Kruger and Southern Africa

[Jacques Vert]

The chap of the right is our tour guide (excellent and a good sense of humour). The lady next to him translated his commentary into French for some visitors from Quebec.





This is where Robert Sobukwe was put in solitary confinement. He was the only person not to be released at the end of his sentence. The government of the day passed the Sobukwe clause specifically allowing them to keep him incarcerated "indefinitely".

Further information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sobukwe

Robert Sobukwe | South African History Online

https://www.brandsouthafrica.com/so...ry-facts/robert-sobukwe-overview#.V47WbdIrLZ4




After Sobukwe was released the house was converted for use by the dog squad with the addition of kennels...




Then we are dropped of at the prison...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Our guide for inside the prison was a former prisoner:



Nice chap but went on a bit too long and became a little boring towards the end.


They are still looking for information on some of the prisoners...




Different food rations for different races...




One of the exercise yards...




Mendela's cell:

 

[Jacques Vert]

So ends our visit to Robben Island:




Heading back to Cape Town

 

[love_the_life]

We found it a very sobering place when we visited. From memory, our guide had been a prison guard though they did have ex-prisoners as well.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We found it a very sobering place when we visited. From memory, our guide had been a prison guard though they did have ex-prisoners as well.

Our guide had been arrested after the Soweto riots and imprisoned. He was probably the same age as me and it really resonated as I decided to leave after Soweto as it was unacceptable to carry on living there when it seemed impossible to change things. I still find it amazing that in the end it crumbled quite quickly.

 

[Jacques Vert]

So after Robben Island we went back to the Double Tree and checked out (those late check-outs come in handy at times). Then it was off to the winelands. Always something of interest to see when you're driving...





After passing through Stellenbosch we turn into the Delaire Graaf Estate. This is the start of their driveway...




And some more:

 

[Jacques Vert]

The tasting room is on the right and one of the two restaurants is on the left:








Some nibblies...




And stunning scenery:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Some more scenes from around the estate:

 

[drron]

Recognise that scenery.We had lunch there one day.Some magnificent wineries.

 

[Jacques Vert]

After a relaxing hour or two at the winery, it's on to Franschhoek..






We are staying at the Protea. It has a nice airy feel and while certainly not a Hilton or IC, it's quite comfortable.

 

[love_the_life]

Lovely scenery but I always find a car a hindrance in wine areas - can't enjoy the tasting experience at all.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Lovely scenery but I always find a car a hindrance in wine areas - can't enjoy the tasting experience at all.

Why not take the tram? We did the following day.



Actually it's a bus and a tram. You buy your ticket in the main street (R220 per adult) here...



Depending on which tour you choose and how early you are, you are taken to 4, 5 or 6 wineries. The tram or bus drops you at a winery and picks you up an hour later to take you to the next one. No need to drive and a bit of fun but it can be sold out so best to book a day or 3 ahead.



Our first winery was Rickety Bridge Estate; nice facilities but wines not to my liking. The wineries all charge for tastings and prices vary from R15 to R100. They also vary depending on which "range" and how many wines you wish to taste. Not surprisingly, the larger, company owned wineries tended to charge more than the small, family-owned ones.

 

[love_the_life]

The tram sounds a great idea. Must remember it for next time!

 

[Jacques Vert]

Back on the tram to our second winery:



Grande Provence - this is one of the large commercial wineries, the wines were very nice.






Then by bus to our third and favorite winery on the day, Eikehof.

This is a family-owned winery that has been in the same family since the early 1900's. As well as a free glass of a nice refreshing rose on arrival, you can sample their wines (except one) for a mere R30 for three wines and they offer platters of cheese and/or cold meats (as do most of the wineries) for an additional cost, of course. One of the owners was our tastemaster:




The tasting area is under some lovely old oak trees. There's something special about these small operations.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Our fourth winery was Chamonix (5 tastings for R60 or R100 for the Reserve range). A pleasant place with a nice ambiance in their restaurant. Wines were fine but nothing out-of-the-box according to my palate.



Harvest time:




Then to our last winery, Dieu Donne. A complimentary glass of the "wine of the day" on arrival then taste 3 for R15. In fact, I paid R15 and +1's were complimentary and we tasted more than 3. A very pleasant way to finish the afternoon.

The outdoor tasting area and view:




The restaurant...




and the view from the restaurant...




We booked a table for lunch the following day

 

[froggerADL]

So after Robben Island we went back to the Double Tree and checked out (those late check-outs come in handy at times).

Great TR JV.

What did you think of the DoubleTree? I'm tossing up between that and the Hilton for a stay in May.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Great TR JV.

What did you think of the DoubleTree? I'm tossing up between that and the Hilton for a stay in May.

They are both nice.

The DT is 6km from the V & A waterfront with views over the city or Table Mountain. They have a shuttle bus that runs as follows:



As we had a car we didn't use the DT shuttle: traffic early morning and mid afternoon can be heavy but that is also true around the Hilton.

The Hilton is in the CBD adjacent to the Bo-Kaap area, 2.5km from the V & A waterfront. It also has a shuttle bus to the waterfront which goes on the hour and returns quarter past the hour. I can't remember the times of the first and last shuttles. We did take the shuttle from the Hilton one day so that we could have a few drinks. OTOH there are ample spaces in the parking stations around the waterfront and the charges are very reasonable compared to Australian standards.

There is no executive lounge at the DT, there is a lounge at the Hilton.

There's not much around the DT for dining options but the restaurant is good; the Hilton being in town has lots of options but security may be an issue after dark.

The DT is generally about half the price of the Hilton but of course that can vary depending on how heavily booked each is.

If you intend to get a car then the distance to the DT is not a big issue; I guess it depends on what price you can get each of them for at the time and whether you have status with Hilton.

The suites at the Hilton are nice:





And so are the Loft Suites at the DT but the bedroom is up a flight of 15 stairs:





The Deluxe rooms at the DT are also fine and all on one level (see post 78).

 

[froggerADL]

Thanks JV. That's very helpful. The Hilton is currently 2900 rand as opposed to 1060 for the DT for my dates. I've booked both at this stage with money for the DT and 40,000 HH points for the Hilton. If I didn't have any HH points I'd definitely go for the DT. It's only a one night stay so based on what you've said I'm leaning towards the Hilton. I do love an executive lounge . We won't have a car.

 

[Jacques Vert]

At this point I have to admit that my TR is running about a week behind but I hope to catch up over the next few days.

Prior to leaving home we received an email from the Protea Hotel where we were staying offering us a Valentine’s dinner for R280 per person – 3 courses including a free glass of champagne on arrival.



Certainly seemed good value and without knowing what else to compare it to, we booked. Just as well it seemed.

Most of the wineries we visited earlier that day had a lovely setting for their restaurant and we asked if they had any vacancies for dinner for that night (Valentine’s Day). The response from all of them was “No – fully booked”. Thankfully we had booked at our hotel so we wouldn't go hungry.

The restaurant looked lovely, each table had a glass bowl with water and a floating candle in each and a red ribbon wrapped around each bowl. All looked very romantic.



The meal started with Spring rolls filled with duck accompanied with BBQ dipping sauce, which we both had and enjoyed.



Each place was set with a side plate and knife. Following the entre when no bread had appeared, +1 asked the waiter if there was supposed to be some bread served. He wasn’t sure and took off to the kitchen to check. About 15 mins later he reappeared with a bread basket. The story was that the chef had forgotten to order or bake (not too sure which) but he didn’t want to return empty handed so we had 2 slices of rye bread left over from breakfast! And two of those little plastic butter containers, also left over from breakfast.

Second course was a choice between Sirloin with a Red Wine Jus, roasted vegetables and potato mash, and Chicken filled with apricot and brie, roasted vegetables and cous cous salad.

The sirloin was about 3mm thick and tough as leather and the sauce may have had some red wine in it however it was predominantly BBQ sauce. Not too sure if there was brie in +1's chicken, the apricot was so overpowering that it drowned everything else out. The chicken also was really dry.

The vegetables were like little dried up remnants of something that used to be. I guess the potato mash and the cous cous were OK.

Now for the piece de resistance – I ordered the Rosemary infused Crème Brulee, a favourite for both of us. It came in a tea cup and the top had so much sugar melted on top it was like concrete.



Underneath was a whitish, runny and grainy mixture that not only did NOT resemble anything like normal brulee, it looked and tasted dreadful. When I told the waitress that this was not cooked she referred it to the chef, however apparently it was supposed to be like that.

+1 ordered the chocolate brownie and strawberry kebab – not too much can go wrong with that and consequently was quite nice.

Oh… I almost forgot to mention we were the only patrons in the restaurant for the entire night. Out numbered by the staff 3 to 1 and it still took about 2 hours from walking in to leaving.



Surprisingly, according to the email, bookings are essential!

 

[Jacques Vert]

Next day, after checking out of the Protea and revisiting our preferred wineries to pick up some supplies, we returned to the ROCA restaurant at Dieu Donne for lunch...










My entree, Spring onion and bell pepper stuffed calamari....





For the main, we both had the Wood-Oven Roasted Mozambican Chicken...