Over 4000km road trip around South Africa exploring the Karoo, Cape Town, Durban and Drakensburg. Amazing to see the different landscapes that we have in this beautiful country. We made some of the best memories on this road trip.
The Karoo
Its a semi natural region of desert South Africa a place of great heat, great floods, and great droughts. We spent a few weeks traveling around with family from the capital city, Johannesburg through the Karoo down to Cape town, from there Jerome and I did a solo tour to Durban and then Drakensburg before heading back.
Experience-
We left the city on a smoggy morning just as the sun was about to rise. Our first stop was Karoo Gariep Nature Reserve where the Karoo Hippo Project takes place. It is a project introduced to increase and protect the Hippo population in the Gariep dam.
We got to see the amazing farm where we fed the lambs, went on a game drive and cooked on the fire. We particularly enjoyed the love and care given to the animals on the farm here. The spacious wooden cabin was the perfect place to start off our journey around South Africa.
The second place we stayed at while making our way down south was WolveKraal. A far-out farm house in the middle of the Karoo desert with jackals and meercat and a sense of wild among the silence. We watched the sunset on top of the hill before making our way back to start a fire and relax under the stars. It was a lovely place to let go and connect with nature and life. We ended up staying an extra night here to fully enjoy the escape from everything. It’s kitted out with all the essentials but you feel as though you are secluded in the vast baron land.
As we continue on our road trip we came across the most beautiful rock formations in the mountains before arriving at our luxury tenting spot in Montegu. The most intricate yet simple design of the Tipi that originated from the Indians had us in awe.
All four of us comfortably fit into the space around the Tipi with a fire pit in the center. We had a simple yet perfect outside kitchen area and a fire pit to make ourselves at home. This eco-friendly, off the grid getaway aims to ensure a lighter footprint on mother earth.
Cape Town-
We hit the road eager to arrive in the beautiful Cape Town. We stayed in the city for a week, meeting up with friends, getting our dance on in the club and of course climbing the iconic Table Mountain. It truly is an energy hub, whether you standing at the top of the mountain and look over the city or standing at in the city looking up at the mountain. Table Mountain is a mere 1085 meters above sea level with the best view of the South African land that comes to an end. It definitely is a must-do if you are in Cape Town and there are many different ways to the top, you can even take a cable car if you are unable to hike up.
The next week we spent at Gordons Bay and travelled around the area for wine tasting at Zevenwacht, Rust en Vrede wine farms and evening drinks at Thirsty Scarecrow. It was quality family time. It was Odette’s brother’s wedding at a venue called Verde en Lust in Franschoek and was really a memorable time spent with the ones we love. It was very special because the family seems to be split all over the world and it felt like magic to have us all in one place together.
Durban-
Jerome and I decided to do a detour to KwaZulu Natal before heading back up North. We enjoyed the beach at Beach Bums which is located on the beach in Durban. Its lovely to kick off your shoes, bury your feet in the sand and stare at the waves as you sip your cocktail.
We loved the gorge hike at Kraanskloof Nature Reserve with our cousins, it was a beautiful summers day hike. We walked past some Zebra and I decided to get a little closer and couldn’t believe how tame they were. We loved dipping our feet in the ice-cold water at the bottom, it was so refreshing.
My cousin took us to see an old abandoned farm house that has the most remarkable lookout point of the Outer West Durban area. It’s said to be one of the first farms houses in the area and now stands empty and decorated with graffiti.
We also enjoyed a morning at the Shongweni famers markets in Hillcrest with the family, eating delicious vegan snacks. Lucky for us we had another great nature view looking at a waterfall in the distance while enjoying the music and atmosphere. Nature and family is the best combination to ensure a good time.
Drakensburg-
Our last stop, is one of my favorite places on earth. The beautiful Drakensburg, in all its glory, remains one of South Africa's most unadulterated regions.
The Drakensberg escarpment stretches for over 1,000 kilometers and has around 20,000 individual rock paintings recorded at 500 different caves and overhanging sites between the Drakensberg Royal Natal National Park and Bushman's Nek which is the resort we stayed at. It was situated near the New England Stud farm and we spent much of our time horse riding in the mountains, crossing the border of Lesotho to find more cave paintings and waterfalls. It was like something out of a movie galloping in and along the mountain range on well looked after horses. Our guide, Arron, was such an amazing horseman and this really made our experience at the farm a memorable one.
A week here just flew by, I suppose we were having too much fun in the mountains hiking and horse riding. The setting in the Drakensburg was cold with the tips of the mountains covered in snow, with fields of wild horses that form part of the breeding program here. Drakensberg has between 35,000 and 40,000 works of San rock art.
We love going into nature and there are so many places to explore nature in South Africa. We have so many different landscapes from deserts to lush bush, oceans to forests all just a drive away. South Africa is so beautiful and we feel lucky to have been born there and to have had the opportunity to explore this much of our home land.
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