A one-month itinerary in South Africa: a couple and two young kids.
Written and photographed by Ehud Dahan
January 2023
A Few Words About Us
We’re religious (we keep Shabbat and kosher to Tzohar standards) and traveled with two young kids (aged 5 months and 3) on a month-long trip to South Africa. I’m attaching photos and a description of things I think could help other people plan their next trip.
Week 1: Cape Town
Flights and Car Rental
את הטיסות עשינו עם Turkish והם הפתיעו אותנו ממש לטובה! המטוסים חדישים ויפים והצוות אדיב ונעים. בנוסף הרווחנו תערוכה מגניבה בשדה התעופה של איסטנבול על דיוקנאות של אנשים שהוכנו מחומרים מפתיעים שקשורים לצרכנות ותיירות.
We landed in Cape Town at 12:00. We rented a car from BLUU, which we’d booked in advance. We took the “Toyota Cross” category, and it was just right for us. It cost about 4,700 Israeli shekels (roughly US$1,250) for 22 days. We took a car with an excess waiver plan, which is very reassuring, nobody chases you over trifles afterwards. We arrived at an Airbnb apartment called PepperTree in Sea Point, which later turned out to be not very safe.
Tip from the Check In/Out team: Booking a rental car in advance is recommended and will save you the hassle of comparing prices and looking for a reliable rental agency during your trip. We recommend comparing prices through Paapm Paapm, an Israeli search engine that helps you find cars on reliable rental sites.
We’ve written a whole article with tips for renting a car abroad.
Cape Town
ביום חמישי הלכנו למוזיאון הימי בווטרפרונט והיה נחמד אבל דומה למדי למוזיאון הימי הלאומי בחיפה. ביום שישי היה מזג אוויר מתאים ועלינו להר השולחן ברכבל. ידענו שזה חובה ושדי מבאס לעלות כשמעונן. את הרכב החנינו מיד אחרי התחנה עצמה של הרכבל. טיפ חשוב: לא להאמין למי שמנסה לעצור אתכם בדרך למעלה. אפשר לחנות 100 מטר אחרי התחנה של הרכבל ללא תשלום! אפשר לעלות עם עגלה להר השולחן, אבל למעלה רק המסלול הקצר נגיש.
We bought ready-made kosher food for Shabbat at Checkers. There’s ready-made kosher food in (at least) 3 places in Sea Point: Checkers, Spar and Goldie’s. In my opinion Goldie’s was the tastiest, but all three are good and you can completely rely on them. One of the reasons we chose to stay in Sea Point was the eruv, so on Shabbat we could walk with the baby and get around freely. There’s a map of the eruv on Google (search for Eruv Cape Town). We heated the food on a folding hot plate we brought from home, which was easy and perfect. We also left a pot of water and put a magnet (bring a small, strong magnet and some tape) on the fridge light switch.
Theft Warning in Cape Town
On Shabbat afternoon we went for a walk along the Cape Town promenade, and it was really nice (and very windy). When we came back after Shabbat, a very unpleasant surprise awaited us in the apartment. It turned out people had broken the kitchen window and stolen all our equipment that was in the apartment. We don’t know whether they knew it was Shabbat and that’s why they broke in, or whether it just worked out well for them… but they left with a big haul (a professional camera and two expensive lenses, three phones, a lot of cash and more). We went straight to the police and showed them the thieves’ location (using Find My), but when we got there it turned out they were hiding in a huge apartment hotel, and there was no real way to find them. The police said there was nothing to be done at that hour (it was midnight) and that the equipment was lost.
We went to bed disappointed and frustrated, and in the morning we went to the mall at the Waterfront to buy new phones.
Conclusions:
Lock the windows well, even if you’re only going out for a short time and in daylight. Never leave valuables in the apartment, and don’t rely on the police…
The Cape of Good Hope
Later in the week we drove to the Cape of Good Hope and the penguins. People usually combine these two trips because they’re in the same direction. We started with the Cape of Good Hope, where there’s a short trail to the top with a view of where the oceans meet. About 40 minutes of climbing, very doable with two young kids. There’s a longer trail to the beach that we didn’t do.
ב-14:00 יצאנו משם לכיוון החוף של הפינגווינים. שם מאוד נחמד ויש שתי נקודות תצפית על החוף שרואים בתמונות שם יש הרבה פינגווינים חמודים. אחרי שמיצינו שם יצאנו מהשמורה והלכנו עוד קצת שמאלה לאורך החוף עד שהגענו לכניסה נוספת וצדדית יותר, שם יש כניסה ממש לחוף עם גישה למים ושם ממש היינו עם הפינגווינים בתוך המים וזה היה ממש מגניב. שמענו שבין שתי הנקודות הללו יש עוד חוף ׳סודי׳ מאוד שווה, אבל לא הרגשנו צורך לחפש…
We went to see the seal colony, and it was lovely.
Week 2: On the Way to the Garden Route
(Swellendam and Buff & Fellow farm)
On Thursday we bought ready-made food for the next two Shabbats and fresh meat for the week. On the way to Swellendam we stopped at the Fairview cheese farm, where all the cheeses are kosher, and did a cheese tasting. It was OK. Afterwards we saw that their cheeses are available almost everywhere, so it’s not a must-visit… We arrived in Swellendam at a villa with a particularly authentic country design. We were impressed that despite the age of the place, the house was clean and pleasant, and it also had a nice pool in the yard.
ביום שישי הלכנו לחוות האנטילופות Bontebok אבל היה חם במיוחד ולכן לא ממש הצלחנו לעשות את המסלול. זאת דווקא נראית שמורה מהממת ומוצלחת ורק המזג אוויר המאוד חם היה ממש קשה. בשבת לעומת זאת ירד גשם ברציפות לאורך כל השבת (ללא הפסקה בכלל) ונוסף לכך שאין עירוב – נשארנו בתוך הבית כל השבת והיה קצת מדכא. מזל שביום ראשון ממשיכים הלאה…
Buff & Fellow
On Sunday we set off for the Buff & Fellow farm, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. It was so good! It’s a huge farm with a variety of animals, including buffalo, antelopes, zebras and the star attraction, a pair of rhinos named, of course, Buff & Fellow… The owner is very sweet and will give you a tour of the place at 09:00 (for an extra fee) and then invite you for coffee and breakfast at his home. The accommodation is in well-designed, cool cabins on the shore of a small, pleasant lake in the middle of the farm, and you can go kayaking (on a small scale) on the lake. Each cabin also has a wood-fired hot tub on the lake shore (which you have to operate yourself), which is cool. The place is magical and really, really worth staying at, although I’ll note that on the second night we got a bit bored, there’s nothing to do there for more than 2 nights. Another bonus is that they have a generator, so there are no power cuts at all (load shedding). In hindsight we might have spent Shabbat there and skipped Swellendam.
Week 3: Plettenberg Bay
ביום שלישי נסענו לכיוון פלטנברג. תכננו לעצור במוסל ביי לעשות סקי חולות ואז להמשיך בנסיעה, אבל לא הבנו שצריך להזמין מקום מראש ושזה מתחיל ב-9 בבוקר ואין יותר מאוחר. אז ויתרנו על זה. עצרנו בנייזנה לתצפית וראינו שזו עיירה ממש מגניבה וקצת מזכירה במבנה הטופוגרפי את צפת מבחינת זה שהיא בנויה על צלע של הר ומלאה בעליות חדות אבל היא הרבה הרבה יותר ירוקה וצומחת… אכלנו צהריים בתצפית די משוגעת שם. הגענו בערב לדירת אייר בנב בתוך מתחם שנקרא Castleton שם יש אבטחה וגדר מסביב. כך יכולנו להסתובב במקום בשבת וכן לנצל את המתקנים שהיו להם (בריכה גדולה ובריכה קטנה מעולה לילדים, פינג פונג וסנוקר, מתקנים ועוד). בסהכ מתחם מעולה עם תצפית יפה על פלטנברג.
The Elephant Sanctuary
On Wednesday we went to an elephant park near Plettenberg Bay that has only 5 elephants (don’t confuse it with the one near Knysna), where they let us brush, lead, feed and touch them to really learn about elephant anatomy. We were convinced that the elephants came to them after they truly had no chance of surviving in the wild, and that the staff are kind and sensitive with them. Maybe that’s how we convinced ourselves it’s OK… Either way, the experience of touching an elephant was very powerful.
Robberg Nature Reserve
On Thursday we did the medium trail at Robberg Nature Reserve, and it was amazing!!! The trail is stunning, there’s a viewpoint over a seal colony, and at the end of the medium trail (before you start heading back) there’s a point where you loop around a small peninsula. A magical place. It was the hardest trail we’d done so far (5.5 km), so at some point Roni got tired and I had to carry both kids. It was tough but doable. The beauty of it is that you don’t have to decide which trail to do at the start, you can decide on the way depending on how things are going.
ביום שישי הלכנו לפארק הקופים והציפורים. באנו עם ציפיות נמוכות אבל הופתענו לטובה. הפארק של הקופים הוא יער שמתפרס על כ-120 דונם ויש בו 9 סוגי קופים. במהלך הסיור הולכים ממש בתוך הפארק בין הקופים והמדריך מסביר עליהם. רוני קצת פחדה, אבל בסה”כ הקופים התנהגו יפה. אח”כ המשכנו לפארק הציפורים שלידו. גם שם הולכים ממש בין הציפורים והם יחסית מתקרבות כך שניתן ממש לראות מקרוב את ההתנהגות שלהן.
As for kosher food: we heard there’s a kosher food truck in Plettenberg Bay called Lev’s Mobile Diner, on the beach next to the Beacon Isle hotel. The owner is Jewish and the fish he serves are kosher and fresh, but it turns out he fries them in the same oil as non-kosher meat… What we did find is that Checkers in Plettenberg Bay has a freezer with a Kosher sticker and several kinds of meat, as well as several kinds of kosher fish.
Week 4: Safari at Kariega
Without doubt the highlight of the trip!
We arrived at the reserve on Monday at 12:00, in time for lunch served at 13:30 and a bit of rest before the first game drive at 16:30. We left on Thursday morning after 6 game drives in total.
General Information on the Kariega Safari
אל השמורה הגענו דרך יםבעולם שמעבר ל-10% שקיבלנו על שסגרנו דרכה היתה ממש נחמדה ועזרה לנו מאוד. קרייגה היא שמורה פרטית עצומה (כ-100,000 דונם) ומכילה את 5 הגדולים ועוד. בשמורה ניתן להתארח על בסיס פנסיון מלא בלבד. שמורה מלאה בגבעות ובצמחייה סבוכה וירוקה.
There are game drives twice a day (sunrise and sunset): you drive around in a jeep for about 3 hours and get really close to the animals. We had a very experienced, knowledgeable ranger who knew the reserve inside out, and it was really excellent. We saw active, playing lions, herds of elephants, rhinos, giraffes, buffalo, wildebeest, hundreds of antelopes, gazelles and ibexes, overall it was excellent. There’s also a pool, a gym and a kids’ playroom (with a nanny!), and it’s very suitable for families with children from birth.
We came for 3 nights with two young kids (5 months and 3 years) and really enjoyed it!
Kosher Food on Safari
We’re religious and keep kosher (Rabbinate and Tzohar). We made sure to tell them in advance and said we eat salmon. To our great surprise, when we arrived they already knew exactly what to do for us, knew to ask lots of questions, and understood that every family has its own nuances, and they were really, really, really kind and full of genuine willingness to help and give us food in the best possible way.
In practice, they had many basic products with a kosher mark or that appeared on the Beth Din (BD) list, such as bread, butter, cornflakes, milk, spices, oil and more, as well as some snacks and chocolate.
For meals, they followed precise instructions and prepared lunches and dinners based on vegetables and kosher fish (salmon and some other less tasty kinds whose names I don’t remember…), and breakfast of eggs in dishes we brought them.
They even surprised us with kosher chicken, but you can’t count on that, because people who came after us were disappointed that there wasn’t any.
I’ve attached photos of all the food and some of the animals, in the hope it helps other families decide.
I documented absolutely everything on my daughter’s Instagram account. Look for the highlight called “Kariega”.
On Thursday we drove back to Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), almost two hours away, where we returned the car and flew back to Cape Town from an airport where the distance from the entrance to the gate is a 2-minute walk, the whole process took maybe half an hour.
Wrapping Up in Cape Town
We weren’t sure we’d return to Cape Town, so we hadn’t booked accommodation in advance, assuming we’d find a hotel fairly easily. We realized we really wanted to try getting around without a car, using Uber, because the kids were really suffering from the drives, and we understood that if we also wanted to eat normally, we had no choice but Sea Point.
In practice, we only looked for a place the day before the flight and really couldn’t find one, and we started to panic. Luckily we managed to get in touch with Sigal, the daughter of the owners of the Premier Hotel, which is Israeli-owned, and she was kind and helped us get a room there despite the high demand, even though Booking.com showed no rooms available. In the end we got a double room with two double beds, so it was relatively expensive compared to rooms booked in advance. We paid a total of 18,000 rand for 5 nights. But we were happy because we saw the hotel had a kosher breakfast option. When we asked, though, they told us it would cost an extra 450 rand per kosher breakfast, although they agreed to let us into the hotel breakfast. There were kosher cereals, but nothing more. We were also disappointed that coffee at breakfast cost extra, not much, of course (28 rand), but at every other hotel we stayed at, coffee was part of the meal.
The hotel manager said that on Shabbat they could give us a small room to eat in and set up an urn for us, but in practice that didn’t happen either, we got neither a room nor an urn. We felt we’d dropped in on them out of nowhere and they didn’t know how to handle us as kosher-keeping guests. It was a bit of a shame, but we believe that during the tourist season, when they open the kosher kitchen, things run more smoothly.
Shopping in Cape Town
We went shopping at Canal Walk, a huge mall with lots of brands, as well as some big stores with local brands and excellent prices. We also went to Access Park, an open-air shopping complex. There we found it a bit harder to find good things, but we were only there for two hours, so maybe we missed out.
On Monday morning we climbed Lion’s Head at sunrise. We reached the start of the trail at 04:30 with both kids on our backs and reached the summit at 06:00 after a relatively leisurely climb (let’s just say lots of people overtook us). The trail is completely doable, with 3 ladders that aren’t too high and are very easy to climb. There’s also a section in the middle with chains and pegs, but you can skip it. Halfway along the trail there’s a fork, choose the “recommended way” and the walking is relatively easy (that’s how we came back).
The sunrise was truly a-ma-zing. Very, very worth it! Don’t miss it under any circumstances! Look at the photos…
Getting Around Cape Town Without a Car
By the way, we did everything by Uber. We decided to ride freely, without counting as if we had a car, to see whether it was really worth it. The answer, very much so! Apart from short waiting times (3 to 8 minutes), which supposedly you don’t have with a car, it works completely smoothly. And of course we saved on parking, walking to the car, worrying about tips for car guards, and returning the car. In total we paid 1,900 rand for all 17 rides we took over 5 days (including an average tip of 15 rand per ride).
On Tuesday we got to our flight, but not before stopping at the Tax Refund desk, right at the airport entrance on the left, where we showed receipts for everything we’d bought, we’ll see whether we get anything back. These were receipts as printed in the store, marked “Tax invoice”, and our details didn’t appear on any of them. We didn’t pay attention to a minimum amount per store, and we also submitted receipts for food we took home (lots of Cadbury chocolate and biltong). We were really rushed for the flight, so the clerk glanced briefly at my suitcase and said she’d be nice and take all the receipts from me and handle it herself, but that I had to give her something (!). I left her the 30 rand I had left. Now we’ll wait and see whether we get anything. Feel free to ask me in June what happened…
