Travel Butlers African Safari Blog.

As our current photo competition begins to draw to a close (last day for entries is 31st May), we have been looking through the entries and began to think about the difficult task of judging the winners of the cases of wine supplied by SA Wines Online.

There are a number of outstanding photos taken from many different parts of the region, and as you might expect there are many fantastic photos of wildlife taken in different areas.  One of the questions we are most frequently asked is “what will we see on safari?”, and whilst it is impossible to guarantee any sightings (these are wild animals after all) the links below will take you through to some of the guest photos we have received from visitors to two of the most popular game reserves:

Sabi Sand Reserve (Greater Kruger)
Shamwari Game Reserve (Eastern Cape)

The Table Mountain Cableway in Cape Town will be closed for its Annual Maintenance from 14 July 2008 until the 03 August 2008. 

Visitors wanting to get to the top of the mountain at this time will have to do one of the popular hikes, many of which can be done without a guide.  Not surprisingly, it is a long slog to the top, and you should allow yourself plenty of time to get up and back down again - anything up to 6 hours if you also want to spend some time at the top.

The Cable Car will be running again from 04 th August.

THE Mount Nelson Hotel has officially opened its new spa, the Librisa Spa. The development has been housed in 6 Victorian buildings on the edge of the hotel’s property.

The spa has 8 treatment rooms, 4 of which have been equipped for couples. The spa also has a manicure and pedicure room, garden conservatory relaxation area, sauna and steam bath, and hot and cold plunge pools.

Treatments on offer include massages, wraps, facials, waxing, manicures and pedicures.

There will also be treatments aimed at men, teenagers and children.

The early Easter this year means that the contrast between weather in South Africa and the UK over the holiday period is even  more marked than usual.

Whilst much of the UK is forecast to have a cold-snap over the Easter weekend, Cape Town is set to see clear skies and temperatures of up to 29°c over the next 5 days.

The picture is the same over the rest of the country, with Kruger seeing some showers today but then turning dry with plenty of clear skies and temperatures up to 30°c over the weekend.

With the tourist exchange rates for the Rand currently floating around the R15.00 = £1.00, sunny skies and some places still reporting late availability, it might not be too late to book a short notice getaway to South Africa this Easter.

With tourist rates for the South African Rand now appearing to have stabilised (at least for the moment) at around R14.5 = £1.00, visiting South Africa has become even better value.

The Rand is a very volatile currency, however at the time of writing the rate is R14.65=£1.00, and this compares to an average of R13.50=£1.00 in 2007, R11.45 = R1.00 in March 2006, and R10.60=£1.00 in March 2005.

So what does this mean for visitors to South Africa? Well, a 5 night stay for 2 people at the fabulous Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town would cost R13400 in May - that is £915 at today’s exchange rate, but would have been £1264 at the March 2005 exchange rate - a saving of £349!

The same holds true for the safari lodges which also work out to be much cheaper this year compared to previous years. A 3 night stay for 2 people at Exeter Leadwood in the Sabi Sands Reserve would cost R21720 this coming May - that’s around £1483 at the current exchange rate compared with £2049 at the March 2005 rate - a saving of £566, or 27%.

The same holds true for everyplace in South Africa, from the great value guest houses of Cape Town, the Winelands, and the Garden Route, right the way through to the 5* hotels and safari lodges.

There is an argument for saying that there has never been a better time to go to South Africa, and with the low season rates starting in a few weeks time there are certainly some real bargains to be found.

The Cableway Restaurant on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town will be closed for refurbishments for three months from 14 April 2008.

During the closure, visitors can obtain refreshments from the Bistro at the Upper Cable Station.

The luxurious 5* Cape Grace, situated in the heart of Cape Town’s bustling Waterfront area, has won several awards recently.

Firstly, the January 2008 issue of the US Travel + Leisure magazine announced the world’s top 500 hotels as rated by their readers and global team of reporters.  The hotel achieved recognition as the 20th best hotel in the World; as well as the 5th best hotel in Africa/Middle East and the 2nd best city hotel in Africa/Middle East.

Secondly, the Cape Grace won the ‘Best Independent Hotel’ award announced in the January 2008 UK Luxury Travel magazine’s Reader Awards. And lastly, the hotel was selected as one of the top 10 hotels in the ‘Best Luxury in Africa’ category in the 2008 TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards.  Selected by the largest travel community in the world, TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards showcase the hotels who have earned their distinction from those who know them best - the real travellers.

With Cape Town set to bask in baking sunshine this coming weekend (temperatures tomorrow are expected to reach 38°C / 100°F!), we have  added new and updated photos for a number 4* & 5* hotels and guest houses in and around the city.

The updated pictures are for:

Alta Bay
Ambassador Hotel
Atholl House
Atlanticview Villa
Bali Luxury Suites
Bay Reflections
Boulders Beach Lodge
Camps Bay Retreat
Cape Cadogan
Cape Heritage Hotel
Constantia Manor
Lagoon Beach Hotel - Cape Town
Le Vendome
Les Cascades
The Commodore Hotel
The Steenberg Hotel
Tidal Rayz

Travel Butlers are delighted to announce  a photo competition that we are running in association with SA Wines Online where you could win one of 3 cases of South African wine. 

Each year we are sent hundreds of photos by people whose holidays we have helped to organise, and rather than leave them to collect metaphorical dust on a forgotten computer somewhere we have decided that we should share them with visitors to our website and offer prizes for the 3 very best pictures.

The competition is open to anyone who booked their trip through Travel Butlers, and the closing date for entries is 31st May 2008.

Entries will be published on our web site, and we will be judging the competition and notifying the winners in June - the 3 best pictures will each win a mixed case of 6 premium South African Wines with a value of £60.

About SA Wines Online – get a £10 discount on your first order.
Shortlisted as Decanter Online Wine Merchant for 2007, SA Wines Online has the largest range of fine South African wines in the UK. You will find your favourites all in one place and have them delivered directly to your door anywhere in the UK.

Get a £10 discount on your first wine order at: http://www.sawinesonline.co.uk/.