A South African adventure: Your ultimate travel guide to explore the country's beauty

Every travel story has a beginning middle and end For the sake of narrative this one begins in the middle of a thick cloud of fume floating in a cannabis club on Kloof Street in Cape Town South AfricaAfro beats ease the visitor as a heavily tattooed server welcomes the noob with a big smile and a prompt briefing of ldquohow things work around hererdquo ldquoThe coffee comes freerdquo he says stressing the safe space is built for responsible consumptionThe next hour passes in a haze of contemplation The thought of turning 40 meets the uplifting energy of the Mother CityThe joy of solo travel after having bid farewell to our fellow travellers sets inRiders on the coastWhen we first arrived our Cape Town discovery began atop the flattened eroded surface of Table Mountain reached by a cable car After soaking in the dramatic views of the crescent blue coast of the Atlantic Ocean kissing its shores a thrilling Harley Davidson chauffeured bike ride to Chapmanrsquos Peak kick started the adventurous streak of the group itineraryKingKlip line fish at the Harbour House Restaurant in Kalk Bay and Malva pudding at Damhuis in MelkbosWe chose a 300kg steel blue Scrambler with 75yearold Willy aka Walter Fearchalus as our seasoned rider Helmets on eight American cruisers thundered One canrsquot help but hum the Queen classic Another One Bites The Dust Colourful Muizenberg Beach huts and Art Deco buildings stand in attention of the steady backdrop of coast with its blue waters tidal pools and lush fynbos a unique biome found across Western capeBarbeque BraaiWe were dropped off at Kalk Bay where gulls and seals took up space between the docked vessels When we showed Walter a tiny ankle burn from the heated exhaust pipes ldquoYoursquove earned yourself a Harley tattoordquo he slaps our back before riding offWe celebrate the ride with the local Kingklip fish which has a fleshy bite along with a dry chenin blanc white wine Time for BraaiThe most local indulgence in the region is Braai to grill meat in Afrikaans It is an unhurried time to bond with friends and family Restaurants charcoal grill boerewors mix meat sausage beef steak mutton chicken and pork slathered with a sweet and smoky sauceWe get a taste of Capetonian love for rhythm and good food in Khayelitsha mdash the biggest township in Cape Town built by its people displaced during the ApartheidKwa Ace a dining and nightlife spot has what the locals call a kasi local place vibe ldquoSouth Africans have a deep sense of community and they express by coming together for Braai Even sports especially cricket and rugby and clubbing bring people together We love gospel music and during the nightlife Afro House Amapiano deep house and hiphop raprdquo a local friend tells us We dig into the juicy meats with sides of maize porridge or pap mealie corn breads butternut squash and creamy spinachThe best thing about Cape Town is that it lets you pick the pace and the curate a personal adventure After all the adrenalineinducing activities we take time to drift A walk by the promenade while spotting paragliders manoeuvre their landing picnic at the Green Point Park a biodiversity garden that leads into fynbosrsquos paths ponds and rolling gardens South Africa leaves this 40yearold with a feeling that the adventure has just begunInto the wildernessA short flight from Cape Town lands into Skukuza in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa Its tiny airport resembles a safari lodge that sits in the middle the dense Kruger NationalElephant walking in KrugerVelley and Jabulani Manzini our friendly spotter and guide duo respectively pick us up and drive us into the luxurious Lion Sands Tinga Lodge on the edge of the Sabie River where camp manager Thembinkosi Maseko who becomes Mr T for us greets us with a cheerful dance ldquoWelcome homerdquo he says and we feel that soon enough We also get used to Nyalas antelopes peeping into our room windows and strutting around the property with their twitching earsWe waste no time and report to Jabu for our first game drive ldquoRemember the wild does not read your books and doesnrsquot follow a manual In the wild every animal has a kill instinctrdquo he tells us as the safari vehicle turns into the open savanna grasslandsAfrican wild dogs are critically endangeredDuring the course of three days our naked eye scans the woodlands that respond with special encounters The opening curtains are drawn by a group of impalas with their elegantly arched horns Our van parks next to two lionesses basking in the grass enjoying a siesta another morning a lazy female leopard sprawls on a branch with its tail hanging at an armrsquos distance At sundown we pass Douglas the onehorned rhino grazing around as heavyweight hippos float in the Sabie River their heads bobbing in and out of the muddy water Even from afar the 900kg wild bulls signals dangerA leopard lazes on a branchThe zebras and giraffes hang around together to protect themselves from their common enemies Their printed hides form a cross stitch of stripes and patches in the greenishbrown terrain We discover the elephants and their love for the amarula fruit That graceful Gajagamini walk in front of our jeep is a delight to watch On an early morning drive a pack of endangered wild dogs chasing an impala raises our adrenaline rushFeather thingsThe binoculars promise a treasure trove of stories in flight Local and migratory bird light up the field of view The neck cranes the body holds stills the art of birding demands patience attention to bird calls and smart spottingThe glossy green Diederik cuckoo spends the summer here to breed and before it flies to the north for equatorial climate in winter For those familiar with the slender ribbonlike white tail of the dudhraj or Asian flycatcher in India the Long tail paradise whydah male flies flagging a similar black tailThe native Green wood hoopoes and greater blueeared starlings glisten in the light while lilac breasted rollers don a colourful plumage Yellow southern hornbill and Red billed hornbill mark attendance tooThe best way to become a birder is to identify birds that sit on the wires Bluetailed beeeaters perch alongside rollers and woodland kingfishers as the countryrsquos biggest Giant Kingfisher swooshes down to catch fish while lapwings huddle on the muddy sands below Larks whistle and the hawks and steppe eagles soar overhead At sunset by the Mutlummuvi Bridge an African fish eagle on a nearby branch and two Saddlebilled stork red beak on the water bed make a beautiful frameKruger sightings over perform for those who look There comes a moment during your time in the forest as with turning 40 when you fully surrender You stop craning your neck or pointing your binoculars for the next best sighting The land inducts you You become one with nature When that moment descends upon us we stare into the pond and tune into the gentle croaking of the bubbling kassina toads In a distance a watchful hyena gruntsAround Cape TownQUAD BIKES An hourrsquos drive from the city Atlantis Dune Quad Bikes are a great way to interact with the terrain Best part you donrsquot need a licenceSHARK CAGE DIVING Get into a cage and dunk your head to meet the sharks in their natural element From the Great White to the Bronzies a boat ride into the waters off Gansbaai fishing village will be an adventure to remember We lived to tell the tail pun intendedWINE TRAM The best way to sip across Franschhoek wine valley is to hop onto a tram Donrsquot miss the Pinotage a South African speciality made with pinot noir and cinsaut grapesPACK A PICNIC At Green Point Park in Cape Town spend the day in the biodiversity garden which house fynbos paths ponds and gardensWHERE TO STAY Intercontinental Table Bay Cape TownWEBSITE wwwihgcomintercontinentalLion Sands Tinga LodgeKruger Park Tinga Legends Lodge Wy Kruger ParkWEBSITE wwwmorecozalionsandstingalodgeLe Quartier FrancaisFranschhoekWEBSITE www leeucollectioncomHow to reach Daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Cape Town by Emirates Kenya Airways and Qatar Airways