South Africa Archives ⋆ The Passenger

April 28, 2024June 29, 2024

Gerald‘s Gift

Gerld's Gift Guesthouse, South River Valley

It was probably the most lovely place I stayed at in South Africa, but I was really happy that satellite-based navigation was already invented when I had to find it. Gerald’s Gift Guest House is perfect if you want to sleep close to the Addo Elephant Park and it is located in the center of a large farm producing citrus fruits. It has the most wonderful garden a hotel can have around its rooms and as it is somehow in no-man’s-land there is also a restaurant just for the guests.

April 27, 2024June 29, 2024

At the woods

Having booked the At the Woods Guesthouse at Storms River brings you to a very special place, a village surrounded by forests of the Tsitsikamma National Park. Clearly designed for tourists, but having its special atmosphere. The At the Woods is a simple but good guesthouse with very nice owners. The rooms have a balcony or access to a terrace, but you need to make sure to hide your food as sometimes baboons get there – which sounds more funny than it is.

April 25, 2024June 29, 2024

Ocean Watch

On a hill above Plettenberg Bay you can find the Ocean Watch Guesthouse and nomen est omen – from its terrace you’ve got amazing views on the beach and can enjoy sunrise as well as sunset. I was even so fortunate that I had this panoramic view from my bed. The guesthouse has just five rooms spread across two levels and a vast amount of shared space: living rooms on both levels and a small pool on the ground level.

April 23, 2024June 29, 2024

Fairy Knowe

It is not only the Fairy Knowe Hotel at Wilderness, it is the Legendary Fairy Knowe Hotel because it is already one hundred years old. You can find this place a little bit outside of the city at the Touwsrivier river and if you’re lucky you’ll get a room with a good view on the water. Watching out of your window or sitting on a bench close to the river you’ll might spot some beautiful birds including the kingfisher.

April 23, 2024June 29, 2024

Swartberg

The Swartberg pass near Oudtshoorn is the most absurd road I’ve ever taken. Stunning views, steep ascents, interesting rock formations and a tiny little bit dangerous. The still unpaved road was created from 1884 to 1888 by Thomas Bain or better said by 200 convicts. It connects the small and the large karoo; the peak of the Swartberg is 1585 meters high. Road conditions are poor but you don’t need to have a four-wheel drive – I did it with a manual-shift VW Polo.

April 22, 2024June 29, 2024

Zeekoe

A bit outside of Oudtshoorn you can find the De Zeekoe Guest Farm, a lovely guest house on farm grounds. It is one of these places I enjoy very much with well-designed rooms, balconies to look out on the surrounding landscape and a nice restaurant and bar. What makes them special is on the one hand that they’re trying to hire locals and use local produce wherever possible.

April 20, 2024June 29, 2024

The Stellenbosch Hotel

Sleeping at the Stellenbosch Hotel means being at the center of action as it is located on Andringa street of Stellenbosch which is filled with good bars and restaurants. On evenings everybody in the small city seems to gather in this street to unwind by having a good glass of wine. The hotel itself has a long-standing history and what I liked about it very much is that you’re directly at the city center but the hotel is an inner courtyard that gives you the chance for some quiet time as well.

April 19, 2024May 20, 2024

Mama Africa

Being at South Africa gives you the great chance to taste different dishes from all of Africa. If you don’t always want to dine at the waterfront of Cape Town you should consider the city center and especially the Long Street when looking out for great food. There you’ll also find Mama Africa, a well-known restaurant serving African food which is easy to spot – because of the nice paintings on the outside.

April 19, 2024May 20, 2024

Bo-Kaap

Between the city center of Cape Town and Signal Hill you can find a special city quarter that is mostly known for its colorful painted houses: Bo-Kaap. It has narrow and steep streets and is obviously not the prime location to built a city quarter on (even though it is really close to the city center); it is the place that the so-called Cape Malays were allowed to settle in. They’re a Muslim group whose ancestors were enslaved by the Dutch East India Company and brought to South Africa.

April 19, 2024May 20, 2024

(Natural) History

The South African Museum was founded in 1825 and is a wild mix of 1,5 million exhibits connected to South Africa. You can learn about regional stone carvings, sharks, land-bound animals, dinosaurs, the life of Nelson Mandela and visit a planetarium connected to the museum. In fact, the South African Museum is a combination of a natural history museum and an archaeology museum which feels a bit odd at the first moment as these types of museums are typically separated in Europe.