Client Blog: Linda and Terry's multi-centre adventure in South Africa and Zanzibar

19 hours ago
3 min read

We first discovered Travel Counsellors through a chance conversation with fellow travellers while on holiday in Sri Lanka. Their recommendation led us to Jenny, and we haven't looked back since.

We'd visited South Africa before and absolutely loved it, so a return trip had long been on the cards. There were favourites we wanted to revisit - Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Table Mountain, the wineries around Franschhoek, plus places we'd missed first time round, like the colourful Bo Kaap neighbourhood and Plettenberg Bay.

Jenny designed a brilliant itinerary spanning almost three weeks, with the wonderful addition of Zanzibar at the end to wind down in style. And we finally got to have the trip we'd always promised ourselves...

Getting there

We flew from Manchester to Cape Town via Doha with Qatar Airways, which proved an excellent choice. We'd recommend booking extra leg room seats for each stage - worth every penny on a long journey. And if you're using the VIP lounge at Manchester, go for the 1903 Lounge rather than Aspire or Escape. You can thank us later.

Cape Town

Five nights at the Jardin d'Ebene Boutique Guest House, recommended by Jenny - a calm, welcoming property with a brilliant host full of local knowledge and a great location for exploring the city.

The Hop-On-Hop-Off bus made getting around easy, with a guided walking tour of Bo Kaap included, and Uber worked well for shorter trips.

A real highlight was our pre-booked picnic from Fynkos at Kirstenbosch - beautifully presented, generous, and enjoyed in one of the most stunning settings imaginable.

We also finally made it to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, housed in a converted grain silo. The architecture alone is worth the visit.

We finished with cocktails at The Silo Hotel bar, which will be familiar to fans of the BBC's Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby.

Franschhoek

We collected our hire car and drove to Franschhoek, easy enough as they drive on the same side as us. We stayed at Maison Chablis, a peaceful guest house within walking distance of the town centre.

The wine tram was a fantastic way to visit several vineyards in a relaxed afternoon, and the main street had no shortage of excellent food and drink.

Particular highlights were a picnic at the beautiful Holden Manz Wine Estate and afternoon tea at Le Lude winery.

Buffelsdrift Game Reserve, Oudtshoorn

This was an inspired addition suggested by Jenny and one of the highlights of the whole trip. We stayed in luxury tents within the reserve, with antelope wandering freely around the decks, and meals served overlooking a lake regularly visited by elephants, giraffes and hippos.

The standout experience was the Free Roaming Cheetah Experience, which turned out to be a private tour as we were the only ones booked. Guided by Hailey, we tracked and got up close to two cheetah brothers while learning about the reserve's conservation work, which is linked to the Endangered Wildlife Trust. Remarkable.

Plettenberg Bay

We'd only briefly touched on Plett on our previous visit, so it was wonderful to spend more time there. We returned to Periwinkle Lodge, a guest house we'd loved before, and over two days enjoyed great meals, long beach walks and a hot but rewarding hike through the Plettenberg Nature Reserve.

One note of caution for anyone driving to Port Elizabeth to return a hire car - double check your directions, as our map app took us somewhere completely wrong and rather dubious. We got there in the end, but it was the only stressful moment of the whole trip.

We then took a short flight to Johannesburg and stayed overnight at the City Lodge Airport Hotel which was ideal for our early morning connection to Zanzibar.

Zanzibar

After nearly two weeks exploring South Africa, Zanzibar felt like stepping into a completely different world. We stayed at Sea Cliff Resort, around 50 minutes from the airport - beautiful grounds, excellent facilities and a wonderfully peaceful setting for the final chapter of the trip.

A privately booked walking tour of Stone Town with Imran from Zanzibar Walks was a real highlight - fascinating, insightful and far more rewarding than exploring alone, though getting happily lost in the maze of alleyways has its own appeal.

We also booked a snorkelling excursion through the hotel, which took us far out into the Indian Ocean to a remote sandbank with crystal clear water, vibrant marine life and a freshly prepared beach lunch. Slightly pricey but absolutely worth it.

To finish the trip, I went horse riding through the countryside and into the sea! The stables are right next to the hotel and it was a unique and truly memorable way to end an extraordinary adventure.