Blogs from Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 5

So, South African winter is in full force. Which basically means that it is COLD (about 60 F) and raining. All the time. Hot and Sunny Stellenbosch is no more. So, What do you do when the going gets tough and all it does is rains? You take off for sunnier, warmer places... like Mozambique. Tomorrow a groups of friends and I are taking off on a flight to Johannesburg, and from there we depart for Kruger National Park, Botswana, Zambia and then finally Mozambique. We will be gone in the bush and to the beach for 16 days: a nice end of the semester journey and escape from the rain with good people. We are all so excited. When we return back to Stellenbosch, I will have only 8 days left before returning back to ... read more

But still some time for more wine tasting! Franschoek, our original plan is off the menu as its too far and there are road works so instead we go to Boschendal, which I’d heard good things about (not the wine necessarily but the setting - perhaps I’ve not really understood the point of this wine tasting lark?!). It’s a sprawling estate including a cafe and restaurant as well as vineyards and a handful of buildings in the Cape Dutch style. You can order picnic hampers to eat on the shaded lawns but we weren’t that organised and they were sold out so we ate in the cafe, opposite the fragrant herb garden, and gorged ourselves on blue cheese, brie, fresh bread and homemade lemonade. Hubba hubba. feed me now... For the wine tasting, we sat at ... read more

the indian ocean it was not Stellenbosch, in the heart of the wine lands was our next stop and the site of our most fancy accommodation, De Kraal Lodge (see reviews also). Set among botanical gardens, our room was massive with bijou living area and a welcome bottle of wine and the place had a pool too. Hot from our non air con car, I was well up for a dip, until I wagered a toe in the water and shrieked like a big girl’s blouse. It was the coldest water ever. I tried again to knee deep and ran back out, the other one thinking it hilarious. I was determined though and third time lucky I flung myself in, flailed like an out of control Octopus, screamed, gasped, tried to act casual, gave up and ... read more

Last night, an Afrikaans Wedding Reception was taking place, so the heavily advertised rules regarding noise and alcohol were waived. Apparently, the music was going on way past midnight, although I was oblivious! This morning, Sunday, the silence was broken at 07h00 by some Afrikaaner kid running around shouting “Get Up!”. So, we did. Washing, dressing and, seeing as this was the last morning (for some) with the tent, brushing them out and letting them dry before packing them. Consequently, we were not fully packed until 09h15, over an hour longer than normal! We drove the few short miles into Franschhoek, the town we'd not had a chance to view yesterday. Parking at the top of the town, we had the opportunity to walk down the main street at a leisurely pace. The French Corner came ... read more

My lips are pursed, my teeth are purple and I have grown a mushroom top from all the eating... this is what three days in the wine lands does to a person. We underestimated our drive from Knysna to Stellenbosch and arrived at night and got lost again as the street signs were virtually non existence (remind me to thank our car rental company that never gave us our GPS). After stopping to ask for directions we finally found our way through the valley to our guesthouse, Sugarbird Manor. In the morning we got to see the striking view of the valley from our infinity pool (which would be our life saver for the next couple days when temperatures would hit 35 degrees). We hit the road after getting some recommendations on the good wineries to ... read more