Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Visiting South Africa — Vineyards

Visiting vineyards in the Western Cape allowed us to see a variety of beautiful landscapes.










Non-vineyard scenery was just as beautiful.

Klein Karoo
Tradouw Pass
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We have many people to thank for our exceptional experiences in South Africa: wine makers, farmers, hospitality staff, chefs, servers, hotel and B&B owners and staff, wildlife rangers, Wines of South Africa staff, VinPro staff, and many others. We especially appreciate the many friends we made during our travels. Thank you! All of you!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Visiting South Africa — Cape of Good Hope

What better way to spend a Sunday than with a trip to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope is not the southernmost point of Africa; that would be Cape Agulhas (next trip?), but it is significant for European exploration.

We stopped at the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach. It is easy to spend hours watching the penguins on the beach.


The drive took us along beautiful beaches. Sometimes the beach came right up on the road.





Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope viewed from Cape Point
Two oceans

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We have many people to thank for our exceptional experiences in South Africa: wine makers, farmers, hospitality staff, chefs, servers, hotel and B&B owners and staff, wildlife rangers, Wines of South Africa staff, VinPro staff, and many others. We especially appreciate the many friends we made during our travels. Thank you! All of you!

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Visiting South Africa — Cape Town

Rain. Table Mountain is under clouds. Cable car up Table Mountain is closed because of clouds and high winds.

Welcome to Cape Town, our first stop in South Africa.

Even though Table Mountain was covered in clouds, we had plenty to do in Cape Town. And, we found plenty of sunshine in between showers. We walked around Cape Town, admiring the architecture and general vibe of the city (we definitely needed a walk after a nine-hour flight from Seattle to London, followed by an 11-hour London-to-Cape Town flight). The Hop-On Hop-Off Bus allowed us to see a lot more of the area outside of the city center than we would have been able to on our own.

A resident of the aviary in the Company’s Garden,
Cape Town
The V&A Waterfront (the A stands for Alfred, the
queen’s second son), full of shops and restaurants
V&A Waterfront, with Table Mountain under clouds
Cape Town from mid-way up Table Mountain
Table Mountain under clouds
Cape Town suburb of Camps Bay
Camps Bay beach
Sunset from Durbanville Hills
Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus operates in dozens of cities. If it is a good elsewhere as it was in Cape Town, it is a good way to see a city and learn about it.

This is the first of seven posts about our trip to South Africa that will publish every four or five days. The posts will cover scenery, architecture, animals, food, and wine.

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We have many people to thank for our exceptional experiences in South Africa: wine makers, farmers, hospitality staff, chefs, servers, hotel and B&B owners and staff, wildlife rangers, Wines of South Africa staff, VinPro staff, and many others. We especially appreciate the many friends we made during our travels. Thank you! All of you!