Dream holiday destinations

Right now, while its cold and windy outside, this is where I would like to go. Beautiful isn't it?

I'm not exactly sure where it is, but I'm sure its warm....

Image: www.webjet.com.au

Packing for travel - tips for Dad's

I read today on National Geographic traveller (UK) a fantastic article by James Lohan founder of boutique travel expert 'Mr & Mrs Smith' on his tips for Dad's packing (follow the link to read the full article).

Brilliant nuggets of wisdom.

Who in their right mind would travel with kids??

The Tarragon, Cape Town

South Africa

The Tarragon, Hout Bay, Cape Town

Images: All images taken by me unless otherwise stated.

In October 2011, the family spent 9 brilliant days in Cape Town - rediscovering the city of my youth. We had emigrated (my parents and sisters) to Australia back in the 80s so it had been a LONG time.

After much research on the internet and elsewhere, we decided to base ourselves and The Tarragon in Hout Bay. The Tarragon comprises of several different self-catering cottages set in beautiful, secure and peaceful gardens. I knew this was the perfect place as soon as we arrived.

The boys headed straight off to investigate the grounds - they found a huge swimming pool, a large hammock (that they disappeared to daily), a hidden playground in the forest and countless insects and birds in the bushes.

We felt immediately comfortable that the boys raucous laughter and excited talking wouldn't be bothering other guests - in fact the whole time we were there, we barely saw anyone else due to the clever design of the cottages and their outlooks.

We stayed in the Angelica cottage - which was way larger than we needed, but had everything we could possibly want. There was a laundry available for use and you could, for a small price, ask housekeeping to do your laundry - it is a holiday after all! The cottage was cleaned daily and always when we were out - regardless of our timetable.

Mark, the manager had suggested a fabulous restaurant for our first night and the cottage was stocked with plenty of information about local places to visit and eat. Whilst Mark was actually away during our stay, his constant emails and texts ensured we felt looked after  - if you read about the Tarragon elsewhere on the internet, you will see that his personal recommendations and advice have been invaluable to other travellers.

I have no hesitation in recommending The Tarragon for a family stay in Cape Town. Although the property is in Hout Bay and not in the city, I think this adds to the holiday appeal and we felt we were right in the middle of all the attractions we wanted to visit.

Website:The Tarragon

The Westcliff, Johannesburg

South Africa

The Westcliff, Johannesburg

Images: My own unless otherwise stated

Even though it was 5 am, we were greeted with smiles and were able to check into our rooms immediately. After a long overnight flight, this was an absolute god-send.

However, as it was still early, they didn't have interconnecting rooms ready and offered us two separate rooms some distance apart - one for us and one for the boys (aged 9 & 11), or one for DB and a boy and one for me and a boy. Normally I wouldn't think twice about the boys being in a room on their own, but we were on our first trip to South Africa and we were in Johannesburg, Africa (the crime capital of the world - according some sensationalistic blogs I'd read). We were too jet-lagged to care though and everyone was shown to their rooms.

Both rooms were enormous, with views of the garden and a small pool as well as luxurious, well appointed bathrooms.

DB went to settle the boys while I unpacked a bit and then went to their room; to find them sprawled across their bed, grinning broadly whilst filming their TV rising and descending into the foot of their bed - the hotel was apparently 'BRILLIANT'. As were had managed to get a fantastic deal where the boys got their own room and breakfast included in our rate, we couldn't agree more.

The Westcliff Hotel's cliffside setting provides spectacular views over Johannesburg's leafy northern suburbs and  we could also glimpse elephants in the nearby Johannesburg Zoo. The hotel is a short drive to the shopping malls (we weren't there long enough to venture there) and is 22 km from O.R. Tambo (Johannesburg) International Airport (JNB).

Although we didn't make use of the many services and facilities on offer, the buildings were all extremely well maintained, service was very friendly whenever we (or the boys) needed anything and we felt very secure.

I highly recommend this hotel for a visit to Johannesburg, but need to point out that it is a long drive to and from the airport so you need to plan accordingly.

Website: http://www.westcliff.co.za/web/ojnb/the_westcliff.jsp

The Westcliff 67 Jan Smuts Avenue
Westcliff 2193
Johannesburg
Republic of South Africa  

GPS coordinates:
26˚ 10.262”S   28 ˚ 01.940”E

Tel:  +27 (0)11 481 6000
Fax: +27 (0)11 481 6010
E-mail: info@westcliff.co.za