MISSION Our journey to South Africa began with a full-blooded sprint across Brockwell Park in South London, in order to catch our train to Heathrow. I had a heavy suitcase in each hand while my partner, playing the pregnancy card, skipped along with just her handbag. This physical trauma was followed up with 14 hours of crowded train, plane and automobile travel, including 11 hours of limb-crushing cabin pressure. I mention this not to garner sympathy, but to give a sense of how my shoulders and back were feeling by the time I collapsed on to the massage table at Camps Bay Retreat - a thorough unwinding was required.

USP There can be few places more conducive to rejuvenation than Camps Bay Retreat. The spa is attached to a boutique hotel in a secluded glen nestled in the foothills of the Twelve Apostles mountain range, with gardens tumbling down into the Atlantic ocean. The feeling of loose-limbed relaxation achieved at the spa is accentuated when wobbling across a picturesque rope bridge which takes you back to your beautifully designed chalet for an afternoon nap. If tired of all that relaxation, you can break a sweat on the immaculate tennis court, or take a plunge in the pool.

AMBIENCE We had our treatments in an outdoor "room". Strategically planted bushes provided the walls which hid our respective bumps (Claire: pregnancy; Me: over-indulgence) from the poolside loungers. Meanwhile, the interwoven branches of the roof let in enough dappled sunlight to keep us reasonably warm. The rolling and crashing of the Atlantic provided a far more soothing soundtrack than the cod-mystical lift music tolerated at most spas. The spa has two treatment rooms, as well as the outdoor area described above.

EXPERIENCE The back and neck massage started off tentatively and was soothing rather than therapeutic. Claire and I both drifted off into a light sleep - always a good sign. After about half an hour, the ante was upped, the pressure and vigour of the massage increasing and deepening. Knotted muscle began to unravel itself and, when the hour was up, my back and neck - which had previously felt like they belonged to a tailor's dummy - now felt like a thoroughly tenderised side of beef.

PRODUCT The spa mainly uses Guinot serums, creams and gels for its range of facial and body treatments, as well as essential oils for massage.

FOOD Lunch is available on the hotel's veranda nearby. It's a mix of fresh salads, sandwiches and line fish (fish of the day). In the evening, ostrich carpaccio and tuna steak, ubiquitous to the Cape, make a seemingly daily appearance. The evening menu also features braai (Afikaans for barbeque) nights, with delicious cuts of ostrich, fish and beef.

IN CROWD Most of the guests we met were middle-aged British tourists with great taste, although there are a growing number of Germans and a smattering of Americans.

WALLET WATCH We had a couples treatment, which was 60 minutes of back and neck massage, heavy leg treatment for Claire and a head massage for me. The cost was R740 (£53) for both of us. As well as massage, there are a range of facial, body and assorted grooming treatments available, with the most expensive - the 1hr 30min Hydradermie deluxe facial - still modestly priced by UK standards at R600 (around £44). There are also day packages, the six and a half hour "Pre-Wedding Jitters" package weighs in at £105 "For Her" and £92 for a presumably less jittery "Him". Relatively pricey but still much cheaper than couples' counselling or last-minute wedding cancellation. Rooms cost between £60 and £125 per person.

Lead price from Kuoni this year is £1,099 for 5 nights B&B flying on SAA between 30 April and 30 June. Based on Classic Room, two sharing (www.kuoni.co.uk + (01306) 747002). Flights to Cape Town cost from £460 with daily evening flights going direct. No changeovers and only one to two hours time difference means there is no jet lag. Reservations: 0870 747 1111. Website and web bookings: www.flysaa.com.

NEED TO KNOW Camps Bay Retreat, 7 Chilworth Road, The Glen, Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa (00 27 21 437 8300; www.campsbayretreat.co.za). For more information about travelling to South Africa, visit: www.southafrica.net

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