Natasha and Hemant – South Africa and Seychelles
Adventurous safari, luxury hotel stay with private butler to picnic in the Vineyard, these are just a few highlights from Natasha and Hemant’s honeymoon in South Africa and Seychelles. Natasha shares their memorable experience
Natasha is the founder and lead photographer behind The Storyteller. Hemant is a marketing professional. The couple were introduced by a common friend six years ago and the rest, as they say, is history!
Natasha and Hemant got married on the 7th of July in their hometown Mumbai and then headed out to South Africa and Seychelles. Here, the bride tells us about their 17 days of romance and adventure.
Honeymoon Planning
“It was a toss-up between a beach holiday and one in the hills. South Africa has been on our bucket list for a while and it offers wonderful beaches as well as mountainous getaways so basically we hit the jackpot! We flew Air Seychelles, which included a stopover in the Seychelles and so we decided to extend our holiday by a couple of days to soak up the sun and relax,” says Natasha.
“The Quantum Travels team handled the planning of our honeymoon. They’re specialists in South African holidays and our honeymoon was exactly what we wanted with a mix of everything!” shares Natasha.
Honeymoon Highlights
“We began our honeymoon at the Clifftop Safari Lodge – an exclusive luxury lodge that caters to no more than 8 couples at a time. We really loved the hotel’s very personalized service. Every aspect of our stay was treated with the utmost attention to detail. The safari experience was out of this world! Coffee with the giraffes, sundowners with the lions, it was spectacular. Breakfast was a treat – everything fresh and delicious! And every night our personal butler organized a candlelit dinner in a different location – sometimes on the rooftop, sometimes in the wine cellar. Some of our favourite meals on the honeymoon were had here,” says Natasha.
The couple then travelled to Franschhoek, a one street town, home to the famous South African vineyards. “We just strolled around the town, spending quiet evenings at the street cafés, bingeing on wine and cake! We spent one entire day hopping from one vineyard to the next, tasting the local wines and produce. One of the highlights of our trip was a day at the Spier estate when we picked up a picnic basket and some wine from the local deli and spent a magical afternoon al fresco, enjoying the serenity of the estate.” recounts Natasha
Natasha says, “Our next stop was Cape Town, the city that stole our hearts. We of course did the touristy things like visiting Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope – both must do’s if you are in Cape Town. But Cape Town has so much more to offer. There are some popular nightspots. We’re both fond of jazz and we discovered a lovely jazz club, the Asoka, which has live bands almost every night.” She recounts, “We also spent an evening at the beach at Camps Bay, where we witnessed what had to be the most spectacular sunset of our lives, every colour you could imagine right there, truly breath taking! The photographer in me took over and I just had to capture it!”
Natasha and Hemant then flew to Johannesburg for one night and checked into a boutique hotel – The Athol Place, the epitome of contemporary-classic glamour meeting understated elegance. It is home to one of the finest restaurants in South Africa and we loved their version of the everyday classic with a spin – the delicious stacked French toast, layered with bacon.
“We spent the last leg of our honeymoon in the Seychelles, at the Sainte Anne Resort and Spa that is situated on a private island. We spent our days lazing on the beautiful beach and unwinding after the craziness of the wedding! We were pleasantly surprised one evening with a private candle light dinner on the beach, a delectable spread of seafood and the sound of the ocean as our playlist,” shares Natasha.
Best meal of the trip
Natasha shares, “The best meal of our trip was undoubtedly at Carlcuccios at Franschhoek. Their pepperoni pizza with their signature garlic and chilli seasoning was just out of this world! No visit to South Africa is complete without a meal at Carlcuccios!”
Most Romantic Moment
“Our most romantic moment was our picnic lunch at the Spier Estate in Franschhoek, in quiet outdoors,” says Natasha.
Advice for couples
“If you’re going to South Africa, a visit to Franschhoek is a must-do specially if you’re fond of wine! It is the wine region of the Western Cape and has a well-organized hop-on-hop-off tour taking you for wine tastings across a majority of the wine estates,” shares Natasha
Natasha suggests another must visit is a quaint little fishing village called Hermanus, close to Cape Town, this is where one can enjoy whale watching in the summer months.
Natasha and Hemant share, “We were looked after like family at each and every hotel we stayed in; constantly showered with little surprises, chocolates, flowers and lots of champagne! Our honeymoon went off perfectly thanks to the team at Quantum who would get int ouch every day with updates, tips and advice on our days ahead. They ensured we had a truly memorable honeymoon!”
Where They Stayed
Clifftop Safari Lodge
Protea Hotel, Franschhoek
Waterfront Village, Cape
Town Athol Place, Johannesburg
Sainte Anne Resort and Spa, Seychelles
To book a bespoke romantic trip for two, click here
