Travel
He said, she said: Was a first visit to South Africa a dream holiday for both partners?
“We’re not in Australia any more…” But a strong Aussie dollar and breath-taking scenery helped Carolyn forget her safety concerns and enjoy South Africa as much as Jonathan.
By Carolyn Tate and Jonathan Heim
Jonathan had travelled to South Africa once before for work, and Carolyn was curious, but also hesitant because she’d heard safety could be an issue.
“I’d loved what I saw of South Africa the first time I visited, but I was at a conference and didn’t get much of a chance to explore,” explains Jonathan. “When our friends announced they were getting married in South Africa, I thought it was a great chance to take Carolyn over and experience the country together.”
The pair decided to break up the trip into 3 parts. First they’d stay in Cape Town for 5 nights, before driving 6 hours to the seaside town of Plettenberg Bay, where the wedding was taking place, before ending their trip at Bottlierskop Game Reserve for the full safari experience.
How was Cape Town as a tourist?
Jonathan
Cape Town was loads of fun, I loved it. We stayed on the waterfront, with a full view of Table Mountain from our room, and plenty of action going on all around us. The city is very pretty, and there were lots of cool little restaurants, bars and hotels all around us. It felt really safe too.
We climbed Lion’s Head, the mountain next to Table Mountain, which was a highlight for both of us, I think. We like to be active and experience the outdoors when we travel.
Carolyn
I had read that Cape Town was a beautiful city, but until we got there I didn’t understand just how breathtaking it is. The whole city is dwarfed by Table Mountain and Lion’s Head, and you can see the mountains from everywhere.
We ate very well and the dining scene was fantastic. Our Australian dollars stretched a long way too, so we ate like royalty for a lot less than we could in Australia.
We joined a group that were all attending the same wedding as us and went on a mini bus tour down to the Cape of Good Hope, which was surreal. I feel like we talked about that region so much in school history classes, as the old trade route as well as the way explorers ventured down to the southern hemisphere from Europe, and seeing ostriches and baboons just strolling around there was the first time we really thought, “We’re not in Australia any more!”
Is South Africa good for a beach holiday?
Carolyn
We headed down to Plettenberg Bay, which took us on a beautiful drive along the Garden Route. “Plet” had been described to us as being a bit like the South African version of Byron Bay. It was certainly beautiful, but apart from it being too cold to swim while we were there, there were great white sharks spotted in the water on the days we were there (they have full-time shark spotters who sit at the lookout!), so a dip was definitely not on the cards.
We were also acutely aware of petty crime and safety being an issue there. We rented an apartment through AirBnB and the set of keys we needed to get through all the security doors and gates was so huge, we couldn’t go anywhere without a bag to carry them in.
The wedding we attended was held at a winery, which was the most idyllic spot you can imagine. We kicked on at a club in town afterwards, but nobody was allowed to walk home alone – we all stuck together and made sure everyone got home safe.
Jonathan
Plettenberg Bay is a fun little seaside town; I can see why South Africans love it. It reminded me of some of the smaller towns along the Sunshine Coast but, you know, a bit sharkier.
As an Australian, it’s hard to deal with a beautiful beach that you can’t swim at, but there was this beautiful contrast there between the seaside and the country behind it, and I loved it. Apparently, young people flock to Plet in the summertime and you can see why. It was a lot of fun.
Was a game reserve all you imagined it would be?
Jonathan
The game reserve was probably the highlight of our trip – and it was a trip that had many highlights! Bottlierskop is a smaller, privately owned game reserve and it was amazing. The accommodation was luxurious and phenomenal, but we didn’t spend much time in our room because we were too busy.
We went out on drives twice a day, morning and evening, in an open converted 4-wheel drive with our guide. He was very knowledgeable and interesting, so we learned a lot, and within the first 2 days, we’d seen every type of animal they have on the reserve.
It was incredible to see lions, elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, zebras, rhinos, hippos, springbok and buffalo all up very close. We were 2 metres away from the lions at one point, and the giraffes got so close we could see their long eyelashes!
I have heard in the bigger parks, like Kruger, you can spend a whole day and not see much. So the benefit of being on a smaller private reserve where you can also see they’re really passionate about conservation – it was the best.
Carolyn
It was pretty surreal seeing these enormous animals that we’ve only ever seen in books and on TV just right there in front of us. I felt really safe with our guide so I never felt like we might get eaten, and it was clear they really care about the animals, allowing them to live their lives as naturally as possible while on this reserve. They also have guards to protect the animals against poachers.
It was pretty wild seeing the cheetahs eating one of the antelopes – we were strangely disappointed we just missed the hunt!
Having a super luxe room to retire to was the icing on the cake. I spent a lot of time in a very deep bath and I always appreciated the bottle of water and the little sweet treat on my bedside table each night. Given that we usually live with a house full of teenagers, having someone take care of us like that was wonderful.
How safe did you feel in South Africa?
Carolyn
Going to South AfricaI I was aware that safety could be an issue, and I had friends who loved to tell me horror stories of people who have been victims of violent crimes before we left on our trip. Once we were there, I think I relaxed a bit more because I could see where we were staying was very safe, and there were security personnel everywhere. It’s clearly important to the tourism industry that visitors feel safe there.
It would be naive to think there are no risks, but we did our research, stayed in safe areas, and kept our senses about us, and we were fine.
Jonathan
It is obvious that security is a big issue everywhere you go in South Africa, and you do have to be careful because it can turn bad very quickly. But we spent most of our time in tourist areas and I personally felt safe.
South African friends told us stories of bad crimes, so you do have to be very careful and have your wits about you.
Would you like to go back to South Africa?
Jonathan
Definitely! I don't think I'd live there, but it's a great place to visit. I loved Cape Town and the game reserve, and there's so much more to see. South Africa is a huge country, and we only saw a small fraction of it.
I’d love to visit Durban, and explore other areas over in the east.
Carolyn
I’d never visited an African country before, so this really opened my eyes to a world (or at least, a continent!) of possibilities. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to South Africa, but I’d also love to head north and visit some other African countries. It’s a long flight so I want to make the jetlag worth it.
Either way, we’re definitely not done with Africa yet!
Feature image: Courtesy of Carolyn Tate
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