Romantic safaris

Stories of weddings and honeymoons in Africa

by Marco Monteiro-Silva, 1 January 2007

I find it hard to write of Africa without writing of love. For me, this continent has always served as the clean, blank page of man's long love story. It's the land of Hemingway, the land of the hunter, of warriors and princesses, and unrestrained desire.

Weddings, honeymoons and all those loves in the space between

It's no big secret that I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Stop any Capetonian on the street and you will find they have plenty to say on the subject. It's not for lack of experience either. In general, Capetonians are a well traveled bunch who, at times it seems, only travel abroad to remind themselves of how good they have it back home.

Take our Sales & People Development Manager, Fiona, for example. Fiona is a born and bred Manchester girl, who came to Cape Town on a business trip and not only fell in love with the place, but also with one of its citizens. When the time came for popping questions and champagne corks, there was no doubt in this seasoned traveler's mind where she would be.

"There's only one place I ever imagined us getting married.” Fiona says. "The most beautiful place I'd ever been: Cape Town”

Fiona's transformation was quick yet complete. She had converted to that fanatical devotion that I would dare to call Capetonianism. A religion based on the idea that heaven is in fact on earth, in a corner of the Western Cape.

I asked Fiona: "Why not Greece, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Thailand?” These destinations all come to mind when thinking of romance. "There, you're just another honeymooning couple.” objects Fiona. "Everyone buys into the all-inclusive package that is more like a very organized, very commercial product rather than what should be a unique trip of a lifetime.”

Whales and fairy tales

Fiona continues, "We chose to have our wedding in the heart of the Whale Coast, if only for the reason that it is one of the most beautiful and unspoilt coastlines we had ever seen. I mean, you drive in either direction and you find the most remarkable scenery and towns - each with their own charm. It feels like a land where fairytales can happen.”

Fiona recalls her wedding photo shoot with a large grin and wide yet secretive eyes. The experience is clearly one of the 'you had to have been there' kind. Fiona's wedding photos were taken on the lawns of the Marine Hotel in Hermanus. The gardens of this century-old hotel are set on a cliff edge, behind which the ocean rolls out, rippling and sequined with refracted light.

"While we were taking photos we started to spot dolphins and then whales. It was towards the end of the whale season, and so completely unexpected. There was something so magical about the spontaneity and beauty of the experience. There I was, in my wedding dress, pointing excitedly at dolphins and whales. It felt like the dolphins were putting on a show for us, while the whales applauded with booming slaps of their tails.”

Fiona's wedding exemplifies why people flock to the Western Cape. With so many other romantic destinations, the focus is simply on a beautiful setting. People enjoy a wedding ceremony, then all that's left to do is lie on the beach. "I like the beach as much as the next person,” Fiona says, "but it gets a little boring after a while.”

After their Whale Coast wedding, the couple opted for an adventure honeymoon in Cape Town, only an hour and a half away if you follow the beautiful coastal route. The honeymoon was full of quad biking, sand boarding, nightclubbing, golfing and yes, even a little lying on the beach. (Fiona maintains that at least they visited a different beach on each occasion).

The honeymoon must have been pretty remarkable, as the couple have lived in Cape Town ever since.

'Keep it real' safari

A day at the spa in the Timbavati Game Reserve marked the beginning of the pre-wedding festivities for one of my friends. While Lorna was pampered to the point of exhaustion, her fiancé was thrown a stag party that consisted of 18 holes of golf with 'the boys' at the nearby Hans Merensky Golf Course.

Set in the heart of the Timbavati Private Game Reserve, the wedding party had luxuriously 'set camp' in Kings Camp, a colonial-styled luxury lodge within the Timbavati Reserve.

The Big 5 on the Big Day

The following morning it was up early for a 6am safari. We spotted lion, rhino, elephant, and many other creatures that stalk the African bushveld. We bounced around in Land Rovers, and drank coffee in the bush to the sounds of animals waking up. Spirits were high and the safari helped everyone forget all wedding worries and focus on enjoying the wildlife encounter.

In the afternoon, we all gathered for the small wedding ceremony. Having been lucky enough to have been a guest at this four-day wedding, something stirred in me as I watched Lorna and James say their vows under the shade of a baobab tree, in the heart of the bush. Weddings are meant to be a celebration on many levels. It is not only a joining of two people, but also of their lives, of their families and their friends.

Somehow I think we often lose sight of this. The time we spent together made for so many unforgettable memories. We shared experiences most people will never have in their lifetimes. This sad fact has less to do with money and more to do with people settling for pre-packaged holidays when they could just as easily have one tailored to fit their needs.

Of course, this is what Go2Africa prides itself on. It may be shameless to mention it so bluntly, but I simply want to highlight a truth. There is no holiday like one lovingly planned by people with the experience and capability to make lofty dreams a concrete reality. Who knows what holiday treasures are out there waiting to be uncovered if you do a little digging?

The golden years

This brings me to my favourite story about romance and Africa. Richard and Jamie McNeil, a couple from Arizona, decided to do something extra-special for their 25th wedding anniversary. They would renew their vows on a safari holiday through Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Richard explains it best. "We went to Rwanda and Uganda to visit their magnificent Mountain Gorillas, but we came away with the people fast in our hearts.”

A cow for your wife

The ceremony was to be held at the Volcanoes Mount Gahinga Lodge in Uganda. The unsuspecting couple was overwhelmed when they arrived. 50 members of the nearby Bafumbira village were awaiting them.

Although it was a poor farming community, everyone touchingly wore their best formal outfits (men in old mended suits that had been cleaned and pressed, and woman adorned in colourful traditional dress).

Richard and Jamie were themselves dressed in traditional African attire. Earlier in their trip, their guide had taken them to a market in Kigali where Jamie purchased a traditional wedding dress, and Richard a matching shirt.

What followed was the enactment of a traditional African wedding. Jamie was assigned a 'father', and two 'sisters'. After having bargained with Jamie's 'father' (the final price was one cow, a contract which Richard was in fact held to) Richard was then allowed to choose one of the man's three 'daughters'.

The villagers erupted with delight when Richard picked Jamie. The community had brought with them gallons of locally made beer, and the chef from the lodge prepared an authentic goat dish. Traditional beer, music and song coaxed the afternoon ceremony well into the night.

A touch of grace

Richard and Jamie's story shows the difference between a packaged holiday that leaves you satisfied, and an experience which not only offers you everything you knew you wanted, but also takes you far beyond your own ideas and dreams. It brings you back home having taken a journey that will stay with you and affect you long after it has ended. Richard and Jamie have tucked Africa close to their hearts, and are in constant contact with the friends they made there.

Richard considers a highlight of their trip to have been when a gorilla fell on top of him from a tree in the Bwindi Forest. However, the Kigali Genocide museum hit Richard far harder than any gorilla.

This couple's intimate encounters with survivors of the genocide while in Rwanda has led them to take a proactive stance in helping a still suffering country, providing in their own humble capacity aid and supplies where they can. The couple also sends school supplies to the children of the Ugandan villagers that attended their African wedding.

Jamie and Richard shared such a wide range of experiences, full of love, sorrow and sadness. This is perhaps not everyone's escapist idea of the perfect romantic holiday, but it is available to those who choose to see life's realities and share them with the person they love, rather than hide from them.

Moons dripping of honey

In Portuguese the phrase for honeymoon, lua de Mel can be directly translated as 'a moon made of honey'. I'm one of those stubbornly romantic travelers who believe in picking a holiday destination by waiting for signs from both the universe and cyberspace. For this reason, I already know that come hurricane or tsunami, I will have my wedding in a land that speaks of a moon of dripping honey.

Wishful thinking

Mozambique is like a small piece of paradise into which no real estate agents have managed to set foot. Deserted white beaches that arch into the distance, warm waters, and warm people. The pace of life is Mozambique is slow yet purposeful, ticking along on African time.

I can already picture the members of my wedding party as they check into their chalets at Indigo Bay. Set on Bazaruto Island, this beach resort is the perfect blend of luxury and unspoilt natural beauty; just right for a beach bride.

Once there, the mothers-in-law will quickly forget fights and stresses over wedding dresses; no one will feel obliged to do anything but lie in the sun, snorkel, and spend nights around a fireplace drinking wine, eating shellfish and telling stories. We'll share our informal vows on the beach, our bare brown feet swallowed by white sand. We'll swim in the Indian Ocean and dry ourselves in the afternoon sun. We will dance and be happy, completely oblivious to the world outside our Mozambican wedding bubble.

For our honeymoon, who knows? Perhaps we will visit neighbouring Malawi. Every experience will be a new one, and every picture in our wedding album will leave people at a complete loss for words. There's nothing sweeter than the bragging rights to the perfect romantic holiday - not even honey.

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