SOUTH AFRICAN SPLENDOUR

South Africa was absolutely brilliant! Let me share the highlights from my journey through this amazing country.

I started at a lovely 5* boutique hotel right on Thompson Bay Beach in Balito (KwaZulu-Natal). It's on the "Dolphin Coast" north of Durban. The hotel was gorgeous and I especially loved evening drinks on the terrace watching the sunset while enjoying their delicious seafood canapes.

We popped to the famous Oyster Box hotel in Umhlanga Rocks for dinner one night. It's quite grand but not stuffy at all. Their curry buffet was fantastic - apparently Durban is known for its curries because of the large Indian community there.

The hotel has a resident cat called Skebenga who wandered in years ago and never left! The staff showed us photos of his birthday parties - yes, actual birthday parties for a cat! He's become quite the local celebrity.

Next we headed inland to Zululand and stayed at Valley Lodge in Babanango Game Reserve. The whole lodge area is fenced from the main reserve, which makes it great for families as you can walk around freely without worrying about bumping into anything with sharp teeth!

Our guide was brilliant - he knew absolutely everything about the wildlife and plants. My first walking safari was both terrifying and amazing - you see everything so differently on foot!

The best moment was watching a mother cheetah with three cubs just metres from our vehicle. We sat completely still for about 20 minutes watching them stalk some impala. Incredible!

I didn't think I'd be that interested in the Anglo-Zulu War history, but our battlefield tour at Fugitives Drift (Rorke's Drift) was fascinating! The guides made it all come alive - it was like watching a film but you're standing right where it all happened.

The lodge itself was really homely, with big fireplaces and family-style dinners where we chatted with other guests and the owners. It felt more like staying with friends than at a hotel.

Our last stop was Montusi Mountain Lodge in the Northern Drakensberg. The scenery here is just stunning - huge rock faces and rolling green hills. My cottage had the most amazing views!

I went on a morning hike to see some ancient San rock paintings. Some are thousands of years old but still so clear!

The mountain air was lovely and fresh after the heat of the game reserves.

South Africa is definitely a place I want to go back to. There's such variety - beaches, wildlife, mountains, all within a few hours' drive of each other. And everyone was so friendly and welcoming!