Part 4: Road to South Africa with Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston

It has been far, far, far too long since our last post featuring a celebrity couple on the road to some fabulous destination. And so, without further ado, we have decided to take a little trip to South Africa with our fave BFF couple, Courtney Cox and Jen Aniston. Right now Courtney is hurting from her split from husband of 11 years, David Arquette, and is in serious need of some fun with her buddy Jen, who is continually unlucky in love. So, pack your bags dear hearts, and join Courtney, Jen, Mr. Fashionista and me for a trip to South Africa!



1. Cape Town. Mr. Fashionista and I first meet up with Rachel and Monica at their private cottage at Mount Nelson Hotel (Mr. Fashionista and I have opted for less expensive lodging within the hotel). http://www.mountnelson.co.za/web/ocap/mount_nelson_hotel.jsp. Courtney and Jen are just finishing up getting ready for today's itinerary which includes a hike around Table Mountain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_Mountain_National_Park and a picnic lunch. Courtney is making sure she has all of the last minute things needed for such a trip and is decked out in full (and fashionable) hiking gear. She frowns at Jen who is wearing the shortest shorts imaginable with stylish sneakers. "I told you we're hiking, girl. Not going for a picnic.", Court says. "Actually, you forget we are going for a picnic! Which reminds me, Mr. and Mrs. Fashionista we need to grab some supplies for our meal before we head up to the mountain. Game?" Jen asks. We enthusiastically agree. I check to make sure everyone's got a swimsuit, too, because we may just take a dip in the ocean afterwards. And with that, we all jump into the Mercedes off road vehicle we've rented for the first part of the trip.

Table Mountain

Before heading to the mountain, we stop off and buy some biltong, which is the local variety of beef jerky, some local cheeses and a bottle of local wine. Set for our picnic, we are off to Table Mountain. We park our car and take the rotating cable car to the top of the mountain. Once there, we gaze at the spectacle, take pictures of the dassies, or rock rabbits, and simply admire the beauty. At one point, Jen comforts Court, who seems to be getting sentimental. Courtney accepts the hug and then wipes the tear and yells "let's go to the beach!" And so we do.

We head down to the Oudekraal picnic site, which is right on the beach and has water safe for swimming. We find a nice little table, set out our spread and enjoy the local specialties of the region. Jen and Court are getting all geared up for a girl's night out and ask if we want to come. They figure Mr. Fashionista will be cool with hanging out with some chicks for the evening. He gracefully bows out as dancing is his idea of hell, even if Jen and Courtney are involved. We all take a dip in the ocean. Gorgeous, beautiful and perfect.

After our little swim, we decide to head back to the hotel to rest for a bit before dinner and, for the girls, dancing. Tonight, we're off to Aubergine, in the Gardens District, which serves modern twists on Continental food.http://www.aubergine.co.za/. From the outdoor lounge, we can see Table's Mountain and Devil's Peak. Delicious and beautiful. After dinner, Mr. Fashionista heads back to the hotel and the girls go onto the Observatory neighborhood, which was one of the few areas to escape racial separation under apartheid. Today, it's a hip neighborhood filled with college students. We find a club with some live music and dance and laugh the night away. Take that David Arquette!


2. Wine and Penguins. The next day, we decide it would be a great idea to take a tour of a nearby vinyard. On the way, we stop by Boulders Coastal Park, famous for the hundreds of African penguins who reside there. We can't but help and smile. And, at least for me and Mr. Fashionista, it's the first time we've seen penguins in the wild (although, to be honest, these penguins are nothing but civilized).

After having a burger at Penguin Point Cafe www.bouldersbeach.co.za, we say goodbye to our new tuxedoed friends, and head to the Vrede en Lust vinyard in the Franschhoek Valley. www.vnl.co.za.. There we take a tour of the estate and have an opportunity to taste their award winning wines. And because we have Jen and Courtney with us, they gratefully bestow each of us with a case of wine with free shipping back home. Did we mention that we love traveling with celebrities?



That night, we stay at the inn on the winery, which dates back to the 1600s. It is utterly charming and a nice cozy change after a hectic day of road travel. Tomorrow, we must head back to Cape Town to catch our flight to Kruger National Park.

3. Luxury in the Wild.  The next day, we wake up early to catch our private jet to Kruger National Park. http://www.krugerpark.co.za/. Kruger National Park consists of 16 eco-zones, and provides visitors the opportunity to view lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, cheetah, hyena, zebra, giraffe, hippos, crocodiles, warthogs, antelopes and over 500 different bird species. Mr. Fashionista and I are most looking forward to this leg of the trip. Jen and Courtney are, too, but they're also looking forward to the spa treatment that our safari lodge offers.

After landing at the airport, we are transported to Imbali Safari Lodge. http://www.imbali.com/imbali/activities.jsp. Mr. Fashionista and I are escorted  to our luxury individual suite, complete with its own private jacuzzi and wooden deck for game viewing. There will be no roughing it on this safari! And, in fact, after we drop our luggage off in our room, we are scheduled for a massage. We've agreed to meet Jen and Court tomorrow for game viewing in advance and Mr. Fashionista and I enjoy our spa day and then have a private gourmet dinner served to us on the deck of our suite. Heaven on earth. As we dine on our expertly prepared steaks, we could swear we hear something in the brush. Mr. Fashionista and I freeze. Hearts pounding, we eventually finish our steaks in peace and head to bed to rest up for our early morning safari the next day with Jen and Court.

4. On Safari at Kruger National Park. Very bright and early the next day, we meet our guide who looks a bit like Hugh Jackman and has a sparkling wit about him. He will be driving us around the park. Jen remarks that our guide is cute. Not good. Because the guy is obviously a bad boy, we suspect Jen will be dating him soon. Courtney is looking a little sad, until we spot our first zebras. And there they are, just running along side us. Amazing! Courtney claps her hands and we are happy to see she is having a good time. For the next thirty minutes or so, our guide tells us he has been tracking a rhino in this area and has a feeling we might get lucky today.


With a wink, he asks us ladies if we're ready for a little danger. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little scared, but the man is armed and has loads of experience and so before I know it, we're on foot walking to a nearby watering hole. About 1 hour out he locates a 1250lb rhino in the bush. We are within 50 feet of the rhino, when he stops to face us. Our guide is very calm and explains that as long as the animal has an escape, it will not attack. My heart is about rip out of my chest and I'm gripping Mr. Fashionista's arm like a vice. After what seems like 30 minutes, the rhino finally moves away. We all laugh nervously in relief and are all simply amazed that we have had such an encounter.



We head back to the lodge after the excitement. Courtney and Jen inform us that they actually need to head back now for some kind of important movie star stuff. We are happy to see that Courtney seems to be cheered up by the trip and we feel certain Jen is going to take care of her BFF, as we have no doubt Court has seen Jen through her many romantic misfortunes.


Mr. Fashionista and I, however, decide to stay behind for a few more days to take advantage of more game drives and luxury in the South African wilderness. We are amazed by all we have seen and done in this amazing country. And we certainly can't leave quite yet. After all, we still haven't seen any lions. Even if we don't though, we have a feeling we'll be quite satisfied with our many other adventures in this exotic and complicated land.


 Sala kahle! Sala kakuhle! Totsiens! And goodbye! Please stay tuned for more traveling around the globe with celebrities next week. If you missed our last installment with either Katy Perry and Russell Brand in Scotland, see: http://fashionistainhydepark.blogspot.com/2010/09/part-3-road-to-scotland-with-russell.html,  or with George Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis in Sicily, see: http://fashionistainhydepark.blogspot.com/2010/09/part-2-road-to-sicily-with-george.html