INTO AFRICA
3/28/2007 5:00:33 PM by Clint Brownfield
Forget safaris and savannahs — luxury is the new buzzword when traveling to Africa.
When I returned to my New York City condo after my first trip to South Africa a few weeks ago, I was a changed man. I had spent six days on the spectacular private game reserve, Phinda, and somehow, after a 15-hour trek, managed to crash through the luxurious atmosphere of a resort/spa/real estate development on the Indian Ocean called Pezula — which in the Shona language means “Up high with the gods.”
Pezula is the creation of Keith Stewart, a U.S. businessman who emigrated from Rhodesia and hit the jackpot. And what he thought up, and patented was a feeding system which would allow photo copiers to automatically sort and collate paper. Bing! A zillionaire was born. And through a rather circuitous route he found himself living back in Africa, specifically the coastal resort town of Knysna (pronounced nize-nuh) on the Indian Ocean. And this is where he’s building Pezula, South Africa’s first true luxury resort and gated real estate development. Throw in an award-winning 18-hole golf course, an all-suite hotel, an amazing spa, some of the best food in South Africa at Zachary’s restaurant and jaw-dropping views of the Indian Ocean and Knysna Lagoon below and you have a world-class ecologically sound residential development located on a 612-hectare private nature reserve so far unrivaled by any in South Africa.
Here you can enjoy canoe rides down the Noetzie River and right out into the Indian Ocean, exploring secluded beaches off stunning sea cliffs and boating opportunities that can be arranged by the resort’s attentive staff. Check with your club to see if there’s reciprocity with the Knysna Yacht Club. If so, then all sorts of opportunities will open up. The rule of thumb at Pezula is that nothing is impossible.
And what the resort made possible for me was a car and driver that would take me to Cape Town via the famed Garden Route. This was arranged by Pezula Travel which can work travel wonders for you all over the world. Again, just about anything’s possible…
From Pezula, the Garden Route to Cape Town takes about five hours beginning with the charming town of Knysna (be sure and try their famous oysters!) and the other beach communities along the way. This is where South Africans go to vacation along the shores of the Indian Ocean. Seascapes turn into gorgeous landscapes where I saw millions of happy sheep sporting their early spring haircuts. After about four hours, my driver and I cruised around a mountain and WOW! there it was: Cape Town, strung before us like a strand of South African diamonds. Part Sydney, part Rio, part Vancouver, my first impression of Cape Town didn’t disappoint!
I was also about to enjoy one of the world’s premiere travel experiences: checking into the legendary Cape Grace. Listed on all the “Best Of” lists as the best hotel in Africa (and sometimes the entire world), I can tell you (without having actually visited all of the other hotels in Africa) that this must be true.
Heads of state, royalty and just plain travel writers like myself are welcomed into a world so special that many go home and try to duplicate the Cape Grace experience. But to do that, one would need to bring along the entire Cape Grace staff. After three days in the hotel, I felt I could probably show up in the lobby and whisper into the ear of any staff member: “Would you please arrange a heart transplant for me this afternoon?” and the answer would be a polite “Certainly, sir.”
Located on the West Quay of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, the elegant stone and brick Cape Grace first opened its doors in 1996. With the harbor on one side and the marina on the other, it’s possible to glimpse a yacht being readied for the America’s Cup among an amazing variety of ocean-going 
vessels. Cape Town’s signature landmark, Table Mountain, floats above the cityscape, underscoring the fact that you are not standing in the middle of Kansas (not that there’s anything wrong with Kansas).
I placed myself into the hands of the hotel’s staff to design my all-too-brief four-day stay in Cape Town. They arranged for a one-day tour that included an island full of seals, a beach full of penguins and a visit to the Cape of Good Hope. Also, the tour of Robben Island is not to be missed. It was in this prison that Nelson Mandela was held for all those long years. In fact, the ferry that carried me back to town was an historic one that was actually used to take prisoners to the island when it was still being used as a prison. And, on a happier note, I managed to make it to the top of Table Mountain. A dear friend who attended college in Cape Town advised me: “When you look out the window and see that Table Mountain is clear, go up immediately.” And that’s what I did.
Cape Town is the culinary capital of South Africa and Cape Grace’s signature restaurant is a perfect place to begin your dining journey. Before or after dinner, enjoy a sip of whiskey at Bascule, said to be the largest collection of whiskeys south of the equator. The hotel also arranged for me to have dinner at two other Cape Town restaurants: Chef Mike Bassett’s Ginja and The Showroom, a new restaurant just opened by former Cape Grace executive chef Bruce Robertson. I highly recommend both. And to help work off those delish calories, there’s the hotel’s spa and, of course, you can request gym equipment to be brought to your room.
In the end, my South African adventure whizzed by and lots of what I experienced is still sinking in. But one thing’s for certain: I shall return.
