lodgings at Karukareb, a four-star colonial lodge set in an organic orange orchard I'd driven past. Other than the remote rock-pool picnic lunch, a superb dinner under thatch created by Chef Shaun Taljaard, and rock-star service, I am made to feel welcome and at home. Rates start at ZAR1,270, or about $156, per person.

With a three-hour drive back to Cape Town, we leave before sunrise. After consuming all the sandwiches and snacks packed by Chef Taljaard, we lapse into a comfortable silence as the road uncurls before us. We stop in a village in search of additional sustenance and fuel. Dawn in Africa is a noisy affair, with tractors coughing to life and people in the act of creating food and chickens crowing and stretching, tumbling out of their roosts.

We listen to the sweet sound of a choir--children's voices rising through the branches of tall birch trees. They are singing an old African hymn, one everyone knows, a song that has inspired and comforted so many. Nkosi Sikeleli Afrika--God bless Africa, give her life, watch over her children.

It is then, while sipping my Styrofoam cupped Redbush Latte, I come to the realization that no matter where I live, my heart would always belong to Africa.

Sidebar: Getting There, Getting Around

Celebrating its 76th birthday, award-winning South African Airways is one of the oldest airlines in the world. It operates one of the most technologically advanced fleets on the globe and delivers American travelers from JFK to Cape Town on a direct flight.

The Cederberg region is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Cape Town, depending on which route you take. The direct route is on the N7 highway north, heading towards Namibia. Look for signs to the towns of Citrusdal and Clanwilliam. The scenic route, which would add an hour to your journey, is along the R27, past Bloubergstrand, the West Coast National Park, Langebaan, and onto Veldrif, where you'll take the R399 to Piketberg to join the N7.

The main roads of the Cederberg are tarred, but many of the attractions are on gravel roads. You don't need a 4x4 to drive these roads, however; they are easily be negotiated in a standard sedan car.

Sidebar: Exploring the Cederberg

A self-drive tour of the Cederberg must include a visit to the Algeria Forest Station, popular for hiking, picnicking, and camping, a swim at the Maalgat rock pools, and a trip over the scenic Pakhuis Pass to the Sevilla Rock Art Trail, and, in season, the Bieudouw Valley for the flower displays. Continue via the Englishman's grave to Wupperthal mission village. On the way back, visit Heuningvlei mission village, poet Louis Leipoldt's grave, and the Soldier's Head. Also consider the Redbush tea farm safaris at Elandsberg Eco-Reserve. You'll never look at a Rooibos latte the same way again.