THE TWELVE APOSTLES

The Twelve Apostles are a chain of craggy peaks that stand shoulder-toshoulder facing the Atlantic Ocean south of Cape Town. The scenery is rugged and spectacular, the perfect edge-of-the-world place to site a 5-star luxury resort. The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa fits the bill, nested in the shadow of its namesake mountains. From my balcony, I could watch the waves break over the rocks below. The proximity to the ocean explains the reason that the Twelve Apostles hotel will never be any color other than white; mariners use the buildings as a landmark to navigate the tricky approaches to Cape Town. Because of my limited time in Cape Town, I’d opted to take a personal driving tour of the city with Escape to the Cape (escapetothecape.co.za), the award-winning tour operation founded by Shaheed Ebrahim. Although my to-do list was extensive (in the interests of full disclosure, more than four hours), the Northern Cape is fairly compact and the $250 all-inclusive fee would give me a dedicated driver and a better chance to cover more territory than if I were on my own. The added bonus which I hadn’t expected was having a knowledgeable Capetonian at my side to share the stories of this surprising city.