Ricky Shetty's Blog, page 7
March 22, 2017
HomeBase Cape Town
Our first hostel in South Africa was at HomeBase Melville in Johannesburg so it was only fitting we stay at HomeBase Cape Town too! We had a lovely stay at the Cape Town location as it had an awesome Family Room, Communal Kitchen, Rooftop Garden, Amazing Staff, and a friendly dog named Basey! Here’s why we loved HomeBase: 1) BEAUTIFUL FAMILY ROOMS Each room has its’ own unique character and feel. Our room was called “Sunset” and had a beautiful orange sunset motif with a double bed, bunk bed, and ensuite washroom. Our kids loved the bunk beds while my wife and I got to enjoy the nice, comfy big bed! They have dorm rooms, singles, doubles, and family rooms en-suite and shared. 2) CENTRAL LOCATION We did the 2 day City Sightseeing Bus Tour during our stay at HomeBase and it was only a few blocks walk away. Plus, there were several restaurants and cafes around the hostel. Plus, a grocery store right opposite the front door and the train and bus station within a few minutes walk. 3) ROOFTOP GARDEN We loved the view from the roof! We were able to have lovely breakfasts and dinners overlooking the famous Long Street. Plus, we made some awesome friends in the communal area. Having spaces like this really help build community. Plus, there is a weekly Braai on Fridays. Check out our Video Tours below!! 1) HomeBase Cape Town: 2) HomeBase Johannesburg:
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Travelling Overland from Johannesburg to Cape Town with Baz Bus
Curious about travelling to South Africa? In this blog post, I will be reviewing all the different transport options (and why we chose to go with Baz Bus) as well as all the cities and towns we stopped at and the hotels & hostels we stayed in during our 2 month trip to South Africa. One of our dilemmas in travelling to South Africa was how to do the long bus trip from Joburg to Cape Town. After considering the different travel methodologies and looking online at different blogs and Facebook Groups, we chose Baz Bus since most independent travellers were raving about how much they loved the company. For those of you considering which is the best way to travel between Joburg and Cape Town, here’s our perspective! Here are some of the different options and the pros and cons to each method: 1) RENT A CAR Good if you want total freedom to leave when you want and stop where & when you like. You will be driving long hours and as the driver, you will have to be 100% focused on the road. 2) TOUR BUS Good if you want a full guided commentary and almost everything taken care of you by guides. Not good if you want freedom and flexibility to set your own agenda and go off-the-beaten track. 3) PUBLIC BUSES An awesome way to meet the locals! Often the public buses don’t leave on time and you are reliant on their schedules instead of your own. 4) TRAIN Extremely scenic but extremely expensive. We would have loved to do the famous Blue Train but it was far out of our budget this time around! 5) FLIGHTS A good option if you have limited time and a bigger budget. You miss out on the beauty of travelling overland. After doing a lot of research, much reflection, and plenty of dialogue between by wife and I, we felt the best way to travel between the 2 major cities was to do the Baz Bus Hop On Hop Off Bus Trip. Here’s 5 reasons why we chose Baz Bus: 1) AFFORDABILITY Baz Bus offers good value for money. 2) CONVENIENCE Since we are travelling with young kids, having pick-ups & drop-offs right at our hostel was super helpful! 3) FLEXIBILITY We bought a 14 day Bus Pass which allowed us to stop when and where we wanted over the […]
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March 17, 2017
Once in Cape Town – Hostel Review
South Africa has changed our mindset towards hostels! Before visiting, we thought that hostels were only for young backpackers. I used to stay in hostels in my early 20s. However, since getting married and having kids, it felt like our hostel days were behind us. Surprisingly, after visiting South Africa and staying in several hostels during our overland trip between Joburg and Cape Town, we heave learned that hostels are very family-friendly, very community-focused, very well-located, and very affordable One of our favourite hostels in South Africa is Once in Cape Town – an amazing accommodation in Gardens right in the heart of the city! We had a lot of good things about Once while we were on the Baz Bus so we were super excited to stay here. There was definitely reasons why people were raving about this hostel. Here’s why we loved Once in Cape Town: 1) FRIENDLY STAFF Right when we arrived and got a personalized guided tour of the entire hostel, we knew we had picked the right place to stay at. During our entire stay, the entire team were super friendly, playing with our kids, organizing our laundry cleaning, storing our luggage, helping us with sightseeing recommendations, and much more. Make sure you say “Hi!” to the GM Sean…he has the most awesome moustache ever! 2) CLEAN ROOMS Once again, “Once” differentiates itself from other hostels by offering guests clean, spotless rooms! We were even able to let #BabyRenzo crawl around our room. All the rooms offer en-suite washrooms so no need to share with other guests. Plus, one of my personal favourite features was the electric plug on the headboard of each bed for us to charge our electronic devices. Definitely keeps a blogger happy!
March 3, 2017
Mile Crunchers in Mossel Bay
Why stop in Mossel Bay? There are many reasons to visit this beautiful town along the Garden Route…here are a few: 1) To go Shark Cage Diving 2) To visit Seal Island 3) To eat at Kaai 4 Braai Restaurant 4) To begin or end your Garden Route Adventure 5) To stay at Mile Crunchers We actually did all 5 of the above! The highlight was definitely Shark Cage Diving as it is something that has been on our Bucket List for a while and we knew that we had to do it during our trip to South Africa. Instead of going to the Hermanus Area, we decided to do our Shark Cage Dive in Mossel Bay as it was already along our Baz Bus Route! Plus, our room at Mile Crunchers was directly above White Shark Africa – how convenient! When looking for a hostel or hotel, we always look for something right in the centre of town. Mile Crunchers has the perfect location right in the heart of town, a few minutes walk to the beach, restaurants, shopping, and for cruises to Seal Island. Here’s some of the reasons we loved Mile Crunchers: 1) AMAZING STAFF The owner is from Wales so she has left the management to Janine and Rashieda (the wonderful team who run the hostel)! We really loved both of them – so helpful & friendly! They helped us with Booking our Shark Cage Diving & Seal Viewing, Sightseeing Suggestions, Restaurant Recommendations, and Confirming our Baz Bus Transport to Cape Town! 2) PERFECT LOCATION Location, location, location…it’s what we all want when we travel! During our Round-The-World Trip, one of the first things we always do is a Google Map Search of the hostels and hotels we stay at. Mile Crunchers has one of the best locations for tourists in Mossel Bay. We were able to walk everywhere from our hostel. Plus, there is a beautiful ocean view! Mile Crunchers is really prime Real Estate in Mossel Bay! 3) GREAT PRICES Very affordable for dorm beds, singles, doubles, or family rooms. Plus, breakfast is included which will save you from eating out!! If you are on a budget but still want your creature comforts, I definitely recommend Mile Crunchers. Check online for the latest prices. Mention “Daddy Blogger sent me” to the Mile Crunchers Team and they may even give our readers a special discount! 4) BAZ BUS […]
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February 28, 2017
The Wild Farm in Wilderness
#FarmStay I’ve always wondered what it would be like to stay on a farm. Well, after this week, I had to wonder no more as we were able to stay at The Wild Farm in Wilderness. From the moment we got off the Baz Bus and jumped into the Farm Shuttle and started driving up a winding dirt road, I knew this was going to be a special experience. It has become one of the highlights of our entire 2 month trip to South Africa and we keep raving about how amazing The Wild Farm experience is! The Shuttle Driver was a friendly Italian who was working on the Farm for the last few months and he had fallen in love with Farm Life! Soon, we were about to discover what farm life was all about! From the moment we arrived, we were really in awe of our surroundings. My wife was beaming from ear to ear, our kids were super excited to see the farm animals, and I was awe-struck by the beauty that was all around us! It really felt like we had stepped foot into another world! So, what were our first impressions of #FarmLife? 1) SLOWER PACE OF LIFE Yes, Farm Life is much slower than living in a busy, urban city. We did not “DO” much…we focused more on “BEING” – just enjoying the ambience, gazing at the views, smelling the flowers, listening to the frogs, walking around the farm, interacting with the animals, and talking with the other guests. Our kids made an instant friend when they saw 5 year old Elijah (whose mom is from Peru and whose dad is from South Africa). They were at the hostel at the same time almost 10 years ago before they got married and had kids! 2) INCREDIBLE BEAUTY “WOW!!!” That’s what we kept saying as we gazed at the marvel of God’s creation all around us! Luckily, we were able to sit on the Outdoor Deck of the reception when we saw the sun setting and it was simply incredible! No picture or video could do this amazing sunset justice. And…imagine living here…imagine seeing the sun go down with the spectacular orange, pink, & red hues painting the sky around the farm every night. It was surreal for us this once…it must be even more surreal to witness the daily sunsets! 3) CONNECTION TO NATURE & ANIMALS If you […]
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Staying at Island Vibe in South Africa
How family-friendly are backpackers hostels? That was the question that was running through our minds as we were planning our 5 week trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town in South Africa. Since we are using Baz Bus to travel across South Africa, it made sense to stay directly in hostels since the buses do door-to-door drop-offs and pick-ups at all the major backpackers in each city. We are going to write up a separate blog post about our Top 10 Hostels in South Africa. However, in this blog post, I will be focusing on our stays at Island Vibe Backpackers, which has 3 hostels in Port Elizabeth, Jeffrey’s Bay, and Knysna. Overall, we were super happy with the Island Vibe Hostels and they rank at the top of the list of all the backpackers hostels we stayed in during our trip to South Africa. So, here’s our reflections and experiences staying at all 3 Island Vibe Hostels. 1) ISLAND VIBE IN PORT ELIZABETH When the bus arrived in Port Elizabeth, we were keen to see what Island Vibe would be like since we have had different experiences at hostels so far (from very dirty to much cleaner). We were amazed when the Baz Bus pulled up to Island Vibe Beach House as it did not look or feel like a hostel at all. It was definitely more like a Flashpackers! The receptionist checked us into an amazing Family Room with a view of the Pool and Outdoor Garden. It was huge, clean, and perfect for our family. Here is our video tour of the room: 2) ISLAND VIBE IN JEFFREY’S BAY We heard that this was a “Party Hostel” so we specifically asked for a Beachfront Room away from the noise. The friendly staff put us in a separate house away from the restaurant and bar with a gorgeous view of Jeffreys Beach. This was the best location of the 3 Island Vibes as you had a gorgeous beach-view, restaurant onsite, surfing lessons, and walking tours all organized by the hostel. We even did the hostel-ogranized Township Tour led by the wise and informative Goodman! Check out our view and our room in this video: 3) ISLAND VIBE IN KNYSNA We were very happy with our first 2 Island Vibe experiences and our satisfaction continued with Island Vibe Kynsna (3 for 3)! This was much more laid-back and about a […]
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February 23, 2017
Away with the Fairies in Hogsback
An ambience of tranquility, gorgeous murals from Lord of the Rings, serene walks and hikes through the forest, the best pizzas in South Africa, super friendly staff & guests, …AND…an amazing outdoor bathtub with a spectacular view (#WorldFamousBath)!! What more could you ask for? We got all this and more during our stay at Away with the Fairies in Hogsback. Hogsback has become one of our favourite places in South Africa. Yes, that is quite the compliment considering we have visited almost all the major tourist attractions and cities in the country! Most of our readers have never ever heard of Hogback. That is why blogs like ours are so useful…to tell you about and show you places that you might never visit without hearing about it from us! I had never heard of this magical town until I started researching online after we arrived in South Africa a few weeks ago. Almost every blogger, every guidebook including Coast to Coast & Lonely Planet, and every backpacker we met on the Baz Bus recommended we stop at Hogsback. It was certainly out-of-the-way and off-the-beaten track but most memories are created when you take the road less travelled! Since we had 2 days in East London, we decided to make the journey up to Hogback. Luckily, there is a shuttle to and from East London. We were not really sure what to expect…the anticipation certainly built up as we left East London and made our way to King Williams Town and then up to the University of Fort Hare in Alice. When we started making our way down a windy road and the most beautiful valley and mountains stood before us, my wife and I looked at each other and we knew we had made the right decision to come to Hogsback! When we arrived at Away with the Fairies, we were warmly greeted by Garth (yes, that’s him in the picture above) who showed us around the property and to our room. When we walked to the viewpoint and then the bathtub, our jaws dropped. I really could not believe they had put an outdoor bath with WARM water (yes, warm water!) for you to relax in while overlooking the 3 peaks of Hogsback and the valley below. Rianne, Ryan, and I jumped in for THE BEST BATH OF OUR LIVES! (make sure you get some of the organic bubble bath […]
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February 20, 2017
Top 5 Family Sightseeing Attractions in Johannesburg
Johannesburg does not have the best reputation in the world. Unfortunately, a lot of people say “the city is unsafe” which makes most travellers totally avoid the city or just stay overnight on their way to and from another city. We, being the adventurous family that we are, chose to spend a few days exploring Joburg and the surrounding area. Here’s our recommendation for the top 5 things to do for families with young kids: 1) CITY SIGHTSEEING TOUR Doing a Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour is a great introduction to a city. We have done similar tours in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi so it made sense to start Joburg the same way! On our first day, we did the entire Red Loop stopping at Constitution Hill followed by the entire Green Loop and then ended off the day at the Carlton Tower to visit “The Top of Africa” (the highest building on the continent). On the second day, we visited the Apartheid Museum and combined it with a Soweto Tour. 2) SOWETO DAY TRIP If you want to learn more about Apartheid history, you must check out Soweto. City Sightseeing offers a 2 hour tour in a Mini Bus stopping in several places along the way including the FIFA 2010 World Cup Stadium (known as “Soccer City”), the Orlando Towers, the Hector Piederson Memorial, and the Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu Houses. You can also set the Tin Houses which shows you the extreme poverty which still exists in this part of South Africa. 3) LION AND SAFARI PARK When we heard that you could pet Lion Cubs, we quickly organized a day trip to Lion and Safari Park. We started off with a 1 hour tour where we got within a few meters of lions. The best part were the Animal Interactions. We all got to pet 2 adorable Lion Cubs while I was able to cuddle an Adult Cheetah. We had a delicious lunch on-site and to finish off an eventful day, Rianne and Ryan got to feed the resident Giraffe. Rianne was even able to get a #GiraffeKiss! 4) LESEDI CULTURAL VILLAGE This was a second visit to a cultural village. The first was only one tribe whereas Lesedi Cultural Village allows you to learn about 5 different tribes in a short timeframe. We got to walk through 5 villages where our friendly […]
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February 13, 2017
Elephant Sanctuary at Hazyview
It’s one thing to see animals in the wild, it’s a whole different experience interacting with them up-close. During our 3 day Animal Safari at Kruger National Park, we must have seen 50-80 animals in the wild feeding, bathing, and crossing the road. Our kids loved these animals so we decided to visit the Elephant Sanctuary in Hazyview for a more personal and intimate encounter! We started off with a visit to the stables and learned about Elephant Anatomy. Then was the moment we were waiting for – a chance to interact with these Gentle Giants. First was Rianne, then Ryan, and finally me. We got to touch the trunk, ears, tail, body, legs, knees, and even the toes! The highlight was walking trunk-in-hand with the elephants! Plus, we got to feed the elephants. Both Rianne and Ryan loved interacting with the elephants. We ended off this memorable trip with an Elephant Kiss – watch the video to see how it looked:
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February 12, 2017
Animal Safari at Kruger National Park
A dream come true!! One of my lifelong dreams has been to do an Animal Safari in Africa. Watching open-air jeeps drive around while spotting the Big 5 (Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Rhinos, and Buffalos) seemed to be such a rush. I have seen dozens of shows on National Geographic and the Nature Channel, I have seen pictures on Social Media and videos on YouTube. However, this week, my dream of actually doing an African Animal Safari finally came true as we did a 3 day Animal Safari at Kruger National Park. Best of all, I got to celebrate my 40th Birthday on the second day of our Animal Safari – what an amazing way to celebrate birth, life, and living life to the max! We were able to see over 500 animals in 3 days (yes, over 500)!! Some of the highlights were staying overnight at 2 different camps inside Kruger National Park and coming face-to-face with lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffalos, hyenas, baboons, and much more. On the last day, I even got to drive the jeep and spotted some wild elephants as we were driving – what a rush! Seeing these incredible animals in the wild is such a different experience than seeing them on TV, YouTube, or at the zoo. Now that I have seen all of these animals in the wild, it will be very difficult to go to a zoo ever again. Our kids really loved seeing all these animals up close too – look at the joy and amazement in the videos below as they spot their favourite animals! If you want to check off one major Bucket List item, make it an Animal Safari, as it will change your feelings and perspectives towards animals forever. A big thank you to Inkosi Tours & Transfers for helping sponsor our trip to Kruger National Park! We highly recommend going with Goodman who has been to Kruger over 300 times in the last 6 years and gives detailed commentary as you travel around Kruger! Here is Anne’s Highlights Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UhfV... Here is Ricky’s Highlights Video:
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