PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

Okay, so this luxury country lodge is not, in fact, in Paarl, but some 30 minutes' drive away on a working wheat and sheep farm. However, this is a wonderful base from where you can combine a bit of wildlife-viewing (the 4,500-hectare/11,115-acre nature reserve is stocked with buffalo, zebras, wildebeest, gemsbok, eland, springbok, bontebok, and hartebeest) with wine tastings and a day trip to the city (a 75-min. drive away), or just really unwind. Accommodations are in a restored Victorian homestead, elegantly furnished in period style. There are only five bedrooms; the best option by far is the beautiful suite, which has its own entrance and a private veranda with great views. Alternatively, you can stay in a small farmhouse called Wild Olive House. It's a truly peaceful place, with little to do but enjoy the exceptional food (included in the rate), laze around on loungers -- the large, deep, farm-style pool is wonderful -- and walk, cycle, or drive through the reserve.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's South Africa, 5th Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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