THE FAIREST CAPE

On arrival in Cape Town’s mountainous spine, delve right into the action in the Mother City. Elevated enough for gorgeous views over the ocean and set back from the bustle of Camps Bay’s seafront, Sea Five will be your glamorous home for three nights. Embrace the holiday mood with a few well-timed sunset cocktails on the viewing deck or wander down to the nearby beach for a lazy afternoon along the fashionable strip.

With a car at your disposal, do a loop around Cape Peninsula, making the journey to the Cape of Good Hope before returning via Boulders Beach, for a morning spent with the famous African penguins. Keep an eye out for southern right whales, as False Bay is a prime whale-watching spot, particularly between July and November when they are calving.

Jump on a cable car to the ever present Table Mountain for the best view of the City Bowl before descending, via abseil if you wish, onto Cape Town’s innovative gastronomic scene - which is one of the best in the world.

No visit to Cape Town is complete without a stint in the glorious Winelands. From Cape Town, you’ll drive east to one of South Africa’s oldest towns, Paarl, where can enjoy its attractive Cape Dutch architecture, its award-winning wines and its imposing mountain range, which beckons adrenaline junkies all year round.

Embrace the slower pace of life here by spending a few hours in the pool and spa at your boutique hotel, the Angala, located just outside of Paarl at the foothills of the Simonsberg mountains. There’s no need to undo the work of the well-trained masseuse as with a very leisurely tram-bus, you can meander between Franschhoek’s wine estates easily and without stress.

If you want to do more than just marinate in the sun with a glass of wine, visit the largest free-flying butterfly park in Southern Africa, play golf on an internationally-renowned course, take a hot air balloon over the Berg River or visit the Afrikaans Language Monument to learn about the area's Dutch heritage.

Fringing the coast of the Western Cape, you’ll hit the ocean road and drive to Hermanus, considered the top land-based whale-watching destination in the world. You’ll stay in the Marine, which is considered to have the best bed-based whale watching in town. Have no fear that you might miss the southern right whales if they are in the bay, as though you can actually hear them breaching from your room, you’ll also be alerted by the world’s only whale crier when he blows his kelp horn.

If you haven’t had your fill of South African wineries, there are plenty around Hermanus to explore or you can take to the water and go kayaking along the coast at Walker Bay. You’ll be perfectly placed to visit Gansbaai, the famous shark diving mecca where you can suit up to swim with a great white, or you can walk along the numerous cliff paths that wind through nature reserves and past local wildlife, such as the rock hyrax, which is like a guinea pig.

Flying from west to east, your holiday will finish with three nights of safari in the Eastern Cape. Nestled in the 18,000-acre Amakhala Game Reserve, Hillsnek Safari Camp is an intimate, family-run lodge with just four tented rooms spread along the banks of the Bushman’s River. On morning game drives, watch out for lazy lions, herds of elephants and fluffy cheetah cubs all slowly waking up, and in the afternoon make sure to scan the underbrush for signs of a recent kill, which draws in a crowd of remarkable scavengers, such as hyenas, jackals and vultures.

Towards the evening, give your neck a break from scouring the ground and look up either at the incredible birdlife or at the beautiful display of stars. And when your eyes start to tire, head to your tent to listen to the echoing cough of a leopard or roaring call of a lion as you sink into your room’s deep free-standing bathtub - with tomorrow's dawn bringing even more sightings and exciting encounters.