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Published: March 14th 2011
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Week 2 Africa – Wine Country & Coast
Day 9, Thursday, March 3rd, we said goodbye to Cape Town with one last visit to Llundudno Beach (I watched Johnny get a sick barrel) before heading towards Hermanus. Hermanas is another small holiday beach town (they have a lot of those here) known for beautiful beaches and surf in surrounding areas. We arrived around 1pm and decided to grab some lunch at the charming Fisherman’s Cottage restaurant. We shared one of the best niciose salads I have even had with a great glass of local Sauvignon Blanc. Did I mention the food and wine here is amazing (way better than Germany). After lunch we explored the town a little before heading to the beach to look for waves. The waves were tiny so we just relaxed at the beach and watched these adorable old ladies body boarding. They inspired me to take a swim in the chilly 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit) water. It was a quick swim. Then we got on our way to McGregor, to stay at a friend’s guesthouse in the wine country (awesome). We arrived a little late around 8pm since we stopped to stock up
on groceries. When we arrived, Smiler and his mom Carol, who own the small hotel, greeted us with open arms. John met Stuart, aka Smiler, on a surfing trip in Chile 13 years ago. We walked down to their friend’s local restaurant where we enjoyed great conversation, thin crust pizza and great local red wine. When we returned I went to sleep and John stayed up catching up with his old friend into the early hours of the morning.
Day 10, Friday, March 4th, was our first day in the wine country. McGregor, is a very small town (they call it a village) sprinkled with B&Bs, guest cottages, restaurants and art galleries. Our friends place is a charming bed & breakfast called McGregor Country House. It has 5 guestrooms including the 2-bedroom apartment they generously set up for us. The property has a pool, garden and is home to the town’s only pub, called The Overdraft (one of the coolest pubs I have ever seen). It was Carol’s birthday and they were planning to have the pub opened that night. We spent most of the day relaxing by the pool before we prepared a nice simple “American” dinner of
bar-b-qued chicken and somewhat gourmet macaroni and cheese for the family. We celebrated Carol’s birthday and laughs in the eclectic Overdraft pub.
Day 11, Saturday, March 5, 2011, we woke up early and went to check out the local Saturday market. It was a tiny gathering consisting of local produce and crafts marketed to the influx of weekend travelers. Then we went to visit one of Smiler’s favorite wineries, Springfield. The winery was really beautiful with expansive grass gardens overlooking a small lake. Definitely could have been in Napa or Sonoma so it felt familiar. We sat outside and enjoyed tasting Sav Blancs, Chards and Cabs before buying a few bottles. We stopped at his friend’s restaurant, the Donkey Sanctuary, for lunch. The sanctuary was started to rescue abused and neglected domestic donkeys. It sounds like a strange place for a restaurant but it was actually really great. It has beautiful large gardens and an outdoor dining area that was perfect to enjoy the great weather (think farm restaurant meets German beer garden). We shared a platter with local fresh fruit and cheeses and washed it down with homemade ginger beer. After lunch we headed back to the B&B
and hung by the pool until dinner. Smiler, who is a quite a chef (can you believe he’s still single?), prepared a traditional South African dish for dinner. He used a traditional cast iron caldron called a potjie. It is a local slow cooking method of preparing curries and stews. Smiler prepared a deliciously spicy lamb curry for us tonight. We paired it with the Wild Berry Cabernet we picked up at the winery earlier in the day. Smiler’s good friend, Andrew, joined us as well. He has a house near all the big game preserves just outside of Kruger Park, the largest National Park in South Africa at 7523 sq miles (it is nearly the size of Massachusetts). He has invited us to stay at his house and be our tour guide during our trip to the park at the end of the month. Smiler is going to join us as well so we spoke about the plans for our adventure.
Day 12, Sunday, March 6th, 2011, we set out early for a journey to the most Southern tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas. We stopped along the way at the coastal town of Aniston to explore the coastal
cave at low tide and surf. Aniston had miles of white sand beaches and sand dunes contrasted by a rocky jetty with a huge cave. We hiked to the cave and cooled off with a chilly surf following (no wetsuits – exhilarating). After our surf we headed to Cap Agulhas to visit the tip of Africa. But first we had to have lunch at Smiler’s favorite seafood restaurant on the coast. We all had grilled Cape salmon and chips (fries). We shared a calamari (maybe the best I ever had) lightly fried thick cut strips like fries. We finally made it to Cape Agulhas and stood in the chilly water at the point when the Atlantic and Indian Ocean meet (One foot in the Atlantic another in the Indian)(amazing!).
Day 13, Monday, March 7th, 2011, we spent a nice morning in McGregor before heading off to explore the coastal region called the Garden Route. The stretch spans 300 km (almost 200 miles) surrounded by greenery, lakes and coastal beaches. It is extremely beautiful and unlike what we would expect of Africa. Strangely we are reminded of place in the US, New Zealand and Sumbawa (maybe all countries have some
similarities?). Smiler set us up with lots of recommendations for our journey since he had done the coastal trek many time. We spend the night at the recommended. Fairy Knowe Hotel, in a beautiful whimsical wooded area called Wilderness. Our room had a great sea view and ocean breeze that was so comfortable. The owners are two young brothers in their early 20s. We met Dylan, who was a really friendly cool guy with natural business savvy. He gave us lots of good information on local surf spots and Madagascar (one of our upcoming destinations).
Day 14, Tuesday, March 8th, 2011, there was no surf that so we went to explore the Oudtshoorn area. Getting there is a mountainous trek (reminded me a little of the German Alps) to the inland Ostrich farms and Congo Caves. First we visited an ostrich farm where we had a nice lunch in the gardens watching ostriches while John ate an ostrich burger and I had an ostrich Greek salad (sick I know but John never tried it). Then after lunch we went to the ranch where I was going to ride an ostrich. John was not allowed because he weighs over 80
kilos. When we arrived at the ranch they decided let John have a ride and put him on the ostrich first. They get a group of ostriches in the corral, then blindfold one and lead him over for you to grab each wing and sit on for a ride. John mounted his ostrich and they let him loose to run around for about 5 minutes. It was so hilarious but and I was laughing so hard I messed up the video. It was my turn and they had me wear one of the ostrich jockey’s hats (yes they do races). I grabbed under the wing and mounted the massive bird before they removed the blindfold and it took off around the arena, running into all the other ostriches. It was really crazy and fun. I was half laughing and freaking the whole time. When it is over they tell you to jump of the back. I think I had a pretty good dismount (you can watch the attached video and judge for yourself). After all the ostrich excitement we rushed off to the Congo Caves. It is one of Africa’s largest living caves and was discovered in the early 1700s.
Today it is an impressive 1200m of stalactites and stalagmites formed over the past millions of years. The coolest part was at the end in the last chamber when the town guide sang African songs while drumming on the quartz columns in the final chamber called “the drumming room”. They had parties and concerts in the cave up until 1994 (crazy). After the day of adventure we had an hour and a half drive to Knysna, where we stayed at Island Vide, a small local hotel. We had a drink at the bar and crashed for a good night’s sleep.
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Gayle
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Robin and John I loved reading about and seeing the beautiful pictures from South Africa. It looks so charming. Continue your wonderful adventure and I will read along. Love to you both. Gayle and Barry