Best of Cape Town, Cape Winelands and Zimbabwe Safari

Table Mountain proudly stands above the city, an unmissable monument as you journey from the airport to the V & A Waterfront, where your hotel suite has commanding views of the mountain. Take a few steps to the hotel’s restaurant and the Atlantic Ocean shimmers peacefully, enveloping a working harbor of yachts. The surrounding area is pedestrianized and there’s a lot to casually discover, from a 19th-century royal history to the pop-up markets and restaurants of today. The day is at your leisure. After the chauffeured transfer, the guide will provide you with a map of the area along with options of where to go. Chauffeured transport to city destinations within a specified radius from the V & A Waterfront is included in your stay.

What’s Included: airport transfer, accommodation

There’s a classic rule in Cape Town, one that few visitors know about. Visit Table Mountain on the first morning it’s clear, because the tablecloth of clouds and fog can be unpredictable, especially during the afternoons. Choose to ascend by cable car or on foot (a challenging 2-hour hike), and then indulge in the views. The Pacific Ocean stretches out on one side, the Atlantic extends to the other, and two sister peaks dominate the foreground as the city glistens below. It feels like you’re on the edge of the world, this spine of rugged peaks rising out of the oceans like the unruly fingers of a crumbling giant.

From Table Mountain, you descend into the city for a lunch in Gardens, an attractive area of pop-up restaurants and cafes that reflect the city’s cosmopolitan atmosphere. Robben Island lingers off shore and upon your arrival you sense a tragic history of the place where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years. An ex-inmate during the apartheid era leads the tour, footsteps echoing around the stark nothingness of the prison, where Mandela’s tiny old cell sits unchanged. Haunting and poignant, visiting Robben Island creates an even deeper respect for modern South Africa’s founding father. The evening is at your leisure and your guide can provide dinner recommendations and reservations.

What’s Included: accommodation, transfer, tour, breakfast, lunch

In the morning sun, you’re walking past springbok and zebra, guided by a barefooted San bushman. This ancient nomadic tribe are the original gatekeepers to the Cape and !Khwa ttu is a wonderful introduction to their ancestral lifestyle. From here, you can drive to the whitewashed houses of Darling, a classic Afrikaans village with a rich history. Or you can cycle a 12-kilometer rural, mountain bike track that passes the odd wandering herd. First stop at a winery, an elegant introduction to the wines of the Cape and the history of Darling.

Next, lunch at the town’s popular brewery, a great example of how South Africa’s atmosphere encourages small independent businesses to thrive. There are 13 distinctive beers that are produced here and you can sample some or all, while looking out onto the shimmering steel of the production plant. In the heart of Darling, surrounded by the charming dereliction of the train station, is Evita Se Perron, a theater that employed satire and humor to provide laughter during South Africa’s old politics of fear. Pieter-Dirk Uys is the legendary figure beh     ind the theater and he personally guides you around the small apartheid museum, providing a very unique insight into the country’s history. This is a full-day tour and you’ll arrive back in central Cape Town by early evening.

What’s Included: accommodation, tour, breakfast, lunch

The Cape Winelands are landscapes of decadent colors that arouse all the senses. Vines stretch across lower mountain slopes, then drop into a valley dotted with old farmhouses. It’s the centerpiece for South Africa’s relatively unique approach to making and enjoying wine. Travel to La Rioja in Spain and appointments are needed to taste through the Tempranillo wines, the only grape grown on any scale. Visit Burgundy and the only wine you can sample are variations on the famous Pinot Noir. In contrast, the Cape Winelands terroir supports a huge variety of grapes and the focus is on the tasting experience. For two days, you sit on elegant vineyard terraces, sampling a full menu of wines, relaxing into the opulence of the experience.

Your two days in the Winelands are tailored to your tastes; the private guide knows which farms’ flavors best suit your preferences. The Stellenbosch Valley region is a perfect place to start, the best celebration of the region’s viticulture diversity and the original home of Pinotage, the local South African grape. Owner Pieter De Waal leads your first tasting, throwing in stories of his grandfather, the man who first synthesized Pinotage. There’s then time to visit another two or three wineries in the area, before a night of luxurious views of the Stellenbosch Mountain and valley. Lunch is included, and like the vineyards, the guide can present various recommended options dependent on your tastes. For dinner, the guide can provide transport to any restaurant in the Stellenbosch or Franschhoek area.

What’s Included: accommodation, tour, breakfast, lunch

Opulence thrives on either side of the imposing Stellenbosch Berg, the region’s most exclusive vineyards creating wines driven by terroir and reputation. Think lush Chardonnays given 18 months in first-fill French oak barrels, soft Cabernet Sauvignons deliberately kept back before release, the wine Nelson Mandela chose for his Nobel Peace Prize celebration dinner, and Bordeaux-style blends that have become South Africa’s most collectable small-production wines. Many of these farms date to the 17th and 18th centuries, the history etched into the tasting rooms and terraces, the decadence told through wines, lunchtime nibbles, and Relais & Chateaux fine dining. Like yesterday, today’s tour is private and tailored to your preferences.

What’s Included: accommodation, tour, breakfast, lunch

Today’s relaxed morning in the Cape Winelands is a time to lounge around and rest, before the big game safari to come. A direct flight route between Cape Town and Victoria Falls started operating in May 2017, leaving in the mid-afternoon and touching down just in time for a sunset dining cruise on the Zambezi. As you arrive in Zimbabwe, hippos are emerging from the water and baboons are playfully jumping through the trees. Tranquil and enchanting, the cruise provides initial introductions to the big game experience, while maintaining the culinary indulgence you enjoyed at the Cape Winelands. It’s the classic way to start a safari in Zimbabwe.

What’s Included: accommodation, international flight, transfer, breakfast, dinner

The Zambezi River thunders past the crocodiles and the baboons, roaring towards a narrow abyss. Tipping over the edge, it growls louder, a thunderous noise of aggression and intent. The canyon is consumed by spray, water rising in steamy clouds that can be seen as far away as your lodge. Victoria Falls is nature in a stirring mood, the extent of its power best experienced from the walking trail that runs parallel to the precipice. Spray rains down and getting soaked is part of the experience. But for great photos, you need to escape the mist. You continue the experience with a microlight flight, soaring slowly above the lush colors that surround the spectacle. The 360-degree rainbows flitter across the mist, forests and grasslands seem to stretch for eternity, and you gaze down on the divide between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The rest of the day is at your leisure with the option of a sunset cruise.

What’s Included: accommodation, transfer, tour, breakfast, lunch, dinner

An elephant herd wanders past, thick prints left in the dust of the savannah. A lion watches on, its brown-ochre mane reflecting the colors of the land. In the distance, you can see three giraffes, friendly icons along the horizon. Up close, you’re watching a herd of impalas, their pricked-up ears an indication there could be predators nearby. Hwange offers a classic African safari experience and Linkwasha Concession ensures this experience is very private. Fly here from Victoria Falls, touching down onto a landscape that supports over 100 different mammal species. Then explore, game drives following the scent of water to create thrilling moments with the continent’s famous giants. And as the safari continues, you realize that the experience is not about photographing an elephant herd or ticking off a cheetah from your checklist. It’s about the theater that ensues, the drama that exists when wilderness thrives and every animal is battling for survival.

What’s Included: accommodation, transfer, safari, breakfast, lunch, dinner

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