Franschhoek

Franschhoek sits in the heart of South Africa's wine district.  The town was settled more than three hundred years ago by Huguenots (French Protestants) fleeing religious persecution. They brought extensive French wine making knowledge with them thus establishing South Africa as a regputable wine making nation.

Mum and I spent today sampling the local product and touring the impressive gardens that accompany many of the area's premier wineries. Our stop was La Motte, home to the nation's top champagne vintage. It's tasting room is almost worth a visit without a wine tasting.  Hundreds of oak casks are on display in a glass-fronted brick roof vaulted cellar.

Our next stop was Babylonstoren, one of South Africa's oldest Cape Dutch farms.  It's renown for its extensive gardens filled with fruit trees, vegetables, herbs and exotic edible plants.  The gardens cover several acres.  Its plants are laid out in a series of grids, each framed by trained vines, fruit trees and bushes.

Mum fell in love with the clay pot scarecrows in one vegetable garden while I loved the bee house built as a scale model replica of a typical whitewashed Cape Dutch farmhouse. The winery and farm also grows its own wheat.  This is then ground into flour and used to bake some truly delicious stone-fired bread.

As the heat of the day reached its peak (36°C) we made for the shade at La Petite Ferme, a winery and restaurant overlooking Franschhoek Valley's verdant hills.  We grabbed a very light meal as we were saving ourselves for dinner.  I'd booked us a table at the Tasting Room, one of South Africa's top restaurants, which also happened to be located on the grounds of our hotel.

Dinner was a night to remember.  The restaurant served an eight course degustation menu that took us on a tour of South Africa's finest produce.  Mum loved every moment of it. Each course was paired with a local wine and so we finished our wine tasting day in style. As the evening unfolded we stopped to toast the memory of my father. Today is the second anniversary of his death.

Tomorrow we head for the southern coastal town of Hermanus. This area is famous for whale watching in the Spring and Winter months.  Unfortunately the whales are gone by late-December so we're unlikely to spot any on this trip.  However, they say the coast here is truly majestic so we're looking forward to some spectacular ocean scenery.l

Taalmonument

The Taal Monument on Paarl Rock is a unique memorial.  It commemorates Afrikaans, a South African language with origins in Dutch, Malay, Portuguese, French, German and indigenous Khoi and African languages. Locals claims its the world's only monument that's dedicated to a language.

It sits on a hillside overlooking the town of Paarl.  Built entirely of sculptured concrete, its highest column soars more than 57 metres into the air.  This column's curving form represents Afrikaan's growth as a language over time. A series of smaller columns and domes surround the complex, each representing languages from which Afrikaans is derived.

Mum and I spent almost an hour exploring the monument.  Perhaps its most delightful element is the highest column.  Much to our surprise we discovered that it's actually hollow inside while the very tip is a narrow skylight that opens to the sky.  We had the monument almost to ourselves during our entire visit.

It had been raining heavily earlier in the morning right up until our arrival.  The damp conditions had clearly discouraged all but the most committed tourists. Fortunately as we arrived the weather began to clear. The change pleased us no end as the view from the Taalmonument's main podium is stunning.  Visitors enjoy a panoramic view across the city of Paarl and the nearby Hottentots Holland mountains are breath-taking.

We took a scenic drive up the mountains later in the day just to experience the opposing view. We were rewarded for our efforts with a stunning vista of the cape region, as well as a closer look at the dramatically stratified rockface of the Bain's Kloof mountain range. 

However, for Mum, the highlight of our drive was a family of baboons we encountered on the roadside as the road began to climb.  Mum thought the newborn baby was delightful. The poor wee thing took a couple of steps as we watched before losing its balance and sprawling face down in the dust.

Mum and I had already braved the rain before checking out of our hotel in Cape Town.  We caught the Westin Hotel's complimentary shuttle bus across to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront complex, affectionately called the V&A by locals. The complex was once the city's bustling harbour. In more recent years, visiting ships have been located to a larger, more modern port. The original buildings have been subsequently converted into trendy shops, cafes, and hotels.

The V&A is usually teeming with life. However, the morning's foul weather had cleared the area. However, Mum and I made the most of our time including a damp visit to Noble Square where the nation's four Nobel Peace Prize recipients are honored by a series of rather clever cartoon-like statues.

We finished our day with a wander through the streets of Franschhoek.  This is a quaint village nestled in the shadow of towering granite mountains.  It's also the centre of South Africa's wine industry. Many of the village's historical buildings have been lovingly restored. We're basing ourselves here for the next two days.

Our hotel, Le Quartier Francias, is also a real treat. It's far more luxurious than I'd expected. We've been given a room on the first floor which looks out over a courtyard of flowering gardens, verdant lawns, and an enticing pool.  Our window scene (see above) was given a final polish late this afternoon by a burst of sunshine.  Ah bliss!

The Cape of Storms

Today was a day for memories. Mum and I spent the day making our way down the Cape Peninsular to the Cape of Good Hope. The cape lies more than 60 kms south of Cape Town.  To get there we took a leisurely drive down the peninsular's rugged Atlantic coastline.  Our route added another 20 kms to our journey; as well as several sightseeing stops along the way.

As we made our way south we stopped to experience the Chapman's Peak scenic road and dazzling white Slangkoppunt at Kommetjie. Chapman's Peak Drive is an incredible feat lf engineering.  For more than six kilometres the road winds its way along sheer cliffs.  In places the road has literally been carved out of the near vertical cliff face. The road was built over a seven year period between 1915 and 1922.

Slangkoppunt (which literally means Slangkop lighthouse) is the region's tallest lighthouse.  It's built entirely of cast iron and stands more than 34 metres. It's location is rather fascinating. When you typically think of a lighthouse you imagine a structure situated on a headland or bluff.  However, Slangkop sits at sea level only a few metres above the high tide mark. It was commissioned in 1917 and continues to operate today although its original fittings have long since be upgraded.

The Cape of Good Hope was once called the Cape of Storms. It's original name remained as apt as ever.  Today, even though we enjoyed vivid blue skies and warm sunshine, the coastline was still awash with endless crashing waves.  If this is what the sea is like on a "good day" we can only imagine what a stormy night must be like.

Mum could hardy believe she was standing in front of this infamous landmark. We took the usual tourist photos in front of its popular sign before venturing out on to the rocks for another iconic picture. This was also a great place to watch the seals and seabirds soak in the sunshine while avoiding the worst of the crashing waves.

Most people are surprised to learn that the Cape peninsular's headland consists of three rocky points. The least impressive of these is the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Point is by far the more spectacular landmark.  It's also the site of the Cape's powerful lighthouse.  It actually has two lighthouses.  The first was build at the summit of the coast cliffs, more than 238 metres above the sea.  It was often shrouded by fog and thus ineffective for a third of the year.  A newer light was eventually built at a lower elevation.

You can reach the old lighthouse by climbing a path that winds along the cliff face, or you can take a handy funicular tram.  No prize for guessing which mode of transport Mum chose.  However, she did get some exercise as the lighthouse itself can only be reached by climbing a series of stairs.  The climb is well worth the effort.  The views of False Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and the cape itself are simply stunning.

We then drove out to a more remote section of the coast where we spotted a lone Ostrich on the beach and three rather contended antelope.  Later in the afternoon we topped off our nature watching experience with a visit to Boulders Bay.  This picturesque beach is home to a sprawling colony of endangered African Penguins.  The colony is a relatively new phenomenon.  The first pair of Penguins were spotted in the area in 1983.  By 1997, scientists recorded more than 2,350 adult birds in the colony.

Today visitors can walk right up the nesting penguins via a series of boardwalks that wind through the dunes. It's the most amazing experience.  Mum later told me it was the highlight of her day.  I couldn't agree more. 

The only disappointing experience was a minor dingle I had in our rental car.  In a moment of distraction, I backed out of the car park at Boulder Bay and clipped the bullbars of a tourist bus. The bus had pulled up behind us after I'd initially checked the rearview mirror. Given how busy the car park was I hadn't thought to check again as the car began reversing.

Beverly does Cape Town

Mum and I have arrived in Cape Town for the start of our Southern Africa adventure.  We reached our hotel shortly before 9:00pm last night after a full day of flying.  Mum caught her first flight from Auckland at 6:10am.  I then joined her in the lounge at Sydney airport before boarding our 14 hour flight across the Southern Ocean to Johannesburg.  After passing through customs and immigration upon arrival, we finally transferred for our final flight south to Cape Town.

We woke to a light fog over the city this morning. However, by 10am the Summer sun had burnt its way through the haze.  The rest of the day was spent soaking up blue skies and sunshine.  Our first tourist stop was the city's iconic Table Mountain. Its distinct flat top summit rises more than 1084 metres over the city.  It forms the backdrop of almost every Cape Town image you'll ever see. 

The summit is reached by a frightening steep cable car.  At this time of year the queue is a nightmare. However, we struck it lucky.  The day's misty start had deterred the usual crowd.  As a result, we found ourselves ushered onto the first available gondola. We reached the summit just as the last of the morning's haze disappeared.

The view from Table Mountain is a real treat.  We spent more than hour soaking up spectacular views of Cape Town and Table Bay to the north; and the rugged, rocky ridges of the Cape Peninsular to the south.  We were also treated to some of the mountain's unique weather. Its height and coastal location generate unique, localized weather. At times the mountain's summit can be shrouded in clouds even if the rest of the Cape Region is surrounded by clear blue sky.

We were mesmerized by the sight of clouds materializing before us, sweeping across the summit plateau and vanishing as swiftly as they'd appeared. The mountain's unique flora and fauna were also on display. The red-winged starlings were a delight to watch.  They're jet black birds with vivid red-orange wing-tip feathers. We even spotted a Dassie running fearlessly along the cliff edge. These are giant hamster-like rodents that can be found throughout the Cape region.

Our next stop was Signal Hill, a more modest bump that sits in front of Table Mountain.  It offers a more intimate view across the inner city and its picturesque waterfront.  The view is dominated by the Green Point Stadium built for the 2010 Football World Cup.  The paragliders were out in force today.  We watched them taking turns to swoop over our heads and along the hillside.

I then drove Mum past the stadium and out to the coast.  Waves were pounding the shoreline creating a refreshing spray mist.  We took a quick walk around the Green Point lighthouse.  It's an iconic red and white striped tower that's been standing watch here since 1824.

From here it was on to the Rhodes Memorial nestled on the eastern flank of Table Mountain.  The steps of the neo-classical colonnaded monument offer some of the city's best views across False Bay and the city's sprawling suburbs.  We took a drive scenic down the coast to Kalk Bay for a late lunch at the Brass Bell.  This restaurant is a local institution.  It clings to the coastline, nestled on the edge of a popular tidal swimming pool. 

 

As we approached Kalk Bay the traffic literally ground to a halt.  The final two kilometres took us a painfully slow 40 minutes to traverse. At one point as a scenic vantage point approached I encouraged Mum to get out of the car, take a few photos and rejoin me again a few metres down the road. However, our patience was rewarded.  As we crawled up to the restaurant's main entrance a car pulled out leaving behind the perfect parking spot.

We finished our city orientation tour with a brief stop at Groot Constantia.  This is the nation's oldest vineyard.  They've been making wine here for almost four hundred years.  Many of its colonial buildings have been lovingly restored.  Visitors are greeted by a picture-perfect setting of dazzling whitewashed Cape Dutch architecture, verdant vines and Oak shaded paths.  The perfect way to finish our first full day in Africa.