We’ve loved our time in the Rosenhof Country House, and are sad to be leaving its beautiful environs, having an early breakfast sat in the serene garden so we can get on our way first thing. 

But we’re not going far initially, just a five minute drive down the road to the Cango Wildlife Ranch, a world-renowned cheetah conservation centre and well presented animal park. With the cheetah population under severe threat, the work they do in breeding them is vital to the species’ survival, and like the other animal parks we are due to visit, conservation and education is at the heart of what they do. 

We have about 20 minutes before the guided tour starts so are recommended to make our way through a couple of other exhibits, starting with the Snake Park. Entering by ourselves through a closed door into a darkened space my stomach turns in fear when immediately confronted by a huge python coiled at my feet. It’s behind a glass display case and dozing contentedly but the hairs on my legs quiver with a visceral fear and primal repulsion that doesn’t abate until we’re back in the sunshine. 

Anacondas, cobras, black and green mambas, corn snakes and various other lethal reptiles are all housed within and every now and then a lazy eye blinks open with a cold stare. I can’t wait to leave. Far more amenable are the aviary of colourful birds, the cheeky lemurs and the inquisitive wallabies. 

At 9am we’re met by a guide called Jonathan who leads us, and a South African family, through the rest of the park starting with the so-called Valley of the Ancients, which houses fish, fruit bats, various birds and miniature antelopes called blue daikur. Beyond that is an otter enclosure and a vulture sanctuary, a playground for Madagascan ring-tailed lemurs, a flamingo lake, a home for orphaned bay-eared foxes, a grumpy maribou stork, some Pygmy hippos and a group of frightening Nile crocodiles. 

Jonathan is a wealth of information explaining the threats to the creatures and explaining how the work of the wildlife ranch helps protect them. He then leads us through the big cat enclosures, where we see cheetahs being fed, and on past Bengal tigers, lions and leopards who have all been rescued from captivity and maltreatment elsewhere. 

The whole tour takes longer than anticipated so it’s 11am before we leave Oudtshoorn and we’re soon stuck behind slow lorries on the windy road that leads us out of the Little Karoo region via the Oteniqua Pass. We’re heading to the large town of George to rejoin the N2 and start the official section of the Garden Route, but by the time we’ve cleared George and made it to our first stop, the beachside community of Wilderness, it’s already lunchtime. 

We find a cute little spot at a disused railway station set back from the beach called Beejuice Cafe and order food, having a surprisingly good meal and feeling recharged and ready for the glories of the Garden Route. However as we drive on towards the much-vaunted town of Knysna we’re pretty underwhelmed by what we see. 

The scenery is nowhere near as dramatic and exciting as Route 62 and the Little Karoo. It’s very pleasant but we could be driving through Devon, and when we mention it at our hotel later, the consensus from all the staff is that Route 62 is by far the better drive but that the Garden Route benefits from being better known. Not that they’re complaining of course!

We stop at Knysna and wander around the Quays, which is a pleasant pier of shops and restaurants where we had originally planned to have lunch, but is nothing special, reminding us of an American seaside development, so we move on and make an unscheduled but rather wonderful visit to Knysna Elephant Park, a conservation centre housing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants and those rescued from circuses and abusive situations. 

Knysna originally had a huge elephant population living in the abundant local forests but hunting - usually for sport -  in the 19th and early 20th century has driven them to extinction and the story of human destruction is told in sobering detail at the Elephant Park. We really are an appalling blight upon this planet. 

Luckily for us though, we are just in time for last tour of the park today. We buy buckets of food for the elephants at reception and are then shown a video of the remarkable work the park does. From an original population of just two orphaned elephants they now care for 40 pachyderms, many brought in injured or alone with some now naturally born into the herd, but all used to human contact. 

Once we’ve been instructed in the do’s and don’ts of elephant etiquette the small group of us are driven into the park and go to meet these magnificent creatures. Clasping our buckets we feed them fruit and vegetables, their grasping trunks muddy and rough on our skin, and once fed they wander off into the large park with us following alongside. 

Sally, the matriarch, is one of the original pair that the owners of the park rescued back in the 1970s and she sets the tone with a huge bubbly fart and a satisfied dollop of excreta, but with a watchful eye, she and the other huge beasts allow us to walk amongst them, touching them gently with Wilfred our attentive guide beside us. It’s a strange and humbling experience, always aware that these are wild animals who are dangerous and should be treated with respect yet graced with gentle intelligence. I find the contact rather nerve-racking but quite moving. It illuminates one of the later animal encounters to come on this trip. 

Opposite the turn off for the Knysna Elephant Park lies our hotel for the night but just a few miles further down the road lies the town of Plettenberg Bay, another of the highlights of the Garden Route, so we head there first to check it out, driving through the resort and parking outside the rather lovely 5 star hotel The Plettenberg. We have a snoop around and wander down to the magnificent beach that curves around the bay, wondering if we’ve made a mistake not staying there. It’s really gorgeous. 

However, as we drive through the security gates of Hunters Country Lodge and cruise through the grounds towards reception we’re pretty confident we’ve made the right choice. Greeted by Peter, the hotel manager, and shown around the property, we’re sure we have. It’s quite simply amazing and ridiculously affordable as the pound still goes a very long way in South Africa. It’s utter paradise. 

The gardens, the lodge, the pool, the restaurants and the safari-style tented section are all fabulous, but it’s when we’re shown to our spacious villa for the night that we fall fully in love with the gorgeous place. Slipping straight into our trunks we head out to explore a little further, wandering over the lawns to Zinzi, the fine-dining restaurant shared by Hunters and its sister property Tsala Treetops Lodge a short walk away. 

Set beside a lake it’s beautiful, and as we take photos of ourselves in the grounds, another couple, also wearing t-shirts and trunks, come into view, stopping to ask if we’d like a shot together. Nick and Tim are staying over at Tsala but on their way to use the pool at Hunters so we wander back together and are soon all drinking cocktails and taking a dip. 

They’ve stayed at the Delaire Graff in the Winelands and are celebrating 32 years together, along with a recent upgrade of their earlier civil partnership to marriage, plus live in Brixton at the other end of the Victoria line to us, so we’re soon onto another round of drinks by the fire in the safari tent, gossiping wildly and discussing work (they’re in banking and art) and London life as if we’ve known each other for years. 

As a result we’re late for our dinner reservation at Zinzi, but having said hello to the staff earlier, they’ve reserved us a lovely table and serve us a spectacular vegetarian meal. A variety of breads are delivered with dips of hummus, tapenade and sun dried tomatoes, followed by arancini in a delectable light curry sauce. Falafel skewers with avocado dressing arrive alongside a butternut & dukkah salad, served with buckwheat and feta, whilst a light and delicious Thai vegetable curry rounds things off.

Whoever warned us South Africa was all about the meat had obviously not been here in a while. There’s a worldwide food revolution underway. 

Suitably sated with Cape Point Splattered Toad Sauvignon, and a honey and orange blossom-scented Secateurs Chenin Blanc we head back to the lobby where we meet Nick and Tim again, chatting until nearly midnight and promising to meet back in London soon. 

I’m not sure any of us really needed that final bottle of red though!