Hermanus

 

Next stop Hermanus, famous for whale watching, located just east of Cape Town. This a country where you can experience four seasons in a day. We left Franschhoek in the morning as the temperature approached 28 degrees celsius without a cloud in the sky. Our route to Hermanus was via the Sir Lowry mountain pass which takes you to the coast. As you we drove higher the clouds arrived and the temperature dropped. Our first stop was Betty’s Bay, a little west of Hermanus, where there is a colony of African Penguins located near an old whaling station - Stony Point. It is a rugged coastline, where the mountains drop sharply down to the sea. It feels more like the highlands of Scotland than South Africa. Stunning views and nothing like what we had expected before the holiday.

Our drive to Hermanus was along the coast, through the various towns and past vineyards. Hermanus was originally a small fishing village and is more developed than we expected, No doubt driven by the tourist trade and the influx of people looking to retire here. There are no whales this time of year, they typically arrive around July / August and leave around November. While it currently summer, the weather is a lot colder than Franschhoek. The clouds cling to the mountains overlooking the coastline. 

We sat and ate dinner overlooking the sea as a few rain drops started to fall. The sun started to set and the whole sky line changed dramatically. The low sun shone across the coastline and reflected off the mist on the mountains. Some stunning views.

 

And then we wake to rain and clouds on the mountains. This could truly be Scotland in the summer, which we love so no complaints.  Time for another coffee before our coastline walk.

Franschhoek

 

Next stop Franschhoek. Another of the main wine towns in the west Cape region and based on other peoples opinions, the most picturesque. We travelled via the Helshoogte pass which is a scenic mountain pass between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. 

On journey we stopped to meet a friend of Janice’s who she played hockey with 30 years ago. Yvette and her husdand were orginally from South Africa, so they decided to take their children back home. This was over 10 years ago with the plan to build a mushroom farm. This seems to be an all consuming business, but they are clearly enjoying life living on the Pearl Valley Golf estate. The course was designed by Jack Nicolas and still carry’s his name.A stunning course within a very secure location. Its members include Geoff Boycott, who is one of the many brits referred to a swallows who own on Pearl valley and stay for the UK winter months. As Yvette took us on a guided tour, you quickly understood the attraction.

They live only 15 minutes from Franschhoek and our Airbnb, so the drive was very easy. We are staying on the Le Provence vineyard, which is a family run working vineyard, who sell most of their grapes and makes very little wine. Our room is designed in the style of an african hut, which is a lot of fun, but a lot different from our large room on the Nambiti game reserve. Our hosts are lovely and their grounds are stunning, with well trained dogs roaming around to keep us company.

 

Franschhoek is famous for its wine and has a number of beautiful restaurants which are often fully booked. We had booked the Protege restaurant while in the UK. A high end dinning experience, where we sat overlooking the kitchen as they cooked the food. Wonderful food and wine, as well as fascinating to see the calmness of the kitchen as they prepared the complex dinners. Once again, the cost was a fraction of an equivalent restaurant in the UK.

One of the primary tourist attractions in Franschhoek is their wine Tram. It uses the old railway to take people between the different vineyards. It actually uses a combination of trams and buses which are built in the style of the tram to move between the vineyards. As lot of fun. The first trams starts at 10am and they finish around 5:30 pm, so it can get a little messy, especially when hot. Each stop is around an hour, so in reality you visit around four or five vineyards. We made it to four, starting at the Mont Rochelle, which is owned by Sir Richard Branson. On reflection our favourite vineyard, but the others were also very nice.

 

Then back to our vineyard and our African hut for a swim in their pool and a traditional South African Braai, which is their name for a BBQ. We were joined by our new friend. Once the coals were hot, our Ribs cooked quickly as the sun set. It was a lovely way to finish the day.

 

Stellenbosch

 

Yesterday we moved away from Cape Town to Stellenbosch. This is a university town surrounded by vineyards. It’s the second oldest town in South Africa, established in 1679. It is a very pretty town, kept modern by the constant influx of students. Every street and corner has amazing restaurants and bars selling wine from the hundreds of vineyards in the region. As you walk around the town you can see the Dutch colonial influence.

     

Our hotel is about 6 km from the town, overlooking the hills, vineyards and the Stellenbosch golf course. The Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup is currently taking place in South Africa. We were surprised to see the England Women’s cricket team in our hotel. It turns out that four other national teams are also based here. At breakfast we could see various preparation meetings taking place. The England players were preparing for their game against the West Indies in Paarl, which happens to be the third oldest town in South Africa. There was clearly someone keeping count. To give them our support we drove to Paarl to cheer on the English team.

The ground is on the outskirts of Paarl, just off a main road. It did not look safe to pull up just anywhere, so we pulled into the car park for the officials to ask directions. Janice walked over to the entrance to ask directions. In the next moment I was being ushered to drive into their car park. A further 50 Rand payment later and we parked just in front of the main entrance. Janice has clearly picked up a talent for smoothing palms with money and it worked. 

The heat was close to 38 degrees Celsius. It must have been a challenge to play cricket. But the game was good and England won convincingly, Well done England. 

   

We promptly drove back for dinner at an amazing Afrikaans restaurant, Great food, wine and service. If we ate in this quality of restaurant in the UK, we would be talking about it for days and most likely paid four times the price. If you like your food, then Stellenbosch should be on your list to visit.

     

Tomorrow we move to Franschhoek, which claims to have even nicer restuarants. The bar is set high, so we shall see.

Robben Island

 

Robben Island was the Prison for Nelson Mandela for 18 years. The Island sits off the coast of Cape Town and has been part of Cape Towns Colonial history since the 15th Century. It was named by the Dutch, who observed the seals living there and named the island after them - Dutch word for seals (robben), hence the Dutch/Afrikaans name Robbeneiland, which translates to Seal(s) Island. The last prisoners left the island in 1996, followed by the island being declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. 

Our trip started at 9am by taking the tour ferry over. You need to book in advance due to demand. Every seat on the boat was full. The tour runs every two hours, so this is popular tourist site. On arrival you are escorted onto a bus tour around the island. Over the last 500 years the island has been a prison multiple times, used as a leper exclusion island and a fort during the Second World War. There are various signs of its history, but the most obvious is the remans of the prison and the builds home to the guards, surrounded by the signs of their day to day life - decaying tennis courts, over grown rugby pitches and sport club. 

A quarry where the political prisoners who were made to smash rocks for 8 hours a day lays dormant. This is a clear reminder of the brutality of their imprisonment and the tactics used to break them. This only stopped less than 35 years ago. 

The bus tour finishes at the political prision. The last political prisoners left in 1991 and only the criminal prisoners remained, before finally closing in 1996. Arriving at the prison, an ex political prisoner becomes our guide for our final tour. Our guide was imprisoned in 1983, just after Mandela was transferred to the mainland. He served his sentance until 1990. There was no early release or parole, they had to serve their time. Conditions were tough and anyone found discussing politics could end up in solitoary confinment with minimal food. Human rights had not made it to this prison. 

 

It was a moving tour. The problems South Africa face have not gone away, their economy is strugging for many complex reasons. But as you walk around Cape Town you can see how times have changed. The restaurants are multi-cultural and people from all races sit together, so progress is being made, but their issue are not going to be solved quickly. 

But if you are looking for a great restaurant, this is the place to visit. 

Cape Point

 

We picked up our hire car in the morning, a VW Polo. This is our transport for the rest of the holiday. Our journey for today was to drive down to Cape Point. First stop was Simon’s Town, followed by a walk to the Boulders National park to see the Penguins. Simon’s Town is the location of the first naval base in South Africa. Its sits on the Atlantic Ocean and is exposed directly to the winds of the ocean. It was windy today, but the wind must be brutal during a storm.

Then on down to Cape Point, where the victorian era light house is situated. The south cape area is part of the Table Mountain National park, so they charge to enter. A wind swept terrain with many different wild animals, including Baboons who look for food from passing cars.

 

Cape Point is on the east of the tip of the Cape, and Cape of Good Hope on the west. The old light house is at Cape Point, where you can park and walk to Cape of Good Hope. Time didn’t allow us to walk to the Cape of Good Hope, but spending time at light house gave us an insight into why this area has been the down fall of so many ships. Wind, Rocks and bad weather make this stretch of coast notoriously dangerous, However, it is also incredibly beautiful, which seems a common theme for much of South Africa.

        

Our home journey took us up the east coast, with golden white sand beaches. Kite surfers were out on the water at Witsand beach, riding the waves and launching themselves in the air. 

And then back to our hotel for dinner, plus some load shedding. Due to power contrainsts, buildings across South Africa are removed from the power grid at specific times to balance the power grid. A little sign of the economic challenges this amazing country is facing.