Making a quick break for South Africa

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• Locations:
• Holiday Types: Spa, Safari

• by: Blackcat, Ultratravel
• on: Wed 23 May 2012

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South Africa has many advantages for a quick break: the lack of any appreciable time difference with Western Europe, the upgraded infrastructure after the 2010 World Cup and the value of the Rand (at 12 to the £ prices are still low). It's also a place of epic contrasts, where the spectre of apartheid still hangs in the air and the flight into Johannesburg or Cape Town still features the view of township shacks.

We've been visiting South Africa both on vacation and business for the last 10 years, and as the London nights started drawing in we felt a yen for some fresh spring air. Happily we found availability on SWISS to burn some of our frequent flier miles and in a trice had booked both flights (via Zurich and Jo'burg) and accommodation in Hermanus and Kynsna.

Our three-flights-each-way route (into Cape Town and out of Port Elizabeth) wasn't exactly the most direct, but flying SWISS First Class for the first time was a pleasure: friendly and efficient (in three languages!) with great food and decent champagne (Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle). Stepping off the final South African Airways flight at Cape Town it was also possible to see the benefits of the football: the terminal complex is hugely removed from the old building, and much busier too.

Picking up a car (booked a Golf from Avis but ended up with a rather nice Audi A3 1.8T instead) and hitting the N2 brought us into Hermanus for early evening. We stayed at Whale Rock Lodge for 3 nights: a luxury bed and breakfast just outside the town, but with our room commanding views of the sea and with some decent restaurants within easy reach. The service was impeccable: welcomed with sherry and nibbles (which reappeared each night), great recommendations for eating and a position just close to the cliff path into Hermanus with some of the famed land-based whale watching on the way.

Grabbing my biggest zoom lens (you'll need at least a 300mm lens to get any decent pictures) and my aged but trusty digital SLR we ventured onto the cliff path the next day and strolled towards Hermanus. Given that our arrival was only a few days before the Whale Festival the chances of seeing whales were great, and it was only a few minutes before we saw our first. Sitting silently, watching as these majestic mammals broke the surface, breaching out into the sunshine and falling with a crash into the ocean is frankly an experience which everyone should have. We saw mothers and babies raising their fins to the sun, spy hopping to take in the view and, of course, just lazily swimming, diving and then breaking the surface to blow their distinctive V-shaped spout.

We visited three restaurants, all of which had good food and were good value. The Harbour Rock is within walking distance from Whale Rock Lodge and serves an eclectic mix of sushi, thai and modern South African food; Eat is out of town at the Wine Village and is again of the eclectic type, while Milkwood on Onrus Beach is seafood all the way.

Then off to Knysna: a five hour drive with a break to for lunch on the beach at Mossel Bay. If Knysna is your only (or starting) destination then flights into George (approximately 60km away) are a better bet of course. We stayed four nights at Phantom Forest Eco Reserve, a small lodge with 14 stunningly designed forest treehouses. Our Moroccan Suite looked out over the Knysna River and had a separate sitting area, canopied bed and huge bathroom and shower, both with huge windows for the full forest experience. Each room is completely private, with only the sounds of the birds to break the silence. Although eating out in Kynsna is an option, the drive down from the lodge (only possible in one of Phantom Forest's 4x4s) makes this a slightly unwieldy performance. And in any case, a six course pan-African meal for ZAR290 (about £25) was ample justification for eating in every night. The food is truly spectacular: mussels in Cinzano with a prawn ravioli, celery and apple sorbet as a palate cleanser and locally caught linefish all made an appearance, washed down by some great South African white wines.

At Phantom Forest you can do as much or as little as you want. Mountain biking and canoeing are available on the Knysna River but we chose the less energetic option of the Forest Walk down to the gatehouse (and a lift back up the hill, of course). Overgrown in places, the Forest Walk really does feel close to nature, particularly when we spotted a pair of Common Duiker through the branches. However, nature did get a little too close when we came across a bright green snake at least four feet long with its head raised up inquisitively as we just managed to stop before making the mistake of treading on it. A potentially lethal mistake as it turned out: what we naively took to be some form of grass snake was actually a boomslang (tree snake) which can definitely kill. Still, a few stiff gin and tonics and yet another excellent six course meal seemed to make the memory rather easier to bear.

Other than the Forest Walk, we lazed around on our private deck, wandered up to the Chutzpah Moroccan restaurant (sadly not open during our visit but a stunning space with wonderful views and its own pool) or lazed in the Eyrie lounge gazing over the lagoon to the Knysna heads while sipping our Castle beers. Truly a magical place.

And then time to leave after a 7 night break which found us relaxed, suntanned and with a camera full of memories although sadly no picture of the snake, given that my loud scream and attempt to run in three directions at once took precedence over fiddling with the camera. Leaving early from Phantom Forest meant that we had to forgo the usual great breakfast, but we were provided with a huge packed meal for the road - it's these little touches which make the lodge service some of the best we've ever experienced.

Our flight up from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg gave us a 5 hour wait until the flight home, but SWISS thoughtfully provide an early checkin desk for business and first class passengers. They even gave us passes for two lounges since the Virgin lounge which first class passengers use (one of the great airline lounges) didn't open until a little later. Then it was back home buoyed on a wave of champagne and a good night's sleep.

South Africa for a few days: a great way to relax and recharge. Just watch where you put your feet!

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