Cape Town.
By feature reporter George Harris.
Happy landing on Cape Town Airport, also known as Cape Town International.
Good to be here. A Mediterranean climate, enviable work-life balance, views to die for and a location that means you go for a scuba dive or safari once your meetings have finished.
There are so many reasons why people love and are seduced by Cape Town.#
The airport is a major gateway for tourism, seeing million of visitors arriving in the city annually.
It will be the third busiest in Africa, coming in behind OR Tambo International Airport and Cairo Airport.
The “Pezula” experience starts.
Located on the southern coast of Africa, nestling in an almost secret location we found one of the most exclusive and extraordinary properties.
That’s our hideaway for a few days. Lovely.
The Pezula Private Castle was awarded as the “Best Property in the World”.
To be honest, a big “yes”, one of the most stunning places to stay in South Africa.
Cape town or better South-Africa is a destination that’s poised to leave you speechless.
To relax and get pampered at Noetzie Beach was amazing, just located near the hotel, cliff-faces and landscapes that don’t know equal.
Our “castle” is provided with five spacious luxury suites, in three different palatial structures, each of them boasting with bprivate terraces overlooking the beach.
To fit your taste, the suite come with fully equipped bars, stacked wih beautiful South Africa’s finest wines. Yummy.
We enjoyed most the lovely Ernie Els wines. Ex golf pro and great winemaker.
The Pezula It has a heated outdoor pool other services provided are helicopter excursions, horse riding, trail blazing, canoeing on the peaceful Noetzie River, golf at the Pezula Championship Course and you can play a few games of tennis at the Field of Dreams.
There are so many things to see if you like to take a look at the outskirts.
Hmm, money don’t matter to me:
Depending on the season you choose or the suites you’d desire the daily prices are not as cheap in the 70’s.
Redefinition of luxury.
We lived like royalties in this residence.
We had the ocean at our doorstep, excellent and very accommodating staff, candles in the bathrooms, oysters at the restaurant and dined on overlooking the ocean, the meals were freshly prepared to taste.
I would like to stay here again. Its worth it.
For dining I would recommend Bree Street. Formerly the domain of mechanics’ shops, this downtown stretch has been recently hosting a culinary renaissance.
Leading the pack is “La Parada” my favourite tapas spot.
The décor is an unabashed ode to Spain, including vintage travel posters and the gilded bust of a bull keeping a watchful eye over communal tables.
The owners lured the Spanish chef Andrés Conde into the kitchen. It’s not every day that an alum of El Bulli lands in their city, so Capetonians have been clamoring to see what he can do.
“I don’t know if people in South Africa know the tapas style, my first job was to make customers understand how to eat.” (Mr. Conde)
While that effort was underway, he updated the menu to reflect a more authentic pan-Spanish ethos.
To encourage sharing, he introduced a huge seafood paella and a three-pound lamb shoulder slow-cooked for 24 hours. The angry potatoes come with more fire now, along with the intensity of smoked paprika. Indeed, smokiness reigns in many dishes, including the vastly improved prawn croquettes.
Some items were not as successful, including a still-average tortilla Española and a woeful attempt at a crema catalana.
But the garlicky calamari with salsa verde were expertly seasoned, and a succulent lamb basted in honey, garlic, mustard and rosemary was a highlight: Spanish flavors daubed on grilled meat reminiscent of the South African braais (barbecues).
Diners shouldn’t anticipate the molecular feats made famous by Mr. Conde’s alma mater: “This is not the language for La Parada,” said the chef, who is sticking to traditional Spanish fare. But that hasn’t dissuaded the crowds, nor has the inconsistent food: La Parada is easily the buzziest restaurant on Cape Town’s buzziest street.
If you are goin from Capetown to Jo’burg, we would recommend Rovos Rail (it will take two days).
Story: As so often happens, it was a combination of influences and events that led to the purchase of the first coach, the start of what would become Rovos Rail. A Wilbur Smith heroine with her own private railway coach, a man called Phil Acutt with a passion for trains and the presence of the Witbank Steam Railway in the coal-mining town where Rohan Vos ran his successful auto spares business, all played a part.
“Rohan has always been obsessed with things mechanical,” remembers Anthea Vos, who has been at his side throughout and has raised a family in and around developing the railway business. “In fact, he started his first business with the capital derived from the sale of a 1940 Packard and a 1928 Austin that he had rebuilt. Rohan was involved in so many ventures, but I didn’t see this one coming.”
In 1985, Rohan and Anthea took up a last-minute invitation on a Magaliesberg train trip for business suppliers. “I became a train widow on that day,” says Anthea. “I sat all dressed up by myself; Rohan spent most of the time in the engine with the driver.
The irony was that we should have seen then how difficult it would be – the train broke down and we were bussed back to town.”
Rovos Rail
The same year, influenced by his friend Phil Acutt’s love of trains and the work done by the Railway Preservation Society in Witbank, Rohan attended an auction to buy a coach or two – the intention was to restore four carriages and hitch them to a South African Railways train as a family caravan. Steam-train enthusiast, Geoff Pethick, was present at the auction and assisted him. “It was the 26th of September – a cold day with rain in the air – and I’d hoped Rohan wasn’t another penniless lunatic with grand ideas,” he recalls. “As we chatted, I quickly realised that here was a man of vision.
Luxury travelling guarantee.
