Trip Report - Cape Town, the Winelands, and Botswana
Jul 2nd, 2009, 06:04 AM
#42
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What a great trip report and amazing pictures.
Did you use any special lens or camera? I´m asking because I´ve been reading a lot about special equipment and lenses to take to safari, but I´m really not good at technology. I just want nice pictures that remind me of my vacation. So I was wondering if I could get these without investing on equipment and learning how to use it before my trip, because I know I won´t be able to.
I really enjoyed your report on the winelands, and good to know your wine survived. I was wondering how would I be able to transport wine back home if I bought too much. Of course we can always drink it before heading home.
What a great trip report and amazing pictures.
Did you use any special lens or camera? I´m asking because I´ve been reading a lot about special equipment and lenses to take to safari, but I´m really not good at technology. I just want nice pictures that remind me of my vacation. So I was wondering if I could get these without investing on equipment and learning how to use it before my trip, because I know I won´t be able to.
I really enjoyed your report on the winelands, and good to know your wine survived. I was wondering how would I be able to transport wine back home if I bought too much. Of course we can always drink it before heading home.
Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:33 AM
#44
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Hi Gabrielle,
My husband has a Canon Eos Rebel with a relatively good expensive lens, although not the longest that I believe is considered the perfect safari lens (it's expensive). However, about half of those pictures were taken with my new little Panasonic Lumix with a 10X zoom. I really am happy with it, and we thought that the pictures it took were just as good as those with his more expensive camera. I want to say we bought it for under $300 at Costco.
One of these days I'll finish the last couple of days of this report!
My husband has a Canon Eos Rebel with a relatively good expensive lens, although not the longest that I believe is considered the perfect safari lens (it's expensive). However, about half of those pictures were taken with my new little Panasonic Lumix with a 10X zoom. I really am happy with it, and we thought that the pictures it took were just as good as those with his more expensive camera. I want to say we bought it for under $300 at Costco.
One of these days I'll finish the last couple of days of this report!
Jul 13th, 2009, 05:05 PM
#45
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We enjoyed another lovely breakfast at Akademie Street. This is just a perfect place if you want to stay in a small town where you can walk places. We strolled around town again afterwards. It was Election day, so it was interesting to see people getting out to vote. We then headed to Cabriere, which is known for their sparkling wines. We enjoyed some lovely ones, especially the Brut Sauvage. The owner also puts on a show in opening a bottle with a sword, which we saw as well. The tasting room is built into the side of a mountain, it’s quite unique.
After that we headed to Graham Beck. I had low expectations here, as usually the big wineries aren’t as exciting to actually visit. But I have to say, we really enjoyed our visit. It is big, but there weren’t very many other people there. The tasting room is wonderful. Very modern, dark wood and stainless. We tasted a flight of 7 reds. They were all nice, but our favorite was the Ridge Syrah, we brought home a bottle.
Next we went to La Motte, which is on the road back into Franschhoek. We have had their wines here in the states. This was another lovely old estate, we had a nice time. After that we headed back into town and had a nice casual lunch at Kalfi’s on the main drag. Sort of an inexpensive neighborhood place, I had a salad and my husband and a curry. We lingered a long time and then went off again. We tried to go to Boekenhoutskloof, but it was closed for the day. We ended up at a small family run winery called Stony Brook, just down the road. This was such a casual spot that the kids waved us in through their living room out to the patio in back. We really had a nice time tasting all their wines (there was a tasting fee here, but I am happy to pay those. They usually amounted to somewhere around $3 each.) After that we headed back to our place to relax.
This evening we had dinner at Le Quartier Francais. You can choose a 4, 6 or 8 course tasting menu, we did the 6 courses with the wine pairing. I have to say, we were underwhelmed. There were flashes of brilliance, but overall it was disappointing, unfortunately. Considering the fact that we paid three times as much for this meal as for any others, I just didn’t think it was worth it.
We woke up to rain our last morning. After eating a leisurely breakfast and chatting again with the charming Katherine and Arthur, we checked out. We wandered around town one last time then started back to Cape Town. But on the way we did hit two more wineries. We went back to Boekenhoutskloof, and really enjoyed our tasting there. Then on the way to Stellenbosch we went to Thelema, one of the last on our list. Although it was pouring rain so that we couldn’t enjoy the scenery as much, we loved the setting and their wines. We brought home “The Mint” Cabernet, which was unusual and excellent.
A quick note of a few wineries we missed. Our wine critic friend had recommended Vergekegen, who he says is making the best Cabernet blends in South Africa. It was further out and we didn’t make it. Closer to Cape Town for white wine, he likes Klein Constantia “producer of SAs most famous sweet wine” and Buitenverwachting, which has a lovely restaurant.
We made it back to Cape Town uneventfully, and checked into the Westin. We used points again for this portion of our stay. We had thought this place would be a little lacking in atmosphere, but we enjoyed our stay. We had a lovely room with a view of the harbor and Table Mountain, and the service couldn’t have been nicer. It was also an easy walk to the V&A Waterfront and the downtown areas.
We spent time wandering around the city again (if you haven’t noticed, I am a big fan of just wandering around.) That evening we actually went back to Willoughby’s for dinner, as we had loved it so much. The sushi there is hard to beat.
Friday was chilly day, but not raining, so I was happy about that. We spent our time downtown, going to the outdoor markets and shopping for souvenirs. We had lunch at Den Anker on the waterfront, it was just okay. That evening we went to Africa Café for dinner, as I thought that would be a fitting finale for our trip to Africa. I’ve read some mixed reviews here, but we had a great dinner. Excellent food and wine for about $80 total.
The next day we started our long journey home. It was worth the effort!
After that we headed to Graham Beck. I had low expectations here, as usually the big wineries aren’t as exciting to actually visit. But I have to say, we really enjoyed our visit. It is big, but there weren’t very many other people there. The tasting room is wonderful. Very modern, dark wood and stainless. We tasted a flight of 7 reds. They were all nice, but our favorite was the Ridge Syrah, we brought home a bottle.
Next we went to La Motte, which is on the road back into Franschhoek. We have had their wines here in the states. This was another lovely old estate, we had a nice time. After that we headed back into town and had a nice casual lunch at Kalfi’s on the main drag. Sort of an inexpensive neighborhood place, I had a salad and my husband and a curry. We lingered a long time and then went off again. We tried to go to Boekenhoutskloof, but it was closed for the day. We ended up at a small family run winery called Stony Brook, just down the road. This was such a casual spot that the kids waved us in through their living room out to the patio in back. We really had a nice time tasting all their wines (there was a tasting fee here, but I am happy to pay those. They usually amounted to somewhere around $3 each.) After that we headed back to our place to relax.
This evening we had dinner at Le Quartier Francais. You can choose a 4, 6 or 8 course tasting menu, we did the 6 courses with the wine pairing. I have to say, we were underwhelmed. There were flashes of brilliance, but overall it was disappointing, unfortunately. Considering the fact that we paid three times as much for this meal as for any others, I just didn’t think it was worth it.
We woke up to rain our last morning. After eating a leisurely breakfast and chatting again with the charming Katherine and Arthur, we checked out. We wandered around town one last time then started back to Cape Town. But on the way we did hit two more wineries. We went back to Boekenhoutskloof, and really enjoyed our tasting there. Then on the way to Stellenbosch we went to Thelema, one of the last on our list. Although it was pouring rain so that we couldn’t enjoy the scenery as much, we loved the setting and their wines. We brought home “The Mint” Cabernet, which was unusual and excellent.
A quick note of a few wineries we missed. Our wine critic friend had recommended Vergekegen, who he says is making the best Cabernet blends in South Africa. It was further out and we didn’t make it. Closer to Cape Town for white wine, he likes Klein Constantia “producer of SAs most famous sweet wine” and Buitenverwachting, which has a lovely restaurant.
We made it back to Cape Town uneventfully, and checked into the Westin. We used points again for this portion of our stay. We had thought this place would be a little lacking in atmosphere, but we enjoyed our stay. We had a lovely room with a view of the harbor and Table Mountain, and the service couldn’t have been nicer. It was also an easy walk to the V&A Waterfront and the downtown areas.
We spent time wandering around the city again (if you haven’t noticed, I am a big fan of just wandering around.) That evening we actually went back to Willoughby’s for dinner, as we had loved it so much. The sushi there is hard to beat.
Friday was chilly day, but not raining, so I was happy about that. We spent our time downtown, going to the outdoor markets and shopping for souvenirs. We had lunch at Den Anker on the waterfront, it was just okay. That evening we went to Africa Café for dinner, as I thought that would be a fitting finale for our trip to Africa. I’ve read some mixed reviews here, but we had a great dinner. Excellent food and wine for about $80 total.
The next day we started our long journey home. It was worth the effort!
Jul 14th, 2009, 05:47 AM
#48
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Mapula: I like the giraffe "scissors." You have photos of dogs doing everything at Mapula.
Delta: The dogs obviously made an impression if you are naming the hippos Woofy names.
Deception: Nightly porcupines! Outstanding! So were the leopard sightings.
Delta: The dogs obviously made an impression if you are naming the hippos Woofy names.
Deception: Nightly porcupines! Outstanding! So were the leopard sightings.
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