I've sent you a PM about other things.

Also being into food, I would suggest Cape Town for its action, proximity to quieter places, and just the amazing beauty of the place. It's one of the top 6 cities in the world noted for its natural setting - Sydney, Rio, Vancouver, Cape Town, San Francisco and Hong Kong [not in any particular order].

To get an idea of other options out of the area, say packages out of South Africa, have a look at thompsons.co.za. Note though that you may see some discriminatory pricing, i.e. rates for SA residents, foreigners pay more.

I wonder if you might find Mauritius as expensive as its reputation.

Another option might be Zanzibar: www.starlight-travel.co.za Frankly, I'm very curious to go there. So far, only the Italians and Spanish have caught on to this place, and of course regional tourists from the RSA. I hope to get there before we see Thomas Cook charters out of London. Good place to get into the food and buy some spices to take home.