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SURF 'N SAFARI IN SA
Petra Shepherd
joined Travel Channel for its launch back in 1994. She looks
after our research and works on all original productions. Petra’s
one of the most recognisable faces in the travel industry and
when she’s not on the canapé circuit promoting
the channel, she spends every free moment travelling. She’s
visited over 70 countries and prefers back packing to 5 * luxury,
unless of course it’s in the name of research!
 Here at Travel Channel we broadcast to over 95 different countries and although I haven't been to every single one, I've probably visited about 70% of them. Now I don't mean to set the cat amongst the pigeons but if I had to pick my favourite, the nicest place to live with the most natural wonders, the most stunning beaches, then South Africa would win hands down. You may disagree with me but I've just returned from the Eastern Cape and believe me you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere in Europe, Africa or the Middle East to surpass it.
It was Travel Show time again. May has its run of Travel shows; Pow Wow in the US, Rendez Vous in Canada , you probably caught Gareth's report from Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, and for me it was Indaba in South Africa. It's the largest tourism-marketing event in Africa, now in its 27th year, attracting over 1,600 companies and nearly 11,000 attendees. The theme of this year's show was "Tourism; South Africa's New Gold". South Africa is recognised as one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world. 7.3 million people went there in 2005 and the country hopes to welcome 10 million people in 2010, the year it hosts the World Cup.
Indaba is held in Durban. Not that I had much chance to explore the city. I was too busy "working the floor", sourcing story ideas and being enticed by eager PR people to visit ever more glamorous private game reserves, lodges and hotels. However, regular visitors to this website won't be surprised to hear that I found time to visit Shaka Marine World, a kind of theme park with water rides, dolphin shows and one of the biggest collections of sharks in the Southern Hemisphere.
For those who don't know, South Africa is made up of nine provinces with so much more to offer than just the obvious - Cape Town, the Garden Route and Kruger National Park. Post Indaba I set off to uncover some of the hidden treasures of the country. The Eastern Cape is the second largest province and as I'd already visited the Western Cape, it seemed the logical place to start. It's made up of nine tourist regions, of which I visited three; the Sunday River Valley, home of the mighty elephant and the only place in South Africa where you an see the Big 7 (elephant, lion, rhinoceros, buffalo, leopard, whale, and the great white shark); Frontier Country, and finally the so-called Sunshine Coast with its hundreds of kilometres of unspoilt beaches and the highest number of hours of sunshine in the country. Along the way I also came across "Clover Country" and "Chicory Country", not official regions as such. You could drive in and out in minutes and to be honest, the appropriation of designated titles, all in the name of tourism of course, struck me as a bit desperate. However, there was nothing desperate about the Eastern Cape. Its tag line is "Naturally, South Africa's best" and in terms of what's on offer, it would be hard to disagree.
 My journey started in Port Elizabeth, the province's largest city, and a mere 45 minutes from Elephant House, our first port of call in the Sunday River Valley. The Eastern Cape Tourism Board (our hosts) were keen to showcase the different kinds of accommodation available in their region and Elephant House, 8 km from Addo Elephant National Park certainly set a high standard. The owners Clive and Anne Read have impeccable taste, each of the suites is decorated in a period style with antique Persian carpets and valuable heirlooms. Our group of hardened, cynical travel writers were all sufficiently wowed. There were so many covered terraces that I think I counted more sofas to sit on than there ever could be guests. Special touches included a rolled-up manuscript of "A Bedtime Story from the Bush" left on your bed (mine was "How the Ostrich Got his Long Neck"). My only disappointment was the size of the pool. "Oh, we're building a bigger one" said the ever helpful Clive. I'll definitely be back.
 Elephant House is the perfect location from which to visit Addo Elephant National Park, home to the Big 7 including the stars of the show, elephants. The population has grown from a mere 11 in 1931 to over 400 at present so you'd be very unlucky not to see one. The dozens of elephants we spotted merrily posed for the camera. I used up several rolls of film. Lions were reintroduced to the park in 2003 after an absence of over 100 years. Hunters in the Eastern Cape had shot out the wild population in the late 1800s. Three lion cubs were born in August 2005 and are thriving. The cubs have been seen by many visitors, sadly not us and are never far from the watchful eye of their mother Kamkwa. The other big plus is the fact that the whole of the Eastern Cape is Malaria and Bilharzia free. So it is a perfect destination to take children for their first safari experience and our next stop Amakhala Game Reserve in Frontier Country fitted the bill perfectly.
 60 km east of Port Elizabeth in the direction of Grahamstown, Amakhala Game Reserve is a pioneering conservation project, the result of five farming families working together to form a private game reserve, approximately 6000 hectares in size. There are five independently owned lodges with Leeuwenbosch Country House very much a family focused lodge. It has 2 suites and is in the style of a traditional home. There's a children's programme designed specifically for children under the age of 8 involving visits to a Xhosa village, a mini game drive and nature walks. Instead of the Big 5, children get to look out for the Small 5 - the ant lion, leopard tortoise, rhino beetle, elephant shrew and buffalo weaver.
At Amakhala I opted for a walk through the reserve instead of a game drive, a much needed opportunity to stretch my legs. Following close behind the ranger who was armed with a gun, I was told that if he put is his left hand up, palm open, I would need to stop but if he clenched his hand then I would need to freeze. What's the difference? A freeze would mean literally freezing like a statue and not putting your foot on the ground ie there'd be a snake, lion or cheetah nearby. This was all very exciting and a welcome change from bumping around in the safari jeep for hours on end. We didn't actually see snakes, lions or cheetahs but did get up close to zebra and giraffes.
 One of the rationales behind our trip along the Eastern Cape was to explore the concept of surf 'n safari, the combination of the interior and the coast. This was illustrated at our last stop Kenton on Sea on the Sunshine Coast. The Eastern Cape has 800 km of untouched, pristine coastline with endless sweeps of sandy beaches and magnificent sand dunes backing onto the Indian Ocean. It was probably these vistas that inspired my sweeping comment at the top of this piece, that South Africa really is one of the most stunning places on earth.
At Kenton on Sea we tried another form of accommodation, a bed and breakfast. Bed and breakfast accommodation is becoming increasingly popular throughout South Africa. Number 10 Lands End is a 6 bedroom, 5 bathroom B & B, with massive rooms and unbelievable views of the coastline. It can be booked via www.accommodation-kenton.co.za.
 You can easily combine beach and bush at Kenton on Sea. When you're tired of soaking up the views on the sand, Sibuya Game Reserve is a short distance away. What makes this reserve special is that it's only accessible by boat with the tented accommodation situated right at the water's edge on the banks of the Kariega River.
Living in London, nothing can quite prepare you for the wide-open spaces, the tranquility and beauty of the Eastern Cape. I now feel much better informed about the region and even more enthusiastic for South Africa. My trip to the Eastern Cape was short and I'm sure that many of our South African viewers could add to the experience. Do feel free to E-MAIL ME your tips and recommendations for the region.
Petra travelled to South Africa with South African Airways.
If you've visited South Africa, I'd like to HEAR
FROM YOU
July 2006 |