Trip Report - Cape Town, the Winelands, and Botswana
May 17th, 2009, 01:02 PM
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Trip Report - Cape Town, the Winelands, and Botswana
This was our first trip to Africa. We had a wonderful time, thank you so much to those of you who answered my questions as I researched this, especially PredatorBiologist, whose trip report on Mapula Lodge, Delta Camp and Deception Valley Lodge cemented my plans to stay at those camps. I think we had very few issues or disappointments of any kind. I hope this report helps others out there planning such a fabulous adventure.
I'll break this up into several sections so that it's not too long! Here's the first installment.
We used frequent flier miles to get there from Washington DC in business class. That made the flights so much easier, but meant that we did not have the most direct routing. I also had to book 330 days out before any safari details were firmed up, that meant for a bit of a disjointed trip in a way, although that didn’t bother us at all. As we had wanted to go to the Cape Town area, I booked our round trip there, so that was our first and last stop.
We flew AA and BA. We departed on Tuesday afternoon, April 7. There was a day long layover in London on our way over. After arriving there, we showered in the arrivals lounge (which makes such a huge difference), and headed out. We took a bus to Windsor, as we had both been to London several times but never much outside the city. We arrived just as the castle was opening, and started off. The grounds and state rooms were lovely. After that, we wandered around Windsor and Eton, and ate a great lunch at Wagamama’s. We ended up back at the airport with just the right amount of time before our flight out to Johannesburg - the BA lounge in Heathrow was one of the nicest of the trip.
Our flight to Joburg was uneventful. We arrived as scheduled Thursday morning the 9th, and headed on to Cape Town. We used AmEx points to spend our first few nights at the Radisson near the V&A Waterfront. We checked in a little before lunch. Our room was nice, we had a view of Table Mountain. The location is great, on the water, near the waterfront and the center of the city. It was interesting to see all the work being done for the World Cup next year. The new stadium in Cape Town is in a great location, the views will be stunning.
We were somewhat tired, so the day was relatively lazy. We had a really nice lunch at the restaurant at the hotel, Tobagos. My husband enjoyed excellent Kingklip and a smoked salmon sandwich for me. The weather was beautiful, hot and sunny. Very summery. We spent an hour or so sitting out by the lovely little pool and relaxing before heading over to the Waterfront area. We took the shuttle, but realized the walk wasn’t long and walked the other times out.
The Waterfront is quite touristy, but it’s a nice place to window shop and hang out. We walked all around before going to one of the restaurants with outdoor seating to enjoy the late afternoon people watching over some wine. I had chosen Willoughby’s for our dinner that night. We LOVED the food there. It’s funny because I knew it wasn’t an upscale restaurant by any means, and had expected that, but what I didn’t realize is that it is really in the mall. Most of the seating is out in the middle of the mall itself. So definitely no atmosphere, but the food was excellent. I highly recommend it.
We had an early night and had hoped to be up and about early, but we were lazy, and didn’t start out until after 11 am. The breakfast at the hotel was excellent, and we so enjoyed the patio out there that we sat around far too long. We had decided to do the bus tour of the city in order to get our bearings, and that worked well for us. We learned some interesting things from the narrative and rode all around. The red line tour goes through the city, up to the Table Mountain cable car station, then out to Camps Bay. We rode the entire route, then got off in the city again and wandered around. We enjoyed a nice late lunch at Biesmiellah, good curry and our service was lovely. It was Good Friday, so there was a lot that was closed down in the city itself. We ended up back at our hotel and ate there again that night. Unfortunately dinner wasn’t as good as our lunch had been. Not bad, just not great. It was nice out on that deck though.
Saturday we had a flight to Johannesburg to start our safari adventure. We had breakfast and walked around a bit, then headed to the airport. The Cape Town airport is still under a lot of construction, but the airport in Joburg is very nicely renovated now. We stayed the night at the Hilton Sandton (using points again). It was a nice quiet hotel, we were lazy again and had dinner there. In retrospect I wish we had gotten out to some of the good restaurants in Sandton, but we had an early flight out and just stayed in. Dinner was okay, not great. Got an early night in preparation for our flight to Botswana.
I'll break this up into several sections so that it's not too long! Here's the first installment.
We used frequent flier miles to get there from Washington DC in business class. That made the flights so much easier, but meant that we did not have the most direct routing. I also had to book 330 days out before any safari details were firmed up, that meant for a bit of a disjointed trip in a way, although that didn’t bother us at all. As we had wanted to go to the Cape Town area, I booked our round trip there, so that was our first and last stop.
We flew AA and BA. We departed on Tuesday afternoon, April 7. There was a day long layover in London on our way over. After arriving there, we showered in the arrivals lounge (which makes such a huge difference), and headed out. We took a bus to Windsor, as we had both been to London several times but never much outside the city. We arrived just as the castle was opening, and started off. The grounds and state rooms were lovely. After that, we wandered around Windsor and Eton, and ate a great lunch at Wagamama’s. We ended up back at the airport with just the right amount of time before our flight out to Johannesburg - the BA lounge in Heathrow was one of the nicest of the trip.
Our flight to Joburg was uneventful. We arrived as scheduled Thursday morning the 9th, and headed on to Cape Town. We used AmEx points to spend our first few nights at the Radisson near the V&A Waterfront. We checked in a little before lunch. Our room was nice, we had a view of Table Mountain. The location is great, on the water, near the waterfront and the center of the city. It was interesting to see all the work being done for the World Cup next year. The new stadium in Cape Town is in a great location, the views will be stunning.
We were somewhat tired, so the day was relatively lazy. We had a really nice lunch at the restaurant at the hotel, Tobagos. My husband enjoyed excellent Kingklip and a smoked salmon sandwich for me. The weather was beautiful, hot and sunny. Very summery. We spent an hour or so sitting out by the lovely little pool and relaxing before heading over to the Waterfront area. We took the shuttle, but realized the walk wasn’t long and walked the other times out.
The Waterfront is quite touristy, but it’s a nice place to window shop and hang out. We walked all around before going to one of the restaurants with outdoor seating to enjoy the late afternoon people watching over some wine. I had chosen Willoughby’s for our dinner that night. We LOVED the food there. It’s funny because I knew it wasn’t an upscale restaurant by any means, and had expected that, but what I didn’t realize is that it is really in the mall. Most of the seating is out in the middle of the mall itself. So definitely no atmosphere, but the food was excellent. I highly recommend it.
We had an early night and had hoped to be up and about early, but we were lazy, and didn’t start out until after 11 am. The breakfast at the hotel was excellent, and we so enjoyed the patio out there that we sat around far too long. We had decided to do the bus tour of the city in order to get our bearings, and that worked well for us. We learned some interesting things from the narrative and rode all around. The red line tour goes through the city, up to the Table Mountain cable car station, then out to Camps Bay. We rode the entire route, then got off in the city again and wandered around. We enjoyed a nice late lunch at Biesmiellah, good curry and our service was lovely. It was Good Friday, so there was a lot that was closed down in the city itself. We ended up back at our hotel and ate there again that night. Unfortunately dinner wasn’t as good as our lunch had been. Not bad, just not great. It was nice out on that deck though.
Saturday we had a flight to Johannesburg to start our safari adventure. We had breakfast and walked around a bit, then headed to the airport. The Cape Town airport is still under a lot of construction, but the airport in Joburg is very nicely renovated now. We stayed the night at the Hilton Sandton (using points again). It was a nice quiet hotel, we were lazy again and had dinner there. In retrospect I wish we had gotten out to some of the good restaurants in Sandton, but we had an early flight out and just stayed in. Dinner was okay, not great. Got an early night in preparation for our flight to Botswana.
May 18th, 2009, 09:08 AM
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I must say I like the pace you allowed to start with! It's nice to dedicate some time to the vicinity one is staying in instead of starting a "program" right away which too often leaves people "exhausted" and results in a lack of "absorbing" the atmosphere.
We always enjoy hanging around the Waterfront restaurants or Camps Bay cafés for at least one whole afternoon.
I understand your regret about the meal at the Hotel - I would not expect great dinner at any Hilton but I might be wrong. Next time you should at least go to MOYOs for a nice evening!
I am looking forward to reading the safari section.
SV
We always enjoy hanging around the Waterfront restaurants or Camps Bay cafés for at least one whole afternoon.
I understand your regret about the meal at the Hotel - I would not expect great dinner at any Hilton but I might be wrong. Next time you should at least go to MOYOs for a nice evening!
I am looking forward to reading the safari section.
SV
May 18th, 2009, 02:48 PM
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hi sealstep,
good start - both for the trip and the report!
we too stayed at and loved the Radisson, though we were there in July [winter] so we tended to use the very cheap taxis, rather then walking to the waterfront.
looking forward to more,
regards, ann
good start - both for the trip and the report!
we too stayed at and loved the Radisson, though we were there in July [winter] so we tended to use the very cheap taxis, rather then walking to the waterfront.
looking forward to more,
regards, ann
May 19th, 2009, 06:12 AM
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Okay, here's the next installment!
Botswana
We had heard the Joburg airport could be crazy, and it did indeed look like the lines for international departures for SAA were horrendous, but we didn’t have any trouble getting through check in and security at 8 am. We arrived in Maun at noon, and were met by the Delta Air representative. We had almost an hour until our flight to the camp, so we wandered around the shops near the airport. We flew out on a puddle jumper to our first stop, Mapula Lodge. We were met by the staff singing to us, and checked in. Doctor, the manager, is a very friendly guy. We were assigned Josiah as our guide, and Simon as our tracker. We got the safety briefing (don’t leave your room at night, etc.) and an overview of the daily schedule. As we were going on to Delta Camp with its Mokoro activity we decided to do all game drives, although they do mokoro rides at Mapula as well.
Our room was nice, with an outdoor shower, a cute tin bathtub, and comfy bed all looking out at the view as the front wall was mostly just a screen. Our balcony had two chairs where we could sit in the afternoon. The only downside was that it was a little hard to get out of the sun in the afternoon there, but that’s a small quibble.
We were able to relax for an hour or two before tea and our first game drive. Tea was at 3:30, and was some nice juices and sweets (including a ginger cake that I’m thinking of trying to get the recipe for!) We took off for our drive a bit after 4 or so. There was one other couple there, from Switzerland. They were experienced safari goers, and we meshed well in that they were happy to stop at every single thing. We saw the most game at Mapula overall, although probably not that first night. We saw elephants, zebras, tessebee ( I think our only of the trip), an African Wild Cat, Black-backed Jackel, a hippo, and multiple birds (I think I’ll try to put my bird list at the end for those interested.) We had traditional sundowners and enjoyed the scenery. The floods had come early this year, and there was already quite a bit of water around, which made driving a bit interesting.
We got back to camp at about 8 pm or so, and had a nice dinner (food here was overall pretty good). I think this lodge was not as luxurious as the other two we stayed at (well, for mid-level camps), but very nice and the game viewing and overall experience was excellent.
The next morning we started out early after a quick breakfast of cereal and some coffee. Josiah was excellent at spotting and identifying birds for me, I really didn’t need to big heavy book I had brought. We had talked the night before about what animals we might want to spot, and I had assured them that while I understood that nothing could be guaranteed, especially as we were only there two nights, I had really hoped to see the Wild Dogs. I had made up my own little “big 5” list of things I hoped to find – Lion, Elephant, Hippo, Giraffes, and Wild Dogs. Anything else was gravy! So Josiah and Simon set out to try to find the Wild Dogs. Along the way we saw a group of Giraffes quite close, and some baboons, zebras, etc. I was so excited just to see the Giraffes, even though I know they’re common! Also our first Wildebeest sightings, and a quick view of a Honey Badger, which was wonderful.
They had seen the dogs about 4 days before we arrived, and headed to a spot where they hoped they were. And sure enough, after just a half hour or so we found a pack of 10 dogs, lazing around. I can’t tell you how happy I was. And I was amazed that they didn’t care a bit about the game vehicle, so we were able to get incredibly close. There were also Velvet Monkeys in a tree nearby. We spent a long time just watching the pack, as they slept and cuddled with each other. We were out a long time that morning, it was probably close to 11 am by the time we got back to the lodge. We had some good elephant sightings this day too. Lunch was served, and then we napped and read in our room.
Tea was again really lovely food. We wanted to get a quick start to try to find the Wild Dogs again before they headed off to hunt, as Josiah and Simon thought they hadn’t eaten that morning. So we headed back to find them, and were successful. They had moved, but not too much. We spent about half an hour watching them start to activate. One even took a bath in the nearby water. And then sure enough, they were off. We followed, and I have to say that this whole trip was an advertisement for Land Rovers, as those things could go anywhere. We bounced around for what could only have been 15 minutes or so, glimpsing them in the distance, then losing them, it was quite exciting. We came up on a clearing with a fenced area in the distance, and that’s where they got an Impala. We didn’t see the actual kill (which was okay with me – I really wanted them to be able to eat, but I am a softie.) We caught up with them and watched them run around with the bones for a long time, all covered in blood. All we could hear was them crying at each other for food, and the crunching of bones. It was amazing. By this time it was getting to be sunset, so we drove a bit away and had our sundowners. We were all a little giddy – or maybe that was just me! A spotted Hyena came to try to get in on the leftovers, but the pack drove him away.
We finally left and started back for the camp. We didn’t see too much along the way, and then all of a sudden we came upon a young female lion just a meter or so from the road. They knew her and thought she was fairly shy, but after we moved a bit she let us watch her for quite some time. So, in just a day and a half I had seen everything I had hoped for, and much more. Dinner that night was lovely, we were all in high spirits plus it was our last night, so the mood felt quite celebratory.
The next morning’s drive was highlighted by seeing lots of giraffe, ostrich, and birds. I was sad that we had to leave, but excited for our next adventure. Josiah and Simon were excellent, our stay there was lovely. We got to the airstrip at noon or so, and headed to Delta Camp, along with the Swiss couple who were going there as well.
Botswana
We had heard the Joburg airport could be crazy, and it did indeed look like the lines for international departures for SAA were horrendous, but we didn’t have any trouble getting through check in and security at 8 am. We arrived in Maun at noon, and were met by the Delta Air representative. We had almost an hour until our flight to the camp, so we wandered around the shops near the airport. We flew out on a puddle jumper to our first stop, Mapula Lodge. We were met by the staff singing to us, and checked in. Doctor, the manager, is a very friendly guy. We were assigned Josiah as our guide, and Simon as our tracker. We got the safety briefing (don’t leave your room at night, etc.) and an overview of the daily schedule. As we were going on to Delta Camp with its Mokoro activity we decided to do all game drives, although they do mokoro rides at Mapula as well.
Our room was nice, with an outdoor shower, a cute tin bathtub, and comfy bed all looking out at the view as the front wall was mostly just a screen. Our balcony had two chairs where we could sit in the afternoon. The only downside was that it was a little hard to get out of the sun in the afternoon there, but that’s a small quibble.
We were able to relax for an hour or two before tea and our first game drive. Tea was at 3:30, and was some nice juices and sweets (including a ginger cake that I’m thinking of trying to get the recipe for!) We took off for our drive a bit after 4 or so. There was one other couple there, from Switzerland. They were experienced safari goers, and we meshed well in that they were happy to stop at every single thing. We saw the most game at Mapula overall, although probably not that first night. We saw elephants, zebras, tessebee ( I think our only of the trip), an African Wild Cat, Black-backed Jackel, a hippo, and multiple birds (I think I’ll try to put my bird list at the end for those interested.) We had traditional sundowners and enjoyed the scenery. The floods had come early this year, and there was already quite a bit of water around, which made driving a bit interesting.
We got back to camp at about 8 pm or so, and had a nice dinner (food here was overall pretty good). I think this lodge was not as luxurious as the other two we stayed at (well, for mid-level camps), but very nice and the game viewing and overall experience was excellent.
The next morning we started out early after a quick breakfast of cereal and some coffee. Josiah was excellent at spotting and identifying birds for me, I really didn’t need to big heavy book I had brought. We had talked the night before about what animals we might want to spot, and I had assured them that while I understood that nothing could be guaranteed, especially as we were only there two nights, I had really hoped to see the Wild Dogs. I had made up my own little “big 5” list of things I hoped to find – Lion, Elephant, Hippo, Giraffes, and Wild Dogs. Anything else was gravy! So Josiah and Simon set out to try to find the Wild Dogs. Along the way we saw a group of Giraffes quite close, and some baboons, zebras, etc. I was so excited just to see the Giraffes, even though I know they’re common! Also our first Wildebeest sightings, and a quick view of a Honey Badger, which was wonderful.
They had seen the dogs about 4 days before we arrived, and headed to a spot where they hoped they were. And sure enough, after just a half hour or so we found a pack of 10 dogs, lazing around. I can’t tell you how happy I was. And I was amazed that they didn’t care a bit about the game vehicle, so we were able to get incredibly close. There were also Velvet Monkeys in a tree nearby. We spent a long time just watching the pack, as they slept and cuddled with each other. We were out a long time that morning, it was probably close to 11 am by the time we got back to the lodge. We had some good elephant sightings this day too. Lunch was served, and then we napped and read in our room.
Tea was again really lovely food. We wanted to get a quick start to try to find the Wild Dogs again before they headed off to hunt, as Josiah and Simon thought they hadn’t eaten that morning. So we headed back to find them, and were successful. They had moved, but not too much. We spent about half an hour watching them start to activate. One even took a bath in the nearby water. And then sure enough, they were off. We followed, and I have to say that this whole trip was an advertisement for Land Rovers, as those things could go anywhere. We bounced around for what could only have been 15 minutes or so, glimpsing them in the distance, then losing them, it was quite exciting. We came up on a clearing with a fenced area in the distance, and that’s where they got an Impala. We didn’t see the actual kill (which was okay with me – I really wanted them to be able to eat, but I am a softie.) We caught up with them and watched them run around with the bones for a long time, all covered in blood. All we could hear was them crying at each other for food, and the crunching of bones. It was amazing. By this time it was getting to be sunset, so we drove a bit away and had our sundowners. We were all a little giddy – or maybe that was just me! A spotted Hyena came to try to get in on the leftovers, but the pack drove him away.
We finally left and started back for the camp. We didn’t see too much along the way, and then all of a sudden we came upon a young female lion just a meter or so from the road. They knew her and thought she was fairly shy, but after we moved a bit she let us watch her for quite some time. So, in just a day and a half I had seen everything I had hoped for, and much more. Dinner that night was lovely, we were all in high spirits plus it was our last night, so the mood felt quite celebratory.
The next morning’s drive was highlighted by seeing lots of giraffe, ostrich, and birds. I was sad that we had to leave, but excited for our next adventure. Josiah and Simon were excellent, our stay there was lovely. We got to the airstrip at noon or so, and headed to Delta Camp, along with the Swiss couple who were going there as well.
May 22nd, 2009, 04:11 PM
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Enjoying the trip report, and getting very very excited as I leave on Sunday for my first safari, so I am bookmarking this so I can rad the rest when I get back, and start composing my own.
Thanks for posting
amy
Thanks for posting
amy
May 24th, 2009, 09:23 AM
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Okay, moving on!
Delta Camp
Our pilot Kevin asked if we wanted to fly low even though it might be bouncy, and we all said yes! He flew at about 400 feet for the twenty minutes it took to transfer between the camps. We saw so much game, lots of elephants and hippos and such. It was a great view.
We arrived and were met by our guides. We had Poison, a hip young quiet guy. He explained that it would take about 45 minutes to get to the camp by Mokoro, so we loaded up the bags and got started. It was about 2 in the afternoon and pretty hot, we usually weren’t out in the sun at this time of the day. We had seen a big fire from the air, and as we slide through the reeds we noticed that we were getting closer and closer to it. It was loud and hot and slightly disturbing, although Poison didn’t seem to be worried. We went within about 10 yards or so at one point I thought. Then we turned a bit and started to head across the water, and arrived at the camp.
The lodge here at Delta was really lovely. We were met by a young woman named Chloe, and then Peter, who I believe owns the camp. They talked about the activities, and we wondered about the fire. They were happy it was across the water, and Chloe said that when she had arrived the day before she couldn’t see it at all, so it was spreading quickly. We could see and hear it loud and clear, but they didn’t seem worried, so I stopped worrying too. Apparently fires are fairly common in this area.
We had a nice late lunch, and then went to our chalet for a bit. The room here was further away from the main camp, and bigger than at Mapula. It had mainly half walls, so you were very close to nature. Luckily the mosquito nettings worked well at night. A nice bathroom with a shower that felt half outdoors. It was very private, at least with not too many guests.
We did a short mokoro ride for the afternoon, since we were a bit tired. This is when Poison told us that our walking safari the next day would take us to what I now refer to as “Fire” Island. Hmmm. We rode around in peace and quiet, among the reeds and water lilys, then went out to the viewing platform to watch sunset. We saw lots of nice birds but no animals that afternoon or evening, although we heard hippos all night. I love the noise they make.
Dinner was excellent, with lots of wine flowing. It was fun. This first night there was also a family there that was currently living in Windhoek, a couple and their young girl, plus our 4. This was the only time on the trip where there was more than one other group of guests, the lodges are definitely hurting from the recession. At Mapula they said their bookings were down approximately 60% or so.
We got up at 5:30 and went out to have some breakfast before starting our day. They had really wonderful breakfast bars here, I am sorry I didn’t ask for the recipe. The light was wonderful here in the mornings, and sure enough the fire looked to have moved on, we could only see some lingering smoke.
We rode for about 15 minutes to the island, then hopped out. Poison explained the safety issues (essentially, stay still and listen to his instructions) in case we ran into any dangerous animals. And off we went. It was good to actually get some exercise, as much of our safari so far had involved sitting in various different situations. We walked on a lot of scorched earth, and saw trees that were still smoldering and red hot. That morning we saw lots of zebras, impala, and some nice warthogs. And again lots of birds. We were out for several hours, then back to the camp around 10:30 or so. That sun is definitely hot.
We had a big breakfast after that (yes, we ate a lot on this trip!). Delta Camp didn’t do tea, they had breakfast snacks, full breakfast, then a late lunch, then dinner. The view from the lodge is so lovely, and they had wonderful spots here to sit and relax. We stayed out on the deck and read and kept the binoculars and camera handy. We watched a hippo roaming around for awhile. Lunch was at about 2:30, and didn’t end until 4 or so, when we were ready to go out again. We went back to the Island to walk some more. Had some more good warthog sightings, and hippos. There was a young hippo with his mother out in the water that we were excited to see.
We maneuvered our way back to the lodge through the various areas with hippos – they get you out of the water by sundown because after that it’s too hard to see where the hippos are. We enjoyed another lovely sunset and great dinner.
The next morning we were out and about again.
We did see some giraffes in the distance on our walk, and a troop of baboons, plus the usual zebras and impala. We were theorizing that the fire had driven the bulk of the game back into different areas that were too far to walk to, but it could also just have been our luck. In any case, we had a lovely time, it was a totally different experience here.
We left before noon to head back to the airstrip. We took a flight to Maun, then transferred to another plane there to head to Deception Valley Lodge.
Delta Camp
Our pilot Kevin asked if we wanted to fly low even though it might be bouncy, and we all said yes! He flew at about 400 feet for the twenty minutes it took to transfer between the camps. We saw so much game, lots of elephants and hippos and such. It was a great view.
We arrived and were met by our guides. We had Poison, a hip young quiet guy. He explained that it would take about 45 minutes to get to the camp by Mokoro, so we loaded up the bags and got started. It was about 2 in the afternoon and pretty hot, we usually weren’t out in the sun at this time of the day. We had seen a big fire from the air, and as we slide through the reeds we noticed that we were getting closer and closer to it. It was loud and hot and slightly disturbing, although Poison didn’t seem to be worried. We went within about 10 yards or so at one point I thought. Then we turned a bit and started to head across the water, and arrived at the camp.
The lodge here at Delta was really lovely. We were met by a young woman named Chloe, and then Peter, who I believe owns the camp. They talked about the activities, and we wondered about the fire. They were happy it was across the water, and Chloe said that when she had arrived the day before she couldn’t see it at all, so it was spreading quickly. We could see and hear it loud and clear, but they didn’t seem worried, so I stopped worrying too. Apparently fires are fairly common in this area.
We had a nice late lunch, and then went to our chalet for a bit. The room here was further away from the main camp, and bigger than at Mapula. It had mainly half walls, so you were very close to nature. Luckily the mosquito nettings worked well at night. A nice bathroom with a shower that felt half outdoors. It was very private, at least with not too many guests.
We did a short mokoro ride for the afternoon, since we were a bit tired. This is when Poison told us that our walking safari the next day would take us to what I now refer to as “Fire” Island. Hmmm. We rode around in peace and quiet, among the reeds and water lilys, then went out to the viewing platform to watch sunset. We saw lots of nice birds but no animals that afternoon or evening, although we heard hippos all night. I love the noise they make.
Dinner was excellent, with lots of wine flowing. It was fun. This first night there was also a family there that was currently living in Windhoek, a couple and their young girl, plus our 4. This was the only time on the trip where there was more than one other group of guests, the lodges are definitely hurting from the recession. At Mapula they said their bookings were down approximately 60% or so.
We got up at 5:30 and went out to have some breakfast before starting our day. They had really wonderful breakfast bars here, I am sorry I didn’t ask for the recipe. The light was wonderful here in the mornings, and sure enough the fire looked to have moved on, we could only see some lingering smoke.
We rode for about 15 minutes to the island, then hopped out. Poison explained the safety issues (essentially, stay still and listen to his instructions) in case we ran into any dangerous animals. And off we went. It was good to actually get some exercise, as much of our safari so far had involved sitting in various different situations. We walked on a lot of scorched earth, and saw trees that were still smoldering and red hot. That morning we saw lots of zebras, impala, and some nice warthogs. And again lots of birds. We were out for several hours, then back to the camp around 10:30 or so. That sun is definitely hot.
We had a big breakfast after that (yes, we ate a lot on this trip!). Delta Camp didn’t do tea, they had breakfast snacks, full breakfast, then a late lunch, then dinner. The view from the lodge is so lovely, and they had wonderful spots here to sit and relax. We stayed out on the deck and read and kept the binoculars and camera handy. We watched a hippo roaming around for awhile. Lunch was at about 2:30, and didn’t end until 4 or so, when we were ready to go out again. We went back to the Island to walk some more. Had some more good warthog sightings, and hippos. There was a young hippo with his mother out in the water that we were excited to see.
We maneuvered our way back to the lodge through the various areas with hippos – they get you out of the water by sundown because after that it’s too hard to see where the hippos are. We enjoyed another lovely sunset and great dinner.
The next morning we were out and about again.
We did see some giraffes in the distance on our walk, and a troop of baboons, plus the usual zebras and impala. We were theorizing that the fire had driven the bulk of the game back into different areas that were too far to walk to, but it could also just have been our luck. In any case, we had a lovely time, it was a totally different experience here.
We left before noon to head back to the airstrip. We took a flight to Maun, then transferred to another plane there to head to Deception Valley Lodge.
May 24th, 2009, 03:05 PM
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Your choices provided a great variety. Those fires can be unnerving. Twice I recall being close to flames and wondering if everything is ok. I guess those that live there are more used to it. Did Poison explain how he got his name?
May 24th, 2009, 05:56 PM
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I think Poison was a translation of his name, from what I understand, not a nickname. I've been working on my bird list tonight.
I'm going to post my list of sightings now, in case it takes me some time to get to the next leg of the trip. Here is the list of the animals and birds we saw. This is not absolutely everything, but most of it. I am hoping I got most of this down correctly, but let me know if you have questions/corrections. Skip it if you don't care:
ANIMALS
Wildebeest
Warthogs
Ostrich
Elephant
Zebra
Tessebee
Impala
Hippos
African Wild Cats
Spring Hare
Black Backed Jackels
Giraffes
Kudus
Chacma Baboons
Spotted Hyena
Common Duiker
Red Lechwe
Honey Badger
Slender Mongoose
Tree Squirrel
Steenbok
Velvet Monkey
Wild Dogs
Lion
Leopard
Caracal
Porcupines
Black Mambas
Scrub Hare
Kalahari Lion
Rock Hyrax
Painted Reed Frog
African Penguin
BIRDS
Lilac Breasted Roller
Long Tailed Shrike
Wattled Crane
Red-Billed Hornbill
Common/Red-Billed Francolin
African Darter
Rufus Bellied Heron
Forktailed Drongo
Pied Kingfisher
Blacksmith Plover
Grey Hornbill
Grey Lourie
Little Bee Eater
Hamerkop
Crested Francolin
Fish Eagle
Open-billed Stork
Black Winged Stork
Egyptian Goose
White Faced Duck
Black Collared Barbet
Crowned Plover
Yellow-Billed Hornbill
African Jacana
Senegal Coucal
Maribou Storks
Marsh Eagle
Saddle Billed Stork
Woodland Kingfisher
Red-Billed Quelea
African Black Crake
Ethiopian Snipe
Paradise Whydah
Ground-Hornbill
Sacred Heron
Emerald-Spotted Wood Dove
Green Pidgeon
Red Billed Buffalo Weaver
Secretary Bird
Carmine Bee Eater
Pygmy Goose
Roufus Bellied Heron
Grey-Headed Kingfisher
Burchell’s Starling
Bateleur Eagle
Swainson’s Spurfowl
Helmeted Guinea Fowl
Heuglin’s Robin
Swallow Tailed Bee Eater
Lesser Grey Shrike
Coppery Tailed Coucal
Reed Cormorant
Lesser Striped Swallow
Southern Masked Weaver
Scarlet Chested Sunbird
Red-Billed Wood Hoopoe
Greater Blue Eared Starling
Blackeyed Bulbul
Palm Swift
Black Crake
Marico Sunbird
Crested Barbet
Jamesons Firefinch
Cardinal Woodpecker
Red Eyed Dove
Swamp Bulbul
Meyers Parrot
Kori Bustard
Spotted Pygmy Goshawk (?)
Spotted Eagle Owl
Cape Glossy Starling
Ant Eating Chat
Crimson Breasted Shrike
Scaly Headed Finch
African Hoopoe
Common Scimitar Bill
White Browed Sparrow Weaver
Shaft Tailed Whydah
Pied Babbler
Red-Crested Korhaan
Red Faced Mousebird
Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk
Swallow Tailed Bee Eater
Kalahari Scrub Robin
Verreaux’s (Giant) Eagle Owl
Gabar Goshawk
Namaqua Dove
Red Faced Mousebird
Green Winged Pytilia (Melba Finch)
Northern Black Korhaan
Fawn Colored Lark
Cape Bulbul
Hadeda Ibis
I'm going to post my list of sightings now, in case it takes me some time to get to the next leg of the trip. Here is the list of the animals and birds we saw. This is not absolutely everything, but most of it. I am hoping I got most of this down correctly, but let me know if you have questions/corrections. Skip it if you don't care:
ANIMALS
Wildebeest
Warthogs
Ostrich
Elephant
Zebra
Tessebee
Impala
Hippos
African Wild Cats
Spring Hare
Black Backed Jackels
Giraffes
Kudus
Chacma Baboons
Spotted Hyena
Common Duiker
Red Lechwe
Honey Badger
Slender Mongoose
Tree Squirrel
Steenbok
Velvet Monkey
Wild Dogs
Lion
Leopard
Caracal
Porcupines
Black Mambas
Scrub Hare
Kalahari Lion
Rock Hyrax
Painted Reed Frog
African Penguin
BIRDS
Lilac Breasted Roller
Long Tailed Shrike
Wattled Crane
Red-Billed Hornbill
Common/Red-Billed Francolin
African Darter
Rufus Bellied Heron
Forktailed Drongo
Pied Kingfisher
Blacksmith Plover
Grey Hornbill
Grey Lourie
Little Bee Eater
Hamerkop
Crested Francolin
Fish Eagle
Open-billed Stork
Black Winged Stork
Egyptian Goose
White Faced Duck
Black Collared Barbet
Crowned Plover
Yellow-Billed Hornbill
African Jacana
Senegal Coucal
Maribou Storks
Marsh Eagle
Saddle Billed Stork
Woodland Kingfisher
Red-Billed Quelea
African Black Crake
Ethiopian Snipe
Paradise Whydah
Ground-Hornbill
Sacred Heron
Emerald-Spotted Wood Dove
Green Pidgeon
Red Billed Buffalo Weaver
Secretary Bird
Carmine Bee Eater
Pygmy Goose
Roufus Bellied Heron
Grey-Headed Kingfisher
Burchell’s Starling
Bateleur Eagle
Swainson’s Spurfowl
Helmeted Guinea Fowl
Heuglin’s Robin
Swallow Tailed Bee Eater
Lesser Grey Shrike
Coppery Tailed Coucal
Reed Cormorant
Lesser Striped Swallow
Southern Masked Weaver
Scarlet Chested Sunbird
Red-Billed Wood Hoopoe
Greater Blue Eared Starling
Blackeyed Bulbul
Palm Swift
Black Crake
Marico Sunbird
Crested Barbet
Jamesons Firefinch
Cardinal Woodpecker
Red Eyed Dove
Swamp Bulbul
Meyers Parrot
Kori Bustard
Spotted Pygmy Goshawk (?)
Spotted Eagle Owl
Cape Glossy Starling
Ant Eating Chat
Crimson Breasted Shrike
Scaly Headed Finch
African Hoopoe
Common Scimitar Bill
White Browed Sparrow Weaver
Shaft Tailed Whydah
Pied Babbler
Red-Crested Korhaan
Red Faced Mousebird
Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk
Swallow Tailed Bee Eater
Kalahari Scrub Robin
Verreaux’s (Giant) Eagle Owl
Gabar Goshawk
Namaqua Dove
Red Faced Mousebird
Green Winged Pytilia (Melba Finch)
Northern Black Korhaan
Fawn Colored Lark
Cape Bulbul
Hadeda Ibis
May 27th, 2009, 06:37 PM
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I have gotten through the next installment!
Deception Valley Lodge
We said goodbye to the Swiss couple, who were heading to Meno a Kwena. Our flight down to Deception Valley was our bumpiest of all, lasting approximately 40 minutes. We landed and were met by our guide, Dowh (I hope I have that spelled correctly). He was a nice friendly young guy. Our safari vehicle here was covered with a canvas, not totally open as at Mapula. We drove about ten minutes to the lodge.
This lodge was the most luxurious of those that we stayed at I thought. Oriental carpets, doors that closed, even on the bathroom, and a pool. (Mapula had a pool, but they were having problems with the water quality while we were there.) It seemed more enclosed than the others, with a large bar and dining room inside, as well as a lovely outdoor area.
Our room was quite large, with a separate living room and bedroom, a claw foot tub, and outdoor shower. We relaxed for a bit and then reported for tea (the schedule here was very similar to that at Mapula.) Excellent food here as well I thought. We met the only other couple staying there, a nice young Swiss (again!) couple. From both our room and the main lodge we saw a fair amount of Kudu and warthogs that came fairly close.
We headed out at about 4 pm for our walk with the Bushmen. These are guided walks with descendants of the San Bushmen who give you an idea of how their ancestors lived and survived in the desert. We walked for an hour or so, while they demonstrated hunting techniques, how they foraged for food and stored water, and lived off the land. At sundown they made fire and we had our sundowners. Another fun, different experience in addition to the game drives.
After a bit we started off on our night drive. We saw Black Backed Jackels and an African Wild Cat, and some nocturnal birds. But it wasn’t until we were almost back at the lodge that we came upon a Caracal, which I hadn’t expected to be able to see. It was a young male, who wasn’t terribly concerned that we were around. We watched him for quite some time, it was really great. Dowh said it was the closest he had been to one. So, a very exciting ending to that game drive!
Back at the lodge we enjoyed a lovely dinner, I wish I had taken better notes on the food we ate on safari. We saw the porcupines which come to the lodge every night to eat the compost. I do admit to having mixed feelings about feeding the animals, so I hope this is not harming them too much. We had a relatively early night in preparation for our early morning. Breakfast was a light yogurt and cereal selection, and coffee.
It was definitely colder on our morning drives down in the desert. I hadn’t been too cold at Mapula, and both lodges provide blankets or capes, but here it was definitely cold. The morning color is lovely. We saw lots of birds, and Kudu, and Steenboks. I believe we saw a fair amount of Ostrich down here as well. We drove looking for tracks, and at some point our tracker Duma (again, I hope I have the spelling correct here) starting following a Leopard. And luckily enough, we found him. He was a lovely young male, very healthy and well fed looking. We spent a long time with him, watching as he tried to get a Guinea Fowl, and generally scratched as the sage, wandered, and curiously wondered about us. He let us get very close, and didn’t seem bothered at all. That was the highlight of our morning. Although, as we were heading back to the lodge, we drove right by a Black Mamba along the road, who reared up at us in quite an exciting way! Every single one of us saw it (luckily, so we didn’t have to go back!) and it definitely got our adrenalin pumping.
We went back to the lodge and had a late breakfast. The Swiss couple was moving on to the Delta area, with a family slated to join us later.
After brunch we decided to sit by the pool and read and sun ourselves. The water was cold, but it was wonderful to have the pool available. After that we napped a bit and had a really relaxing afternoon. At this point we were coming up on our last night on safari! We headed to tea to find that the incoming family had been delayed due to flight problems getting into Maun, so we headed out with the intention of meeting up with them later in our drive. We met up with the new arrivals in time for sundowners, they were happy to have made it in. They were a couple from Belgium with two young daughters of about 6 and 8 I think (or maybe 8 and 10?). They were quite well behaved (the kids I mean!) and lovely companions.
This evening’s game drive wasn’t quite as successful. We did see a Spotted Eagle Owl and more Black Backed Jackels and a bright green Chameleon on our drive around.
We arrived back at the lodge to find a roaring campfire had been set in the fire pit, so we took our wine out there to enjoy it. Dinner was served outside near the fire. The stars everywhere on our trip were amazing, especially here in the desert. We had another wonderful dinner and even took a bottle of wine back to our room to enjoy. You could hear the Jackels all night long in the desert.
Our last morning dawned as another lovely day. If I haven’t mentioned it so far, we had perfect weather the entire time we were on safari. Clear sunny days, cool nights, it was amazing.
We saw a lot of birds this morning, and more Kudu. We started following some Lion tracks at one point as they moved on and off road, and after a bit we came upon a pair by the side of the road. A big male and a female that he was courting. Unlike our curious young Leopard, this guy was not at all happy to see us. The growl as we came around the corner was eye opening. Dowh thought they were mating, so we didn’t want to get too close so as to interfere. We watched from a distance, followed slowly as they moved, then at one point were able to get ahead of them as they headed to the watering hole. It was a real thrill to get to see them stalking around.
We drove to Deception Valley itself this morning for our tea, and meandered back to the lodge. We saw the African Hoopoe, which had been on my list of birds to see. And, on the way, we came upon another Black Mamba. Yikes! I’m glad we were in the game vehicle. This one was on my side, and that was close enough.
After brunch we went back out to the pool before our flight out. We left about 12:30, although our flight was delayed (and I’m pretty sure this might have been our only flight delay in our entire trip) when our pilot got the landing gear stuck in the sand as we were trying to taxi out. So intrepid Dowh got a shovel and he and the pilot dug and pushed and my husband helped, and they got us unstuck. All I was thinking was that this was cutting into my bracelet shopping time at the airport shops
We arrived in Maun maybe a half hour before our flight to Joburg left, and I was still able to buy a few of the cool bracelets I had seen in the shops there. Our time in Botswana on safari was over, but we had another week to enjoy Africa.
Deception Valley Lodge
We said goodbye to the Swiss couple, who were heading to Meno a Kwena. Our flight down to Deception Valley was our bumpiest of all, lasting approximately 40 minutes. We landed and were met by our guide, Dowh (I hope I have that spelled correctly). He was a nice friendly young guy. Our safari vehicle here was covered with a canvas, not totally open as at Mapula. We drove about ten minutes to the lodge.
This lodge was the most luxurious of those that we stayed at I thought. Oriental carpets, doors that closed, even on the bathroom, and a pool. (Mapula had a pool, but they were having problems with the water quality while we were there.) It seemed more enclosed than the others, with a large bar and dining room inside, as well as a lovely outdoor area.
Our room was quite large, with a separate living room and bedroom, a claw foot tub, and outdoor shower. We relaxed for a bit and then reported for tea (the schedule here was very similar to that at Mapula.) Excellent food here as well I thought. We met the only other couple staying there, a nice young Swiss (again!) couple. From both our room and the main lodge we saw a fair amount of Kudu and warthogs that came fairly close.
We headed out at about 4 pm for our walk with the Bushmen. These are guided walks with descendants of the San Bushmen who give you an idea of how their ancestors lived and survived in the desert. We walked for an hour or so, while they demonstrated hunting techniques, how they foraged for food and stored water, and lived off the land. At sundown they made fire and we had our sundowners. Another fun, different experience in addition to the game drives.
After a bit we started off on our night drive. We saw Black Backed Jackels and an African Wild Cat, and some nocturnal birds. But it wasn’t until we were almost back at the lodge that we came upon a Caracal, which I hadn’t expected to be able to see. It was a young male, who wasn’t terribly concerned that we were around. We watched him for quite some time, it was really great. Dowh said it was the closest he had been to one. So, a very exciting ending to that game drive!
Back at the lodge we enjoyed a lovely dinner, I wish I had taken better notes on the food we ate on safari. We saw the porcupines which come to the lodge every night to eat the compost. I do admit to having mixed feelings about feeding the animals, so I hope this is not harming them too much. We had a relatively early night in preparation for our early morning. Breakfast was a light yogurt and cereal selection, and coffee.
It was definitely colder on our morning drives down in the desert. I hadn’t been too cold at Mapula, and both lodges provide blankets or capes, but here it was definitely cold. The morning color is lovely. We saw lots of birds, and Kudu, and Steenboks. I believe we saw a fair amount of Ostrich down here as well. We drove looking for tracks, and at some point our tracker Duma (again, I hope I have the spelling correct here) starting following a Leopard. And luckily enough, we found him. He was a lovely young male, very healthy and well fed looking. We spent a long time with him, watching as he tried to get a Guinea Fowl, and generally scratched as the sage, wandered, and curiously wondered about us. He let us get very close, and didn’t seem bothered at all. That was the highlight of our morning. Although, as we were heading back to the lodge, we drove right by a Black Mamba along the road, who reared up at us in quite an exciting way! Every single one of us saw it (luckily, so we didn’t have to go back!) and it definitely got our adrenalin pumping.
We went back to the lodge and had a late breakfast. The Swiss couple was moving on to the Delta area, with a family slated to join us later.
After brunch we decided to sit by the pool and read and sun ourselves. The water was cold, but it was wonderful to have the pool available. After that we napped a bit and had a really relaxing afternoon. At this point we were coming up on our last night on safari! We headed to tea to find that the incoming family had been delayed due to flight problems getting into Maun, so we headed out with the intention of meeting up with them later in our drive. We met up with the new arrivals in time for sundowners, they were happy to have made it in. They were a couple from Belgium with two young daughters of about 6 and 8 I think (or maybe 8 and 10?). They were quite well behaved (the kids I mean!) and lovely companions.
This evening’s game drive wasn’t quite as successful. We did see a Spotted Eagle Owl and more Black Backed Jackels and a bright green Chameleon on our drive around.
We arrived back at the lodge to find a roaring campfire had been set in the fire pit, so we took our wine out there to enjoy it. Dinner was served outside near the fire. The stars everywhere on our trip were amazing, especially here in the desert. We had another wonderful dinner and even took a bottle of wine back to our room to enjoy. You could hear the Jackels all night long in the desert.
Our last morning dawned as another lovely day. If I haven’t mentioned it so far, we had perfect weather the entire time we were on safari. Clear sunny days, cool nights, it was amazing.
We saw a lot of birds this morning, and more Kudu. We started following some Lion tracks at one point as they moved on and off road, and after a bit we came upon a pair by the side of the road. A big male and a female that he was courting. Unlike our curious young Leopard, this guy was not at all happy to see us. The growl as we came around the corner was eye opening. Dowh thought they were mating, so we didn’t want to get too close so as to interfere. We watched from a distance, followed slowly as they moved, then at one point were able to get ahead of them as they headed to the watering hole. It was a real thrill to get to see them stalking around.
We drove to Deception Valley itself this morning for our tea, and meandered back to the lodge. We saw the African Hoopoe, which had been on my list of birds to see. And, on the way, we came upon another Black Mamba. Yikes! I’m glad we were in the game vehicle. This one was on my side, and that was close enough.
After brunch we went back out to the pool before our flight out. We left about 12:30, although our flight was delayed (and I’m pretty sure this might have been our only flight delay in our entire trip) when our pilot got the landing gear stuck in the sand as we were trying to taxi out. So intrepid Dowh got a shovel and he and the pilot dug and pushed and my husband helped, and they got us unstuck. All I was thinking was that this was cutting into my bracelet shopping time at the airport shops
We arrived in Maun maybe a half hour before our flight to Joburg left, and I was still able to buy a few of the cool bracelets I had seen in the shops there. Our time in Botswana on safari was over, but we had another week to enjoy Africa.
May 30th, 2009, 01:40 PM
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Before I move on to the Winelands, I wanted to add that we had originally planned to do Deception Valley first and to end at Mapula. I thought we'd see the most game there, and I didn't want the other camps to be anti-climatic. Mapula ended up booking a wedding for the entire camp for our original dates, so we changed the order of our itinerary.
In the end, I think that worked even better, because we saw so much at Mapula that it took the pressure off, if that makes sense. I didn't have to worry that I wouldn't see animals that I had really hoped to see, and having Deception Valley be a little more luxurious was kind of a nice final touch.
In the end, I think that worked even better, because we saw so much at Mapula that it took the pressure off, if that makes sense. I didn't have to worry that I wouldn't see animals that I had really hoped to see, and having Deception Valley be a little more luxurious was kind of a nice final touch.
Jun 20th, 2009, 11:47 AM
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Sorry this has taken me so long to get back to. Here is the start of the next intsallment.
The Winelands
We flew back to Cape Town on Sunday morning. While it had felt like the height of summer on our first stop there, it was clearly fall-like when we arrived back a week later. It was actually raining pretty hard. We picked up our rental car from Avis and got the GPS to help us navigate. It worked very well, we never felt a bit lost driving around.
We were staying in Franschhoek at the Akademie Street Guest House. It didn’t take long to get there from the airport, barely an hour I think. We took the quicker route as it was so cloudy that I thought we could appreciate the more scenic way another day. We arrived at approximately 2 pm and checked in. All the staff there were lovely and welcoming. We stayed in “Vreugde”. It was a lovely small room with a beautiful bathroom, and a small kitchen area. Most importantly for us, it had a beautiful courtyard with a pool and a leather couch to lounge in, and a couple of chairs and small table for meals and snacks. This was perfect as we tend to like to have a space to relax and read. We loved it there. As it was Sunday, many of the wineries were closed, and some of them that were open were due to close at 3, so we rushed out to start our touring.
I should say up front that we are not white wine drinkers, so I’ll mostly discuss the reds. And our real find, that there were so many wonderful roses in this region. All of the wine was even more inexpensive than I had expected as well, if we spent more than $20 USD on a bottle I would be surprised, and it was often more like $5. And the quality was excellent.
First up was Tokara. This was a beautiful spot between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, although that day we couldn’t see the mountains very well due to the rain. We enjoyed their wine, especially the Zondernaam Rose and Shiraz. There was no tasting fee here I believe.
After that we went over to Boschendal, which was a really lovely place as well. They had the more formal tasting (with a fee) where you sat at tables and they bring you a flight. Okay wine, but we weren’t overly impressed with the reds – the Rose was terrific though, and about $3 a bottle.
We then stopped in at Allee Bleue, which we had never heard of. It was a small very pretty tasting room, lots of blues and bright white colors. We were very impressed with their wines. We bought a 2003 Pinotage that we brought home, it was really wonderful. We were the only people there tasting, and I don’t think there was a fee here either.
The last winery we did this day was Mont Rochelle. This is the only winery in Franschhoek that is fully black-owned. The spot was lovely, and the wines fabulous. We brought home a 2004 Syrah. We enjoyed a nice cheese plate here, and they were also cooking brownies that smelled great. A nice friendly place that I’m glad we found.
After that we went by a little store in town and bought some cheese and bread and sausage for dinner back at our place.
The Winelands
We flew back to Cape Town on Sunday morning. While it had felt like the height of summer on our first stop there, it was clearly fall-like when we arrived back a week later. It was actually raining pretty hard. We picked up our rental car from Avis and got the GPS to help us navigate. It worked very well, we never felt a bit lost driving around.
We were staying in Franschhoek at the Akademie Street Guest House. It didn’t take long to get there from the airport, barely an hour I think. We took the quicker route as it was so cloudy that I thought we could appreciate the more scenic way another day. We arrived at approximately 2 pm and checked in. All the staff there were lovely and welcoming. We stayed in “Vreugde”. It was a lovely small room with a beautiful bathroom, and a small kitchen area. Most importantly for us, it had a beautiful courtyard with a pool and a leather couch to lounge in, and a couple of chairs and small table for meals and snacks. This was perfect as we tend to like to have a space to relax and read. We loved it there. As it was Sunday, many of the wineries were closed, and some of them that were open were due to close at 3, so we rushed out to start our touring.
I should say up front that we are not white wine drinkers, so I’ll mostly discuss the reds. And our real find, that there were so many wonderful roses in this region. All of the wine was even more inexpensive than I had expected as well, if we spent more than $20 USD on a bottle I would be surprised, and it was often more like $5. And the quality was excellent.
First up was Tokara. This was a beautiful spot between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, although that day we couldn’t see the mountains very well due to the rain. We enjoyed their wine, especially the Zondernaam Rose and Shiraz. There was no tasting fee here I believe.
After that we went over to Boschendal, which was a really lovely place as well. They had the more formal tasting (with a fee) where you sat at tables and they bring you a flight. Okay wine, but we weren’t overly impressed with the reds – the Rose was terrific though, and about $3 a bottle.
We then stopped in at Allee Bleue, which we had never heard of. It was a small very pretty tasting room, lots of blues and bright white colors. We were very impressed with their wines. We bought a 2003 Pinotage that we brought home, it was really wonderful. We were the only people there tasting, and I don’t think there was a fee here either.
The last winery we did this day was Mont Rochelle. This is the only winery in Franschhoek that is fully black-owned. The spot was lovely, and the wines fabulous. We brought home a 2004 Syrah. We enjoyed a nice cheese plate here, and they were also cooking brownies that smelled great. A nice friendly place that I’m glad we found.
After that we went by a little store in town and bought some cheese and bread and sausage for dinner back at our place.
Jun 20th, 2009, 01:25 PM
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The next morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the sunroom of the main house. The food was excellent, and as on safari, abundant. We started with Muesli and fresh fruit (they had limes, pomegranates and probably oranges growing in the gardens there) and yogurt, then they take an order for whatever cooked breakfast you want. I loved the scrambled eggs there. As we were so full by the end, we went into town to wander and window shop.
There are lots of cute little shops in Franschhoek, and of course, wonderful restaurants. The day was overcast but not raining, so we were happy. We started out for more wineries about noon or so. I had the Fodor’s guide, and had also gotten advice on places to go from a colleague’s husband who is a wine critic, so I had a pretty good idea of the places we didn’t want to miss. There are also excellent maps of the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek wine routes available everywhere.
We thought we’d hit the furthest ones out first, and ended up at Meerlust. Known for their Rubicon (which I believe was the first blend produced in the Stellenbosch area), it was a beautiful estate. There was a formal tasting with a fee that was waived if you bought something. We enjoyed the wine here, but were not wowed. It was a nice experience though, friendly people.
After Meerlust we went to Overgaauw. This was a fun stop. It is a small estate, with the family living on site, and very friendly people there. It was fun to see the old photos they had up, and the wine was great. We actually ended up buying a 1997 Port to bring home, which was unexpected. We liked the Pinotage Rose and the Touriga National/Cab Sauv as well.
I believe we went to Rust en Vrede next. They were very friendly and helpful here, we liked the 2007 Merlot and a spicy big 2004 Shiraz. Another pretty site.
Next we headed back through Stellenbosch (much bigger and more commercial than Franschhoek) to Warwick. I added this stop because we had had the Three Cape Ladies at a place our first night in Cape Town, and loved it. The tasting room was really lovely here. We enjoyed some more Three Cape Ladies and the 2006 Trilogy. After Warwick we went to Kanonkop, as we’ve enjoyed some of their wines at our local wine shop. They have an art gallery on site as well. We watched them doing some bottling, which was fun. Our favorites of the wines we tasted here was the 2005 Paul Sauer.
Our last stop of the day was a very interesting estate called Solms Delta. It is an historic site, founded in 1690. There is a museum and an associated slave-genealogy project. The exhibits in the tasting room are fascinating. We really loved the wines here as well. We ended up buying the 2005 Africana to take home. This was a fun visit.
Our dinner that night was at Rueben’s in Franschhoek. We loved this restaurant. I had the soft shelled crab appetizer and a goat cheese tart, my husband had a pork dish I think. Very very good meal for approximately $75 including a bottle of wine.
There are lots of cute little shops in Franschhoek, and of course, wonderful restaurants. The day was overcast but not raining, so we were happy. We started out for more wineries about noon or so. I had the Fodor’s guide, and had also gotten advice on places to go from a colleague’s husband who is a wine critic, so I had a pretty good idea of the places we didn’t want to miss. There are also excellent maps of the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek wine routes available everywhere.
We thought we’d hit the furthest ones out first, and ended up at Meerlust. Known for their Rubicon (which I believe was the first blend produced in the Stellenbosch area), it was a beautiful estate. There was a formal tasting with a fee that was waived if you bought something. We enjoyed the wine here, but were not wowed. It was a nice experience though, friendly people.
After Meerlust we went to Overgaauw. This was a fun stop. It is a small estate, with the family living on site, and very friendly people there. It was fun to see the old photos they had up, and the wine was great. We actually ended up buying a 1997 Port to bring home, which was unexpected. We liked the Pinotage Rose and the Touriga National/Cab Sauv as well.
I believe we went to Rust en Vrede next. They were very friendly and helpful here, we liked the 2007 Merlot and a spicy big 2004 Shiraz. Another pretty site.
Next we headed back through Stellenbosch (much bigger and more commercial than Franschhoek) to Warwick. I added this stop because we had had the Three Cape Ladies at a place our first night in Cape Town, and loved it. The tasting room was really lovely here. We enjoyed some more Three Cape Ladies and the 2006 Trilogy. After Warwick we went to Kanonkop, as we’ve enjoyed some of their wines at our local wine shop. They have an art gallery on site as well. We watched them doing some bottling, which was fun. Our favorites of the wines we tasted here was the 2005 Paul Sauer.
Our last stop of the day was a very interesting estate called Solms Delta. It is an historic site, founded in 1690. There is a museum and an associated slave-genealogy project. The exhibits in the tasting room are fascinating. We really loved the wines here as well. We ended up buying the 2005 Africana to take home. This was a fun visit.
Our dinner that night was at Rueben’s in Franschhoek. We loved this restaurant. I had the soft shelled crab appetizer and a goat cheese tart, my husband had a pork dish I think. Very very good meal for approximately $75 including a bottle of wine.
