16-day self-drive tour of South Africa

Leonie,

We've been back from South Africa for just over a week now, and it's time for a brief recap and some feedback. We had a fantastic time, saw a lot, and experienced a great deal. The two parts of the trip, the game reserve and the wine/culinary tour around Cape Town, are incomparable but both were excellent.

At Naledi, we received excellent and very hospitable care, and saw a lot on the game drives. The highlight was on our last morning, when we saw a leopard kill a warthog from a few metres away. We also tasted a lot of wine and ate very well in Hermanus, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, and Constantia.

Besides the three already booked restaurants, the restaurant at La Motte in Franschhoek also turned out to be highly recommended. You had chosen excellent guesthouses, small, nicely decorated and with a personal touch.

Do we have any comments? Not really much: it would have been helpful if the travel description from Naledi to Hoedspruit airport had mentioned that the airport is located about 5 kilometres past Hoedspruit (coming from Naledi). It's not really signposted in Hoedspruit, and if you weren't paying attention to where the airport was on your way there, you'll have a bit of trouble finding it on your way back.

Furthermore, the Silvermist Lodge was actually a disappointment. On its own, it was a perfectly fine and spacious room, but apparently it hadn't been used for a while: we were given a key at reception, the towels were damp, there was no minibar, and it was completely unclear what food or drinks were available.

On the other hand, it was 20 metres from the entrance to La Colombe. That was by far the best restaurant of the trip. At The TestKitchen, the service had become a bit too self-important, and The Tasting Room was a fantastic experience but more spectacle on the plate than food, so to speak.

All in all, we had a fantastic trip that you really organised to perfection and exactly as we wanted. I'm sending you the most spectacular photo as an attachment.

Kind regards,

G. Bunschoten / C. Brumsen