While we were at Amakhosi it rained every day, on every drive. One day we returned so soaked, in spite of the rain ponchos and blankets provided in the safari vehicle, my boots took three days to dry out. And, yet the game viewing rewards were such that all the guests, children included, went out drive after drive in the cold and rain.
Our stay at the mysteriously named Ghost Mountain Inn was sorrowfully affected by the weather. It rained more or less constantly during our entire two-night stay. That didn’t seem to dampen the staff’s spirits much. Thanks to their cheerful and can-do attitude we went forward with sightseeing plans and had a pleasant stay.
It was 10:30 on a Sunday night when we first arrived at Asara in the hotel’s VIP vehicle, a new smelling Bentley. Even in my exhausted state (we had been traveling for more than 34 hours) I appreciated the beauty of the car and silently thanked the person who sent such an automotive jewel to collect us at the Cape Town airport. As we arrived at the property all I could think of was a comfortable bed. In spite of my tiredness I noticed the pretty light lined drive leading to the hotel’s main entrance and made a mental note to explore the property the next day.
Named after the Royal Navy vessel HMS Birkenhead, the navy’s largest iron ship in 1852 which carried one hundred and thirty crew members and four hundred and eighty seven soldiers, Birkenhead House stood guard over Walker Bay in the tiny town of Hermanus as if waiting for survivors. We arrived there at midday following a pleasant drive from its sister property La Residence in nearby Franschoek through a mountain pass and along the green rolling hills of South Africa’s wine country. The luxurious boutique hotel was in a residential area of the village known domestically for its outstanding sightings of southern right whales.
Although we had visited Constantia, an upscale Cape Town suburb, a number of times over the years we first heard about Buitenverwachting by chance while dining with a local foodie who mentioned that the restaurant had recently been refurbished. Lady luck was with us: we still had time to visit the restaurant before leaving Cape Town on our way to the Garden Route and the restaurant was able to accommodate us. It turned out Buitenverwachting, meaning “beyond expectation,” exceeded our expectations.
This larger than life family owned small luxury hotel within a farm property in the gourmet village of Franschoek in South Africa’s Winelands was a delight. Someone once told me,
