Stellenbosch

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Tasting at Muratie with Lianda

We couldn't spend 2 weeks in Cape Town without going to WINE country - Stellenbosch and Franschoek.  Besides, we had a standing invite from two Canadian and German students, studying at the University there.  We met Jeff and Tim in a bakkie (back of a pick-up truck), from Tofo to Inhambane in Mozambique.  They live in a converted barn in Stellenbosch, so what a great opportunity.
We hit rains on the first day out, but no worries - apparently you can still wine taste in the rain!!  Delicious vineyards of Delheim and Muratie started our day.  These winery buildings date back to the late 1600's.  Both places were generous with the pours, and we were having such a good time, that we were late to meet the boys after class!!  No

Tasting with Jeff and Tim

worries though, they took us to a winery open later (Peter Falk), and we enjoyed a tasting with them at a pretty posh place!
Back at the Barn with their roommate Ingrid, we cooked a filling meal and drank more wine.  After some inventive photography, with long exposures and sky writing, we were shocked to see the time was 4AM!!!  Not a really good idea, when we planned on going out touring the area and probably doing some more wine tasting!!  Great times with the guys, and we hadn't drank that much in ages!!
So, arriving in the rain and clouds, we had no idea how stunning the scenery was!  As we drove around in beautiful sunshine, the mountains reached up sharply into the blue, with the scenic lines of grape vines providing some interesting lines for photos.

Stunning vineyard views

There are some absolute palaces for winery buildings, including tasting rooms, restaurants, and even spas.  Let me tell you, there is some money out there!!!  Beautiful buildings, both old Cape Dutch, and new VERY modern.  It was great to drive around and just view the buildings and vineyards - not to mention our poorly heads didn't feel like any tastings.  We did get tempted though, when we found a freebie!!

Martin with the African Penguins at Betty's Bay

 Since we had the use of the car, and we were relatively close, we decided to go to the African penguin colony at Betty's Bay - somehow we
missed this on our first pass through, and we hoped we could get down with the animals a little more.  Arriving late, we found that the beach is no longer open to the public and you have to pay entry to go on a boardwalk.  A little dejected, we started walking away with our tails between our legs, but then we noticed a lot of penguins walking around the bushes and houses outside the fencing.  Turns out they all come out to their nests, so we had the flightless birds all to ourselves, as they waddled all around us.  Very cool, but as the daylight left us, we cruised the curvy coast road and back to our Blaauberg Beach residence!!   *Stub