Now that I'm back in the Netherlands for over a week it is time to make up the final verdict of the wine lands, Western Cape, South Africa. One thing is for sure: Cape Town and it's surroundings offer great places to stay. You already know Bezweni Lodge from my previous post but if they are fully booked check here for other accommodations. When you stay at Bezweni Lodge I can recommend this appetizer: an 11 km walk on the Knorhoek estate.
And the accompanying GPS Track.
Although I didn't really visit Cape Town (only did a drive through to some of the hikes) I did visit some lovely towns. For culture go to the university museum in Stellenbosch and for some great history on the barbarian Europeans go to the Huguenot Museum in Franschhoek. In both cities you can have fantastic lunches which combine beautifully with the lovely wines.
And then near Gordons Bay, Strand has the best beaches, accompanied by some very fine seafood restaurants. Don't forget to ride a horse in one of the high riding stables around Sir Lowry's Pass. They will bring you to a wine farm and it will become easy to taste every single wine and get very drunk before you get back on/besides the horse.
Here are the highlights in photo's:
Paarl, Taalmonument and the top of Paarl mountain
Some impressions of my hikes: Helderberg Nature Reserve and the top of Leopardskloof in Harold Porter Botanical Garden.
Wildlife: Struisvogels and Penquins
Flowers: Paperflower and Sundew (Zonnedauw, breedbladig)
Just tourist: Cape of Good Hope (most south-western point) and Cape Agulhas (most southern point)
Top two: Sunset and the Panorama Trail in Jonkershoek Nature reserve (profile)
And then to remember that this was just the western cape. There is so much more to see, visit, experience. Message to self: plan holiday for the remainder of South Africa…