Cape Town itself is an attractive and welcoming city but the various suburbs and the great wine making areas (Constantia, Stellenbosch and Franschoek) are all very close and offer a wide variety of locations and activities. Only slightly further away is the Karoo ( just over two hours drive from Cape Town) which features rugged countryside and a number of private game reserves featuring the ‘big five’ in attractive natural settings.
Highlights included a two ocean’s helicopter flight around Cape Town and Table Mountain, Kistenbosch Park and the Company Gardens in Cape Town and Kalk Bay, Boulders Beach and its penguin and Camps Bay. All of the wine regions are fabulous – Franschoek probably wins on food and being the prettiest town with individual shopping.
The weakness of the Rand today (approximately 24 to the pound) means everything is strikingly inexpensive with petrol at 45p per litre and food and wine typically half the UK price. Eating out was a consistent pleasure with some of the best steak and fresh seafood you can find anywhere.