The Cape, Privately

The thinking

This is the only day of the journey with no transfer in it, and that is deliberate. (A walk through the villa here.) After six days of moving, your guests wake in a villa with its own chef, its own wine steward, its own guide and vehicle, and a view over Walker Bay — and nothing whatsoever is required of them.

There is a great deal on offer, all of it included, and some guests will take all of it. Others will not leave the pool. Both are the right answer, and the villa is good enough that staying in it all day is not a wasted one.

But there is one thing here we would encourage everybody to do.

The one thing

Swimming the horses in the Atlantic, bareback, through the surf at Pearly Beach.

Not a walk along the sand. Out into the waves on a horse with no saddle, in the open ocean, with a professional outfit who know exactly what they are doing and horses that have done it all their lives. It is the single most exhilarating hour on this coast, and almost nobody offers it.

And nobody needs to be able to ride. Anyone who has never sat on a horse in their life is taken in with two handlers beside them the entire time, one at each side. That is how this outfit works, and it is why the whole party can do this together rather than half of them watching from the sand.

I have done it myself, with my wife, Oksana — here we are doing it. I will be in the water with them.

And whatever else they feel like

All included, none of it scheduled, and chosen on the morning rather than booked in advance.

Eighteen holes

Hermanus, twenty-five minutes away, or Arabella across the lagoon at Kleinmond — one of the finest courses in the country.

Up into Fernkloof

The mountain paths above Hermanus, with the whole of Walker Bay opening below as you climb, and proteas the size of dinner plates along the way.

Into the reserve on foot

Out from the villa with your own guide, into milkwood forests that were ancient before any of this was named. More plant species here than in the whole of the British Isles.

Out on the water

By boat to Dyer Island and Geyser Rock — thousands of Cape fur seals, the channel between them known as Shark Alley, and dolphins along the way.

An afternoon in Hermanus

A cliff-top village twenty-five minutes away, with galleries, craftwork and small shops worth an hour or two — and the right place to find something for the people who stayed behind. Lunch above the bay, and the cliff path afterwards.

Or nothing at all

The pool, the view, a second treatment at the spa, and a chef who will cook whatever is asked for. At this villa, that is a perfectly good way to spend a day.

The evening

Dinner at the villa, cooked by their own chef and poured by their own steward — or back to the boma under the milkwoods if last night is the one they want repeating. Sundowners somewhere new on the reserve beforehand, if the light is good.

Tomorrow they leave the coast for the Karoo, and the pace picks up again.

Who is where

John Sparks	In the water at Pearly Beach, and available for anything else the day turns into.
Trip guide	With whichever group needs Russian, wherever they go.
The villa’s guide and butler	On hand all day, with the open safari vehicle.

Guests	12, doing as they please
Transfers	None
Fixed appointments	None
Accommodation	Grootbos, six-bedroom private villa — sole use, night 2 of 2

Day Seven