About an hours drive from the Waterfront is one of the most beautiful places we have ever been - Franschhoek, tucked into the Cape Winelands in South Africa. The area is world renowned for their wine and culinary delights. Our last stop for 2 nights was at the Franschhoek Country House and Villas. We were in a luxury villa and it was absolutely wonderful. The entire grounds had a very French appeal to it and the decor was very Victorian. It was quiet, peaceful and so scenic with the mountains as the backdrop no matter what direction we turned. The town is small, very quaint, some would say a bit touristy but we loved it. It was a nice change from the crazy hustle and bustle of the city of Cape Town. We arrived shortly before check in at 2:00 pm so we walked around the town a bit and found a nice place for lunch called Taki's Place with great food and wine in a shaded outside garden. We walked up and down the main tree-lined Huguenot Street, peeking in the galleries and antique shops that fill it. It was something to just take in the scenery with the vineyards that were established more than 300 years ago cascading over the hills just outside town. On the edge of the town is The Huguenot Memorial Museum that honors the town's early settlers, who fled religious persecution in France. We walked to the memorial but then back to the hotel and spent a few hours relaxing by the welcoming pool. It was a hot day! We didn't have the cool from the water as we did in Cape Town so the nice cool pool was a great treat!
The pool at the Franschhoek Country House and Villas
Church in town on the main street
Huguenot Street
We went back into town that evening (we were about 1.5k outside of town), relatively early, since we didn't have a reservation for dinner we thought we'd take our chances with a few places. There are so many wonderful restaurants that we figured we would find something and we ended up at Kalfi's which couldn't have been better! It was simple, eclectic, authentic, intimate, delicious and all around superb.
Local wine
Saturday morning we enjoyed a marvelous breakfast at the Country House and Villas before going into Franschhoek to catch the Wine Tram for a little tour of the area and it's famous wine estates. With the tram we could spend the entire day hopping on and off and visiting 5 wineries as well as the museum. We only chose to go to 3 with the first estate being our favourite - Rickety Bridge - an 18th century winery and popular destination in the Winelands because of it's history and sophisticated tasting center. Upon arrival from the rickety tram, we were picked up by a vintage, open-air, rickety truck and transported to the estate. It was beautiful and the wines were tasty! We made sure not to leave without asking about special shipping options to DE!
Rickety Bridge Wine Estate
We passed two of the wineries until we reached our next stop Dieu Donne - which is located high on the steep south west facing slopes of the Franschhoek Mountains. It was quiet there but the staff was busy preparing the ROCA Restaurant for a huge NYE bash that evening. We didn't like the wine as much but the ambiance and views from Dieu Donne were outstanding!
The tasting room at Dieu Donne
The last estate was the Haute Cabriére. Steeped in history and local lore, this wine estate was originally granted to a French Huguenot farmer, Pierre Jourdan, in 1694 and has been part of the Franschhoek Valley for over 300 years. In The Tasting Cellar we were offered a welcome drink but really they were kind of mad that we showed up as they too, were closing down to prepare for NYE! Oh well, after our champagne we walked around outside because it was just too beautiful!
In the Haute Cabriere tasting cellar
Small lake next to Haute Cabriere
The restaurant is quite famous at the winery and we contemplated lunch but without a reservation we went back into town for a quick bite since it was the middle of the afternoon and we wanted to get in some more pool time on this very hot New Years Eve day before our fancy dinner at the Monneaux Restaurant right outside the door from our villa.
The front steps of our villa lead right over to the Monneaux Restaurant
We had to make the reservation at Monneaux well in advance because as I mentioned, we were in the country's food and wine capital and it was NYE. It was our last day of vacation in South Africa, our last day in the sun, our last delicious South African dinner! We were bummed beyond belief. After relaxing and packing we walked out our door around 7:30. I wish we had time to take a look all through the restaurant because it is the original manor house on the property and the site of Franschhoek's first perfumery. It was beautifully decorated as the rest of the grounds were. There was one other couple in the room we were seated in, and low and behold they were from Pittsford, NY and Niagara Falls and knew exactly where we were originally from. EVERY time we go someplace new we are amazed at how truly small the world really is! We had a nice chat with them, sharing travel stores all the while enjoying more delicious wine, champagne and a delicious 5 star dinner. It was the perfect ending to a perfect vacation. We didn't wait for midnight or any ball to drop in any major city, we had a full day of travel back to Germany the next day so we toasted goodbye to 2012 and off to bed we went!
Our first breakfast of 2013 was back in the mountain view breakfast room where we sipped our coffee not wanting the time to end. The travel wasn't too bad, long but not awful being in the same time zone (+1 hour) but worth every minute. Going to South Africa was one of the most the most amazing vacation we have had to date. We couldn't have done it without the help from Lianne at Go2Africa. I am more than happy to share her email so please let me know if you are interested. We'll go back. We discussed it before we even left!
December 27th
Thursday was a day of travel. We left Victoria falls late morning, flew to Johannesburg and then on to Cape Town arriving about 8:30. Our transfer greeted us and drove into the large bustling city of Cape Town. It was dark so we couldn't really see the scenery but what a change from where we'd been! We were surrounded by mountains and right on the water. We arrived on the waterfront, a very popular and touristy section of the Cape at the Victoria and Alfred Hotel with a beautiful suite overlooking the bay and Table Mountain. After checking in we wandered around the jam packed waterfront looking for a good place to grab some beers and a snack. Mitchell's Ale House seemed quite inviting since its the last name of a few of our good friends so we enjoyed some local beers and had a nice time.
December 28th
Friday morning we had a scenic breakfast on the waterfront and met our rental car guy right at the hotel. It was time to drive on the wrong side of the road! It took a while to get used to grabbing the seat belt on the opposite side and for Dave to figure out that the wipers were not the turn signal! We drove down to Cape Point stopping for scenic pictures along the coastline. The waves were huge, the slopes were steep and sun was warm. It was a awesome. There is a toll portion of the road called Chapman's Peak Highway where many international car commercials are shot. We will be watching them closely now! We enjoyed the beautiful coastline views on the drive down to the point.
One of the many beautiful pics of the coastline!
It was about noon as we pulled to the main gate to Cape Point in Table Mountain National Park and there were cars lined up. We took the Flying Dutchman funicular to the top of the point where we climbed a few hundred more steps for views that were out of this world. We were on the southern most tip of Africa! There are many hiking trails and walks along the coast to do but since we only had the day to explore we moved up alongside the eastern side of the point to Boulders Beach to view the colony of penguins that migrated there back in the 80's. I've always loved penguins and to see them in a natural environment instead of a zoo was so much fun. I could have spent hours watching them, they were so funny sunning themselves and swimming.
Video of the Penguins at Boulders Beach
The day was absolutely perfect, weather was great, and we really wanted to try to get to the top of Table Mountain back up in Cape Town but the "tablecloth" continued to cover the mountain making it not worth our while to go to the top and see nothing!
The tablecloth is forever on the mountain!
On the way back into the city we took a drive up Signal Hill, about 300 meters lower than the big mountain. We were still able to take some nice pictures, see Robben Island and enjoy the views. We were glad to get the car parked back at the hotel lot safely and be off the roads. The holiday and weekend traffic getting onto the Waterfront was really terrible so we decided to leave the car parked till we left! That evening we ventured over to the busy Waterfront restaurant area and had a great meal at an African steak house. I had fillet but Dave had Boerewors, a traditional beef based African sausage and then he ordered Cape Brandy Pudding for dessert which was absolutely delicious (because of course I stole a few bites!) It was not like pudding at all, but more like a light cake soaked in rum or butterscotch or something. I will certainly be looking for recipes to try and I'm pretty sure it's the same type of thing we had on the riverbed dinner at Simbambili.
December 29th
Saturday we made the decision to do a Township tour. We had been on the fence about it for weeks but were really glad that we chose to do it. There are six Townships in Cape Town and the population is in the millions outside of the almost 3 million that live in Cape Town. We first went to the District 6 Museum that gave us a broad overview of the history. We learned a lot more about the history and personal experiences from our guide Cornelia who was actually raised in one of the Townships.We were guided through the streets, houses and shacks by a young man that actually lived there. It was a very sobering experience.
A boy running with his dog down a street in the Township
I don't think the pictures can really explain or we could even really describe the types of living conditions we saw but all of the people we encountered were very nice and happy. The children were beautiful, quick to give a high five or grab my hand and spin around and play. We visited a pub and sampled the African beer, warm and bitter in a big bucket! (I still can't believe I drank out of it!) We were also taken to a natural healer, inside his creepy little store shack, where he explained some of the remedies he used. Thank goodness it was a quick demo and explanation, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Finally, Cornelia took us to a street in the Township where the women were preparing Smileys, a common SA street food also known as the sheep head. The smell was overwhelming for me as the smoke from the fire cooking them seems to blow in every direction. I tried my hardest to keep my gagging to a minimum as I didn't want to be too offensive. It was really disgusting for me but for them, it's traditional! We just couldn't figure out what was to eat but basically they eat it all but the teeth!
They don't look like they are smiling to me!
We were happy to get back to the Waterfront and we were very thankful for where we were because what we had just experienced was a good eye opener as to how so many people of Africa live and had lived. It was very sad. It was another hot and beautiful afternoon. We had a nice lunch and walked all around the waterfront where there are shops, live music, people watching galore and seals! We had another great dinner, and found a live band playing outside at Ferrymans Tavern where we had the worst Paulaner on tap that we've ever had! I couldn't even finish it, stick with the local beer....stick with the local beer! Another good nights sleep in our beautiful waterfront hotel room and we were off to the beautiful Winelands in the morning.
Monday, December 24th
We arrived into Livingstone Airport around 1:00, purchased our double entry Zambia Visas for $80 per person, met our transfer guide and immediately booked The Flight of Angels Helicopter tour with that same tour company. He drove us to The Royal Livingstone Hotel, a beautiful hotel with a Colonial English decor. It's almost as if we'd taken a step back into time! The hotel was adjacent to Victoria Falls and we could see the mist from the falls right from our room.
We quickly checked in and met the guide from United Air Charter to take a flight right over one of the majestic 7 Wonders of the Natural World. It was a little weird at first as we took off but in no time at all we had a magnificent view of the Zambezi River, the Falls, our hotel situated right on the river bank, and the towns of Livingstone and Victoria Falls. It was absolutely amazing and we even purchased the DVD which goes into great detail about the river, falls and David Livingstone who discovered the beautiful place. We bought the DVD because it showed us in the helicopter! Afterward we settled in our room and snapped a few photos of the zebras grazing in front of us. It was Christmas Eve and instead of having the nice dinner in the restaurant we decided to just relax in the lounge with something light, a few drinks and take in the gorgeous scenery. Monkeys scurried about everywhere and they are smart, they know how to hunt down people who have left food in their open rooms! No feeding or getting too close of course. As I would see a baby grasping onto its mother I would try to get close to get a picture but the little things were so scared they screamed at me! That night we slept heavenly on the nice cool room. Next morning was going to be an exciting one!
I'll be darned if I can figure out how to incorporate the DVD of our flight into the blog! I will update if and when I do! It's a great DVD, full of info about Vic Falls and capturing all of the amazing views that we were able to see. There is also the a funny video of us the inside of the helicopter that really only shows us!
Tuesday, December 25th
Merry Christmas! What a way to spend our Christmas, seemed almost surreal but definitely not Christmas like despite all of the beautiful decorations around. It was the hottest and most adventurous filled Christmas I can ever remember spending. The breakfast a The Royal Livingstone was fabulous, enough to fill us for the rest of the day which is good considering it was the only meal included in the room rate! Our boat was scheduled to leave at 8:45 for the Livingstone Island, just a few hundred meters into the river from the hotel, and the absolute best way to see the falls up close and personal...in The Devils Pool! Taking the boat over to Livingstone Island, looking at the massive drop off approaching, it was very intimidating! We were welcomed with a nice island drink and then taken out to the islands edge to hear about the process. There wasn't much time to decide if we actually wanted to make the swim across the current over to jump in the Devils Pool because of reservations one after another. We didn't go all that way to watch other do it so we joined hands, Calvin our guide, Dave, me and Nicole from South Africa and walked the rocks into the river to swim over to,the pool. It seemed like it took forever probably because I was scared beyond belief. Not so much of the pool but the rapid water that we had to swim through to get there. Calvin was awesome, carefully guiding us and ensuring we were as safe as possible. It was actually quite refreshing once we made it to the smaller island that the pool I solvated near, but standing atop the rocks looking at the water rush over the edge of the falls (I at least) didn't think I could do the jump! Calvin jumped to show us the way, Dave went and survived and after major hesitation and a few screams I did the jump myself! What an adrenaline rush! Calvin quickly caught ahold if me and set me on the ledge next to Dave because I was still yelping out a few small screams and pretty caught up in the fast flow of the swirling water! Nicole jumped and then we sat and relaxed and caught our breath and took in the excitement of where we were and what we were doing. We had to climb out of the pool holding a rope and make our way back across the river very carefully. Back on the island my limbs regained their strength and we joined the others in the group who weren't as daring. Of of the guys filmed it and I'm hoping he sends the video so I can post it. I'm sure everyone would love to see me shaking like a leaf as I cross the river! At the camp they prepared a nice meal of Eggs Benedict, coffee, juice and warm muffins. If was great to digress about the adventure we just experienced!
That afternoon we walked to The Falls. We had free access with our hotel card. On the way we walk through the sister resort called Zambezi Sun. First we walked the wet trails along the Zambia side of the falls protected with rain coats getting beautiful pictures of the river and Falls. We could see people bungee jumping from the bridge over the falls which seemed a heck of a lot scarier than what we did in the morning! There were quite a few people out on Christmas Day enjoying the beauty and majesty of the Victoria Falls. We went to the main entrance of the Zambia side of the falls to inquire about going to the Zimbabwe side. We took a taxi ($10) to the Zambia border where we had an exit stamp in the passport and fill out entry passes for Zimbabwe. We then got in another taxi because the same taxi is not allowed in for smuggling reasons. In Zimbabwe we had to obtain Visas for entry ($60) and immediately noticed such a difference in border control, litter everywhere, baboons rummaging through garbage containers and just a distinct sense of a poor country. Another €50 and we entered into the Zimbabwe side of the falls. It was a very pricey afternoon but well worth the views! The mist was heavy as we were facing the heaviest water flow of the falls. One of the best views was being across from Livingstone Island and the Devils Pool watching people do what we did earlier in the day! It's approximately 150 meters down in the gorge between where we were standing and the pool across the way! Another $10 taxi back and we were happy to get back to the hotel and claim a chair by the inviting pool.
The nightfall was coming and the zebras were out grazing. We chose to have a nice dinner in the restaurant that night overlooking the river, and listening to the hippos grumble and monkeys screeching! It was a great Christmas, one that we will never forget for sure.
Wednesday, December 26th
We had nothing planned for most of the day. This was the relaxing part of our trip! A later breakfast, another walk down to the Falls for a view from the Eastern Cataract trail, a photo opportunity with some more zebras (including a 2 day old colt!) and a relaxing time by the pool was how a good chunk of the day was spent. The resort was quiet during the day as most people are out on activities. We watched monkeys, listened to the helicopters fly above went on a river safari that afternoon.
The river safari was pretty fun. It was a small boat that took us up and down the Zambezi with unlimited drinks and snacks. In fact the captain, Prof, told us that the more we drank the higher the chance to spot the animals :) we saw tons of hippos and got pretty close to them in the boat and crocodiles, we saw them them up close and personal! It lasted about two hours and included a stop at one of the islands in the river for some more nice snacks and a potty break.
It was late back at the hotel for dinner (too late for us anyway :) so we stayed on the deck enjoying some drinks, the view and our last night. The next day was a full day of travel to get us to Cape Town.
