Golf Safari & Cape Town
South Africa – to travel to or journey through?
I first visited South Africa some twenty five years ago and instantly fell in love with the country and its people, and knew I had to go back. And have done so – many times, exploring more widely every time.
Travel to a country often means visiting one location and visiting local sites but South Africa is so immense that you really need to immerse yourself and journey instead. You may not be a ‘road trip’ sort of person, living out of a suitcase, which is where Rovos Rail can bridge the gap – you unpack once and they take you on your journey.
Rovos Golf Safari
A few times each year Rovos offer a 9 day fully inclusive rail journey playing some of the top golf courses in the north-east of the country (and Eswatini). Activities are arranged for non-golfing partners.
The experience starts as soon as you arrive at Rovos Rail’s own station in Pretoria, where you hand your golf clubs to the Golf Pro (who tutors you as necessary), in return for a glass of local fizz, walking the red carpet into the lounge to meet Rohan Vos, the owner and your fellow guests.
Just before boarding you’ll meet your train manager and host who takes you to your accommodation – a luxurious, surprisingly spacious and well equipped Edwardian wood panelled suite – to settle in, before exploring the train.
The train’s facilities include a lounge car with bar, an outside viewing deck and elegant dining cars, where beautifully presented meals are served, all (well, bar breakfast) with paired superb South African wines. Dress is golf casual during the day but more formal at dinner, apart from a couple of themed evenings after which the lounge car rocks into life until the early hours.
The Golf Safari’s routing takes you to the world famous Kruger Park, into Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), down the Indian Ocean coast to Durban, inland to the incredible Drakensberg Mountains and finally to Sun City before returning to Pretoria. Or vice versa.
Your itinerary will see you playing five superb golf courses each with their own special character and challenges. Leopard Creek – the No. 1 course in South Africa with lightning fast greens but take care on the 18th, Royal Swazi – my personal favourite but look out for the 10thand 18th,Durban Country Club – an eclectic and testing mix of dune and parkland but beware the Par 3 12th, Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg – it bites from the start but what a setting and finally Lost City Golf Course in Sun City – care with the wildlife on the 13thand your tee shot on the 14th.
Leopard Creek GC
On returning to Pretoria, your fellow guests and the train staff will be your friends, you’ll have memories in abundance and (tall) stories to tell of putts made and 300 yard (+) drives. You’ll also have covered several thousand kilometres of one of the most amazing countries in Africa – if not the world. And have unpacked just once.
The choice of where to go next is up to you – back to Johannesburg to fly home or as I did, taking an internal flight to Cape Town for a few days of relaxation and/or activity.
Western Cape
I’m really not a city person and wanted to be away from busy locations so stayed in Somerset West – the smallest of the Cape wine regions, about a 45 minute drive away from central Cape Town; an easy hop for a ‘touristy’ day at sites such as the V&A Waterfront, Robben Island and Table Mountain.
The Somerset West area offers great beach walks just a short drive away at the small town of Strand, but it’s real advantage is that it puts you within a 15 minute drive of some superb golf courses. My favourite being DeZalze, situated on the road to Stellenbosch it’s the only course whose greens were so perfect that my group considered taking their shoes off! Try to tee off early as it’ll give you a chance to have lunch at Rust en Vreda and afterwards enjoy a visit to Ernie Els’s winery; his trophy room is incredible! If you’re already ‘golfed’ out then a visit to Dylan Lewis’s Sculpture Garden is a little hidden gem with the most incredible works; but you’ll need to pre-book.
An alternative, if you’re up for a real challenge then go to Pearl Valley, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course close to the wine town of Franschhoek, an easy 40 minute drive from Somerset West. There’s loads of water and well placed bunkers, which can be found far too easily. Again try for an early tee-off and then pop along to La Petite Ferme for lunch on the Franschhoek Pass road; the food is superb, the wine is made on site and the setting is just incredible with the whole of the Franschhoek Valley laid out below you.
If this is your first visit to South Africa.............I’ll wager that you’ll be back.
