Adventure

Experience excellence at Aquila Private Game Reserve

Aquila Private Game Reserve is an easy two-hour drive from the Mother City through the Huguenot tunnel on the N1. The two hours just fly by thanks to the breath-taking scenery of the Hex River Valley and, despite the worst drought in 100 years, the Karoo.

Aquila is a 10 000 hectare conservancy set in the breathtakingly beautiful Karoo and home to elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard and rhino amongst a host of other wildlife. Acclaimed for service excellence, renewable energy, social responsibility and conservation programmes, Aquila is one of the leading game reserves in the country.

I found this game reserve to be more than just an unforgettable wildlife outing; it was an experience in luxurious African hospitality, traditional culinary flair and service excellence.

Experience excellence at Aquila Private Game Reserve

It left me feeling proud of our wonderful country and its many cultures.

The accommodation is luxurious and can be taken at the lodge itself or in the more private, wood and stone-built cottages.

The lodge offers a spa, restaurant, infinity pool, various bars, a curio shop and children’s entertainment area.

I found the staff to be extremely helpful in catering for my every need, my dietary requirements and my busy schedule.

Having visited game reserves in other parts of the country, I found the game drive in the Karoo to be very different and very interesting. The scenery, the plants and the animals’ habits are very different to those of the Highveld and Lowveld.

Safaris may be enjoyed on horseback or on quad bike as well as from the traditional open game vehicle.

Dinner was a medley of mouth-watering South African dishes set around a fire pit. To be outdoors in the Karoo on a cloudless night is an experience all on its own. I will never forget the stargazing.

For more information, visit www.aquilasafari.com online or email res@aquilasafari.com or phone 021 430 7260.\

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About us

Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities. We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa. Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation? Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose.

Expensive is not always better. Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday. They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice. A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday.

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance. Of these, service is the most important.

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion. However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review. We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience? The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table.

Well that’s our theory anyway. It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced. However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience. In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe. It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!