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Published: April 19th 2007
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Zevenwacht estate
Another picturesque vineyard with lots of yummy wine and food! …Or:
‘Mmm, I’m getting hints of blackberries, with chocolate undertones and a slight smoky aftertaste…at least I think that’s what it said on the menu!’ Picked up a car in PE so we've been enjoying the freedom of staying off the beaten track a bit and not having to get up at 5am anymore! Having not driven for 6 months or more, it was an interesting moment when I got behind the wheel for the first time, especially as the lights were barely working so I couldn't see more than 2 metres in front of me! Spent the last week or so travelling along the Garden Route, stopped at:
Jeffrey’s Bay - Surf capital of South Africa. Blowing a gale when we got there so we didn't stay long...well, long enough to spend far too much money in all the discount surf shops. Oh, how I miss retail therapy!!
Storm’s River - Decided to get a bit active here. Went mountain biking down the steepest hill ever, and because I had a cold, and Gerry had no gears, we barely made it back up again! Did a canopy tour where you swing through the treetops on zip
wires. So much fun, although I kept getting told off because I couldn't work out how to break - made it more fun as far as I was concerned! Then Gerry made me challenge my fears again with another swing bridge, this time over the inky, pounding swell at Storms River Mouth. He had great fun running up and down the bridge while I held on for dear life!
Knysna - Here we met Dan, a friend from the truck taking on the unenviable task of cycling from Cape Town to Nairobi! Hopefully we helped keep him sustained for his journey by throwing a braai (BBQ). Gerry has taken on this great South African tradition with gusto, in fact we're not allowed to stay anywhere unless it has a braai - man must make fire!! During the day Dan managed to fix us a ride on a catamaran, a great way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon and we even got saluted by the Commodore. We stayed in a fantastic wooden cottage out in the Knysna forest for a few days with nothing but the stars and beautiful riverside walks for distraction.
Stellenbosch - The heart of the
South African wine region, so it would have been rude not to try a few vintages! We stayed at another beautiful lodge in the middle of a working vineyard, with stunning views of Table Mountain. Went for a bike ride around the vineyard and sneakily sampled the different grape varieties. Then we spent the next few days sampling the products of these vines at various wine estates in the region. Wine tasting is so much fun, pretending you can smell ripe tropical fruits and recognise the difference between French and American oak barrels, while really you’re just getting slowly tipsy on free alcohol! Even to my untrained palette though, the wine from here tastes amazing. And at £2-4 a bottle we couldn’t resist buying a couple from every vineyard we visited. We bought so many bottles even Gerry couldn’t try smuggling them all back into the UK, so we’ve been merrily drinking as many of them as we can in the last few days! Still, I promise to have a party and let everyone sample a couple of bottles when I get back!
To give ourselves a chance to sober up between tastings, we also visited a Cheetah and Falcon
centre. While I declined to pat a cheetah as if it’s a pet, I did hold a couple of eagles and owls, and even had them land on our heads, which is a very strange sensation!
Just to let you all know… Hotmail has been playing up big time and I've been having sooo much trouble sending emails, it's driving me crazy. So if I've not replied to anyone in the last month or so it's not because I'm ignoring you, honest! I'm too annoyed with the error messages now, will sort it out when I get home and promise to be in touch then. Miss you all! Fxx
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Haka
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Home time!
Hey flamingo! Think we must've been online at the same time as saw your email's magically appear in my inbox. Coolio! Hello from far far away :) Enjoy the rest of your time, can't wait to see you!! I'm going to India to race a tuk tuk!!!! Bit of news to fill you in on when you get back. Safe journey if I'm not in touch before. Lots of love XXXX PS How hardcore are you, getting chased by a lionness!