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Cape Town: Wine Tasting & a Walking Tour
- Mike McHugh
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
I finished up my last post too late and my body thought it was back on New York time, so I had trouble falling asleep. That was exacerbated by the fact that I was meeting my friend, Bianca, and her husband at a winery at 11:00 AM that was about 30 minutes northwest of Cape Town. I think I finally dozed off at around 5:00 AM and definitely hit snooze for my 9:30 AM & 9:45 AM alarms....and my 10:00 AM backup alarm, but eventually got out of bed just in time to get ready to get in an Uber at 10:30 AM. It did mean, though, that my breakfast consisted of a bottle of mango juice and some chocolate since I was running late - the true breakfast of champions!
Ubers are so convenient and reasonably priced in South Africa, for instance, my Uber for a 25 minute drive came to about $12 USD. It would cost me that much to go half a mile in NYC....on a good day!
Wine Tasting & Sunset Views
Within 2 minutes of calling the Uber I was sitting in the backseat en route to the De Grendel Wine Estate & Restaurant, which has been in operation since 1720 (aka over 55 years older than the United States of America). The tasting room was set on an expansive estate with gorgeous views of Table Mountain, Cape Town and the water.
I met up with my friend, Bianca, and her husband, Cecil, at the vineyard and we decided to go with the Premium Tasting, which came out to 160 South African Rand (just under $9 USD). The tasting came with 6 types of wine - a Brut, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Nior, Pinotage & Rubaiyat. They were all fantastic, but dwarfed by the opportunity to hang out with Bianca and her husband, Cecil. Thanks to social media, we were able to keep in touch, but it was like we didn't miss a beat and were joking around and having conversations like we did when we were back in Russia. We recalled some old memories and even went through some of old photos, it was a great way to spend the afternoon.
I learned about the unfortunate difficulties it is for a South African to get a visa to travel to the United States or Europe. Some of the requirements were quite difficult to meet, in my opinion, like you need to have your entire airfare and hotel accommodations booked before you apply for your visa. This means that, if you are not approved, you lose your airfare cost if it is non-refundable.
I also learned a bit about the Afrikaans language and how it is a amalgamation of Dutch and various other languages, a result of the Dutch colonization of the area. Bianca's husband, Cecil, grew up speaking Afrikaans and uses it when he speaks with his family. There are still schools that are taught exclusively in Afrikaans, which I think is very cool as it will help keep the language alive.
After a few hours at the wine tasting, we tried to go to a different vineyard but it was closed and that seemed to cause a domino effect as we couldn't get into the backup vineyard we tried. Given this, we decided to drive to Ons Huisie Restaurant, which was along the ocean in a very posh area called Bloubergstrand. The views were incredible and sunset over the western horizon was breathtaking.
After dinner, we bid our farewells and I took an Uber back to my hotel at around 7:00 PM. I had every intention of going out to grab a snack, but was barely keeping my eyes open on the way back. I decided to go in and go right to bed. I woke up a every few hours times, but fell right back asleep.
A Free Day in Cape Town
My alarm eventually went off at 9:00 AM, which means I made the right choice as I needed the rest ahead of what will be an exhausting and exhilarating 15 days! When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that my cell phone was not fully charged and the power was out. I had been waiting for this to happen at some point, essentially Cape Town has rolling blackouts as there is an energy shortage across South Africa. I intentionally found an AirBnB that had a generator for this exact scenario, less for actual lighting in the unit but moreso for getting in and out of the building when there is no power for the elevator. The sun was out, so I was able to get dressed and packed without needing to deal with turning the generator on.
Once I was all set, I loaded my backpacks on - my large backpack that I check on my back and my, ironically heavier, carry on backpack on my front, and headed out of the hotel. Another reason I booked this accommodation was because it was within walking distance of the Protea Waterfront Waterfront Breakwater Lodge by Marriott. After crossing four different crosswalks to get across one road, I was at the starting point for my Contiki trip within 5 minutes. Thankfully, my room was ready and it wound up being an accessible room - I'm not sure if it was Contiki that requested it or if it was something that the hotel staff gave me when I walked in, but it was a nice surprise.
After dropping my bags off in the room, I did a bit of research on what I wanted to do with my free day in Cape Town. I had a few ideas, but something was on the top of my list depending on the weather - a walking tour of the Bo-Kaap neighborhood. Even though the weather looked quite dodgy and there was a high likelihood of rain, I decided to do it.
One of the free walking tours I had previously researched had a 12:00 PM departure from the city center, so I decided to take an Uber (48 South African Rand or $2.65 including tip) for about a 1.5 mile trek. I got to the meeting point early, which was actually the main office of the City Sightseeing Hop On, Hop Off bus tour. They had an interesting setup in that they were attached to a cafe, so I had an espresso while I waited for the tour to start.
It was raining, so the tour was just three of us and the guide and, within 10 minutes, someone decided to leave which meant I had a semi-private free walking tour of the famously instagrammable Bo-Kaap neighborhood. The name of the neighborhood translates to "above the cape" in Afrikaans and is in an area that was formally called the Malay Quarter. It's located along the base of Signal Hill and is now famous for its colorful houses and culture.
The history of the neighborhood is that it was first settled in the 1760's by Dutch slaves that were brought over from Southeast Asia (mainly Indonesia, Malaysia & India) when the Dutch were creating a midway resting point for their ships that were going from Holland to East India. Since many of these people were Muslim, there is a heavy Muslim influence and it currently has 10 mosques in an area that is 2 kilometers long by a half kilometer wide.
Even after slavery ended in the 1830's, the Malay people remained in the area which meant that it was designated a "Malay Group Area" during Apartheid. Even though the Malay people now owned the houses, this was a reminder of the discriminatory policies of the government.
The houses were plain white houses until 1994 when Nelson Mandela visited the area, as he made it a point of visiting the various neighborhoods across South Africa, and he asked why they were so plain. When the locals said it was because they were told they needed to be plain by the previous regime, Nelson Madela said that they were free now as part of a democracy and they could do what they wanted with their private property. Soon after that visit, the houses were painted bright colors as expressions of freedom. It sounds simple, but it sometimes is important to remind yourself that, while the world is an interesting place right now, the ability to live in a democracy is something not to be taken for granted.
During our visit, we visited a few art galleries and passed by the humble, beautiful houses. Similar to when I was in Ireland, another group of people that have a history of repression, there were countless murals supporting Palestine. One of the final murals that we saw was not in support of Palestine, but a celebration of the Afrikaans language and how so many different pieces went into creating it. It was painted within the past six months and was truly a beautiful, well thought out piece of art.
Once the tour wrapped up and we tipped our fantastic tour guide, I was starving. Since it was Sunday, most of the stores and restaurants in the city center were closed. I had hoped to get traditional Cape Malay cuisine in the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, but nowhere was open. Since the rain had tapered off, I decided to walk back towards my hotel and grab a bite to eat at a place I found on Google Maps that was about halfway between where I was and my accommodation.
I went to a South African restaurant named Seven Colours Eatery and to say it was fantastic is an understatement! The service was fantastic and it felt like a true family run establishment. They had a full menu, but a waitress came over when I sat down and explained how their featured meal works. Essentially, it is a "build your own" meal where you pick a staple dish, a protein and are given four sides. I asked the waitress for her recommendation and she did not disappoint - onembotyi (slow cooked samp & beans cooked in a cast iron skillet) with beef potjie (fall of the bone beef stew). The sides were spiced bean chakalaka, crunch coleslaw, pickled beetroot & spinach. She recommended a Sauvignon Blanc to pair it with. It was by far the best meal I've had in my very short time here and I honestly feel like it will be hard to beat.
After this very filling meal, I decided to try to find one of the desserts that Bianca and Cecil suggested I look for, a koeksister or a koeksister, which are two different things and I could not find either. I tried to find a place in Makers Landing, which Google Maps directed me to, but ultimately had no luck. It turns out the space is a food incubator for local cooks trying to get started. I didn't leave empty handed, though, in that I found a chocolate shop, Afrikoa, which was enough to appease my sweet tooth. I wound up getting a coffee chocolate bar and a Dubai Chocolate truffle!
With my sweet tooth satisfied, I decided to head back to my hotel. I walked through the V&A Waterfront, where my hotel is conveniently located, which is the number one visited attraction in all of South Africa. It is a commercially developed area with a mall and a bunch of shops. I used it as an opportunity to grab a packable, lightweight backpack that I could use as a day bag. In my effort to pack light I decided to return the one I had previously purchased, but as I was walking around today I decided it would be helpful to have something that I could take on the bus with the bare essentials.
Happy with my purchase, I headed back to my hotel to relax!
Next up, my orientation with my Contiki group!
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