All posts filed under: South Africa

Zip Lining – A Tree Top Canopy Adventure in South Africa

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I really couldn’t go to Storms River Village in South Africa without trying the Tree Top Canopy Tour in the Tsitsikamma Forest.  It seems to be one of the main activities in the area and best of all, you don’t need any skills to take part!  We booked it well in advance and were staying in the village the night before.  It was only then that I began to think maybe we had made a mistake and that there might be a scary morning in store for us.  Should we chicken out? We decided to go but there were butterflies in the tummy when we arrived at the office of the tour company the next morning.  There were three other people there who would join us on the tour.  There were three guides allocated to us also, one of whom was recording the event and we were going to purchase a dvd afterwards.  We were given a briefing of what was to follow and shown the equipment etc, then we signed on the dotted line and went to get …

My visit to the Magic of Bubbles Festival 2010, Franschhoek, South Africa

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Life through a glass of Bubbles! Franschhoek (French Corner) is a gorgeous foodie village set in the heart of the Western Cape winelands and easily accessible from Cape Town.  It is known as The Gourmet Capital of South Africa and is home to many wonderful restaurants (including Le Quartier Francais, recently awarded 36th place in the Worlds Top 50 restaurants).  The village is also surrounded by some fantastic vineyards which dot the spectacular mountains around the village. The Franschhoek Magic of Bubbles 2010 fell on the first weekend in December with the Sunday coinciding with our departure back to cold Ireland.  What better way could there be to spend our last day than sipping bubbles in the warm sunshine of beautiful Franschhoek? The South African produced sparkling wine is called MCC – Methode Cap Classique.  The quality is generally very good indeed; on a par with most champagnes and, I would say, better than the majority of the prosecco and cava that is available on the Irish market. In South Africa, a bottle of good MCC will retail from the equivalent of about e10 making it an …

A (dangerous) walk with Cheetahs!

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I love cats. My last trip (Nov 2010) to South Africa included a 4 night stay along the Garden Route – 1 night in Storms River and 3 in Plettenberg Bay, a thoroughly beautiful section of the Garden Route.  When I discovered a wildcat sanctuary close to Plettenberg Bay, Tenikwa, I knew I had to visit and booked a Sunrise Walk with Cheetahs for myself and my friend.  I was really looking forward to this activity as one of the highlights of an overall 16 day trip to South Africa. We arrived early on a beautiful sunny morning and after a cup of tea were led out to walk the cheetahs.  There were two guides, two cheetahs and a group of about 7 tourists in all. The male cheetah, Chester, appeared a bit agitated from the outset and took a paw swipe at one of the guides early on, but this was laughed off by them with a gentle chastise. The female cheetah was much more placid and we enjoyed walking her (on a lead) and …