South Africa - Mauritius

South Africa - Mauritius

Being guilty of never wanting a holiday to end, we decided to pair two destinations together to make it feel that little bit longer and also extra special.

Our journey began flying to O.R Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, an airport which we ended up spending

quite a lot of time in! Here we picked up a car to start our drive to Kruger Park. We used Hertz and rented an SUV which we were very impressed with, the car was spotless, spacious and really easy to drive. The beauty of the roads in South Africa is that they are right hand drive, matching the UK which, along with the extra wide roads, made the 5-hour journey not only easy, but actually enjoyable. This part of the holiday I would fully recommend, my wife did the research on the roads before we left and was nervous, understandably after reading too many horror stories. But upon return she along with myself would now choose to do this time and time again, not only is it a much cheaper route to Kruger Park, but it eliminates the stress of yet another flight. We used Google Maps the entire way to map our journey and our car had a USB charge port so we didn’t need to worry about getting lost.

Upon arrival at the gates to Kruger Park (I must recommend you check the gate open/closing times when you travel) we went into the office and paid a very reasonable cost (approx. £10) to access the park for the 4 days. The next hour driving through Kruger Park to our Lodge was the best hour of our entire holiday. We saw Zebras, Giraffe, Elephants, Rhinos and of course the gorgeous Impalas’, known as the McDonalds of the Bush for a couple of reasons, but can be distinguished by the black M shaped markings on their behinds.

With excitement building we went off the main concrete roads onto more dirt tracks to reach Jock Safari Lodge, which blew us away from the moment we stepped into reception. With typically African design the lodge was warm, welcoming and you were made to instantly feel at home. The staff were more than accommodating and when we mentioned it was our honeymoon they offered us a tour of the different areas, including a gorgeous pool overlooking the park itself and restaurant and treetop bar. Following this we made our way to our room, upon arrival there was a bottle of Champagne, chocolates and of course the famous South African Jerky. We stayed in a Suite in the main lodge, one of twelve suites which each offer a private viewing terrace and plunge pool, both of which we regret not taking more advantage off. We expressed how impressed we were with the terrace and joked about sleeping on the amazing bed under the stars. The Lady who showed us around very seriously mentioned we would get bitten alive and this was probably not a wise idea, so we quickly dismissed this dream. 

Meeting at 3.40pm for our first game drive, very excited and raring to go in our Safari gear (all the gear and literally no idea) we headed out on our first game drive. Our driver was very knowledgeable and clearly felt very passionate about his job and Kruger Park. Although our first game drive didn’t showcase all the animals we had seen on our own drive to the lodge, it was very enjoyable and we stopped at sunset for a sundowner of Gin and Tonic listening to Lazarus (our driver) tell us his many stories of his time in the park. 

We spent our first evening dining under the stars in their restaurant, served amazing food (the best we had all holiday) with a couple of glasses (or bottles) of red to compliment we soon felt rather tired. Heading back to our suite we were greeted by a large tent that had been built around the bed on our terrace, which would off have allowed us to sleep under the stars after all. We were so impressed and had it have not been so cold we would certainly have taken advantage. One thing we were surprised about was the dramatic drop in temperature after sunset, we of course had been warned by others experiences but didn’t quite believe it could be possibly turn so cold.

The next three days consisted of the following itinerary;

5am – Wake-up call 5.15am – Coffee and Pastries 5.30am-8.30am – Morning Game Drive 9-10am – Breakfast with our driver 10.30-11.30am – Walking Safari (fully recommended) 1-2.30pm – Lunch on the terrace 3.30pm – Afternoon Tea 4pm – 7.30pm – Evening Game Drive 7.45-8.30pm – Drinks in the treetop bar 8.30pm – Dinner at the restaurant

10pm – Bed (trust me you will go) 

We enjoyed three full days at Jock Safari Lodge and managed to see all the Big 5 and many more. We were even upgraded free of charge to all-inclusive so we could enjoy the wines and local spirits, although we didn’t manage to take advantage of this due to the jam packed adventure we were on. 

On day four we waved goodbye to Jock Safari Lodge and made our way back to Johannesburg, on route we decided to stop at a Nando’s, which we had learnt was actually created in South Africa!

Along the N4 we pulled into what looked like a normal standard service station, only to find (along with everything in South Africa) that it exceeds all expectations. We enjoyed our Nando’s overlooking a waterhole with Zebras, Rhinos and Buffalos an experience again we will never forget.

Recommendations for Kruger Park

- Get an SUV if you plan to self-drive, with a USB port to charge your phone

- DRIVE, such an experience and you save so much money

- 1.5 litres of petrol did us for the return journey so we spent approx. £20

- Take warm clothes for the evening including jumpers and scarves

- Take binoculars if you have them, although you don’t need them, they will certainly add to your experience when your driver points out animals at a distance

We had an overnight stay in the Protea Marriot Hotel at Johannesburg Airport before taking a morning flight to Mauritius on South African Airlines. An airline we haven’t travelled on before but were very impressed with. Spacious, clean and had decent leg room, it made the 4 hour’s journey pleasant, rather than a chore.

About an hour from the airport by taxi we finally arrived in the North West of the island at The Westin Turtle Beach Resort. Upon arrival, and actually throughout our stay, we were treated like royalty!

The hotel is stunning and the staff are so lovely and keen to make your stay enjoyable. We stayed in a Junior Suite with an amazing huge terrace overlooking the adults only pool and sea. The only complaint we can make about this hotel is that the beach and sea isn’t what you dream the Indian Ocean to be. With some parts man made, and large rocks to break waves all the way along, this turned into a pool holiday. As we are normally pool people we didn’t mind, if you are looking for gorgeous views on a sandy beach with sunbed service then this is certainly the place for you, but if you are a keen sea swimmer then I would recommend staying on the east coast of the island. Travelling at the beginning of their winter we did risk the weather, but this was the reason we decided to stay on the west coast, as it is sheltered from the winds and generally receives the best weather. Without disappointment we had only one afternoon of rain and the rest was bright and sunny, allowing us to take advantage of everything this hotel has to offer, including daily Aqua Aerobics and Water Skiing. The hotel has 5 restaurants, 1 of which is a buffet and the other four are Al A carte. 2 open for lunch with great sea views and a good selection of fresh food which never disappointed. In the evening you have a choice of 4 restaurants including the buffet. The other three where included a fantastic Indian restaurant, which was included on our all-inclusive, and then another two. One offering Tapas and Sushi at a small supplement, the other was a French/Mauritian and not included at all, which we didn’t use as we felt it was overpriced.

We had booked as all-inclusive so we did find it annoying that we had to pay a supplement for a lot of the evening dinning, such as themed nights and the Sushi and French/Mauritian restaurants.

On our all-inclusive package it did include local alcohol, which we found was very weak and unfortunately not enjoyable. After speaking to the hotel manager it was quickly resolved and we were offered premium spirits free of charge for the rest of our stay.

All in all, we had an amazing 9-night stay at The Westin, we would recommend it for anyone who isn’t going simply for the beaches and wants to travel during their winter months.

Recommendations

- West coast during winter months has better weather

- Kanyan Indian Restaurant – really good and part of the all inclusive

- Aqua Aerobics with Joe at the main pool every morning 11.30am

- Sunset Bar in Grand Bai – Serves great cocktails at sunset with Ibiza style music

- Cococabana in Grand Bai – great for cocktails and pizza under the stars with live music

- Ask to order a local taxi and don’t use the hotels concierge for this as they massively overcharge

- If you are un-happy with anything do ask to speak to the management as they are so happy to help and they will make sure the problem is resolved.

The decision to pair South African Safari Experience with Mauritian Beach break was certainly the right one. We had the best adventure and yet came back feeling fully relaxed and would certainly recommend to anyone who is considering either destination for their next holiday!