Everything was perfect and the word to best describe it is ‘MAGICAL’.
The Garden Route was scenic but of all days for it to rain hard it was the day we were driving to Plett and then to PE! Can you believe our luck?! Our first day in Plett was rain driven but we went to the Spa and then to Zinzi and then the next day it cleared up so we went to Birds of Eden, Monkeyland, Emily Moon and then to Central and Robberg Beach… The following day we literally spent the entire morning and afternoon on Lookout Beach (this is the quietest and has small lagoons all over). We then chose to do the Robberg Nature Trail instead of Knysna Heads. There are several roadworks going on the N2 between Knysna and Plett so the drive can take over 1h. We then did the suspension bridge at Tsisikama on our way to PE.
I cannot recommend Dulini Lodge enough – Our ranger Fred is just awesome. He’s young and enthusiastic but has so much knowledge too! WE were also very lucky in that 8 out 12 people staying at the lodge were between 25-35 years old so we had so much fun. Otherwise, everyone else along the way were a lot older than us – this is probably because of the nice places we were staying at.
Mont Rochelle was just blissful… it was pure luxury. One thing to note for the rest of this year is that because of the takeover they could not harvest any white grapes so you can only taste their reds.
La Petite Ferme Guesthouse was good but they don’t pride themselves on their service and so once you get over the fact the reception closes at 18:30 and they don’t serve dinner, you really appreciate it for it is. Mark the owner and winemaker is lovely and I strongly recommend that people do the wine tour at 11:00 if they are doing lunch there. They only do the one tasting and you have to do the tour but it’s great because he talks about the history of the place and you also taste the wine from the barrels.
I wouldn’t recommend Allora – it’s an Italian restaurant in Franschhoek and it’s not great. I liked French Connection and of course the Tasting Room. We LOVED Tokara and Steenberg (Bistro 1682) and the Dinner at Mont Rochelle is superb too. We also managed to get the Chef’s Table at the Test Kitchen but at a push I think we preferred Greenhouse.
Its hard to say what was the highlight because we loved every single moment of this trip but I think the safari was just that little bit more special.