South Africa Honeymoons

Helping your new spouse avoid stepping in a massive pile of elephant dung might not be your traditional idea of romance, but, then again, honeymooning in South Africa isn't just about romance. It's about adventure, exploration, and discovery --and that's just the beginning.

South Africa offers many different kinds of honeymoons for many different kinds of couples. Beach bums, gourmands, and thrill seekers will be equally impressed with all that South Africa has to offer. Many will return year after year to go through it again, and again.

Unbridled Luxury

The unbridled luxury honeymoon is perfect for the couple desperate for some solitude and pampering after many months of hectic wedding planning. In South Africa, ultra accommodations are everywhere, so the only decision newlyweds need to make is whether to stay in one place or several.

In the bush, honeymooners craving luxury can stay in majestic suites with private butlers who cater to every whim. Candlelit dinners, where the only sounds besides your whispers are the clicking of a million crickets and a family of elephants in the distance, can be arranged within camp or anywhere nearby.

Spas in the bush offer treatments and services designed especially for couples, and secluded plunge pools on wooden decks overlooking the sprawling South African savanna provide the perfect backdrop for a romantic rendezvous. Sundowners, in-room fireplaces, and king-sized beds dressed in the finest mosquito netting add to the intoxicating romance of the bush.

In the Winelands of the Western Cape, luxury goes hand-in-hand with fine wine and superlative dining. There are numerous estates at which to stay, and newlyweds can spend some quality time cuddling under a 300-year old oak tree or enjoying lunch on a vine-shaded veranda. Wine tastings offer couples an opportunity to learn about wine together, but many are perfectly content to just savor the moment.

Luxury is taken to yet another level in the cities of South Africa, where hotels have been designed to cater to international figures and prestigious VIPs. Here, staff members will go out of their way to create an unforgettable experience for honeymooners, ranging from a welcome champagne toast or a private hot air balloon tour of the city. Each city property also features superior in-room amenities, leaving couples feeling deliciously pampered without ever having to venture outside the room.

Wild Adventure

For those who equate romance with the rush of adrenaline, a South African adventure vacation makes the best honeymoon. In Kruger National Park, for example, honeymooners can hike any one of the seven wilderness trails with an armed ranger, returning at night to cuddle in a camp with rustic rooms and reed-enclosed bathrooms for a real African experience. The private game lodges will also take honeymooners out for their very own private game drive in an open Land Rover.

In Durban, honeymooners can ride some of the most incredible waves in the world and take a bicycle tour of the colorful Indian District.

In the Western Cape, soft adventure opportunities such as whale-watching and ballooning over the Winelands can be combined with stays at manor houses on the Garden Route.

Cape Town is a virtual adventure honeymoon paradise, offering newlyweds an unmatched array of activities and participant sports, such as abseiling, aerobatic flying, canoeing, white-water rafting, mountain climbing, diving, fly-fishing, golfing, hiking, horseback riding, bungee jumping and skydiving. "Kloofing" (known as canyoning in the U.S.), is another South African adventure during which honeymooners (as part of a larger group) follow a mountain stream through its gorge (or kloofî) by swimming, hopping over rocks, and jumping over waterfalls or cliffs into deep pools of water. Caving, which requires honeymooners to be strung together by rope as they venture deeper into the cave, is also lots of fun and involves a good amount of scrambling and squirming on the belly to gain access to all parts of the cave.

Cultural

To gain a sense of perspective as they start their new life together, newly married couples may consider spending an evening with a family in Soweto or another township during their stay in South Africa. A truly unique experience even for world travelers, staying with a township family could be especially enriching for couples who plan to have children. By sharing hearty meals of traditional South African fare and exchanging stories of struggle and hope with parents who have raised children in a township, honeymooners can learn a great deal about family and the importance of love and spirituality.

Other ìcoupledî cultural experiences include visiting a living tribal museum such as Shakaland in the KwaZulu-Natal province, having lunch or dinner at a township restaurant such as Masandeís in Cape Town, joining a larger group for a township shebeen (pub) crawl, or shopping for local crafts at any one of the many flea-markets that spring up all around the country.

For copies of the Official South African Travel Planner and additional information, consumers may contact South African Tourism, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110-0002, 212-730-2929/877-MANDELA, as well as access www.southafrica.net.