PhindaReserveForest

Client Feedback : Wine Country to Safari Bushveld

Liselle’s guests enjoyed a magical holiday in South Africa, and certainly made the most of their time in the country. Liselle ensured her guests enjoyed the best of what’s on offer in the country. From safari, to wine country and lush forested regions; Kristin and Carter certainly explored the wealth of wonders in South Africa. They stayed at : More Quarters in the trendy part of Cape Town’s city centre, the opulent Majeka House in the heart of the Stellenbosch’s winelands, Simbavati River Lodge in the Kruger’s famous Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, and the sub-tropical Phinda Forest Lodge in a rare sand forest in Kwazulu Natal. 

Here is their feedback : 

Hi Liselle,

We have returned from our absolutely MAGICAL holiday in South Africa, and so I wanted to pass along our thanks and give you our thoughts on everything!  I can’t thank you enough for your expert recommendations.  The trip was absolutely perfect, and I know much of that was due to your recommendations and arrangement so we didn’t need to worry about a thing.  For helping us create the most memorable experience- THANK YOU!

We found South Africa to be an absolutely amazing country, and we know we only scratched the surface.  The hospitality and people were so warm and friendly.  We felt welcomed and at home everywhere we went.  To be made felt comfortable on the opposite side of the world is a pretty remarkable thing.

THE FOOD AND WINE were amazing!  We consider ourselves foodies, enjoying the best food and wine we can find, and South Africa was absolutely wonderful!  Amazing flavors, creative food, locally sourced… amazing.

Some of the specifics of the trip:

More Quarters was a perfect home base for our adventures in Cape Town.  Lovely staff and beautiful accommodations.  It was great to have more space upon arrival.  The location was perfect and we loved being in a more quiet neighborhood instead of downtown or in a more touristy neighborhood.  You NAILED it!  We would not have changed a thing. The car rental was also a breeze, and you were right, driving was fine, expect my husband kept putting the windshield wipers on instead of the turn signal 🙂

More Quarters Hotel in Cape Town More Quarters Hotel in Cape Town Cape town Hotels - More Quarters

Majeka House was also a lovely and quiet stay.  We liked being again in a neighborhood and outside of the touristy downtown.  The interior design was a little quirky, but it was a lovely stay.  We did the Franshoek wine tram one day and had an absolute blast.

Majeka House Stellenbosch Majeka House Dining Majeka House Pool

SIMBAVATI – OH MY!  This absolutely knocked our socks off.  You absolutely understood what we were looking for, and I can’t imagine there being a better fit.  The staff made us feel like family from the moment we arrived.  Every single person knew our name, from the maids to the bartender.  We had a personal butler that attended to us every meal.  The accommodations were amazing- exactly what we were looking for, a touch of camping feel, but really just an amazing room with canvas sides 🙂 We sat outside during the day and read books while warthogs and impala walked by.  The game drives were AMAZING.  The animal viewing was superb, we saw all the Big 5 and then some.  I can’t say enough good things about this place.  An absolute treasure!

Simbavati River Lodge's luxury safari tent disguised in the lush summer bushveld

Phinda Forest Lodge – It was really cool flying into their airstrip (it was a pretty small plane!!!) and then getting a totally different experience in a different area- much more wooded and varied. This felt a little more fancy and you could tell was part of a big company in some ways, so we were really glad we had the experience of Simbavati which felt more authentic.  The animals here felt more wild!  Less used to the game vehicles, but we saw more animals in action/motion because of it. They were a lot harder to see because of the bush, so we again were glad we had the 1st experience, since everything else felt like a bonus.  The sand forest was pretty magical as well, food was excellent and the service very good as well.  It didn’t steal our hearts the way Simbavati did, but we were really happy we did both experiences to see different parts, experience different safaris, and extend our time in the bush.

Phinda Forest Lodge Phinda Reserve Boma Phinda Forest Lodge Phinda Reserve Pool

Overall, i think we had the perfect trip!!  We can’t wait to plan another trip back.  When we do, we hope you are still at Sun Safari, so you can help us once again.

Thanks for all you did- you are very good at what you do and gave us the experience of a lifetime.

All our gratitude,

Kristin & Carter