Somak Holidays Agents Educational Trip to Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Battlefields and Cape Town

Last month Parita and Nishma travelled to South Africa along with some lucky agents, and we had a chat with them to find out more about their trip.

1. How long was your Agents Educational trip to South Africa and how many agents were in the group?

We were in South Africa for 7 nights and we had 6 agents in our group.

2.     What destinations in South Africa did you visit?

We flew into Durban, where we started our trip,  followed by KwaZulu-Natal Battlefields, and our third and final destination was Cape Town

3.     What did your itinerary involve?

On our first day in Durban, we enjoyed a Durban Short City Tour which included travelling along the Golden Mile, going through the City, viewing the majestic City Hall, as well as visiting the small craft harbour to see the 8th largest harbour in the world.

We then went on to the bustling African/Indian Markets at Warwick Triangle, which is home to 9 distinct markets developed around Durban’s largest public transport interchange and where approximately 6,000 street vendors ply their trade, to an average of 460,000 daily commuters. This is such an authentic experience.

The peaceful Durban Botanic Gardens, which were founded in 1849 and which houses trees from Asia, Africa and America, as well as a magnificent orchid house was our penultimate stop, before ending our tour with a visit to an icon of KwaZulu-Natal, the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

On our second day we had an exhilarating full day Shakaland tour where we experienced traditional Zulu culture and customs at the largest Zulu kraal in all of Zululand.

We then moved on to the Battlefields, where we were staying for 2 nights; en route we visited the Nelson Mandela capture site in Howick. The sculpture at the site is a must see which comprises 50 steel columns that are between six and 9.5 metres in height and cover a width of almost 30 metres. These have been cut by laser to form an image of the former president which can be viewed as you walk towards it, representing the long walk to freedom that he took towards his goal of political equality.

The next day we visited the eerie battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, which was where, back in the 19th century, British, Boer and Zulu armies clashed in several bloody encounters. This is a must visit to see the landscape and the remains of the forts, and to learn about what happened here all those decades ago. After experiencing this we then drove through some of the most spectacular scenery in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Our final destination was Cape Town where we had a lovely time on the Cape Peninsula Tour. Here we visited Hout Bay and saw seals, as well as the Cape of Good Hope including the funicular and saw the world-famous penguins at Boulders Beach.

A trip to Franschhoek was a must, where we visited a quaint little vineyard for a tour and tasting. Here you can do a wine tram as well as try coffee in a cone, which is something very unique and different.

Going up Table Mountain and being able to explore the  Victoria & Alfred Waterfront were the final highlights of our time in Cape Town where we had a fun-filled itinerary and a brilliant time.

4.     What activities or tours were the highlights from your trip?

Nishma’s highlights from the trip were visiting the Nelson Mandela capture site in Howick as well as having lunch with incredible views at the Blueberry Cafe. Apparently you can enjoy an amazing cheesecake here! She also particularly enjoyed visiting Franschhoek.

Parita enjoyed going up Table Mountain as well as having dinner at Gold Restaurant in Cape Town which has an African theme with cuisine from different parts of the continent.

5.     Which winelands did you visit and what was your experience like?

We visited the Middelvlei Wine Estate where we enjoyed a Middelvlei Boerebraai and wine blending experience. Highlights included a cellar tour, wine tasting and wine blending.

6.    Did you see any wildlife whilst in South Africa?

We saw adorable seals as well as the famous penguins at Boulders Beach.

7.  Any top recommendations or must do’s for anyone thinking of going to these cities in South Africa?

Cape Town is a must and it is so easy to combine any of our East African Safaris with an extension to Cape Town, or for the more adventurous traveller, combining a safari, gorilla trekking and Cape Town.

If reading about Parita and Nishma’s wonderful trip has inspired you to want to visit South Africa, we would love to work with you to plan the holiday of a lifetime. For more information on how our safari experts can help you, call Somak Holidays today on 020 8423 3000, or visit our website here:

https://www.somak.com/south_africa

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