Travel Butlers African Safari Blog.

Looking for somewhere stunning to get married ? Somewhere not only you, but your guests, will remember for a lifetime ?

Then why not consider celebrating your special day by hosting your wedding ceremony at the luxurious Kurland Country Hotel, located near Plettenberg Bay on the famous Garden Route .

Situated on a beautiful country estate, Kurland are happy to cater for any size of wedding up to a maximum of 30 guests, and you can hire the entire hotel purely for your own use.

You can have your actual wedding ceremony in the gorgeous hotel gardens, and then enjoy your wedding breakfast with your guests in the elegant restaurant, alfresco Courtyard or The Homestead Verandah.

Kurland also offers brides-to-be the services of their in-house wedding planner Marius Barnard, who will ensure everything runs smoothly and is completely stress-free.

Stay for 3 nights for the price of 2 at Fynbos Camp, situated in the 10,000 hectare Gondwana Game Reserve - one of the first and only authentic Big 5 private game reserves in the Western Cape, located 15 km west of Mossel Bay.

The setting is remote yet easily accessible to the Garden Route, with its beautiful beaches and some of the best golf courses in the world, and only 3.5 hours from Cape Town. The area is also well known for its moderate year-round climate.

Safaris in search of the Big 5 are conducted in open game viewing vehicles in the Big 5 malaria-free reserve, and horse-back safaris will be possible in a fenced off area of the reserve.

All meals, local beverages, and 2 game drives per day are included.

Children under 12 years are welcome.

Valid for travel between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010. This offer is only applicable on bookings which are confirmed BEFORE 1st June 2010.

AS us to check availability now !

The famous Outeniqua Choo Tjoe, the steam train that trundles along the Garden Route, will be returning to service on October 19. The train journey was stopped for a while to allow maintenance work to be carried out.

The plans for the new service is that it will be run 3 times a week in the low season, and once a day in the high season.

The new timetable will be published on www.visitmosselbay.co.za as soon as it is published.

Dolphin’s Playground offers you luxury beachfront B&B accommodation, situated just a 50m stroll to the magnificent Robberg Beach in Plettenberg Bay. It is an ideal setting from which to explore the beauty of the Garden Route.

All the rooms are spacious and en-suite, and each one opens onto a magnificent sun deck, which looks down onto the beach.

Enjoy delicious home-cooked breakfasts while dolphins play in the waves below you, or even look out for whales during the whale watching season.

Aquavit is a charming guest house situated in Plettenberg Bay, offering stunning panoramic views of the Tsitsikamma and Outeniqua Mountains and the coastal beaches lapped by the Indian Ocean.

For the real romantics, Aquavit are offering a 3 night special package, including a private helicopter trip to a deserted beach, and overflowing picnic basket.

Click here to read more about this and to ask us to make a booking for you !

The Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa, in Knysna, has won yet another top international accolade.

It has been named Best Overseas Hotel Spa by Condé Nast Traveller magazine, and the award was given out at the annual Readers’ Travel Awards ceremony held in London on Tuesday 2 September 2009. The awards are viewed as one of the most prestigious travel distinctions in the world, and the ceremony was eagerly attended by many leading players in the travel industry.

Pezula also ranks 46th overall in the magazine’s World Top 100 list.

Pezula enjoys a setting that has to be seen to be believed. It nestles in its own golf estate on an exclusive cliff-top retreat, surrounded by an aromatic mantle of Cape coastal fynbos - bushes, trees and wild flowers teeming with birds and insects - while also overlooking a nature reserve, as well as also encompassing a nearby exquisite sheltered beach.

After a game of golf or a walk on a spectacular nature trail, this exceptional hotel is the perfect haven for a stay along South Africa’s beautiful Garden Route.

The annual Pick ’n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival will be held from July 3-12 2009.

The Knysna Oyster Festival is a celebration of sport and the good life, which is held annually in July every year and has established itself as one of the most popular annual events in the Western Cape.

Oysters are, of course, a huge component of the festival and the Knysna Oyster Company, which opened in Knysna in 1949, has been involved in the festival for many years as a major participant and generous sponsor.

More than 100 activities, ranging from cycling, running, bowling, soccer, wine and whisky tastings and gala evenings will take place in the Garden Route town.

The festival will also present a variety of oyster-related events including the annual oyster-shucking (opening) competition, the oyster eating competition and the Pick ’n Pay Oyster & Wine Mardi Gras – an evening of oysters and wine tasting.

The children’s programme will include youth theatre, puppet shows, creative art workshops and a cooking course.

We are delighted to be able to offer 3 nights for the price of 2 for people booking a safari in the malaria-free Lalibela Reserve between 1 November and 31 January (excluding 15 December to 10 January inclusive.).

Lalibela is a 7,500 hectare Big 5 reserve near Port Elizabeth and the Garden Route, and this offer is valid for all new bookings at Lentaba, Tree Tops Lodge and Mark’s Camp.   All meals, drinks (excluding premium wines) and 2 daily game drives are included.

The Daily Mail is reporting that the FA have chosen Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa in Knysna as their preferred base for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Although we are only half way through the qualifying process, accommodation for the World Cup will be hard to come by closer to the time, and England’s decision to pick their training base this early does mean that they have the widest possible range of places still available to them.

Pezula is a beautiful 5* golf resort and Spa just outside the town of Knysna on South Africa’s famous Garden Route.  The resort has 82 spectacular suites (including some of the best we have seen anywhere in the world), a fabulous golf course and excellent Spa facilities.  The resort borders a nature reserve which offer relaxing walks in a beautiful environment, and there is also an exquisite sheltered beach nearby.

From a logistical point of view, Pezula is well placed for the stadium at Port Elizabeth, and the airports at George and Port Elizabeth will give fairly air connections to Cape Town, Johannesburg, and other parts of the country.

One thing which might well surprise the WAGS is that the weather in this part of South Africa during the world cup is likely to be cooler and wetter than across much of the rest of the country…they are unlikely to be spending 8 hours a day by the pool, but there is still plenty to do in the area.

We have added new photos to our pages on a number of popular hotels and guest houses on the Garden Route.

The updated pictures are for:

African Oceans
Augusta Bay
Bay Tree House
Bella Sombra Guest House
Cottage Pie
Fancourt Hotel and Country Club
Fynbos Ridge Cottages
Fynbos Ridge Country House
Ichibi Lodge
Knysna Tonquani Lodge
St James of Knysna
Storms River Mouth Restcamp
The Lodge on the Bay
Wilderness Manor