Swellendam to CPT - Activities and Dinner before Late Flight

I always love to play safe particularly on day of departure.

So I would have a leisurely breakfast and head off:

Depending on whether you are travelling during Whale sdeason (June - Oct/Nov) I would stop in Hermans on the way to CPT.
Then I would visit Vergelegen winery and have a nice late lunch there, walk the gardens and maybe sip some wine (attn: zero tolerance policy in SA!) before heading towards CPT Intl. where I would like to be by 19.00hrs in order to return the car and check-in without any hurry.

Happy travels!

SV

Travel period is early January. We will have passed through Hermanus earlier in the trip - but mostly for the Aarde Valley wineries. As you know, usually only an odd whale during January.

Botanic Gardens are a possibility. I want to make two plans. One for good weather and the other for - well, it does rain - even in South Africa.

Of course Jan is not whale season.

In case it's raining you might consider some of the museums in CPT or even V+A mall with all the eateries.

Kirstenbosch Gardens is excellent if you are a "gardener" but also requires good weather.

Early dinner means a restaurant which is not fine dining and which hasn't got dedicated opening times like 12-14/18-22. Even Baia/V+A mall has got dinner times starting at 18.00hrs!
If flying coach you should be at the airport not later than 19.30/20.00hrs which makes having dinner in town difficult..
Flying business should enable you to have an early dinner which leaves you for check-in at around 21.00hrs - not considering any tax refund procedure. The procedure can be done at V+A mall at tax refund but you have to consider sufficient time for producing the items (hand luggage!) at the airport in order to collect the refund.

SV

Bontebok Park just outside of Swellendam is lovely. An even better option is to visit DeHoop Nature Reserve. It is a real find! Bontebok, eland and Cape mountain zebras on one side and the sand dunes. ocean and dolphins on the other side. DeHoop is about 1 hour from Swellendam and it is about 3 hours from Cape Town.

Bontebok is a possibility. I was to DeHoop a few years ago but the family has not been there.

Anyone have any suggestions on where to eat in the visit of the Botanical Gardens?

Always on the road,

I would suggest the following to you.

Start your day by taking Safaridude's great advice of visiting the Bontebok Park. Its a great place and a wonderful to visit this hidden gem that so few know about.

Drive from Swellendam to Ashton, Robertson and then Worcester.

In Worcester I would visit the National Botanical Garden (Succulent Garden). Amazing experience. http://www.sanbi.org/karoo/mainpage.htm

From Worcester I would start driving back to Paarl. I would then suggest that you stop in at Paarl and go to Marc's Mediterranean restaurant for early dinner. http://www.marcsrestaurant.co.za/

The restaurant usually only opens at 18h30 and I estimate that you will be at the venue at 17h30. To accommodate this simply phone the restaurant ahead of time and explain your situation. Rest assured they will accommodate your earlier than normal visit as they are very helpful at this establishment.

You should be finished with dinner at about 19h00 latest. You then can start travelling to the airport which is a 50 minute drive at most. You should be at the airport at 20h00 latest meaning that you will be ready to check in between 2 and 2.5 hours which should be ample before your departure time

The above would be a fantastic day and I recommend it highly. I actually did a similar day touring some folk along this route a couple of months ago and it turned out to be a fabulous experience for all.

In terms of weather I would not be worried about rainy days in January. What could be a problem is wind but then this should not interfere with your game of succulent viewing.

Hope this helps and that you have a great holiday in our wonderful country.

Selwyn Davidowitz
Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Check out Swellendam with the new guys at Augusta de Mist Boutique Retreat. They will make you feel special and won't ask you to check out "on time" if you tell them you have a day to kill. They make great food and have taken the old place to the top 10 in the whole Overberg (according to TripAdvisor anyway). http://www.augustademist.com