Cape Town Christmas

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Started with the cable to Table Mountain: beautiful view of the city, surrounding districts, beaches, and CT flats; first lesson - the unique flora and fauna of Westren Cape. Next a bus tour of the city, diverted by a bush fire on TM. Christmas Day: picnic in Stellenbosch botanical gardens, followed by an open air concert - a beautiful and unique day. Drove down the peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Point lighthouse, and lesson two - the African penguin colony in False Bay. Then three days touring the winelands, tasting at two wineries per day; lesson 3 - Chardonnay can be interesting; lesson 4 - S African wineries are evolving blends to challenge any wine region. Small World note; met a winery owner born in Swansea, same year as me, whose family emigrated that year to go tobacco farming in Rhodesia as was. Lesson 5 - SA's 11 languages covered by SABC television news. Reflections: Nelson Mandela's staggering achievements without a civil war, worries how Mbeki and his successor can keep the country advancing, hold its peoples together, improve life for the have nots.

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Photos

A tasting
the Chardonnay surprise