As we travel, it’s the people we meet—their stories, their quirks, their smiles—that are part of the memories that stay with us the longest. For our team, this is especially true in the heart-place of safari: South Africa.
In Cape Town and its surrounding environs, from the Cape Floral Kingdom to the South Atlantic Ocean, a network of local thought leaders has been hand-selected by Rothschild advisors to create tailored experiences for guests. Built upon years of on-the-ground connections, we’ve developed a community that introduces travelers to the true South Africa. Marine guides and plant-based therapists, chefs and conservationists, filmmakers and storytellers: these individuals invite us into worlds that most travelers never see. Standard, cookie-cutter experiences these are not: each is created and tailored to whatever interests you.
There’s a quote, purportedly from poet Maya Angelou, that says it best: “People may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
To feel alive, curious, and connected with the natural world, here are a few of the South African tastemakers you should know.
A Private Ocean Safari with Steve Benjamin
If you feel at home near the sea, want to try underwater photography, or would simply love to hear what it’s like to be part of a BBC film production crew, ask your advisor about Steve Benjamin. This freediver, marine guide, and conservation filmmaker dives deep into the world’s most remarkable aquatic environments, collaborating on projects with the United Nations, Disney, Netflix, and more.
On a private ocean “game drive” with Steve, the waves off the coast of Cape Town become a playground and a classroom. A half-day snorkeling excursion reveals what locals call the Great African Sea Forest, a mesmerizing kelp forest where Cape fur seals swim and play, as Steve shares his knowledge of marine ecosystems and the painstaking craft of underwater photography.
“How you behave, and your movements, directly affect how the animals react to you and how they interpret you,” Steve said in an interview with CNN Inside Africa. “It’s quite unique, I think, to the underwater photography world.”
For travelers interested in filmmaking, bring your camera for production tips, and keep a keen eye for wild octopus. Don’t be surprised if the day ends on the beach, swapping tales of watery adventures.
A Farm-to-Spa Journey in the Cape Floral Kingdom
Just a 15-minute scenic helicopter flight from Cape Town’s city center, the new Spier Hotel welcomes guests into a haven of holistic wellness and winemaking. The beautiful views that surround the property are that of the Cape Floral Kingdom, a bounty of aromatic herbs, fynbos shrubland, and colorful flowers. Several of these plant species are endemic to this area, making this one of the world’s most botanically extraordinary regions.
Caren Hauptfleisch, the plant-based medicine (phytotherapist) expert here, has worked with herbal medicine for the past 37 years. With her calm, welcoming aura, she guides special clients through fynbos-inspired treatments, conversations about plant-based healing, and restorative rituals that bring the garden into the spa.
In the Cape Herbal Bath House, for example, guests relax into a private steam ritual with nutrient-rich organic rooibos, rose geranium, Cape rose, and gotu kola leaves, which are often used in Ayurvedic medicine to boost cognitive function. The result? Feeling rejuvenated and alert, open to what other restorative treatments might be in store. Perhaps that’s a massage with heated river stones and botanical extracts like peppermint, pelargonium, rosemary, and grapeseed oil. Or, there’s also reflexology-inspired foot massages, guided fynbos tea tastings, breathwork sessions, and of course, a private one-on-one phytotherapy consultation with Caren, focused on any aspect of wellness you wish. The choice is yours.
Playing with Fire with Chef Shaun Scrooby
Newspapers and magazines describe him as the “ranger who turned rogue” and started cooking. Amongst the Rothschild team, we know him as Shaun. After a 20-year stint working in safaris, South African Shaun Scrooby found his true calling in 2022 when he opened Vuur, a small fire-focused restaurant in the Cape winelands located just outside of Stellenbosch. But Vuur isn’t only a restaurant that’s appeared on the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants list multiple years in a row. It also embodies an entire philosophy of elemental cooking, powered entirely on fire. Shaun values deep respect for nature, gleaned during his safari years, as well as sustainable harvesting from local butcheries, farms, and foragers. All this leads to a culinary movement that plays with smoke, embers, and open flame to achieve what we’ll simply call a perfect steak.
For our guests who can’t wait to try, we can arrange a one-on-one cooking class with Shaun that shares a close look at the techniques, ingredients, and mindset behind his kitchen. That includes a brief tour of the place, tucked away at Remhoogte Wine Estate, and Shaun leading the preparation for a meal, with room for questions, experimentation, and the occasional moment of culinary drama. “Safari taught me the value of authenticity,” Shaun said in an interview to GQ South Africa. “In many ways, I still see myself as a guide. The only difference is that today I use food, fire, and hospitality to tell the story.”
Then, naturally, comes the reward: a mouthwatering meal from the Vuur kitchen, prepared with a new appreciation for everything that fire can do. Through every bite, the atmosphere at Vuur encourages us to slow down, connect with others, and appreciate our natural surroundings.
Escaping to the Mountains with Ozzy
In the Cederberg Mountains north of Cape Town, the land takes on a wilder character. Local guide and true tastemaker Ozzy Emre Yerlikaya leads us into the Bakkrans Concession, a remote 14,800-acre space of uninhabited wilderness where we arrive at a remote, off-grid camp of thatched stone-walled cottages. This landscape is home to the Cape Leopard Trust, which does crucial work in preserving a sub-species of leopard who favor these rocky slopes. But Bakkrans is more than a camp: it’s a permanent leopard camera-trap monitoring station.
For camping enthusiasts and big-cat devotees, we can arrange overnight stays at Bakkrans for our clients learn how the camera traps help researchers (each leopard has a distinctive coat pattern), hear stories about the elusive rosetted cats in this area, and, perhaps, meet a member of the Cape Leopard Trust team to gain insight firsthand. Ozzy’s telltale warmth and charisma is a through-line throughout, as he also shows travelers awe-inspiring rock art from Indigenous Khoi and San communities, prepares a pot of his signature coffee, and, at night, directs us to take in the incredible stars above.
