ELF Travel To …

Our last stop in the UAE before heading to South Africa was Abu Dhabi. While Dubai is known for its fast pace and world records, Abu Dhabi is more low-key, with less glitz and a stronger focus on business and culture.

The UAE is made up of seven emirates, and Abu Dhabi is the largest and the capital, home to most government ministries, embassies, and major museums.

As with Dubai, our time in Abu Dhabi was short. We arrived around 3:00 p.m. and left for the airport the following evening at about 9:00 p.m. to wait for our flight to Johannesburg at 2:05 the next morning.

We stayed at Bab Al Qasr Hotel which was right across from Emirates Palace Hotel and close to Etihad Towers, which made getting around easy. The rooms were spacious and the hotel, although modern, had Middle Eastern design touches.

Even with the limited time, we managed to fit in visits to several of the city’s tourist sites.

Emirates Palace Hotel

Emirates Palace, a Mandarin Oriental hotel, is located right by the Corniche, which is Abu Dhabi’s long waterfront promenade that runs along the coast of the Arabian Gulf.

The hotel itself is massive and looks more like a palace than a hotel. What really stands out is the scale of it all—the amount of marble, the huge open spaces, and the manicured gardens.

We were curious what the room rate would be at the Emirates Palace. In February, a standard room runs roughly $730–$790 CAD per night. For comparison, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai—an all-suites hotel often referred to as a “7-star” hotel — comes in at about $3,300–$3,500 CAD per night for a basic suite, or roughly four times the price. It’s hard to imagine paying that much for a single night in a hotel room.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is one of the largest mosques in the world. It was completed in 2007, and can accommodate more than 40,000 worshippers at once. The mosque is renowned for its white marble exterior, impressive domes, and one of the world’s largest hand-knotted carpets in the main prayer hall.

One surprising feature for us was the retail area below the mosque, which includes a fast food court.

While visitors may wear shoes in the mosque courtyard, women are required to cover their hair, wear long sleeves to the wrists, and long pants. These requirements do not apply to men.

Before we headed to the airport, we went to Etihad Towers hotel for a view of Abu Dhabi from the 74th Floor. Very different from Dubai, as there are far fewer high rise buildings.

As our time in the UAE came to an end, we were glad we’d managed to see the Liwa desert, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. Liwa desert was our favourite, and we’re looking forward to heading back into the desert again at the end of our trip.

Next stop Johannesburg for a few days and then off to our Safari in Sabi Sands.

On March 10th, we met up with Karen and Rich at the Cape Town airport and flew together to George. Once we landed, we picked up our rental car—a VW Vivo/Polo. It was a bit of a puzzle trying to fit all our luggage in. Even the fellow at the rental desk looked skeptical. But Karen and I were up for the challenge, and somehow, we made it work! It was a tight squeeze, but luckily the drive to Wilderness was only about 20 minutes, so we weren’t packed in for too long.

We always receive a warm welcome from Ruan and Gerhard at our apartment in Wilderness. Even some belated birthday treats.

Our apartment is walking distance to the beach and restaurants. It is an ideal location for us.

We spent 20 days in Wilderness; it was a fun, activity filled time and we loved it. A big thanks to Rich for being with us the whole time, Karen for joining us for 10 days, and Theresa and Todd for joining in while they were in Wilderness. You all helped make our time in Wilderness special.

We rented kayaks at  Kaaimans River Gorge, which was a short drive from our apartment. We enjoyed a late afternoon paddle.

No trip to Wilderness area is complete without a visit to Knysna Elephant Park, especially when there are two elephant lovers (Karen and Theresa). Although it rained, it was special to spend time with these amazing animals.

Redberry Farm in George not only has delicious strawberries, but it also has a Hedge Maze. The maze consists of seven strawberry stations, a 25m underground tunnel and a look-out point – all found within 10km of pathways. The goal is to find all seven strawberry stations hidden inside and to stamp your maze card with the unique icon at each station – if you get all 7 stamps, you receive a “I came, I saw. I conquered button”. Karen and I challenged Rich, and although we got all stamps, plus some bonus photos, Rich finished first and won the challenge and bragging rights. Larry decided to read his book and relax so he was happy. We celebrated our victory with strawberry waffles.

Rich cooked some amazing meals, including pizza for our dinner with Ruan, Gerhard, Todd and Theresa.

Unfortunately Rich and Larry won most of our euchre games. Now they did get good cards, but we do admit that they planned well.

Fynboshoek Cheese Farm is one of our favorite spots. Located in Tsitsikamma National Park, it’s about a 45-minute drive from Plettenberg Bay. To make the trip easier, we usually combine lunch with a tour led by John Kennedy from Wilderness Express. Along with our usual stops, like Old Nick’s in Plettenberg Bay, John always takes us to places we haven’t explored before.

Lunch at Fancourt Golf Course, George

Sedgefield is well known for its many beautiful mosaic sculptures, which can be found all around the town. These mosaics are part of the Sedgefield Mosaic Art Project, which was started to create jobs and teach new skills to locals who were unemployed. So far, we’ve only seen a few of the more than 70 mosaics found throughout Sedgefield.

St Patrick’s Day Dinner at Joslin’s – steak and fries

Gericke‘s Point in Sedgefield is a little gem more known by the locals. Luckily, Theresa and Todd found out about it from a local and it became one of our favourite beaches.

East Head Cafe and Lookout in Knysna is another one of our favourite spots.

Karen and Rich zip-lining in Mossel Bay.

On an overcast day in Wilderness, we decided to take a drive to Oudtshoorn, through the scenic Outeniqua Mountain pass . We stopped for a pizza lunch and on the way back the skies cleared and we enjoyed the stunning views.

Wild Oats in Sedgefield is a local farmers and food market open every Saturday morning until noon. This was our first time at the market, and we definitely will go again.

Rich’s birthday activities

Paragliding at the View – fun to watch

Ruan and Gerhard introduced us to Rambling Rose Restaurant, Rosie’s latest venture. Rosie, the former owner of Joplins and Rosies in Sedgefield, has brought her famous steak menu to this new spot — and it’s just as perfect as ever. We loved it so much, we went back two nights in a row!

This ends our two months in South Africa – we have so many wonderful memories.

On March 3rd we packed up the car, which was no small task, and headed to our Airbnb in Franschhoek. It is a 1 1/2 hour drive from Constantia.

We once again stayed at De Villiers House which is easy walking distance to town. We love the outdoor area and also the kitchen is well-equipped so we had all breakfasts, and most dinners in.

Franschhoek is a small town in the Cape Winelands and one of the oldest towns in South Africa. It is known for its scenery, superb Cape wines and its restaurants. It is also only 1/2 hour away from Stellenbosch where some of out favourite vineyards are located.

We had some amazing meals at the six vineyards we visited. The scenery in this area is truly stunning.

Jordan Winery: Gary and Kathy Jordan have been making wines since 1993 on a farm with a history stretching back over 300 years. Gary’s parents purchased the 164-hectare Stellenbosch property in 1982 and began an extensive replanting program. The vineyard features two restaurants, and we dined at the casual Cellar Door. With blue skies, stunning views, great food, and wine, shared with good friends, it was an experience that truly couldn’t have been better.

Cape Winelands

Dylan Lewis Gardens: This six-acre sculpture garden at the base of the Stellenbosch mountains showcases more than 60 pieces by Dylan Lewis, an iconic South African sculptor. Although we had been to the gardens before there were new sculptures and the gardens were more lush. We enjoyed meandering through the gardens with our friends, Todd and Theresa and Jan and Michael.

Vriesenhof Winery in Stellenbosch is a small vineyard which is on a neighbouring property to the Dylan Lewis Gardens in Stellenbosch.

Delaire Graff, Stellenbosch has many Dylan Lewis sculptures throughout its property. It is worth visiting even if it is just to enjoy an ice cream cone and the scenery.

Haute Cabriere is our favourite spot for lunch in Franschhoek.

The Ernie Els Wine Estate, named after the famous South-African golfer, is located on the slopes of the Helderberg mountain and therefore has a great view of the valley below.

Rust en Vrede Winery in Stellenbosch is one of our favourite spots for lunch.

The 300-year-old La Motte Wine Farm is situated just outside of Franschhoek.

We were in Franschhoek for 8 sunny days and enjoyed the food, wines and the stunning scenery. Next and final stop is Wilderness.

On February 22nd we flew from Zanzibar to Cape Town, via Johannesburg. We arrived in Cape Town around 10:30 p.m. and took the shuttle to Vrede, an airport hotel. Although a long day, we made all connections and staying close to the Cape Town airport again worked out well.

The next morning, Todd and Theresa picked us up from the hotel, and we made our way to our AirBnB in Constantia, a wine-producing suburb of Cape Town. This was our first time staying at 4 Bel Ombre, though we were familiar with the area. We stayed in a two-bedroom guest house, which had a lovely covered, outdoor area. The guest house was part of a large estate which had a gatehouse, gym, a very large swimming pool, a massage and facial area, a soccer field, and jacuzzis. Charbie, the manager, was wonderful and treated us to crepes and tea bread. There were six dogs on the property, which might sound overwhelming, but they only came over when we called them – we really enjoyed them.

Constantia was a good location as Camps Bay, Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak, and the Constantia wineries were all a short drive away.

Chapman’s Peak Drive is said to be one of the most scenic drives in the world. It winds its way between Hout Bay and Noordhoek on the Atlantic Coast on the south-western tip of South Africa. We travelled on Chapman’s Peak Drive on our way to Simon’s Town to see the penguins.

The African Penguin was once called the Jackass penguin because of the sound it makes (which sounds like a donkey braying). They are small, only growing to 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall.  Boulders Beach (Simon’s Town) is a protected cove that is home to a colony of African penguins. Although we have been to Boulders Beach numerous times, we still enjoy watching the penguins.

We came back via Chapman’s Peak and finished the day with a seafood dinner at Codfather and sunset drink at Twelve Apostles.

While we were in Constantia, we caught up with our friends, Jan and Michael, who had traveled from Vancouver to visit Michael’s family in Cape Town. Jan suggested we visit The Norval Foundation, a contemporary art gallery that focuses on South African and African art. Located in the Constantia Valley, The Norval Foundation has a variety of exhibitions, and there’s also a sculpture garden where we spent some time walking around. The sculptures blend well with the natural surroundings.

Afterward, we headed over to Bistro Sixteen 82 at Steenberg Winery for lunch. The food was excellent, and the setting was perfect for a relaxing afternoon. It was a nice way to enjoy the day with good friends.

The next day we visited Groot Constantia which is South Africa’s oldest wine estate – it has been producing wine since 1685. 

That evening we had dinner at Cellars Hohenhort. We had stayed at Cellars over 20 years ago and it still is a beautiful property (Audrey, it brought back wonderful memories of when we stayed there together).

Although we knew of Muizenberg’s colourful change cabins, we had never visited. Muizenberg is a beach-side suburb of Cape Town and a popular surfing spot.

Lunch at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands is always special. The hotel grounds are beautiful.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, located on the slopes of Table Mountain, is renowned worldwide as one of the seven most spectacular botanical gardens. Our Airbnb, just a 10-minute drive away, made it easy to we attend a sunset concert at the gardens.

Mi Casa have been making music together since 2011, blending soulful “urban jazz”. The crowd was a mix of young and old, locals and tourists, all enjoying the music, food, drinks and a stunning location. It was the perfect way to wrap up our stay in Constantia.

This ends our time in Constantia. Next stop is Franschhoek.