I’ve met Sarah on many occasions after she and my daughter became great friends at university.
I was thrilled when in August 2020, she asked me to help arrange her and David’s honeymoon to Sri Lanka and the Maldives for the following May.
Sadly, due to Covid, both the wedding and honeymoon had to be rescheduled for summer 2022 but on the plus side, it provided the happy couple with an opportunity for an extended trip that could combine their desire for adventure and an idyllic desert island setting. I set out to create something they would always remember...
I've always absolutely loved planning trips and holidays, but I knew for our honeymoon I wanted the stress taken away - enter Amanda!
She actually ended up planning two completely different adventures due to Covid causing a postponement to our wedding and therefore travelling in a different season than the one originally planned.
This didn’t faze Amanda at all, and she was so incredibly helpful in finding our second honeymoon that was just as perfect, in fact arguably more so. She really listened to what we wanted and planned the most wonderful trip to perfection.
With the enforced delay, we were determined to have an extra special memory so booked a three-week trip: two weeks exploring South Africa and five nights in Mozambique.
We flew into Cape Town and were met by a private driver to transfer us to The Three Boutique Hotel, our home for the first three nights.
It's a great city with so much to see - we even did a day trip to visit a wild penguin colony and reached the most south-westerly point of the African continent.
Unfortunately, the cable car up to Table Mountain was closed for maintenance, and we were not fancying a hike, so we have a good reason to revisit!
Our next stop was Franschhoek in the wine region, an unmissable experience which included catching a wine tram (or bus) to numerous vineyards to do a lot of wine tastings.
Amanda had booked us another beautiful boutique hotel, The Last Word, where we had a gorgeous suite with exceptional service - including dessert left in our room each evening and a candlelit room on our last night.
Amanda had then seamlessly arranged for a car to be dropped off to us here so we could drive ourselves along the Garden Route. It's easy to drive in South Africa as they drive on the same side of the road as the UK.
We headed to Wilderness first where we spent the afternoon drinking complimentary Champagne on the balcony of our boutique hotel, Views, which was right on the beachfront. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite balcony weather but being British, that didn't bother us, and we wrapped up in the cosy dressing gowns provided.
From here, we drove along to Plettenberg Bay which holds a special place in my heart after living here previously for three months. Amanda had been very attentive to this and chose a gorgeous accommodation just on the outskirts of town.
We spent two nights at Hog Hollow in our forest lodge, with a cosy log fire and no Wi-Fi or TV - the perfect escape. Exploring the town was fun and we did a hike on Robberg Peninsula, a nature reserve with a resident seal colony. Unfortunately, the waves were too choppy for a whale-watching trip - another great reason to revisit.
Reluctantly, we pulled ourselves away from Hog Hollow to continue our 3.5-hour journey to the Pumba Private Game Reserve. I could happily write an entire blog solely on our experience here - it was absolutely incredible.
We stayed for two nights and managed four game drives and had an amazing massage in their spa.
Our lodge overlooked a large watering hole, and we could sit and watch the hippos relaxing on the opposite bank. The food and service were excellent and even included hot water bottles in our beds for when we returned from dinner - luxurious!
As soon as we arrived, we wished we were staying for longer, although luck was with us as we saw pretty much everything on our game drives, including standout moments of seeing a tiny and adorable baby elephant just metres from us and enjoying a sundowner near a herd of inquisitive giraffes - a truly unique experience.
The welfare of the animals was a hugely important factor for us, and we didn't want to go to a reserve that allowed countless vehicles to circle an animal. Amanda was spot-on recommending Pumba as they strictly allow a maximum of two vehicles near an animal at once, which was great to see.
After leaving Pumba, we dropped the car off at Port Elizabeth airport and flew to Johannesburg, where a private driver took us to the Africa Rock Hotel for the night. The food here was without a doubt some of the best we had on the entire trip - it was simply delicious.
We left Johannesburg the next day and after a short flight, landed in Vilanculos, Mozambique. Visitors from the UK need to obtain a visa in advance which takes a while to come through.
Amanda was so helpful in chasing the authorities for an update as it got closer to our departure date and it was a mighty relief when we finally received the visas in time.
Upon arrival, we queued for a while to get through passport control as it was a very small airport with few desks. Once through, we were met by a private driver who took us to the beach as we'd chosen a private speedboat transfer to the island of Azura Benguerra.
I'd highly recommend this mode of transport - it was so much fun and only took 15 minutes longer than the alternative helicopter ride without the restrictions on luggage weight.
Arriving at the island was unforgettable, anchoring down in pure paradise with the sun shining brightly.
The resort has only 20 special villas, all built from local materials and each with its own pool, private sala and sunbathing area. Ours was beautiful with the most incredible view straight out to the ocean.
We were also given a host who was on hand (via a WhatsApp message) to bring whatever we might desire, straight to our sun lounger. They also bring a cocktail of the day to your sala for enjoying during the sunset. Heaven!
Another thing we loved about this resort was that there were plenty of activities to keep us as busy as we chose to be. Several activities are included (paddle boarding, kayaking, a sunset dhow cruise, island drive etc) but we also paid for a few extra experiences - snorkelling on a reef out at sea and whale watching - the latter just took our breath away.
We were fortunate to be visiting during the humpback whale migration season but obviously, there was still no guarantee that we would actually see any.
Boy did we hit the jackpot with numerous sightings as well as a pod of six gathering close to the boat including a baby, who came right up to investigate. It was incredible and an experience we will never forget.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we boarded the speedboat on our final day to take us back to the mainland. During the journey, we were joined by a pod of bottlenose dolphins playing and jumping in the wake of our boat. It was an incredible goodbye and finish to the most memorable trip.
We can't thank Amanda enough for organising such a magical adventure for our honeymoon - we want to do it all again!
Sarah
