Best,

For the third time in a row, travel specialist Mariëtte provided us with another wonderful travel experience.

This time we had the 15-day trip completely filled out by her since South Africa is very close to her heart.

The Christmas season is very busy in South Africa, but she still made sure we never felt like it was crowded or touristy.

Mariëtte came up with an alternative, very varied route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town.

We left Schiphol Airport on 23/12/22 for Johannesburg where we stayed overnight at the airport.

The next morning we flew to Port Elizabeth where our car was waiting.

We immediately drove the Karoo and were able to enjoy some rugged safaris at high altitudes. Even though we already have dozens of safari trips on our record, this was another very nice experience!

Three nights we stayed at the Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve.

Not much further, we spent 2 nights at the Drostdy Hotel in Graaf-Reinet.

A wonderful stopover where we blissfully enjoyed The Valley of Desolation twice. The sunset was the perfect finale!

Prince Albert was a quiet stopover where we explored Swartberg Pass with a professional guide, 27 km of pure nature with the cliff jumper as the icing on the cake.

In Swellendam we enjoyed the tranquility of the beautiful village and our hotel Schoone Oordt Country House before leaving inland towards the coast. Spotting and being able to capture South Africa's national bird, the Blue Crane with chicks along the way was a kick-ass moment for me as a photographer!

Lekkerwater Beach Lodge at De Hoop was our next destination in De Hoop Nature Reserve. An insane experience on all levels! Culinary delights and super friendly staff. This was allowed to be more than 2 nights. Here we will definitely come back someday to spot the whales.

To finish, we were pampered for another 3 nights super luxurious at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve Lodge in Whale Coast.

South Africa really charmed us and tastes like more!