Ideas for Private Holidays

On my very first trip to South Africa my new manager had one request, I had to experience Rovos Rail.

The rest of the trip I could fill in myself: I decided to do a mixture of budget & luxury travel so I had something to offer to all markets. I started of with a camping trip,  after that my friend and I stumbled upon the platform of Cape Town's Railway station to start our Journey with Rovos Rail. With a huge birdsnest in my hair and rucksack on my back, a butler like gentleman greeted me : "Welcome Miss Dechamps”, and offered me a glass of champagne. I was relieved of my luggage and guided onto a red carpet that led to a small string quartet that was playing beautiful classical tunes. My first thought was that the company I just started working for must be quite important, for them to treat me this way. However, very soon I found out this is exacly the service offered by Rovos Rail: you'll be treated like a King or Queen. Rovos Rail is the South African version of the Orient Express. A beautiful Victorian train that transports you with a blink of an eye into another era. Like being in one of Agatha Christie's Novels. In the evening dressing up is required. An aperitif can be taken in the Panoramic carriage, looking over the vast and beautiful landscapes of Africa, a dream come true. No need to say that the meal was also absolutely delicious.

Rovos Suite

I must say when I got back to my compartment, I was in shock. I had been robbed. My daytime clothes which were on the bed were gone, my camera on the bedside table was gone. I immediately reported it to our "butler" who than followed me to my room and opened some cupboards. All was nicely folded and organised in the cupboards. Ha ha, "of course" I said, as if I just had been a little dazed and confused.

Horseback riding in Kwazulu Natal is an experience that I will never forget. It was late afternoon, the sun was setting, the beautiful colours of Africa were absolutely captivating. Yellow, orange, pink, purple. Sitting high up on a gracious animal, being surrounded by mountains for as far as one can see, unique encounters with wildlife from Impala to giraffes. It literally takes one's breath away. At one stage I even had tears rolling down my cheek feeling so privileged to experience this beauty. The greatness of our planet and the little spec we are in it, sometimes worrying about such futilities in comparison with what's really important. 

The Elephant Coast, just underneath Mozambique, still part of South Africa. Here you find long, pristine beaches. In Season (October till March) the Loggerhead and Leatherback Turtles comes to lay their eggs and hatch in this area. The area is know for excellent Marine Live. I unfortunately didn't have the pleasure yet to experience the region at this wonderful time of the year. On my journey we were 5 in our group. We were staying at Rocktail Bay Lodge. My 4 companions had their PADI degree (International Diving Certificate) except me. That morning they wanted to see what the splendors of the sea had on offer that day. I felt a bit sad because without a degree I only could go out snorkeling. There we went. The boat dropped the divers at a certain spot and I was dropped off a bit further where the snorkeling was apparently better. I felt like the black ducklet on my own.  

Peacefully I paddled in the water, if I didn't have a snorkeling tube in my mouth, I would probably have been whistling away. I saw a few small fish here and there. The water was very pretty and crystal clear. Next blink, it was all dark around me. I was surrounded by 30 cm tall grey fish with yellow & white!  They had beautifully framed, Cleopatra like almond eyes, as if they had been made up with a black eyeliner. I didn't know where to look first  and whether to be scared or not.

There were so many. Next moment, they were gone again. I was soo disappointed. I just didn't have enough time to capture it properly. Before all this could sink in, I felt this soft body pushing against me. My goodness me, it's dolphins!! It's dolphins!! Under me above me, next to me. I'm creating bubbles of excitement all around me and decide to call the others. There the boat goes to fetch then. What a thrill! I honestly didn't know where to look first. What to do, I wanted to touch them, swim with them…. By the time the boat and the divers arrive, the last dolphins jumped in the air as if it was saying goodbye. Before the PADI divers got called out to see the dolphins, they had only seen a big sea eel….ha ha ha Wouw. Who would have thought I would be the "Lucky Fish" :-)

Etosha National Park is so amazing I'm not quite sure how to describe it. When I was there the salt pans were filled with water. This was in May. There was lots of birdlife. The flamingo's strange enough weren't there yet. Maybe they were still to come. The scenery was absolutely magnificent! At Etosha, you find most animals near the waterholes. If my memory serves me well, my incredible experience was at Kalkheuvel waterhole. In a space of a few minutes, we got surrounded by Noah's Arc: Oryx , Impala's, giraffe, a herd of elephant. Absolutely amazing. It was honestly unbelievable as if it was a set up scene, but it wasn't, this was the real thing, in the midst of nature! What a sight!

Arc Of Noah

On my travels through Zambia I stayed at the Lower Zambezi River, the opposite site of the Zimbabwean Mana Pools. Zambia for me is a pure safari destination. For 5 days we were in the bush. When we got to Kulefu - "the faraway place”, located on a permanent channel of the Zambezi it was truly something different.  

The lodge is shaded by massive Winterthorn Acacias. They have only seven spacious tented chalets and a beautiful outdoor communal area with daybeds on the banks of the river. The sand is so white you feel like on a Tropical Island. When time had come to register for the activities, I was honestly not feeling up for yet another game drive. The alternative was fishing. Fishing didn't sound too appealing but at least it was something different which I was craving for.

We took off with small motorised boats and with the captain included we were 4. At first our guide caught some smaller fish and whilst doing that explained how to use a rod. Than it was the time for the real thing. There is no way to write about this. You just have to do it for yourself. You through in your line and the fish were biting like they hadn't had food for days!! Than you need to reel them in. What an excitement!! The whole boat is cheering whilst you are biting of your tongue off trying not to let go. Often the fish were lucky. But we kept on throwing in line after line, giggling, pulling as hard as we could to reel them in and yes! I caught one, a small one, no Tiger Fish I'm afraid but a real Zambezi Chessa. I can't tell you how satisfying it was. We cheered with a glass of wine and the night went on and on till dark, and my fish became bigger and bigger….

Zambezi Chessa

With a couple of friends we decided to do something exciting for the weekend. We drove off to the Hermanus Area, the best area to go Shark Cage Diving! We rented a small cottage where in the evening we had a BBQ and played the game "30 seconds”. Lots of laugher, but that's a different story :-) Most of us went to bed early because we had to be up at the crack of dawn. 

The next day we got into the car and drove a bit further to a little town of Gansbaai. The Shark diving company first gave us an educational briefing on the sharks & taught us some safety rules. Afterwards you get on the boat, get into a diving suit and "action”. For those who wonder: the company I recommend are the founders of the Great White Protection Foundation and members of The Shark Trust and the South African Shark Conservancy, so all eco- friendly. 

First to go were my 2 friends & I. Apparently the researches on our boat had spotted 7 sharks already! Gargles on and hop in the water. The cage is partially in the water partially out of the water. So one basically just takes a big breath of air and uses a snorkel tube to breath. Under the surface of the water there is this quietness and serenity. Being under water is always a bit mystic. We wait... I'm surprise because I'm not scared. With the opening tune of Jaws in the back of our mind we keep on waiting. After not long they arrived.The way these sharks moves smoothly seem peaceful. The water is semi clear.  I need to pull myself down constantly because I'm floating back to the surface.  Nathalie, my friend sticks out her arm and wants to stroke the animal. Anne Christine next to me started making sign languages that she's crazy and shouldn't be doing that. Natalie is not aware of any harm and is so in awe she doesn't even see Anne Christine going crazy. Now I poke her and do the sign language thing. We all burst out laughing which is very uncomfortable when you have a snorkel in your mouth. Bubbles again everywhere and hands and feet pushing the water away to get up up…above the surface the masks went off and we're all gasping for air. What an experience!! All we could say is: "Again, again!"

The three of us shark cage diving

If you have a special occasion to celebrate, Phinda Game Reserve, a beautiful 5 star lodge should be one of your options to consider. My friend and I went in April and stayed in Mountain Lodge (1 of the 6 properties of the Phinda Reserve). Phinda comprises 23 000 hectares (57 000 acres) of prime conservation land. Seven distinct habitats and an abundance of wildlife such as lion, leopard, elephant, black and white rhino, buffalo, 380 bird species. The marine diversity off the nearby coast of Sodwana is said to rival the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The lodge consists of beautifully decorated chalets with all the luxury one can imagine and a private deck with splash pool. We put our bathing suits on and jumped into the refreshing water. With wrap-around views of the spectacular Ubombo Mountains and the South African bushveld below we felt like we were on top of the world. For dinner, we were spoilt with delicious Pan-African cuisine in the boma (outdoor dining area) illuminated by dozens of candles and lanterns. Another fairytale experience and I haven't even mentioned the activities yet.

Cheetah at Phinda

Talk to me, as they says there is a book in every person, I can write a book about my Africa Travels.... I won't bore you with that BUT if your interested in doing something specific or maybe not so specific, send me an email, maybe I've done it or know a lot about it, I'll be happy to share my knowledge with you and organise your trip.