contort yourself into the one position that worked, like one of those annoying puzzles in a Christmas cracker, or so it seemed to me. The kids, however, followed straight behind and seemed to pop up like champagne corks!

    The last technical section, called 'the letterbox', required dragging yourself beneath the low ceiling and ended in a smooth slide down into a pile into front of everyone as gracefully as you could, in my case not very.

    It was a long but easier walk back into open air, everyone, especially me, was very pleased with their achievements. Looking back it wasn't nearly as hard as I'd feared but they'd all been very supportive, especially Simi's encouraging words and Arushi's distracting chatter!

    The next stop was the Ostrich Safari farm, which began on a tractor trailer. There are 3 types of ostrich, Zimbabwean, Kenyan and South African, in order of size. We first went through the Zimbabwean ostrich enclosure and were immediately surrounded by their long necks, intimidating beaks and huge eyes searching for the tubs of food we'd all purchased for the trip.

    Our guide calmly explained their reproduction cycle, once a year up to 12 eggs delivered 1 every 2 days then incubated by both female and male for up to 45 days, whilst they poked their heads into the trailer causing shrieks of both fear and laughter! We then walked between enclosures of the SA ostrich, the only type they actually breed here and have about 2500. The others, including emus, are there for comparison.

    After filming some very entertaining scenes of ostrichs reaching over our heads into the food tubs, we learnt about the history of farming them. My favourite fact was that they actually walk on their toes, of which they have 2 and can strike you dead with, and what looks like their knees are actually ankles, so they have very long feet. When they sit down they put their feet on the floor.

    We drove back into Oudtshoorn and it reminded Simi and me very much of Alice Springs, with its wilderness location, red sands and tourist thoroughfare. We headed to the ostrich emporium, bought a few souvenirs, including ostrich chews for Luna, and settled into the ostrich leather sofas for a cup of tea and cake.

    The last stop of the day was dinner at Buffelsdrift game lodge. Situated just outside the town, it's a conservation park with a small number of rehabilitated elephants, lions, cheetah and, my personal favourite, meerkats. It has a few lodges and a lovely restaurant overlooking a waterhole, in which we spotted 3 hippos. It was good food, well priced and best of all had other people eating there! To top it off we discovered they ran early morning meerkat safaris and had space the following day!!    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Curious meerkat
    Two curious meerkatsView of Plettenberg baySunset

    Day 14 Travelling to Plett by Arushi

    August 7 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We left our lodge at 7.30 this morning in a tired rush for Buffelsdrift this morning for our meerkat safari!

    Upon arrival, we were greeted with coffees and other guests, including a Dutch family and another Uk family who we chatted to for a bit. We were then all piling into the safari truck, layered up for the drive. Eyes peeled we rattled along the path, spotting a few antelope and birds, geared up with binos and cameras in anticipation for the cheeky meerkats.

    We arrived in the morning sun to the meerkat’s ‘system’ as our guide called their home. We saw the sentry peeking out from their hole, nose poised and eyes alert. The curious creatures slowly came out one by one until there were 5 visible with 3 out of the system. Occasionally you would get one meerkat popping his head in and out of the hole, a grumpy looking male. There was the alpha female in the tunnels still as she was pregnant, and then three others darting about. The alpha female of the group mates with the alpha male (for life), but the female is head of the family and makes the orders.

    We watched them soaking in the morning sun, necessary for the meerkats to return their body temperature to 38.3C degrees (as it goes down to 36.3C during the night). They also use this time to stay lookout, utilising their 180 degree rotating heads. Observing the mob of meerkats so close scurrying around was incredible, and highlighted the peculiar behaviours of these diurnal animals. They are highly adapted to their environment, with excellent long distance eyesight (up close is very poor and blurry - could probably do with some of mum and dads reading glasses!), heightened hearing, poison immunity, excellent digging abilities and speed, reaching up to 30km/h. They have dust adapted bodies, with flat ears and noses, and membrane covered eyes to protect themselves. They use their tail as balance when they’re propped up on lookout, and apparently their main defence against predators is playing dead. Round here, their number one enemy is the pale-chanting goshawks, so the meerkats spend most their time searching the skies. Main cause of death however is old age, since they’re excellent at spotting danger from afar.

    It was also our first animal form ‘the Shy 5’, which includes meerkats, aardvarks, aardwolves, porcupine and the bat-eared fox. There’s also the ‘small 5’, ‘wet 5’ and even the ‘ugly 5’! Eventually the meerkats ran off to begin hunting for the day, and so we followed suit and we left the range to return to the car park, spotting our first Nyala on the way. We drove back to De Opstel lodge for some breakfast and hot drinks to warm up, and more eggs. Matilda again was so gushing, encouraging us to come to Stellenbosch university in South Africa and visit her other hotel! We said goodbye to smiley Michael, and farewell to enthusiastic Annalies to start the drive to Plettenburg Bay.

    Our first stop was Wilderness beach to dip our toes in the Indian Ocean and attempt to take a group jumping picture (which did not work at all), and enjoy the warm sand on this brilliant day. Then, the boys had a wacky suggestion to try paragliding, an activity popular around Wilderness area. A google search showed a company 5 minutes away, however that one turned out to be a dead end. Whatsapping the second option, Dolphin paragliders in Sedgefield just to test the waters quickly turned into an ‘omg we’re really doing this’ moment when we pulled into the car park! Greeted by the resident border collie we walked to their station, us 3 kids very excited! Eashan and I were herded into the gearing up area and were very suddenly on the takeoff field preparing for flight. Both strapped in just as quickly, and then we were ready!

    Eashan took off first, and just like that I watched my baby brother fly into the sky. I followed after him, the only instructions being to bend my knees in the sky and keep them straight on the ground. With that vaguely useful information, my instructor (or pilot) did some magic with the glider, a sort of run and then we were airborne! We gained speed quickly and were zooming above everything before long! The seat was surprisingly comfy, and the ride so smooth it was easy to forget we were really flying. We had a glorious 10 minutes in the air each, though it felt a lot longer, and Eashan and I were up at the same time, spying each other’s coloured gliders in the distance. He had a GoPro to record some footage with, which shows the immense view we had, high above fields, birds, roads and even the sea. It was so peaceful you really were just gliding through the air, like a cloud or a leaf. There was so much to spy, from rolling hills behind us, to teeny tiny people below and occasionally spotting the others in the landing field.

    I truly had such a grand time I couldn’t stop grinning with glee high in the sky, amazed that it was a reality! We even got to do spins in the air to speedily lower the glider down, which felt like whizzing round a fairground ride except we were 400m above ground with the wind whipping around me. After milling around in the sky, we started to come down which again was a big trust, not even knowing when we were landing let alone any instructions! I braced my legs for landing and successfully landed on my feet only to be pulled along by two men and my instructor from behind so the glider didn’t land on some shrubs behind.

    I was unclipped as fast as I was geared up and ran to mum dad and Millen to share my excitement and enjoyment, the border collie bounding over jumping with me. I was met with a surprise on the ground as mum was also suited up and had been convinced to have a go as well! Then just like that Eashan landed, and Mum was off, followed by Millen. Millen had also had a GoPro which captured his amazement at the experience, and clips of mum from afar. Dad remained safely on ground, not enthralled by the idea of being so high up in air, so was instead the designated cameraman. On ground, we grabbed the binos and camera and tried to catch glimpses of mum and Millen sailing by which was mostly unsuccessful.

    When we were all back on ground and reunited we were full of adrenaline but sad to leave. We drove to a nearby restaurant for some lunch, and then were back on the road towards Plettenberg bay. We drove around the town briefly (which didn’t seem to take too long), the buildings illuminated by the fading sunlight and windows reflecting the pink hues appearing in the sky. The moon was almost full, contrasting with the tiny sliver we saw during the safari, indicating how long we’ve been away which felt symbolic.

    We then checked into our hotel, and were given an upgrade due to the small amount of guests around since we’re the only ones tonight and then joined by four others tomorrow night. After a long adventurous day we enjoyed hot water showers and baths, and then playing games in the communal area with a supermarket dinner before bed.    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Bridge
    😄WalkWeeee!ViewAhhhhhDinnerBungee!!

    Day 15 Bungee jumping by Eashan

    August 8 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    I woke up excited and by the possibility of a bungee jump. I got changed and came down to breakfast. For breakfast I got delicious Nutella pancakes as well as filling my plate from the buffet with fruit and toast. We then decided to drive to tsitsikamma. Tsitsikamma is a section of the garden route known for its beautiful valleys and hikes. We soon came to a sign for bungee jumps. We decided to check it out to see if we could book me, Arushi and Millen in for later.
    We drove to the gates and walked up to the office. While me and Millen were ready to go, Arushi was having second thoughts. And being able to see the 200m bridge from where we were was not helping. Eventually however she decided to go for the once in a lifetime opportunity. We went to book when the people at the office advised us to go for the slot in less than 10 minutes, otherwise we'd have to wait an hour. To avoid 2nd thoughts, we went for the one in 10 minutes and, after suiting up in a harness, we were ready. We had a quick set of instructions before we made our way to the zipline underneath the bridge. Dad opted to stay behind while mum walked along the skybridge - a gangway that ran alongside the zipline - with a view beneath and to the side of you. As I was travelling along the wire, I looked down. The bridge connected 2 mountains and was held up by concrete beans that sloped down to the bottom of the valley, so the bottom of the bridge was slowly revealed as I went further. On the other side, I was greeted by several workers releasing me from the zipline and then pointing me in the direction of the bungee jump. It was in the centre of the valley with many various wires hanging over us and music blaring in my ear. I watch as the other 2 zip line across and we make our way to the place we jumped from. Arushi looks white as she stares at the edge of the platform. Soon mum also arrives and watches as the workers check we are all here and put us in our order. I'm going first. I am lead to a seat where they use velcro to attach some padding to my legs before wrapping a rope around them. A secondary rope is then also attached to my harness and I am being reassured by the amount of weight that the frail looking ropes can actually hold. I am then picked up by 2 workers who carry me to the edge of the bridge. Adrenaline pumps as my heart beats faster and everything seems slower. I peek over the edge and for the first time, I think about what I am actually about to do. The height is scary, but exciting and the promise of safety is enough to forget the fear. I am told to look up to a camera, and they begin the countdown. 5...4...3...3...1... I fall forwards and face the valley. Falling at incredible speeds, praying that I am not about to die. Finally, after what feels like forever, I reach the bottom and bounce back up. I feel weightless as I bounce up and down. Then, I notice how silent it is. The music from above is completely gone and the only thing I can hear is my own breathing. Looking across the valley, there is only forest and trees and it is so peaceful. It feels like you are the only person for miles. I look down. Big mistake. Even though I had already fallen, I was still 10 meters or so from the ground and I was only held together by rope and some velcro. Especially when wriggling my feet did it feel like I could slip out of the rope. But the 100% safety record put me at least slightly at ease. Soon I felt something on my rope and I look up to see someone pulling me up slowly. He puts me upright. And I am lifted up to the platform where I am greeted by cameras recording me as I answer questions about how it felt. Then mum comes over, hugging me and asking how it was. I reply saying that it was one of the best things I'd ever done! I then sit down and watch as Millen gets ready to jump off. He is brought to the edge and I hear the countdown that seems so much faster now that someone else is on the edge. As he falls off, he appears on the screen and we watch as he bounces back up. Before long he too is brought back up and is met with cameras before he joins us just as Arushi gets ready to go. She looks pale as she is brought to the edge. But before she can turn back, she is pushed of the edge. She appears on the screen just as Millen had. She returns to the platform relieved to be on ground again. She comes over, still shocked, but proud of what she has just done. After that, we are allowed to go back. We return on the skybridge, and realise why those who jump don't go on the skybridge, as looking down is enough to put anyone off. A metal mesh cage that sags beneath every step is NOT what you'd want to walk on before a jump. We are greeted on the other end by a proud dad. We make our way back to the office where we can watch the professionally filmed videos. We watch each one, reliving the jump, and after seeing the high quality compared to dad's grainy videos, decided to buy the them.
    We left the bungee jump place feeling proud of ourselves for what we had done. We then drove to the shore at the beginning of several nice walks. But before we could set of, we had to have lunch. We went to a small outdoor cafe. Mum, wanting a small lunch, decided that the best thing for that was a (not so small) salad with a side of 6 oysters. After we had all finished, we set off on the walk. The walk started by a small but beautiful beach. It soon brought us into a forest on a wooden boardwalk which wound through the trees, even passing an outdoor classroom. We saw several dassie, brown, furry creatures that i thought looked like miniature bears. On the boardwalk, we could occasionally catch glimpses of the sea and dad even reckons he saw a whale. Eventually the forest opened up to reveal a cove with 2 suspension connecting where we were to a small beach. The bridges were small compared to where we had just been, but were scenic nonetheless. We crossed the bridges trying to time it so we could cross without other people blocking our way. Underneath the bridges was a group of canoes returning to the cove who waved as we passed. The beach was the final stop on the walk. It had lots of stones and on the side had a rocky hill face perfect for climbing. Soon, however, we had to go back as the tide was coming in and the beach was slowly disappearing. The way back was quite alot easier as we were going down for most of it. We got back to the car, tired and ready to return to the hotel. We returned to our rooms and flopped down onto our beds. Me and Millen had a quick bath each before heading downstairs. We were all getting hungry and so we headed to dinner - a place called Emily Moon that had been recommended by several different websites. Mum had tried to book it for tomorrow - our last day, but they had a wedding tomorrow, so instead we asked for today.
    We left the hotel and arrived in short time. We were shown to our seats, and with high hopes ordered our food. It had great atmosphere, good food although slightly disappointing service. But it was still a good place to eat for a special dinner. Feeling full, tired and ready for bed, we headed back to the hotel to ready up for our final full day in South Africa.    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Amazing vieweven better viewvery tannedsolo photo!

    Day 16 Robberg hike by Millen

    August 9 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Our last full day exploring South Africa, was a slow one. In the nroning, dad treated himself to a massage to ease his shoulder pain, whilst we packed up.

    Fortuantly for us the weather was very promising, so we took the opportunity to go on a hike. We drove to Robberg national park, a peninsula 10 mins away from our hotel. As we began the hike, we opted for the longer 9 km walk which, as we set off, was filled with other tourists. However, as he walked along, there was less and less people as they peeled off to continue on the shorter distance options.

    Although the walk may have been extremely long and tiring, with our water running out, the views and wildlife made up for it. According to dad, there are 2.5 million cape fur seals in the world and 1/3 live here. The bay was a very common place to see great white sharks as the big groups of seal are an almost always guarantee of food, so we kept a look out. The bay is also popular eith surfers, and so we even walked past shark spotters on the lookout.

    The beautiful soft blue hues surrounding us created such a lovely stmosphere, which was somewhat spoilt by the foul smell of seal poo. The walk was tricky, as we had to clamber over rocks, often having to cling on to rope which aided us in some of the steep paths. The hardest part was to the final couple of kilometrers when the tide had moved in and the waves crashing on to our paths. Meaning if we had been delayed by roughly half an hour we may not have been able to cross. Despite the tough walk, when we got back in the car with our hands tightly gripping our hot chocs, we all agreed that it was completley worth it.

    For our final dinner in SA we went to Barringtons, a busy local resturant. There we even got KFC ( a kimchi fried chicken burger), which was definetly the dish of the night. After we were all stuffed from our generous portions we returned home, and fell asleep yet again to Barack Obama's blue planet.    Read more

  • Family of 5 in South Africa
    Goodbye Mr Nelson Mandela

    Day 17 Flying Home by Simi

    August 10 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Sad times. Last morning.. last day in fact ! We had a long day ahead of us. A 1.5 hour drive to George Airport, return the car rental, then an internal 2 hour flight to Jo’Berg, 3 hours transfer before we fly to Zurich and a rather alarmingly short 40 min transfer there to then catch the last flight to to Heathrow . Let’s see if we make that!!

    We had hoped to head to the beach first thing for a swim but the weather was pretty grim… rainy and grey… which at this point rather matched our moods.

    Suppressing our post holiday blues we had a hearty breakfast again… opting for everything going! Well it was the last day of the holidays- we didn’t want to be rude!😂

    We had a bit of time to spare so wandered over to the shops where we purchased biltong for Millen and then started to make the very long journey home.

    It’s been a wonderful holiday where this stunning country has given us so much to ogle at. For four of us the favourite part was the safari.. one of us .. the bungee. Any guesses who that was?

    What are our main takeaways??

    South Africa is like a treasure chest overflowing with adventure, culture, and jaw-dropping views! Whether you’re drawn to the colourful streets of Capetown , playing hide-and-seek with wildlife in Klaseri Reserve or sipping fine wine in Franchhoek this country has it all on offer . From thought provoking
    museums to adrenaline filled activities South Africa is the ultimate playground for every type of traveller and all at a reasonable rate due to the favourable exchange rate! Meals for the 5 of us with wine averaged around £10 per head for dinner and lunch was about half of that. Even the adrenaline activities were reasonably priced . The bungee jump was £60… the highest one in China ( only 20 m higher but about 5 times the cost more at a whopping 400 USD) so seemed a good price point . Travelling in their winter has been incredibly quiet. We very rarely had to book any restaurant / activity . It was almost a little too quiet for me personally but also at the same time we hear in their summer both tourists and locals descend in droves and it’s totally rammed ; prices skyrocket, reservations are hard to come by, parks are packed, and queues are long as well as more of the rural areas being prone to more bugs. So actually their wintertime still works well for visits from people like us.

    I also loved that it’s such a cosmopolitan country with lots of African heritage mixed with Europe and even South Asian. However having said how wonderful this country is. I personally can’t say I totally loved it.

    Why.. because you have to be blind to not see the race divide still.
    South Africans happily talk about someone being “coloured," "black," or "white" The inequality made me feel uncomfortable. I felt very depressed driving next to the informal townships' corrugated metal shacks on our way to spending our tourist pound on fancy food, wine tastings, and pictures of penguins- yes I did freely spend too .. so I now sound hypocritical. … it is a wonderful country with beautiful people of all races … but the race divide does not sit comfortably with me. Everyone we met of higher stature jobs were white. All the tourists were white or Asian. It shouldn’t be like that.

    Anyway wanting to end on a positive note.. thank you South Africa .. you really are a beautiful country with stunning scenery and gorgeous people!    Read more

    Trip end
    August 11, 2025
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