To Wine Country!

Time to leave Cape Town.  We had a great visit here, but are ready for a more relaxed pace!  (Isn’t that what vacations are for?)  We didn’t leave the hotel until around 11:00, as Sarah needed to visit a doctor for a minor infection (a pedicure issue).  She is fine, and no amputation was needed!

We noted a headline in the Cape Town newspaper about local opposition to Wal-Mart opening there.  I wonder how successful the opposition will be, considering the number of jobs a store would bring and the need for jobs in South Africa.  (Never mind the number of locals that will be put out of business!)

Our drive to wine country outside Cape Town showed us some of the issues that face South Africa, including what we would call “shanty towns” – large areas of homes erected from whatever materials could be scavenged…metal, wood, cloth, etc.  There were a lot of these areas, many without water, electricity, plumbing, etc.  Some were erected behind the houses that were part of public housing projects – the space is rented to others or given to family members to use.  We saw one man crossing a 4-lane highway with buckets of water for his home.  We also saw a lot of people gathering wood, which is taken home in shopping carts to either sell or to use for cooking and heat.  Poverty of this magnitude is heart-breaking.

We also discovered on our drive that the US isn’t the only country with delays due to road building!  That activity in South Africa didn’t appear to be quite as mechanized as in the US, but that likely is intentional, to create more jobs.

We headed to wine country, first stopping at Ernie Els’ Winery (yes, the golfer).  He wasn’t there to greet us, but we stayed to taste a few wines anyway.  The wine steward at last night’s dinner called this one correctly – someplace you should stop to see, but the wines aren’t anything to write home about.  It is modern, all built first-class.  The driveway is long, and mostly paved with hand-laid bricks.  It is the only winery we’ve visited that has a putting green and a tee!  (No fairways or sand traps!)  It is nestled in the foothills of a mountain, with incredible views of the valley and vineyards.

We are also in strawberry country here, and noticed the use of unusual scarecrows to keep the birds out of the crops.

The next stop was at the Delaire Graff Estate, another beautiful modern winery, hotel and spa.  They had interesting sculptures all around the facility, and good wine.  We had lunch there…a really looonnnngggg lunch!  (It seems that South Africans don’t like to be rushed during meals!)  After lunch, we headed to a nearby winery that specializes in brandy, Tokara.  This is a new facility, but an old manufacturer…started in 1722!  The entrance of this winery had an unusual sculpture in the form of a word tree, which contained some history, some phrases, and just plain words.

View from Delaire-Graff

Word Tree at Tokara

After the wineries, Acilia drove us to our next home, Cathbert Country Inn, which is located on the Rust en Vrede Wine Estate in Simondium.  We said our goodbyes and hugs with Acilia, and headed to our rooms, which are modern units next to each other, in duplex fashion, with a porch with views of a lake, vineyards, and mountains beyond.  The grounds are well-manicured, with lots of varieties of flowers, benches for sitting and contemplating (for those inclined to contemplate), a few fountains, and a small swimming pool.  There is a dining hall for meals, with a wrap-around veranda, and the scent of lilacs is all around.

Here was a surprise outside our room at Cathbert:

Dinner tonight was at Cathbert...an excellent dinner with springbok as the main course.   Then to bed early (10:30) to catch up on needed rest!