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Review of Roots Africa Tours Day Tours
Reviewed 3 weeks ago My family and I had the pleasure of having Owen as our tour guide for three excursions and two transfers. We arrived late in Cape Town, exhausted from travel, and Owen was there to greet us with a smile, and importantly, a beautiful, air conditioned van fully stocked with water.
Our first tour with Owen was to the beautiful wineland region of Franschhoek. He arrived promptly and it was clear that Owen knew CT, and the country, really well. Geography, politics, history. He’s knowledgeable and gave a perspective without being preachy. Further, he knew when to talk and when to let us just sit back and enjoy the magnificent beauty of the landscape.
Our second excursion with Roots Africa & Owen was the Cultural Tour. I highly recommend this if you visit SA. After travelling to Bo Kaap, Owen drove us to the township of Langa and explained, as well as showed us, the dark past of the country, apartheid. He helped us see that this was a young country and while there have been tremendous growing pains, there is hope for the future.
Our final excursion, and again, highly recommended, was the Peninsula Tour. From Chapman’s Peak to the southernmost tip of Africa to a delightful lunch in Simonstown to the picturesque Kalk and Hout Bay, we had the most AMAZING day. And of course, the penguins of Boulder’s Beach. Owen skillfully negotiated the traffic and roads.
It was with a lump in our throats that we said goodbye to Owen and Cape Town. THANK YOU ROOTS AFRICA FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE TRIP!!!
Date of experience: December 2019
– Beachl0verA
Toronto, Canada
Reza’s van was clean as a whistle inside and out.
He has a wonderful speaking voice and was easy to understand. He was easy going and accommodated us as to where we want to go and stop. No problems with short notice to get that extra photo. We learned lots and would go with him again.
Date of experience: May 2019
– DnDon2014
Littleton, New Hampshire
We did a half day township tour in Cape Town with Owen Jinka.
It was incredibly informative and provided us with loads of insight into South Africa’s apartheid history and current affairs. Highly recommended!
Date of experience: April 2019
– LB1253
London, United Kingdom
As a first-timer to South Africa/Africa (and a solo-traveler on this leg), I requested a 2-day Cape Town extension (after 2 days in Jo-burg), prior to meeting up with a group hiking/safari trip
The parent company I booked with (Wilderness Travel) set up all my airport transfers and extension tours in Cape Town with Roots Africa. My guide and driver on all parts of this tour was Reza, who is GREAT. In terms of my airport transfer, I readily found Reza in arrivals. Reza always drove extremely well, and the car was new and clean. The ride to my Cape Town hotel took about 20 minutes (leaving around 7:30 p.m.) in very light traffic. The next day, Reza picked me up at my hotel and then did an excellent job taking me to Kirstenbosch and on the LONG loop around the Cape of Good Hope (we left at 9 and were out until just after 6 because the weather was so amazing). I LOVED Kirstenbosch (we spent about 2 hours there) and wished I’d booked a whole day. The Cape of Good Hope deserves way more time too – but the scenery en route (including Boulders Beach, the upper lighthouse hike, the lower cape beach, and Chapman’s Peak road) was incredible. We also enjoyed lunch (South Africa is great at burgers!) out at Simon’s Town. On my second full day, we got up an hour earlier hoping to get a clear summit on Table Mountain but, alas, the fog tablecloth was out. It was still very cool, though, to take the gondola up and hike around the rock gardens. We then did a mostly driving tour of the Langa township and central/downtown area, enjoyed some really great fast food Thai on the waterfront, before going out to Robben Island. I’ve posted a separate review of that experience since a different company handled that. Although seeing Robben Island was super-important to me, it involved too many people, feeling very rushed, and not enough time being able to hear the prison guide or really appreciating everything at the site. That said, the ferry ride over there was CRAZY (HUGE waves, some going partly over the boat) and I will probably remember that (and the amazing views back to Table/Cape Town) the most. Lastly, Reza and Roots Africa were extremely generous with their time and flexibility on this tour – with both days full, busy, and really interesting. I also appreciated that Reza knew when I needed to have some independence (e.g. running all over the protea gardens at Kirstenbosch) and when I wanted good guiding/conversation
Date of experience: September 2018
– Sarah B
Tacoma, Washington
We visited the Township Langa with mr Mzuvukile Saunders. It was informative, and educational to walk around with him.
Date of experience: August 2018
– joeriv2014
Cutigliano, Italy