Plettenberg Bay, South Africa - home of Tsitsikamma forest

After driving through Oudtshoorn we decided that there was no point staying in the town for the sake of it so decided to drive straight to Plettenberg Bay (aka ‘Plett’) after we had done the whole ostrich thing in the morning. (read about that here) 

This was one of my favourite drives so far, purely because  we were driving in the clouds, something I don't recall doing before!

driving the Garden Route in the clouds!!!

Like the other places, Plettenberg bay is a small coastal town, with not that much to do in the centre. The little town reminded me a little of Byron Bay in Australia with its  relaxed  vibe and quite high street, peppered with a few people here and there enjoying an icecream or coffee.

the outskirts of Tsitsikamma 

However, you come to Plett for the scenery, nature and adrenalin filled activities. The surrounding area has so much to offer, from horse riding, sailing, tubing, sky diving, to seeing animals, hiking in the forests and camping..

Oudtshoorn, South Africa - aka ostrich country

Oudtshoorn is famous ostrich land in South Africa, so the only reason I guess why tourists stop here. We stayed at “De Opstal”, the address that was descried on our itinerary from Trailfinders as being “on road R328 towards the Cango Caves, 14km outside Oudtshoorn”, which is  about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Outdshoorn - home of these long legged ugly birds!!!

But it was a quaint lodge with private rooms and balconies overlooking the hillside, with a real homely farm house feel to it. Plus there were little glass jars of homemade cookies dotted about everywhere!    

our room 

cute country feel to the lodge

It was also conveniently located to the ostrich farms. There are loads of theses farms that are sprinkled about in the area, I don’t think you need to go to a particular one, I reckon they are all pretty much the same.

From Stellenbosch (winelands) to Montagu

The next stop of our road trip was Montagu, about a two hour drive from Stellenbosch. In all honesty, there isn’t much to do there – we chose to stop here because it was in between Oudtshoorn, and seeing as we don’t have a car back home so are not used to driving, we didn’t fancy a  5 hour drive. 

the drive  to Montagu

mountain surround the roads!

Whereas Stellenbosch was a small, quaint town, it was catered to tourists, with plenty of restaurant choices that offered good food, amazing backdrop scenery and an old town ambience. For me Montagu on the other hand was just a small town with simple architecture and amenities, nothing too special.

We stayed at the Mimosa Lodge which was perfect for or needs – a massive room with a huge comfy bed, overlooking the mountains. Oh and free dessert wine in a cute vinaigrette bottle.... As if I needed anymore wine though seeing as I had been on a wine tasting tour since 10am, plus sampled some of the local Montagu rose wines at dinner (just the two glasses though).  

our room at Mimosa Lodge 

The morning of our travels to Oudtshoorn we stopped by the Montagu hot springs (aka Avalon Springs). We were expecting little rock pools and hot  springs to be doted amongst the  greenery and hills but turn out it was more of a family day spot – a series of manmade heated outdoor pools, picnic areas and BBQ spots that were crammed to the brim with local kids. 

the rock face at Avalon Springs

more heated pool than hot springs 

I can see why it is popular with locals and families but if you only have a short amount of time on your trip, don’t feel bad about cutting out Montagu. 

X x X


read part one of Cape Town here
read part two of Cape Town hereread about our  amazing  hotel here

Revlon lacquer balm in 105 (nude): review

I have been playing it safe with the make up this holiday to South Africa as the Boy hates too bright a shade of lippy and seeing as it is our honeymoon, I guess I should try and avoid the things he hates. 

Personally i love a deep and dark lip, favouring the pillar box reds and vampy purples. One thing we do agree on in make up though is a nude lip colour and one that I have bee rocking on this trip in particular is the one from Revlon - laquer balmin 105 in "demure reservee".

staple nude colour 

The Winelands, Stellenbosch, South Africa

No trip to South Africa and Cape Town would be complete without a trip to the famous winelands –miles of glorious mountainous landscape and an obscene amount of vineyards and varieties of wine. We were  told that this is the perfect time to come as it was the ‘winelands secret season’… the summer days are just hanging on whilst we turn into Autumn, but there is a cooler taste in the air.

no trip to Cape Town is complete without a wine tour!!!

We arrived at our hotel in Stellenbosch at 9pm and normally booking on for a wine tour for the next day wouldn’t have been an issue. Except tomorrow in our case was Good Friday so no tours were operating on this bank holiday.

Cape Town part two: Table Mountains, Penguins, Seals, Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Point

With only 4 nights in the South African capital, it was a tough game fitting everything in. One of the trips that we decided to do combined the penguins, seals, gardens and cape point. Not normally a fan of tours, this was actually great - small group of 10 and plenty of time to see the attractions plus none of the hassle of navigating our way round!

We went with Ilios who were actually really good at this tour guiding malarkey!

Kirstenbosch gardens

Penguins, seals, Kirstenbosch Gardens and Cape Point

Penguins are one of my favourite animals (along with the slow lorris, ducks and sausage dogs FYI) so no trip to Cape Town was going to be complete without seeing the African penguins at Boulders Bay. We decided to book a tour for this, which turned out to be an all day thing and not just admiring the penguins.

What are the benefits of flaxseeds?!

About three or four years ago I was advised to start incorporating flaxseeds into my diet and ever since have sprinkled a little here and there over my foods. When I first started using flaxseeds, they weren’t really common place but now they are readily available in the high street health shops and feature more and more in recipes and baking.  I know that they are good for you and that they are full of fibre, so I have brought a little tupperware box of them to South Africa with me to sprinkle over my brekkie and salads when we are on the road.

I bought these from Holland & Barraett

But before I went away, flaxseeds had got me thinking….
what is it about the flaxseed that makes it a health food? What are the benefits? Why was I recommended to add it to my diet (my memory doesn’t stretch back that far)?

So I did a little research in my quest to know more about their health benefits…

Camps Bay Retreat Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa

For the start of our adventure, we had four nights in Cape Town. When we left the capital for our twelve day road trip along the garden route, one of the things I was sad to leave was our hotel. Less of a hotel actually and more of boutique B&B set in some lush surroundings, this is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in.

the veranda and gardens overlooking the sea

We stayed at the Camps Bay Retreat, in the laid back beach area of Camps Bay, which we were informed, numerous times, that Camps Bay was the area for the rich and famous! 

one of the lounges  

Cape town part one: city tour, V&A waterfront, shark diving

Last weekend me and the Boy left Heathrow airport, bound for South Africa for a three week epic adventure, starting in Cape Town. We only had 4 nights in Cape Town but I am pleased to say that the place didn’t disappoint! We loved it there.

Friendly people.

Delicious food.

Cheap wine.

Picture worthy scenery.

Camps Bay 

A great start to our honeymoon. 

With such a short time here, we certainly managed to cram a lot in! From shark diving to enjoying the views from cable mountain to generally eating my body weight in great food. 

Camps Bay beach front 

Fake eyelashes from Ardell 101: review

Whilst my natural eye lashes are fairly long, they are few and far between, meaning that even when I curl and mascara them, they aren’t very full or fluttering. Therefore, I rely heavily on my fake eyelashes to ensure my eyes have a bit of character to them! Especially as I wear glasses which I can find "hide" the eyes. 

I don't go away for the night without my fake eyelashes so I have obviously bought a stash with me to South Africa. Just in case I lose one of two of them on my travels! 

these are my go to eye lashes

I have been wearing these fake eyelashes for some time now but they have recently have had quite a few compliments from passer bys so I thought it was best time I blogged about them.