South Africa: Wild About Golf

When you are ready to take one of the most exotic golf trips imaginable, take a look at South Africa. Allow yourself 12-14 days to travel an area roughly three times the size of Texas and you will encounter a polished hospitality industry, dramatic coastlines, resort beaches, remarkable flora diversity, majestic mountains, "cradle of humanity" culture, the bush of course, and fantastic golf. Ultimately, the opportunity in South Africa to combine play on a wide selection of premier courses with a luxury safari is unique to any experience in the world.

The ideal visit typically begins in Cape Town, truly one of the world's great cities. Magnificent accommodation is on offer at the Cape Grace Hotel, Ellerman House, plus the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Unforgettable golf, within 30 minutes drive, includes Atlantic Beach which served as a 2005 British Open qualifying site and is always a delight to play against the backdrop provided by the Atlantic Ocean, Robben Island and Table Mountain.

Royal Cape is pure championship golf having hosted the South African Open eleven times and the nation's amateur championship eight times. Arabella is a Golf Digest favorite, ranked the country's #5.

Pearl Valley is a new Jack Nicklaus treat set in the famous Franschhoek Wine region where your day can enjoy a round of play complimented by an equally impressive round of food and wine.

Stretching 500 miles east from Cape Town along the coast to the Tsitsikamma Forest, is the famous Garden Route with five of the country's twelve best courses. First up is the Fancourt Hotel in George, one of the country's most respected properties and the perfect place from which to explore this most beautiful of regions given its location in the heart of the Garden Route. (One adventure in particular, easily enjoyed in a leisurely half day, are the astounding Cango Caves.  Located 90 scenic minutes north of George in the Swartberg Mountains over the Outeniqua Mountain pass, these 20 million year old limestone caverns offer a cathedral of color and some of the world's largest known stalactite formations.)

Fancourt's three courses are accessible to members and hotel guests only including The Links by Gary Player, ranked world 59 by Golf Digest, and The Montagu remodeled in 2004 by David McLay-Kidd (Bandon Dunes) and regarded as South Africa's best parkland course. Only 8 km away is Ernie Els' new signature layout, Oubaai. East to Knysna and Pezula, a Scottish links-style layout generous with its spectacular views of the Knysna Lagoon, the majestic Outeniqua Mountains and the mighty Indian Ocean --particularly from the 14th built directly on the breach of the cliffs. Its is also along this stretch of South African coastline, including Plettenberg Bay, which offers wonderful opportunities to watch various species of whales, dolphins and seals throughout the year. The incredible Humpback whale for example, weighing from 35 to 45 tons, are seen June to November during their migration from breeding grounds off the Mozambique coast to their feeding grounds in the Antarctic.

Leaving the Eastern Cape traveling north east, you enter Kwa-Zulu Natal province and exhilarating Durban. Durban is the holiday mecca for most South Africans offering an endless summer climate and a carnival atmosphere, blue seas, golden beaches and entertainment for every interest. Sophisticated and cosmopolitan, Durban Metro after dark is abuzz with elegant lounges, funky taverns and cosy inns...distinctive local theatre and live music...trendy clubs, pubs and discos. As for the daylight hours, you'll find outstanding play on three local gems. Durban Country Club, founded in 1922, has hosted 16 South African Opens including the 2005 event. South of the city is Robert Trent Jones Jr's dramatic Wild Coast Country Club. The course rises and falls through ravines and waterfalls, offering magnificent views of the rocky terrain and Indian Ocean while boasting the par 3 thirteenth which plays across a waterfall and is generally regarded the best short hole in the country. North of Durban is Tom Wieskopf's masterpiece, the Zimbali Lodge Country Club which runs alongside the Indian Ocean providing spectacular sea views from the 14th through the 18th.

Now it is time to go on safari and the selection is extraordinary. Shortly north of Durban is Phinda Private Game Reserve, situated in the lush Maputaland region of northern KwaZulu-Natal. Bordering the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park - a World Heritage Site - Phinda comprises 45,711 acres of prime conservation land. Seven distinct habitats shelter an abundance of wildlife including Africa's Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, black and white rhino, buffalo) and over 380 bird species, while the marine diversity off the nearby coast of Sodwana is said to rival the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

It is Kruger National Park however, located in country's northeastern most region along the Mozambique border, that is arguably the emblem of South African tourism. It is the place that delivers best what most visitors to Africa want to see - scores of Elephants, Lions and a cast of thousands of other game roaming the savannah. Elephant photo Kruger stretches across Northern Province and Mpumalanga, an astonishing 414 km drive from Pafuri Gate in the north to Malelane Gate in the south, all of it along tar with many well-kept gravel roads looping off to provide routes for game drives. Kruger is very much Out of Africa come to life. You'll get luxury accommodation -- Jock Safari Lodge and Singita Lodge just to name two - plus very importantly (especially if this is your first safari), qualified rangers to show you the game and the bush with only a tiny group of other guests.

Better still, your visit to Kruger need not be enjoyed without golf! In fact, the country's most exclusive layout, Leopard Creek, is situated on the park's southern border. Leopard Creek presents a rare opportunity to play an outstanding bushveld golf course. Appropriately enough, the development is bordered to the north and the west by the picturesque Crocodile River. Typical bushveld koppies overlook the course from the east, providing an ideal backdrop for this magnificent Gary Player designed course. Ranked #1 in South Africa in 2005, Leopard Creek is everything you would expect. The course is remotely located and is therefore only recommended for clients looking to add a safari option in Southern Kruger or those using private air-charter services.

Also in the northern regions of the country, two hours northwest of Johannesburg, is incredible Sun City. Internationally renowned as South Africa's premier holiday resort, it is home to the fabled Palace of the Lost City where absolutely no expense has been spared to create a opulent fairytale in the desert. Formerly the gaming mecca of South Africa, Sun City still attracts those wishing to gamble but also those just looking to relax, focus on the total experience of Africa and play golf. Best known is Gary Player's The Gary Player Country Club, home to the internationally prestigious Nedbank Million Dollar Golf Challenge. Gary Player CC 11 Its offers flawless conditions year round with pristine kikuyu fairways and perfect bent greens and is deserving of its World 29 ranking by Golf Digest. The desert-style Lost City Golf Course with its crocodiles at the 13th hole, provides for unusually exciting play, not to mention numerous elevated tees offering vista after vista.

For further information contact PerryGolf's travel specialist in South African:
Mr. Gordon Turner
800.344.5257 x 251
Gordon.Turner@PerryGolf.com

Sample Itineraries
Please visit www.perrygolf.com/si to inspect the following Sample Itineraries:
Cape Town & Kruger National Safari
The Best of the Cape & The Shamwari Game Reserve
Zululand, Phinda Forest Lodge Safari & Cape Town

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