Hi Natasha,
So sorry for the long time it took me to reply to your last e-mail. Since I´ve been back from Africa everything is upside down. Anyway, I could now finally sit down and write back to you about our experience.
My fiance and I really enjoyed everything! Going on a Safari was a amazing experience, just something one has to do during the life. It was even better than I thought it would be. By lets take it in parts so I don’t miss anything.
First of all, the transfer from Jo´burg to The Kruger area was very good. So organized and on time, it felt like a short trip, even though it took us nearly six hours all the way. When we got to nThambo we really enjoyed our “tents”!!! It was so fun to stay in a place with no walls, almost see through floors… I mean, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! Dream of the nights spent there every time I tell the story to someone. We also would like to thank you for the bottle of wine in the room. Really enjoyed it! The game viewing in nThambo is amazing!
I mean, we got to see all the big five, as well as a cheetahs, leopards, giraffes… On the first night there, a leopard was just outside our room just before dinner!! The rangers and the trackers were absolutely fun and capable, as well as informative. Actually, the game drives there were way better than Kapama. Not only for game viewing (much superior), but for the friendlyness of ranger.
Going from nThambo to Kapama, the game drives were not as fun, but the luxury rooms made up for that. We rested a lot and met very nice staff. The only minor problem was one night we had no hot water in our room and had to wait over two hours before we had another room designated so we could have a shower than. I mean, in a place like that you could expect that the situation had been better taken care of! But after a very severe complaint made by me to the assisting maneger the next day, things were arrenged so we were compensated for that. So, things were even.
I was waiting to get sme pictures of our game drives to send to you with this email, but as I said before, things are caotic right now. I will try to get hold of our pictures next week so I can send you one.
For the rest of our time in Africa, we absolutely loved what we experienced. The road trip from PE to Cape Town was amazing, such a nice way to follow up the safari. We spent one night in the Tsitsikamma Park, which was absolutely fun! The tracks there were amazing, and the time we spent there (one night and the morning after) was enough. Then we parted to Knysna (passing through Plettenberg Bay) where we slept for two nights. In the way, we had lunch in the Bramon Winery, which was probably THE best food we had in the whole of Africa!!!
The ambience was amazing as well. In knysna, we did the boat trip and went to that private beach to have a laid back morning. Very good, but I don´t think I would spend that much time there, probably just sleep one night and leave. The next morning we left to Prince Albert, going through Oudtshoorn. The city was a bit deserted, but the guesthouse we stayed in was the translation of charm (Dennehof Guesthouse), probably the best we stayed in during our whole stay, so romantic! From there we went to Franschhoek – amazing wines there, no need to say. I was so glad I listed to every local I asked about the wineries, because I didn´t like Stellenboch at all! If I ever go back to SA, I will definately stay in Franschhoek again. Then, from there it was time to go to Capetown, where we too had a great time, as expecte
Natasha’s guest stayed at the following establishments:
nThambo Tree Camp in the Kruger Park
Kapama Private Game Reserve in the Kruger Park
