We had a nice relaxing finish to our 2 month journey through the southern half of Africa. Following some strenuous hiking and close encounters with the amazing wildlife in this part of the world, it was time to sit back and enjoy some fine wines from the Franschhoek region in South Africa which has a French vibe to it, due to the arrival of the Huguenots in the 1700's. One of our favourite stops was at the La Bri winery where we shared a bottle of wine and a tasty cheese platter while admiring the lovely views from their deck. Another was at La Motte which could be the nicest winery that we have ever visited. The grounds were immaculate as were each of the buildings that we saw........the museum which documented the 400+ years of the property, the restaurant with its open kitchen and fancy décor and the tasting room overlooking the production and storage areas. When we weren't sipping wine, we did a 2 hour hike in the Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve which provided a scenic view of Franschhoek and the valley vineyards below, and the next day went to the Franschhoek Motor Museum which must have one of the finest antique car collections in the world. On display, in immaculate condition, they had over 80 vehicles in 4 large buildings, dating back to the Ford Model A in 1903. The vehicles we saw only represented 25% of their 300+ collection which is changed every 6 months.
Two nice dinners finished off a wonderful month in South Africa, a country which has a lot to offer. Even though we didn't experience it, I have a sense that there is there is an uneasy peace between the white and black populations. There is a tremendous gap between the have's and have-nots, and weekly wages are very low for the large majority of black people ($60-100 for home care providers, slightly more for farm workers). Townships (shanty towns) are being rebuilt (government assisted) but it will take many decades to do so. Hopefully Nelson Mandela's peace mantra will carry on through the narrowing of the gap. We certainly felt safe in South Africa. The locals showed no ill will, with many smiles and waves as we passed by. I'm sure they realize that tourists bring money to their country and the trickle down effect makes life better for them.
Overall, we had a fabulous time in Africa. Our Mount Kilimanjaro climb and the amazing wildlife encounters that we had will be lasting memories. Our 1,000 km. scenic drive along the south east coast of South Africa as well as the mountainous inland return route was a wonderful extension of Cape Town which we really enjoyed.
The 9 hour time zone difference has left us a tad out of sync now that we are home so we'll be taking it easy for the next few days. With a forecast of -20C later this week it might be time to start planning our next adventure :-)
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| A view of Franschhoek and the surrounding valley from the Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve |
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| The view beyond the La Bri deck was even better than this...........but this tasted better |
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| Part of the restaurant at La Motte taken just as they were opening up for lunch |
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| Franschhoek Motor Museum - one of the 4 buildings displaying the vintage vehicles |
