Cape Town – World Design Capital 2014 & Safari

Welcome to the Cape Town "Art, design and dining" tour. Guests will indulge in a 7-day feast for all the senses in the "World design capital of 2014" and to cap it all off, spend 2 days in a luxurious game lodge.

DAY 1 – ARRIVAL CAPE TOWN AIRPORT, ELLERMAN HOUSE, TEST KITCHEN

You will be greeted at Cape Town International Airport and transferred to your first hotel where you can spend the afternoon winding down and taking in the spectacular views.

Privately owned Ellerman House stands as an iconic showcase of South Africa’s finest lodging, cuisine, wine, and leisure. The property is not open to the public, offering a genuine level of privacy and luxury to guests.

Your designated tour guide for your time in Cape Town will meet you at the hotel and drive you to Signal Hill for sundowners. Dinner will be at Test Kitchen, the best combination of fine dining and theatre in the country (à la carte – dinner, drinks & tips not included). Luke Dale-Roberts’s dishes are experimental and always presented in a truly artful way. Among the highlights are Luke’s XO sauce, café au lait beef, maple-braised shabu shabu; langoustine and smoked quail; and clam and green tea pasta.

After dinner return transfer to the hotel.

DAY 1 – DAY 7 ELLERMAN HOUSE (RELAIS & CHATEAUX)
1x Ellerman House Suite Seaview and Balcony including Bed/Breakfast

DAY 2 – INTRODUCTION TO CAPE TOWN: CULTURES, ARCHITECTURE, FASHION & TABLE MOUNTAIN

After breakfast, your guide will meet you at the hotel. The days’ activities will include a visit to Bo-Kaap, the Malay District. Locally known for its colourful 17th century houses and cobble-stoned streets, Bo-Kaap made the Huffington Post list of most colourful places around the world. Many beautiful Mosques and shrines including the first established Muslim Mosque in South Africa can be found here. An optional traditional meal in the home of a Malay family or a Malay cooking tour can be included.

The day will continue to Long & Bree Streets for an introduction to local fashion, interior design & art. The hip Long Street is a platform for established and emerging local designers. When shopping for quirky Capetonian fashion items, the word on every fashionista's lips should be Long Street.

Look out for the following shops: So You: vintage and rare evening and day dresses from the 1960's and 70's; WAG: Show-stopping dresses for by Capetonian designer Shery Bakos; A List: exclusive, one-off garments one step ahead of seasonal trends, American Apparel, Buch & Deichmann; Afraid of Mice: top-notch vintage store, classics at affordable prices; Me Me Me: Feminine, romantic, simplified, nostalgic designs with a twist, featured at SA Fashion Week; Bonafide: Feminine urban wear from Mooks, RVCA, Insight and their own bikini brand Love Water Love; Traffic: A slice of edgy Harajuku style, unique and daring, in the style of Lady Gaga; SKA: Vibrant Bohemian store, skirts, bags, hats and harem pants, Nuchy, Babu; David West: 1950's skirts, ginghams and candy floss colours, 1950's silhouette and bold shapes; Mungo and Jemima: Coppelia, Michelle Ludek and I Love Leroy. Classic style, handmade basics with a twist; Merchants on Long: exclusively African brands, Suzaan Heyns, Okapi, Lalesso, sawa and Bantuwax; Sitting Pretty: Vintage, The Kottonree recycled clothing range, Myabi and Frolic.

Weather permitting the day will come to a close with a champagne sundowner on Table Mountain which is the only mountain that made it into the top seven of the provisional New7Wonders of Nature. Table Mountain is home to 1 460 different species of fynbos which brought it Heritage Status. One of the most spectacular features is that it is in the middle of a major city.

Return to hotel to freshen up before transfer to 95 Keerom Restaurant for dinner (à la carte – dinner, drinks & tips not included). The building originally housed the stables and slave quarters of the Company Gardens. Many of the original elements, including the façade and brick walls, have been saved in the restoration process. With award-winning chef Giorgio Nava and former Meerlust winemaker Georgio Dalla Cia co-responsible for the wine list, 95 Keerom Street is one of the best upmarket Italian restaurants in Cape Town to 'see and be seen'.

After dinner return transfer to Ellerman House.

DAY 3 – CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, OSTRICHES, JEWELLERY & SEAFOOD

After breakfast, you set off to explore the Cape peninsula via Fish Hoek and Chapman’s Peak. The seaside village Fish Hoek has colourful Victorian bathing boxes that add a festive flavour. The 9km Chapman’s Peak Drive is affectionately known as “Chappies” and is a must for anyone who is passionate about the majestic and spectacular Cape Town scenery.

Continue to Cape Point Ostrich Farm. The exquisite selection of ostrich leather products includes products from Cape Cobra, which produces exquisite items for top international design houses and celebrities including The Princess of Monaco, Charlene Wittstock. Products are crafted from exotic skins such as nile crocodile and lizard, all obtained strictly under the regulations of the Conference on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

At the tip of the Cape peninsula, Cape Point stands within the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to plenty of Chacma baboons, but also many other animals such as mountain zebra, tortoises and 250 species of bird. There are also 1100 species of plant in this relatively tiny area.

The bohemian fishing village of Kalk Bay has one of the last remaining working harbours in South Africa. It features antique stores, second-hand book shops, art galleries and a thriving theatre. Visit the jeweller Andreas Betzold in his shop ANPA. The main focus is on Southern African gemstones as well as personal designs and handcrafted jewellery.

A late lunch can be enjoyed at Harbour House before returning to Cape Town early evening (à la Carte – lunch, drinks & tips not included). The restaurant specialises in seafood and linefish and has exquisite views overlooking False Bay. The cuisine is international with Mediterranean elements underpinned by classic French methods.

Dinner at hotel (not included).

DAY 4 – A DAY OF ART & GALLERIES IN CAPE TOWN with CURATOR

After breakfast, your guide and a curator will meet you at the hotel to discuss the day’s activities: a visit of the National Gallery and Irma Stern Museums and depending on your preferences Michael Stevenson Gallery, Goodman Gallery & Everard Read Gallery as well as a visit to the home of local Artist Willie Bester. A light lunch can be optionally included along Kloof Street (lunch not included).

The South African National Gallery’s collection consists largely of Dutch, French and British works from the 17th to the 19th century.

The permanent collection on display shows Irma Stern's (1894-1966) development as an artist whose subject matter included exotic figures, portraits, lush landscapes and still lifes. The museum was established in 1971 in the house where the artist lived in for almost four decades.

The contemporary Michael Stevenson Gallery has spaces in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Over the past year, Stevenson has participated in Frieze New York, Art Basel, abc (Berlin), Unseen (Amsterdam), Frieze London, Paris Photo and Art Basel Miami Beach.

The Goodman Gallery is at the forefront of contemporary art in South Africa and has featured at Art Basel and Art Basel Miami since 2003. Its focus is on artists from South Africa, the greater African Continent, and other countries that engage in a dialogue with the African context. From the outset in 1966 the gallery supported and encouraged artists to exhibit despite the strictures of apartheid. It was involved in the seminal Art Against Apartheid exhibition in 1985. The Gallery is home to forty artists including visual art luminaries such as William Kentridge, Kendell Geers, Alfredo Jaar and David Goldblatt.

Everard Read Gallery is South Africa's oldest commercial gallery, founded in Johannesburg in 1913. 

For lunch try out one of the 38 restaurants in Kloof Street. The restaurant list ranges from takeaways to the Eat Out Top 20 Restaurant finalist fine dining “Planet Restaurant” at the Mount Nelson Hotel (lunch not included).

Return evening transfer to Aubergine Restaurant (à la carte – dinner, drinks and tips not included). The restaurant building, dating to 1830, houses an unusual composition by famed South African Neo-baroque artist Christo Coetzee.

DAY 5 – WINE, DESIGN, ART & FOOD with CURATOR (winelands)

Today, you will experience the magnificent Cape winelands with visits to different wine estates and their respective art galleries.

Glen Carlou's wine yields are kept rigorously low, ensuring that nature’s gifts are distilled in the flavourful grapes that they harvest. Swiss businessman Donald M. Hess is the founder of the Hess Art Collection, one of the world's most important private holdings of contemporary art which are in large part open to the public, amongst other places also here at Glen Carlou.

Grande Provence Estate wears her 300-year history with dignity. The Gallery at Grande Provence houses one of South Africa’s finest galleries specialising in the leading contemporary artists of the country and a sculpture garden. The shop specialises in African tribal artefacts, works by major photographers and exquisite jewellery designed by Ilse Malan.

La Motte was acquired in 1970 by the late Dr. Anton Rupert, an internationally respected industrialist and committed conservationist. The cultural experience offered by a fully-fledged museum is a seldom occurrence on a wine estate. Museum tours are conducted by a full-time curator. The largest room in the museum is dedicated to the private collection of one of South Africa’s greatest masters, Jacob Hendrik Pierneef.

Babylonstoren is one of the best preserved werfs (farm yards) in the Cape Dutch tradition. The buildings date all the way back to the founding of the farm in 1690. The unfussy and generous food at Babel, the restaurant at Babylonstoren, is inspired by a 9 acre formal garden where every single plant is edible. Their food philosophy is simple: They like to call it “from farm to fork”. Taste for yourself! (Lunch not included)

Delaire Graff Estate boasts two outstanding restaurants, a state-of-the-art winery, exclusive lodges, a destination spa and two luxury boutiques. 

The day will end with a visit to Cavalli, a working wine and equestrian estate and art gallery. Cavalli estate is currently under development in two phases. All architecture and design is informed by a drive to be sustainable and energy efficient.

Return evening transfers for an informal sundowner dinner at the contemporary Bungalow café (à la carte – dinner, drinks and tips not included). This is one of two of Paul Kovensky's latest restaurants, situated along the prime Camps Bay beachfront strip. The menu is cutting edge molecular gastronomy created by Chef Gabriel Le Roux.

DAY 6 – INTERIOR DESIGN, V&A WATERFRONT SHOPPING & HELICOPTER FLIGHT

After breakfast, you will begin your day’s activities with a visit to some of our most unique local interior designers. The art of Good Living is a core value of Weylandts, and underpins the way product is selected and combined. Bobby Breen Interiors design and manufacture unique Kudu and Gemsbok Horn Lighting and also beautiful Ostrich egg Chandeliers. They also offer an exclusive range of couches and chairs upholstered in game skins and leather. Bobby Breen's contractual projects include the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront Hotel and many game lodges around Africa.

Continue to the V&A Waterfront for lunch at Den Anker (à la carte – lunch, drinks & tips not included). Beers are imported from small Belgian breweries and one beer is brewed exclusively for Den Anker in Lochristi to a personal recipe from Den Anker's Belgian founder, Denis Bouckaert. Menus revolve round fresh, seasonal dishes like just-caught crayfish. Specialities range from generous pots of mussels and frites to traditional South African fare.

After lunch and further browsing at the V&A Waterfront the day will close with a 30-minute scenic helicopter flight over Cape Town. Return to the hotel for dinner or alternatively a restaurant can be recommended and dinner transfers arranged by hotel.

DAY 7 – SAFARI EXTENSION: CAPE TOWN TO KRUGER PARK

After breakfast, your guide will meet you at the hotel and transfer you to Cape Town International Airport for your flight to the Kruger National Park. Arrival at Kruger National Park and transfer to Singita Private Game Reserve.

DAY 7 – DAY 9 – SINGITA PRIVATE GAME RESERVE (RELAIS & CHATEAUX)

1x Ebony or Boulders Suite including Full Board & Gamedrives

Singita Ebony Lodge stands on the banks of the Sand River in the heart of South Africa’s ‘big cat country.’ A blend of European heritage and African boldness welcomes visitors with the down-to-earth warmth of a much-loved family home.

Singita Boulders Lodge is a celebration of the tranquillity, space, and light which flows throughout this incredibly vast area. Inspired by the geometry of the boulders on which it rests, organic interiors integrate seamlessly with the raw African beauty outside at this lodge.

DAY 9 – END

After a last morning gamedrive and breakfast, you will be transferred to the landing strip for your return flight to OR Tambo International Airport. In Johannesburg you will be met by an Airport Assistance Crew-member who will escort you to your hotel, adjacent to the airport where a day room has been provided until your departure.

Rates and further details on request