Western Cape: The Ski Hut in the Matroosberg Private Nature Reserve burnt down!

The Matroosberg Private Nature Reserve in the the Western Cape in South Africa has announced that its popular Ski Hut burned down during the last weekend. According to a statement on Facebook, the police is currently busy with a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire. The management of the Matroosberg Private Nature Reserve further announced that the Ski Hut will be rebuilt and that they will have something better to offer their guests "after the dust had settled". We'll keep you posted!

The Matroosberg Private Nature Reserve is situated on the working fruit, vegetable and protea farm Erfdeel about 35km outside of Ceres and about two hours from Cape Town. The reserve covers more than 1 000 ha of mountain area, including the Matroosberg Peak, the highest mountain in the Cape Winelands with a height of 2,247 m above sea level.

South Africa: Geelbek Restaurant in West Coast National Park changes opening times in June & July 2023!

South African National Park (SANParks) has announced that the Geelbek Restaurant in the West Coast National Park in the Western Cape in South Africa will only be open on weekends and then closed on weekdays in June 2023 and July 2023. The restaurant will be open again throughout the week in August and September 2023. 

Situated right on the picturesque Langebaan lagoon, the Geelbek Restaurant offers spectacular views of the West Coast National Park and the lagoon. It is surrounded with breathtaking natural vistas of flamingos and other birdlife, with a huge variety of game and wildlife. This Cape Dutch building is a National Monument and was renovated three times since it was first built in 1744.

South Africa: Airlink to launch flights to Malawi!

South African regional carrier Airlink is set to launch flights to Malawi. The airline is planning to operate three weekly flights between OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg and both Kamuzu International Airport (LLW) in Lilongwe and Chileka International Airport (BLZ) in Blantyre from 23 September 2023. Airlink will fly their 37-seat Embraer Regional Jets on both new routes. Malawi becomes the 16th country to be included in Airlink’s route network.

• Johannesburg 11:00 > 13:20 Lilongwe on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays
• Lilongwe 14:10 > 16:35 Johannesburg on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays
• Johannesburg 11:00 > 13:05 Blantyre on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays
• Blantyre 14:15 > 16:35 Johannesburg on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays

online flight booking on TravelComments.com >>

Study: The "Most Beautiful Vineyard in the World" is located in South Africa!

UK-based international specialist tour operator CV Villas recently conducted a study to discover where the world's best holiday destinations for wine lovers are. The study revealed that the best holiday location for wine lovers is France’s Champagne region and that the most beautiful vineyard in the world is actually located in the Western Cape in South Africa. Based on the number of associated hashtags on Instagram, the Boschendal Estate in Franschhoek is the world’s most beautiful vineyard. Founded in 1685, the wine estate is one of the oldes in South Africa. Set in the Drakenstein Valley surrounded by dramatic mountain landscapes, lush gardens and vines, Boschendal's original farmstead complex is now a national monument with a rich and intriguing history of more than 300 years.

The Tokara Winery (#19) in Stellenbosch, Waterkloof (#20) in Sommerset West and the Spier Wine Farm (#30) in Stellenbosch also made it to the list of the 30 most beautiful vineyards in the world! Congratulations!

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Boschendal (@boschendal)

To reveal the world’s most beautiful vineyards, CV Villas sourced a thorough list of 200 wineries from reputable sources and analysed the number of associated hashtags each one currently has on live Instagram posts. The number of hashtags was then sorted from highest to lowest. Those with the most hashtags were named the most beautiful. 

Cape Town: Lion's Head footpath closes temporarily! [update]

update (02 June 2023): The maintenance team has successfully installed a new ladder at Lion's Head. The chains and the second ladder will be replaced before the end of June 2023. The footpath reopens today, 02 June 2023. 

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced that the Lion's Head footpath in Cape Town's Table Mountain National Park will be closed for ladder maintenance from 01 - 02 June 2023. Kindly note that no access will be permitted to the visitors to the top of Lion's Head however, the contour footpath will remain open. 

Lion's Head is a mountain between Table Mountain and Signal Hill in Cape Town. It peaks at 669 metres above sea level. Lion's Head is known for its views of both the city and the Atlantic Seaboard, and the hour-long walk to the top is particularly popular during full moon.

Kruger National Park Calendar - July!

Weather:

• warm to cool days
• cold nights & chilly mornings
• occasional winds
• occasional patches of hot weather
• almost no rain

Temperatures:

• between 9°C - 26°C (Fahrenheit: e.g. 28°C = [(28x9)]/5 + 32 = 82.4°F)
• visit our webcam page for live footage from Kruger National Park!

Landscape:

• water becomes scarce throughout the park
• bush is very dry; almost no leaf cover
• strange-smelling "potato bush" begins flowering

Animal Activity:

• game increasingly concentrated around water
• game spotting usually very good in the South of the park
• north of the park dominated by elephants
• resident raptors breeding
• many weaker aninmals taken by predators

Kruger National Park tours >>
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Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: Park shops with changed opening hours due to stocktaking!

The Regional Communications Manager: Arid Parks at South African National Parks (SANParks), Genevieve Maasdorp, announced in the SANParks - Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park facebook group that stocktaking needs to be performed at all shops in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The operating hours of the shops at Nossob Rest Camp, Mata-Mata Rest Camp and Twee Rivieren Rest Camp will therefore change between 29 May 2023 and 31 May 2023 as follows:

• Nossob Rest Camp: Shop will be open from 07:30 - 09:00 and again from 15:00 - 18:15 on 29 May 2023
• Mata-Mata Rest Camp: Shop will be open from 07:30 - 09:00 and again from 15:00 - 18:15 on 30 May 2023
• Twee Rivieren Rest Camp: Shop will be open from 15:00 - 18:15 on 31 May 2023