Our second time to Africa (first time: honeymoon in Kenya and Tanzania on a safari... oye! that was amazing) but our first time to South Africa.

What can I say? I am smitten. Loved, loved, loved South Africa and the wonderful people there. Having travelled to many other lovely countries, it's fair to say that we saw some of the most magnificent scenery and landscape that we have ever seen.

We have now made it our personal mission in life to convince more people to go to South Africa for travel. It really is one of the last "best kept secrets" in travel. I hope this trip report is helpful for those who might be interested in visiting South Africa but not necessarily focusing on a safari. That was what this trip was all about for us although we managed to squeeze in a few days at Pilanesberg National Park (about 2-3 hours out of Johannesburg) which was very enjoyable and we had some great sightings.

This trip came about quite suddenly and out of the blue. Thus we had to manage with a somewhat smaller budget than we would have liked. We love nice things and places but my husband and I also work in fairly volatile industries at the moment so we really tried hard to stay on budget without having to compromise too much. In terms of price:value, South Africa is one of the best places to go, I believe. We ate very well, stayed in lovely places and saw some truly beautiful sights.

Here's a quick overview of our two weeks in South Africa:

(We travelled during the last two weeks of May 2009 and are happy to report that we had stunning weather and perfect temperature throughout most of the two weeks. It was much better than we had expected. Very pleased! In addition, it was great to enjoy low-season rates at hotels)


4 nights Cape Town - Derwent House
www.derwenthouse.co.za
Despite being #1 on Tripadvisor for Cape Town, forgive me but I'm not really sure they deserve such accolades. Situated in a quiet residential neighborhood (Gardens/Tamboerskloof) it felt very safe at all times. Perhaps we worried unnecessarily with regards to safety and location, because on our next trip (of course we are already planning/dreaming our next visit!) we would venture to stay in other areas. For example, we really loved the Waterkant area, near Bo-Kaap as well as the Mouille Point neighbourhood. Being willing to stay even a bit farther out, Camps Bay would be a lovely place to stay as well. I have to admit that I did book one of their smaller rooms for frugality's sake but really, the lower priced rooms really are too tiny to be comfortable. We barely had room to place my 24" suitcase and my husband's 21" suitcase on the floor. To be sure, they offer little extras like free coffee and cake in the afternoon, a lounge area with a great selection of books on all subjects and lovely staff.


3 nights Winelands - Majeka House
www.majekahouse.co.za
This was an absolute gem of a find. Our favorite place to stay on this trip. Gorgeous rooms, nice facilities and amenities, and the best breakfasts ever! They have only been open since Nov '08 and this place is still very much a hidden gem. Furnishings and decor are elegant yet modern... one would be hard pressed to find anything tacky or ugly in this place. The hotel is nicely spread out so it always felt very private and serene. The garden area is nice and the balcony of our room was a treat to sit out in at dusk, enjoying our glass of South African red and admiring the most gorgeous sunsets. Staff were so kind and gracious. They make their guests feel very warmly welcomed. I had debated endlessly about staying in Stellenbosch vs. Franschhoek. But Stellenbosch is so much more convenient for visiting some of the best wineries in the region. But Franschhoek is lovely too and I don't think we would have regretted staying there either.


2 nights Maropeng - Maropeng Boutique Hotel
www.maropeng.co.za
I really wanted to stay in the Magaliesberg region because we were very interested in spending time at the Cradle of Humankind. Maropeng is located in quite an isolated area and the nearest town was a bit shabby. The rooms were nice, spacious and very comfortable. Service was a mix of very good and just so-so. Reception was a little disorganized, whether it was booking dinner reservations or the transfer. We loved the scenery and landscape in this area.


2 nights Pilanesberg National Park - Ivory Tree Game Lodge
www.ivorytreegamelodge.com
I know Pilanesberg is a bit controversial, with some claiming it is not a "true" national park like Kruger. Be that as it may, for this trip, seeing the Big Five was going to be a bonus (not the focus) for us. Perhaps in our hearts, we just knew nothing could compare to our safari honeymoon so why try? heehee! Pilanesberg doesn't require a flight out of Jo'burg and it's non-malarial so those were two pros for us. And because we planned this trip on such short notice, we just didn't have the budget to do a Singita-style safari experience in South Africa. Final thoughts? I'm very glad we went. Do I need/want to go again? Maybe. But Ivory Tree was a good choice for us and I like staying there very much.


2 nights Jo'burg - Holiday Inn Sandton
www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/sndrr
New, modern but lacking in many ways. I will explain a bit further in my report why we chose this hotel as it certainly wasn't our first choice. My review is tainted by the fact that the second day we came back after a long day and found our room still had not been cleaned. It was already 7pm by this time and I was annoyed. A couple of other little problems throughout our stay... keycard didn't work after the first day, mysterious mini-bar charges appearing on our bill upon check-out, check-in which literally took 30 minutes. Overall, the service or lack of it was irritating. It's a good location for being close to Nelson Mandela Square and Sandton City (found a bookstore there -- the name escapes me at the moment, I will search -- that had the best collection of books and maps on Africa I have ever seen).

More to come....

You're off to a great start.

A bit about the travelers:

We are a married couple in our 30's. Five years ago, we went to Kenya and Tanzania for our honeymoon and have always longed to return to Africa. We are independent travelers, almost to a fault.

Because we both hold fairly high-stress jobs, when we vacation, we usually only plan one major thing a day and enjoy spending the rest of the time people-watching at a cafe, or over a glass of wine, wandering small streets, checking out food shops or bookstores. My husband loves driving in foreign countries so we usually plan to do day trips out of the city at least once or twice. Confusing maps, driving manual and on the "other side" (we are from N. America so S. Africa was "the other side" for us) do not phase him and I suspect he actually enjoys it.

We also love good food and wine and in this regard, South Africa did not disappoint.


Pre-trip Planning:

Unlike Tanzania/Kenya, we were able to book everything on this trip on our own. We literally had 4 weeks to plan this trip but everything went really smoothly with booking our hotels, car rentals, and the domestic flight from Cape Town to Jo'burg before we left. For our domestic flight, we flew with low-cost carrier, Kulula Air. We were very happy with them and the baggage limit is fairly generous for a budget airline. I believe it was 23 kgs.
www.kulula.com

Another good tip we learned was that for our purposes, flying into Lanseria Airport was much better for us. With its location west of the city of Jo'burg, it's closer to Magaliesburg and Pilanesberg Park. It's a nice, small airport and so much easier to manage than O.R. Tambo (the other larger airport in Jo'burg).

Now to onto the actual trip...

We flew Emirates Airline from London, via Dubai to Cape Town and then two weeks later, we flew out of Jo'burg back to London (again, via Dubai). What can I say, the flights were long but not totally uncomfortable. Neither of us can sleep on planes so we board armed with books, mags and music. Emirates does provide free alcohol including some fairly decent wines even in economy. The I.C.E. entertainment system on their newer planes are very nice. The flight kind of went like this: drink wine, read, listen to my iPod, watch an episode of Fawlty Towers or 30 Rock. Repeat.

We arrived in Cape Town around 4:30 in the afternoon; it was a perfectly clear day with blue skies and as we got closer to Cape Town, the view out the airplane window was stunningly pretty. As soon as we saw the coastline, the city, Table Mountain, we knew immediately we were going to love this place.

Claiming our luggage and going through security was fairly smooth. We had arranged for airport pick-up with the hotel and we were very glad we did. Initially we had considered picking up our car rental at the airport and driving ourselves to the hotel but when we saw the instructions for how to get there, I made the executive decision to pick up our car in town.

As we drove into the city, our driver informed us that we were very lucky indeed as they had had non-stop rain and thunderstorms the week before and it was the first clear day in some time. He apologized for his driving as he "hadn't seen sun in a while" and he had forgotten to bring his sunglasses. The weather continued to be brilliant for our entire stay in Cape Town with the exception of the last day when it was overcast but it didn't rain.

We got dropped off and after saying good-bye to our sweet, nice driver, we rang the bell at the gate of Derwent House. The front gate is locked at all times so guests must wait for someone at the front desk to come and open it.

Before continuing I will do a quick overview of Cape Town and surrounding areas for some who don't like being bogged down with details:

Table Mountain
Bo-Kaap
V&A Waterfront
Mouille Point
Simon's Town
Boulder's Beach
Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve
Noordhoek Beach
Bantry Bay / Camps Bay / Hout Bay
Kloof Street
Greenmarket Square

Upon check-in, the Duty Manager gave us a very detailed, thorough run-down of the facilities and amenities provided for guests. “Over here is where you will find plates of cheese and meats in the morning”; “here is the garbage bin where we ask you to please dispose of empty bottles and used teabags”, etc. It was actually very cute how seriously he was taking the “orientation”. There is an older HP laptop in the lounge with internet access. There is a vast collection of books on travel in Africa, food/wine including the Platter’s Guides from the last five years, the latest gossip rags from the UK. Lots of really good resources available and of course the staff are most willing to offer good suggestions and advice. There’s free wifi throughout the place and it was surprisingly fast.

Our room (#5) has “direct access to the pool” which in theory sounds nice but in reality, since it the pool area is actually quite small, it means we must always have the blinds closed lest other guests walk by. It was the ground floor room and very dark; there are no windows besides a tiny frosted one across from the door. As mentioned earlier, the room itself was teeny tiny. The bathroom did not have a fan (a small window but it did not help much) and it was so tiny that it fogged up entirely within a few minutes of showering. So our room was small, dark and always felt a little damp. All right, rant over.

After showering (nothing else feels as good as a nice, hot shower after a long flight, don’t you think?) we asked the Front Desk to make us a dinner reservation at Millers Thumb for 8 pm.

Millers Thumb
10b Kloofnek Road
21 424 3838

This is a great little place, with hardwood floors and an funny orange-green theme. Very casual but excellent seafood. There is a blackboard with the daily linefish available. The portions are absolutely massive! By 9 pm the place was packed and buzzing, the diners mostly looked like locals. Reservations would be a good idea, considering it was a Monday night and this busy!

Shared a starter of calamari Moroccan style with couscous
The calamari was so tender and very fresh. Beautifully seasoned; we devoured this dish.

Me: Bluenose wasabi-style
A first for me but bluenose is a firm, white slightly oily fish. Quite meaty. Flakes very nicely and has a fairly mild taste. It was pan-fried topped with a hot wasabi sauce. The mildness of the fish was beautifully complemented by the fairly strong wasabi flavors.

DH: Yellowtail Cajun style
I tried a taste of this dish and thought it also very good although I am not usually a huge snapper fan. But we both agreed my bluenose was the star of the night.

We shared a bottle of 2007 Villiera Pinotage
Total: R386 + tip

I will try to include prices as much as possible. Being ever-so-diligent during the beginning about taking notes, by the latter half of the trip, I became pretty disorganized "À la vacation-mode".

We walked the 10 minutes uphill back to Derwent House and promptly crashed.

Enjoying following along with you.

Bed and comforter was great and because of the jetlag, we were awake around 5 am. So I checked my email on the laptop, read my book and slowly started getting ready. We head out to have our breakfast around 9 pm. After enjoying a nice breakfast of coffee, some fruit and bread with goat cheese and fig jam from Stellenbosch, we are set.
Derwent House also has a menu of hot foods but that morning, we declined and just had a small breakfast.

We set out to walk all along Kloof Street which is pretty cute and kind of has a bohemian feel to it. Again, it was a stunningly nice day with bright blue skies and in the sun, it was actually quite warm. We were expecting winter so this weather was a treat!

The walk from Derwent House to First Car Rental took about 45 minutes. We were walking quite slowly though. Only our D/L (not an international one) and a passport were required.

We had a new, white VW Polo sedan. It was quite comfortable. Initially when booking I was considering renting the cheapest car without a/c thinking “it’s winter there, who needs a/c?”. As it turns out we had some very hot days, and we were very glad to have the a/c in the car.

First Car Rental was good. No complaints. Very easy company to work with.
www.firstcarrental.co.za

They will also come and drop off the rental car at your hotel for free which we did not know. And we were able to drop it off at the airport without any additional fees.

Since it was such a nice day, DH and I were talking between ourselves about what we should do from there while the guy at First Car was filling out the forms. He overheard us and said, “have you been up Table Mtn yet?”. We replied, not yet. And he said, “take advantage of this beautiful weather. Go now!” He was the second person that told us how horrible the weather had been the week before and it would have been impossible to go up Table Mountain if we had been there a one week previous.

So that did it. Decision made. We would head up to Table Mountain. There was a fairly long line-up to buy the tickets but it went quickly and within 20 minutes we had our tickets in hand for the cable car ride up the mountain. The ride is five minutes and it revolves which means you get a true panoramic view and experience. From the top, the view was even more breathtakingly beautiful. The ocean and the small bays hugging the coastline were so pretty. I probably took about 100 photos and can’t decide which ones I like best. We ended up spending about an hour and could have spent a bit longer but it was lunchtime and we didn’t want to eat the café up there.

It was around 1:30 by the time we were back in the car heading towards Loop Street. We passed by Greenmarket Square which had some neat art pieces but since this was only our second day, we didn’t buy anything.

Boo Radley’s
www.booradleys.co.za
62 Hout Street

Something local on tap for DH (R14)
Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc for me (R30)

Me: chicken, mayo and avocado sandwich with fries
DH: BLT with fries

Total R136 + tip

We liked this place very much.

During our very long, relaxing lunch, we chatted with our server and the bar manager. They gave us some suggestions for other restaurants and bars.

After lunch, we drove to the V& A Waterfront and walked around a bit. I bought some nice soaps and lotions at “Rain” in the V& A Mall. They had a great selection of soaps and bath balms made of olive oil, rooibos, marula, etc.

Then we left the car at the Waterfront and walked towards Mouille Point just in time to catch the sunset.

We walked back to the Waterfront and had drinks and an early dinner at Quay 4. The weather was perfect and it was a great place to relax and have a cold glass of beer and some snacks.
www.quay4.co.za

Afterwards, we headed back to the guest house and sat by the pool, talking and having a glass of wine before heading to bed.

Again, we started our day with coffee on the outside deck. We had some fruit and yogurt before heading out for the day.

Destination: Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve

We drove all along N3 to Muizenberg, through Fish Hoek and Kalk Bay. Sadly, there was construction going on between St James & Kalk By so we didn’t get out.

Stopped at Simon’s Town for a scone (with strawberry jam and cream) & cappuccino.
The Sweetest Thing Patisserie on the Main Road
We read the local paper there and enjoyed our cappuccino and the most scrumptious scone.

After browsing in a few of the cute shops and galleries in Simon’s Town, we arrived at Boulder’s Beach to see the African penguins (R30 pp).
The penguins were so cute and my favorite was a little guy with a club foot. He was so energetic and just hobbling all over the place. While we were there, there was a short burst of rain and thunder and everyone ran to duck for cover but the ranger kept saying, “please people don’t run, it’s going to be fine, it’s will be a short and sweet one”. And it was.

Later, we continued our drive towards the Cape. We passed the area that would offer outstanding views of the whales in season. Sadly, we were a bit too early for that. I believe the whale watching season starts in July.

We arrived at the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve (R60 pp) – 8000 hectares (19768 acre) around 1 o’clock. We saw many ostrich and baboons outside the park.

At the Lighthouse, we took the furnicular (R40 pp round trip) which offered lovely views of the Atlantic Ocean and I believe, False Bay. We walked down to the lower, second lighthouse. It was incredibly windy and of course that day, I couldn’t find a hair tie in my purse to save my life. Walking there and back to the first lighthouse took about one hour.

We grabbed a quick lunch of bacon, egg & sandwich, Caribbean spice/balsamic vinegar chips and spicy beef jerky at the little store across from the ticket office for the furnicular.

On the way back out of the reserve, we really wanted to go the beach that we had seen from the lighthouse. The white capped waves and the gorgeous looking sand seduced us. According to the map, it looked like it was Blouberg Beach. When we got there, we saw some surfers and an ostrich. The sand was so white and soft. We took off our shoes and walked on the smooth sand, savoring the solitude. Only the sound of the crashing waves. It was one of the many, “I’m so glad we came” moments.

We took a different route home, going through the interior to Scarborough. We drove through Mosel Bay, Kommetjie and Long Beach, all along the west coast of the Cape.

Taking a different route back following the west coast turned out to the perfect decision. At Noordhoek Beach, we were rewarded with another gorgeous sunset. Once the sun sets, it gets dark very quickly.

So without any more stops or detours, we drove back into the city. At this point, we were in a bit of a dilemma but a good sort. It was well after 7 pm and we hadn’t really had a good lunch (chips and beef jerky are great road trip fare but not super substantial). We didn’t have any reservations anywhere and knew that anything worth going home, and dressing up for would probably require one. But we were starving and feeling pretty grubby from all the wind, sand and sun we had enjoyed that day.

So we settled on having dinner at Ocean Basket on Kloof Street, on the way home. This is a pretty reliable -- albeit chain -- seafood joint. They also have a location at the V&A Waterfront which might be a good option if you are wanting some inexpensive fish & chips on the Waterfront. Thankfully they ignored our unkept, windblown look and seated us in the front area. The other diners were interesting to watch. There was table with two guys in their 20’s who had brought their mother to dine; several middle aged couples who appeared to be on first dates. We love making up stories about other diners we see and this Ocean Basket did not lack for good story material

We shared:
A platter of 12 South African oysters (yes, I asked where they were from)

Fish & chips (grilled kingklip – of course they had the deep fried batter choice as well but we were curious as to how good the grilled would be. We loved it!)
Mussels in garlic cream sauce – DH was mopping up every last bit of the sauce with his bread which he normally doesn’t do

We each had a glass of white wine
Total: R236 + tip

Just a bit further down and across the street, there’s a nice Woolworth’s. It’s sort of up-market and filled with all kinds of interesting teas, deli products, wines, etc. After dinner, we wandered down the aisles, picking up a couple of bottles that we could enjoy by the pool later.

Great report. I am heading to SA for 2 weeks in Oct., so I am taking careful notes.

Thank you so much for the kind words. I am starting a new job July 1st so am hoping to finish this report before then.

Femi - I just caught your trip report and enjoyed it so much. Lovely photos! You have a great eye.

cw - thanks so much for reading!

Shelley - you are going to have the best time! I am jealous. If you have any questions, please do ask away!

I've also become a huge fan of South Africa, so I share your passion fr the country

DAY 4 - Cape Town

After lingering in bed until around 8:30, we had a coffee and some yogurt to start the day.

The weather started out a bit gray and looked like it was threatening to rain. Undaunted, we drove to the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood. This is home to a large Cape Malay community. The colorfully painted houses lining the streets are very unique and interesting.

Then we drove along Beach Road to Bantry Bay and Clifton which looked very nice but there was some road construction going on. Beach Road hugs the Atlantic coastline and Mouille Point by the lighthouse would be a nice place to stay as well. There’s a beach promenade where we saw lots of joggers and people walking their dogs. The second Cape Town evening, we had been here at sunset and loved it as much as during the day.

The road towards Camps Bay is very picturesque. Of course, set between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean, Camps Bay is gorgeous and next time, we would love to stay there. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants facing the beach.

It started to rain and we ended up in Hout Bay at the Mariners Wharf for lunch. There is a covered, outdoor fish & chips stall with some picnic benches and it would probably be very nice on a sunny day. In fact, we saw a lot of people happily eating their lunch in the covered area away from the rain. But we decided we’d rather go upstairs and eat inside.

Me: starter of calarmari tempura with sweet chili sauce
Main of prawns (3 king-sized) in garlic butter sauce and mussels in a lemon butter sauce
DH: starter of clam chowder
Main of linefish and calamari
Tea for me, coffee for DH after lunch

Our waitress was probably having a bad day, but we had pretty bad service here. The interior is designed to make you think you are dining on a boat (at least, that’s sort of what I imagined). To be fair, the view of Hout Bay was nice and it was felt pretty cozy being inside, watching the storm while enjoying a cup of hot tea. The food was fine although the sauces were probably a bit too heavy for our tastes.

By the time we had finished lunch, the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. Hooray! So we spent the rest of the afternoon at a little bar in Camps Bay with a view overlooking the ocean enjoying the scenery, drinking wine and playing cards. I’m sorry the name escapes me but “Sandbar” seems right.

The night we had dinner reservations at Myoga.
www.myoga.co.za/web

Beautiful venue and if you don’t mind being about 30 minutes away from the city, Vineyard Hotel in the Newlands would be an exceptionally lovely place to stay. Even if you are not staying here, dining at Myoga is such a nice way to spend an evening.

I loved how Myoga has TVs in the bathroom with a live feed into the kitchen and the chefs preparing the food. I thought that was kind of fun and pretty unique. The interior is modern-Asian with lots of grays, browns and orange with high ceilings and black chandeliers.

We had the tasting menu with wine pairing:

Norwegian salmon and cream cheese inside out makimono roll
Fleur du Cap Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Asian duck springroll with spicy plum dipping sauce
Fleur du Cap Semillon Unfiltered 2008

Braised lamb shank with parsnip and parmesan mash, haricot beans and cranberry jus
Fleur du Cap Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered 2006

Bread and butter pudding with apricots and fresh custard
Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest 2007

Price: R225 per person for the four course meal, including wine

A perfect last evening in Cape Town.

DAY 5 Cape Town & Stellenbosch

For our final morning we decide to skip breakfast at the guest house and instead have our breakfast somewhere near the beach. So after finishing up with the last bit of packing, we check-out but leave our luggage with the front desk to pick up later in the day.

This is where we ended up:
Café Neo
129 Beach Road
Nice, friendly service. We sat outside on the terrace although it was cool and a bit overcast. I had a latte and DH had two, yes it was that good! DH ordered the breakfast sandwich which he was pleased with and I had the Greek yogurt with muesli. I was also happy with my selection.

If I haven't mentioned already, DH and I decide that we really love this neighborhood. Great little cafes and shops (there’s a "Newlands deli" filled with all sorts of delicious looking breads, cakes and deli items), the beach promenade would be awesome for morning runs; in general, there’s a nice laid-back vibe to this area. There are also two cool restaurants nearby... Wakame (seafood, including sushi) and upstairs is Wafu bar. Wafu with its open view out towards the ocean would be the perfect place for drinks at sunset. And I can vouch for the sunsets. They are amazing!

After a lovely, relaxing breakfast where we read the local newspaper and used the wifi to check email on my iPhone, we went for a walk along the promenade.

Then it was time for our next meal. We had made lunch reservations at Bizerka Bistro.

Bizerka Bistro (Lunch: only M-F, Dinner: M-Sat)
www.bizerca.com
Jetty Street, Foreshore
(cross street: Wharf Street)
21 418 0001

This restaurant is getting a lot buzz. One of Conde Nast’s Hot Tables for 2009 in addition to being one of the Top 10 restaurants in South Africa this year.

We had one of the best meals on our trip here. It was with much regret we realized we would not have a chance to try them at dinner.

We started with:
Oysters
Smoked salmon salmon with goat cheese

Main:
Me – Butternut pumpkin gnocchi
DH – Rabbit with provençale sauce

We each had a glass of white wine with our meal.

Dessert (we rarely order dessert as neither of us really like sweets ) but we shared the panna cotta and we loved it!!! It was perfect.

After our divine lunch, we took the N1 from Cape Town to Majeka House, our home for the next few days. The drive was easy and it took about one hour. The nice thing about taking the N1 is that you come into Stellenbosch from the north and driving past the wineries in the north Stellenbosch area is quite stunning and a lovely way to enter the Winelands.

i can't wait to get there and perhaps try some of your restaurant choices....i will arrive mid-October...
anxious to read more

DAY 5 continued… the Winelands

A quick overview of our highlights in the Winelands:
Wineries:
Morgenster
Vergelegen

Stellenbosch, the town
Franschhoek, the town
The sunsets!!!
Meals but especially Overture and Bread & Wine

Now a review of where we stayed:

Majeka House
Stellenbosch
www.majekahouse.co.za
We were very happy with Majeka House which had just opened quite recently (Nov ’08)

The rooms are tastefully decorated in beautiful rich fabrics like damask and velvet, walls adorned with black-and-white vintage photographs of Stellenbosch. There is a brand new Lavazza espresso room in the rooms with espresso pods in sorts of varieties and flavors provided. A flat screen TV mounted on the wall but framed stylishly. Our room was decorated in black, taupe and green. There is a large shower room for two and a separate bathtub along with a his-and-hers sink. Bathrooms amenities are MOYA products. There is also a sweet little terrace where we enjoyed stunning sunsets every night with our glass of wine.

The breakfasts in the lovely dining area every morning were wonderful. Thick, fresh yogurts in all different flavors. Fresh from the oven bread. A nice selection of cold cuts and cheeses. In addition to this, there is a hot breakfast menu with items such as eggs with smoked salmon, eggs benedict and omelettes.

From the limited research I did while deciding where to stay in the Winelands, I am surprised that Stellenbosch seems to be the ugly step-sister to the "cute and charming" Franschhoek. After our visit, I learned that it is one of the oldest university cities in the country, some of the best wine estates are located there, they boast more than a few top-rated restaurants (for example, Terroir, Overture, Rust en Vrede), art museums and galleries. A lot of things to do and our 3 nights were way too short. It was difficult to decide what we would make the cut. We wanted to do everything.

However, Franschhoek does have the advantage of having several great restaurants (Ruebens, Bouillabaisse, Tasting Room come to mind) within walking distance to most of the accomodations there. A perfect compromise would have a few days in Stellenbosh for the wineries and then a couple nights in Franschhoek for the wining and dining.

Going with the French bistro theme, we dined at Café Dijon that evening.

Café Dijon
35 Plein Street
Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa
+27 21 886 7022

Starter:
Nicoise salad

Mains:
Me: Cassoulet
DH: Steak with béarnaise sauce

Desert:
Lemon tart

We loved this tiny little place serving nothing but old fashioned bistro fare. DH thought his steak was perfectly rare and ate every last one of his fries. My cassoulet was excellent... super hearty, just the way I like it!

We each had a glass of red wine and total bill was just over R300 + tip. Super value! Highly recommended.

@ r - Oh my, you are going to have the BEST time! I can whole-heartedly recommend all (with the exception of Mariner's Wharf in Hout Bay) of the restaurants we ate at. If you enjoy good food and wine with reasonable prices to boot, you will LOVE South Africa! Any questions, please do ask away! I would be happy to answer.

Emilyblue-wonderful trip report. Our family is also doing a very last minute trip to Cape Town,/winelands and out to Port Elizabeth if possible in the next 3 weeks so am copying everything. Your attention to details is very much appreciated.Keep it coming! Thanks so much-

DAY 6 – Stellenbosch

After a leisurely and luxurious breakfast in the dining room, we went back the room and started getting ready to head out. This being a Saturday, and many wineries closing early on that day plus others not being open at all on Sundays, I had made a fairly ambitious list of wineries we wanted to hit in the morning before our lunch reservation at 1:30.

But our wonderful breakfast and beautiful room sort of lulled into a state of content inactivity. Okay, let’s head out in 30 minutes we agreed. I’m going to sit on the terrace and read for a bit. But wait, it gets worse… I got seduced by the Spa Menu on the bedside table. I called out to DH, “hey do you want to go for a massage instead?” DH, ever so agreeable and able to quickly change plans at my whim, said, sure. So I called down for an appointment right away but sadly they only had availability for ONE person to get a massage. But DH is so sweet, he said, “no you go ahead, I’m fine here”. After resisting for all of 2 seconds, I went down for a massage. I chose the Hot Stone massage and it was absolutely blissful.

Lunch at Overture:
Hidden Valley Winery, Annandale Road
Stellenbosch

Lunch: Tuesday to Sunday
Dinner: Thursday and Friday
www.dineatoverture.co.za
They do take reservations online which is what we did. Very convenient. They do serve dinners but personally I think lunch is best as one can really only appreciate how beautiful the surroundings are during the day.

The location of this restaurant is stunning. The quirky thing about this restaurant is that depending on the weather, dining is either all inside or all outside. Although we had a beautiful autumn day, it was on the cool side so when we arrived for lunch, we discovered that it would be an "inside" day.

Angelfish, prosciutto, tomato and olive
2008 Lands End Sauv Blanc

Lentil Soup, bread fritters, chives and thyme
2008 Hidden Valley Sauv Blanc

Chalmar Rib Eye, "brisket frikkadels", roots, pomme fondant
2005 Hidden Valley Shiraz

Confit Pork Belly, pomme puree, fennel, fennel salad
2006 Hidden Valley Pinotage

Herbed Gouda, organic beetroot
Colmont Brut Reserve

Creme Caramel, guava, guava sorbet
2008 Unfiltered Chenin Blanc Noble Late Harvest

With wine 3 courses: R 260
With wine 4 courses: R 310

This meal was a perfect combination of good food, fine wine, gorgeous atmosphere overlooking their vineyards and friendly, knowledgeable service. Reservations highly recommended. We saw many people without reservations turned away during our meal.

We then headed to Guardian Peak (which is literally down the hill from Hidden Valley, if you can't get reservations at Overture, then this place has a stunning view of the valley as well, it would be a very high second choice) to taste their Shiraz. By this time it was around 4 o'clock; although we drove to Bodega, the winery was already closed for the day (I had mistakenly thought it was open until 5pm but we were wrong) so we drove into the town of Stellenbosch. The streets are all lined with huge, leafy trees. Since we were just catching the last bit of their autumn, the colors and foliage were especially pretty. We were a little disappointed to find that a lot of the shops were already closed for the day. It seems that most places only open for the morning on Saturdays. Oh well.

Pick’n’Pay was open (kind of reminded me a Safeway). After almost all of the non-stop eating we had been doing, we wanted to stay in for the night and just snack. So we picked up some bread, cheese (the Fairview goat cheese and brie was very nice), wine and some cold cuts. Also, I became a little addicted to the Lay’s chips in Caribeaan spice and balsamic vinegar flavor. Sounds strange but so good!

We had a really fun evening sitting out on the terrace until it got too cold. And we literally witnessed the most stunningly beautiful sunset we have ever seen. Different to the one we saw on the beach in Mouille Point (Cape Town) and Nooerdhoek Beach. Those ones were a mix of bright oranges, yellows and reds with a thin bit of blue. But here, I have never seen anything like it. The sky was lit up in shocking bright pink. We were mesmerized. We took some photos but they honestly don’t do it justice. Once again, we had one of those “I’m so glad we came” moments.

@ dutyfree - Thanks so much for reading. I have already started planning our next trip (a girl can always dream, right?) and we have some friends who are very interested in joining us. So it will be the four of us next time. I've started looking at some self-catering apartments in the neighborhoods that we particularly enjoyed. Would be happy to share what I have so far, if you are interested...

Sounds like a really wonderful trip!

I'm not really sure I agree that SA 'is one of the last "best kept secrets" in travel' though! It's a very popular destination indeed and it's very well known in the UK and with mainland Europeans too!

Perhaps it's not as much visited by North Americans given the distance, in the same way as Caribbean, Central American countries get more North Americans than Europeans visiting!?

Anyway, enjoying your report on hotels, restaurants, neighbourhoods etc.

Emilyblue

I´m really enjoying your trip report, I will be traveling to SA in just 17 days for the first time, and this report is making me look forward even more for the upcoming vacation.

Crossing my fingers to get a good weather. One can always hope.

I´ve been taking notes on the places you´ve visited, everything sounds so nice and relaxing. Keep it coming.