TREETOPS, BUSH & BEACH

Starting your honeymoon in Cape Town, you’ll be taken to the Bantry Bay, home to some of the most expensive real estate in Africa. Elevated above the bay with views that will leave even the jaded traveller breathless, the Edwardian mansion Ellerman House is the first of many stunning properties you’ll stay in during your two week trip. The house has statement-making art pieces adoring the walls and floors and there is a gallery in the garden where you can take an iPad self-guided tour to learn about the works. Ellerman House has a small fleet of private vehicles, so when you are ready to head up Table Mountain, walk along the V&A Waterfront or scope out the legendary seafood along Camps Bay and gourmet extravaganza at the Old Biscuit Mill, just let the experienced and helpful concierge know. During your stay, you’ll be taken in a sidecar to the Cape Peninsula for stunning views of the coast, before going on a private food tour of the city, which showcases some of the best gastronomic experiences on offer. Once you’ve toured the streets, meeting the local artisans in Woodstock and Bo-Kaap, and tasted a few superb wines from the Cape Winelands, head to the Ellerman cellar to speak to the sommelier and have an in-house tasting, sampling a few of the 7,500 labels available. If the wedding planning left you a bit stressed, the Ellerman Spa is just the thing, with a colour therapy steam room, large sauna, infinity pool and incredible list of treatments.

Catching a short flight to Plettenberg Bay, you’ll spend two nights on the coastal Garden Route, pottering around the pretty towns, playing golf on scenic and award-winning courses and spotting whales and dolphins from the craggy headlands. Oozing romance from every floor board, plunge pool and glass-walled suite, you’ll hole up in the dramatically designed Tsala Treetop Lodge. Other than spending your days by the pool listening to the birds in the enveloping forest, you can go for a picnic in the woods, cruise around the Knysna Heads on board a yacht with a glass of sparkling wine in hand, horse ride over the surrounding hills, dive with great white sharks for a once-in-a-lifetime experience and whizz through the treetop canopy on a zipline. If you love animals, a visit to the Birds of Eden (the world’s largest free flight aviary) offers world class sightings, while at Monkeyland you can go on a guided walk amongst a variety of primates, including the gibbons of Asia and the lemurs of Madagascar.

Having had a small taste of South Africa’s incredible wildlife, it’s now off to Sabi Sand Game Reserve for an overloaded of action-packed game drives and instructive bush walks. Flying to Nelspruit, you’ll be met by your guide and taken to the scenery-embedded Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge. Every morning and afternoon, you can venture out with the knowledgeable rangers and trackers to encounter a beguiling variety of wildlife, from the Big Five to the 350 species of birds. With earth-encrusted walls, sculpted tree roots that form the boma and an active watering hole right in front of the dining area, the lodge elevates your safari experience to a whole new level. The attentive staff and excellent guides will be on hand to make sure your stay is very special, whether that’s showing you the underground wine caller with over 600 rare South African vintages or setting up a private dinner for you on the Msuthlu river bed underneath the stars.

Before you fly off to Mozambique for your final nights of beachside bliss, you’ll spend one night in the buzzing city of Johannesburg, situated right in the heart of the shopping district of Sandton. Your sleek base is the Atholplace, where you can relax by the pool, catch up on some reading and soak up the sun  with a colourful cocktail in hand on your suite’s balcony. Those looking for some retail therapy will find plenty of boutiques to keep them busy, where you can nab yourself a striking swimsuit or souvenir, while culture vultures can hit Joburg’s historic and art scene hard by visiting Everard Read, the Johannesburg Art Gallery and the Apartheid Museum.

Bringing barefoot-chic to a wholly uninhabited island, the Azura at Quilalea is a true island paradise. Set on an island of 86 acres ringed by golden sand and turquoise waters, the lodge has just nine villas, each one stretched along the shores with thatched roofs, an open plan design and a sundeck to relax on. In the mornings you can take a dip in the pool or relax into the gentle sway of the hammock, slung beneath the ancient baobab trees, before trying all the activities on offer, such as scuba diving, snorkelling, swimming with dolphins, turtles and whales, kayaking through the mangroves and sailing in a traditional Mozambican dhow. With five nights here, enjoy the deserted remoteness, the kaleidoscopic reefs and the stunning sunsets – the perfect end to your ultimate African honeymoon.