March
19
2010
By Robyn Hodson
Tour guides moan about their groups in secret. All of them. Especially the big groups. You thought you were the easiest, coolest bunch of people in the world, didn’t you? Ha!
Believe me when I tell you that your guides, at some point during your tours (and probably more than once), sat white-knuckled in the corner of a dodgy bar in some random outpost, shooting moonshine so lethal in strength they felt as if they’d been swallowed whole by a hippopotamus and hoiked back up again... before emerging into the sunshine smiling and ready to continue the trip. You know they did.
So if you’re a picky traveller—and you should be as it’s your holiday—I’d suggest a tour all to yourself, a day designed by someone specifically so that you can indulge your strange penchant for fridge magnets or urge to photograph an African bull elephant, in full musth, up close with a macro-lens. Whilst snuffling in my favourite city, Cape Town, I came across two great boutique companies, both run by dynamic women whose job it is to make it all about you.
Marion Ellis, owner of Cape Insights, runs tours for visitors who crave specialist knowledge and who want to indulge their intellects, passions and quirks. If she’s not taking the tours herself, Marion has a portfolio of cellar masters, food editors, earth scientists, historians and archaeologists to draw upon. One of my favourites is her Craft Tour which is a fabulous day out visiting niche cottage industry businesses, meeting cutting edge artists and seeing showcase galleries which you'd otherwise never know about. And, all-importantly, she has a wicked foodie side. With a history in the restaurant industry, she’s owned one of Cape Town’s most legendary restaurants... so she knows her jus from her roux. You’ll want to get in on that tour.
Shannon van Staden owns StyleBuyDesign and she is the company in that you get her all to yourself on your visit. Believe me, you wouldn’t want to share as she’s the expert in locating quality South African products—photographs, sculptures, contemporary home furnishings, beautiful fabrics—that are not easy to find and that you don’t want anyone else to find either. You are chauffeur-driven in style to her coveted collection of design ateliers, interiors studios, fashion designers and private art galleries… and when it all gets too much, there’s a lazy lunch to look forward to at any one of the achingly trendy/picturesque/remote spots she can conjure out of her little black book. Name drop alert: she’s styled Tom Cruise... if that helps.
Robyn Hodson is the one guide on the planet who has never once complained about a single tour group. When she isn't guiding perfect travellers, she writes and edits for justtheplanet.com. If you're looking to make plans for a personal tour of your own, get in touch with us.