After the wine tastings, we went back to the apartment to collect our stuff and say goodbye to our hosts. The water had returned and we got the offer to shower in their house, but we decided it would be best to get to the airport early and just shower there...
And it was a good thing we got there earlyish. We had to deal with our VAT return stuff, and that was enough of a hassle, even though we were smart enough to do the paperwork in Cape Town. There was the line from hell for those who weren't in the express lane, as opposed to the five minutes we had to wait. After that, there was the matter of getting our check-in luggage shrink-wrapped. And then the "fast" bag drop since we checked in online, except that it wasn't so fast after all. People who didn't check in online got checked in with luggage delivered before we were halfway through the line. Bah. Very annoying. The lines at passport control and security were ok, but in the end, there really wasn't a lot of time for shopping, but it's just as well. There wasn't anything there that we really needed. So we went to the lounge right away, and got into the shower. Aaaah, precious shower!
After showering, we just drank beer and cider and wine and port (to calm our nerves of course :) and ate a lot of snacks until we had to get to our gate...
The flight from Cape Town to London was, well, as usual, a typical long haul flight. Uncomfortable, annoying, and boring. And if things couldn't get worse...
Guess what? Things could get worse. Like the very tight connection worse. What was it... less than an hour after arrival until our flight to Oslo? Yeah, that's right. So we had to do a lot of sprinting. Fortunately, we were allowed through the priority lines. Most of the people there were nice about it, after seeing we really did have little time to catch our flight. However, there were some other people who gave very dirty looks and other indication that they were not pleased about a couple of sweaty backpacker-type penguins going before them in the line. Yeah, whatever. Like we care what "look at me I'm so entitled" losers like that think! Anyway, after a lot of stress and sprinting and delays at security, we made it to our gate, and got on our flight to Oslo on time...
Our luggage, on the other hand, didn't make it. No big deal, and in a way, a relief. It's so much nicer having the heavy luggage delivered to the door than having to lug it home, right? All we had to do was pay the taxes for the extra wine. No big deal.
We had an uneventful trip home, and our luggage arrived in the evening...
So... what's on for next year? :)
31 October 2009
2009-10-10 - three wine tastings... with VIEWS!
How nice. We woke up to... no water. No water for the shower, no water for washing our dirty dishes, no water for flushing the toilet, nothing. Apparently a water main had burst. AGAIN, according to our hosts, a very lovely couple who rented the apartment to us. They were sweet and all apologetic and stuff, and, well, shit happens. It sucks that it has to happen our last day here, but we suppose things could have been worse. Like no water the day Ms. Penguin was sick and puking and stuff... *shudder*
Anyway...
Not having water wasn't the end of the world. We dealt with a few days of not bathing at all when we were in Botswana last year. And we weren't that dirty and smelly. Furthermore, we could shower at the airport lounge. So we just tossed on some clothes and headed out to do stuff.
The car needed a wash (it's polite to return a clean rental car) so it got a wash. We then headed out to Lanzerac Wines for lunch and a tasting; Ms. Penguin has a former colleague who recommended Lanzerac both for food and for wine, and for the view (it's quite lovely there). We started with lunch. Ms. Penguin ordered mussels as her starter while Mr. Penguin had a venison carpaccio; we each ate half of our starters and then exchanged plates. We both had lamb as our main. After lunch, we did a tasting of their lovely wines. The Pinotage and the Cabernet Sauvignon were especially noteworthy.
Our next stop was Hidden Valley. The view was even better than the view at Lanzerac, and the wines possessed the same awesomeness. They have a restaurant there that's supposed to be quite good, but it's a good thing we didn't try to eat there. It looked like there was a private arrangement going on (a wedding perhaps), so there was a good chance that we wouldn't get any food. Even along the way there, there was a sign for the restaurant advising advance bookings...
After we did our wine tasting, we walked around the grounds, to take some photos and watch the ducks in the dam. Very nice!
Finally, we did a tasting at Uva Mira. OMFSM what a view!!! This was getting better and better; what a shame it would soon be time to go home! Now, Uva Mira is located on top of a hill. From the tasting room, you can see False Bay, Table Mountain, Cape Town, and Cape Point. Although it was a bit misty when we arrived, so you could only see the contours of Table Mountain. It's definitely worth a visit for the view alone.
And again, the wines were of the same high calibre as Lanzerac and Hidden Valley. Except for the corked wine that Mr. Penguin sniffed out before anyone else could sniff, or worse yet taste. (How much you wanna bet that there would be people out there who sniff and taste a corked wine and have no idea that it was corked, but pretend to know something about wine and nod their heads and say it was good? :) Oh, and if you're hungry you can order a cheese platter to go with your wine tasting, or a bottle (or two) of wine...
It was a crying shame that we couldn't buy anything to take home :-(
Anyway...
Not having water wasn't the end of the world. We dealt with a few days of not bathing at all when we were in Botswana last year. And we weren't that dirty and smelly. Furthermore, we could shower at the airport lounge. So we just tossed on some clothes and headed out to do stuff.
The car needed a wash (it's polite to return a clean rental car) so it got a wash. We then headed out to Lanzerac Wines for lunch and a tasting; Ms. Penguin has a former colleague who recommended Lanzerac both for food and for wine, and for the view (it's quite lovely there). We started with lunch. Ms. Penguin ordered mussels as her starter while Mr. Penguin had a venison carpaccio; we each ate half of our starters and then exchanged plates. We both had lamb as our main. After lunch, we did a tasting of their lovely wines. The Pinotage and the Cabernet Sauvignon were especially noteworthy.
Our next stop was Hidden Valley. The view was even better than the view at Lanzerac, and the wines possessed the same awesomeness. They have a restaurant there that's supposed to be quite good, but it's a good thing we didn't try to eat there. It looked like there was a private arrangement going on (a wedding perhaps), so there was a good chance that we wouldn't get any food. Even along the way there, there was a sign for the restaurant advising advance bookings...
After we did our wine tasting, we walked around the grounds, to take some photos and watch the ducks in the dam. Very nice!
Finally, we did a tasting at Uva Mira. OMFSM what a view!!! This was getting better and better; what a shame it would soon be time to go home! Now, Uva Mira is located on top of a hill. From the tasting room, you can see False Bay, Table Mountain, Cape Town, and Cape Point. Although it was a bit misty when we arrived, so you could only see the contours of Table Mountain. It's definitely worth a visit for the view alone.
And again, the wines were of the same high calibre as Lanzerac and Hidden Valley. Except for the corked wine that Mr. Penguin sniffed out before anyone else could sniff, or worse yet taste. (How much you wanna bet that there would be people out there who sniff and taste a corked wine and have no idea that it was corked, but pretend to know something about wine and nod their heads and say it was good? :) Oh, and if you're hungry you can order a cheese platter to go with your wine tasting, or a bottle (or two) of wine...
It was a crying shame that we couldn't buy anything to take home :-(
2009-10-09 - the last full day
(This blog entry is what happens when we don't write the darn thing right away, and instead write it several weeks later, when we've forgotten everything!)
We started our day with a trip to the V&A Waterfront to deal with our VAT return papers. Doing the paperwork there makes things a lot easier and less hectic once you get to the airport; you bring all your receipts and fill out some paperwork, and when you get to CPT you go in an express lane, show off your stash, and get a check or money into your credit card. Very straightforward actually.
Our timing was quite good. There was only one person ahead of us in the line when we got to the office. While we were processing our forms, a huge line suddenly formed. It would have been at least 15 minutes waiting had we arrived 15 minutes after we actually did. *whew*
When we were done, we drove to Signal Hill, mostly to enjoy the view of Cape Town. Among other things, you get a nice view of the football stadium at Green Point; the 2010 World Cup final will be played there. We also saw some rather tame Guinea fowl being hand-fed by stupid picnicking tourists. While doing that is not quite as bad as feeding the baboons, the birds are still wild animals and should be treated as such. The birds end up getting the wrong kind of food when people feed them scraps from their picnic. Also, they seem to expect handouts from people. Ms. Penguin held out her empty hand to some of them to see what would happen, and she was approached by the normally very shy birds, who seemed disappointed that there was no food to be found...
Oh, and while we were up there, we heard the Noon Gun at... *drumroll* noon!
Anyway, there's only so long you can stay up there. We decided to head back to Stellenbosch to do some more wine tasting. Because we hadn't done enough. But first we had to have lunch. And for some odd reason, finding a place proved to be difficult. We wanted to go to Eikendal and one other place (don't remember what), but they were both closed... hmmf. We eventually found a farm called Somerbosch that served Ms. Penguin some tasty duck and Mr. Penguin some tasty kudu pie...
After lunch, we did a wine tasting at Kleine Zalze. We learned that their "basic" stuff is sold as "Foot of Africa" in Scandinavia. But we tasted their high-end range... lovely!
By then it was getting late, and we had to pack... blah! Our vacation was drawing to a close!
We started our day with a trip to the V&A Waterfront to deal with our VAT return papers. Doing the paperwork there makes things a lot easier and less hectic once you get to the airport; you bring all your receipts and fill out some paperwork, and when you get to CPT you go in an express lane, show off your stash, and get a check or money into your credit card. Very straightforward actually.
Our timing was quite good. There was only one person ahead of us in the line when we got to the office. While we were processing our forms, a huge line suddenly formed. It would have been at least 15 minutes waiting had we arrived 15 minutes after we actually did. *whew*
When we were done, we drove to Signal Hill, mostly to enjoy the view of Cape Town. Among other things, you get a nice view of the football stadium at Green Point; the 2010 World Cup final will be played there. We also saw some rather tame Guinea fowl being hand-fed by stupid picnicking tourists. While doing that is not quite as bad as feeding the baboons, the birds are still wild animals and should be treated as such. The birds end up getting the wrong kind of food when people feed them scraps from their picnic. Also, they seem to expect handouts from people. Ms. Penguin held out her empty hand to some of them to see what would happen, and she was approached by the normally very shy birds, who seemed disappointed that there was no food to be found...
Oh, and while we were up there, we heard the Noon Gun at... *drumroll* noon!
Anyway, there's only so long you can stay up there. We decided to head back to Stellenbosch to do some more wine tasting. Because we hadn't done enough. But first we had to have lunch. And for some odd reason, finding a place proved to be difficult. We wanted to go to Eikendal and one other place (don't remember what), but they were both closed... hmmf. We eventually found a farm called Somerbosch that served Ms. Penguin some tasty duck and Mr. Penguin some tasty kudu pie...
After lunch, we did a wine tasting at Kleine Zalze. We learned that their "basic" stuff is sold as "Foot of Africa" in Scandinavia. But we tasted their high-end range... lovely!
By then it was getting late, and we had to pack... blah! Our vacation was drawing to a close!
09 October 2009
2009-10-08 - penguins need cuddles too!
When Ms. Penguin read her e-mail this morning, she got a mail from SANCCOB asking if it were possible to do the scheduled tour today instead of Friday. We had no plans for the day other than being lazy around Stellenbosch, so we arranged for a time for the tour, and headed out to Table View, where SANCCOB is located.
Table View is called that for a very obvious reason. It sports an amazing view of Cape Town and Table Mountain. I don't even want to know how much it costs to buy a house there, especially one that is close to the beach. The pristine white sand beach that is popular with surfers. Aaah...
Anyway, when we got to SANCCOB, we were met by our guide Karen, and shown around the different areas and told about the kind of work they do. Basically, they are a wildlife rehabilitation charity that survives on private donations. They rehabilitate mostly penguins (oiled penguins, abandoned chicks, penguins that have washed onto shore for some reason or other, etc.), as well as other seabirds. They are NOT a zoo or an aquarium; if you want to visit you have to make arrangements in advance. They also do talks for school groups; this alsoy has to be booked in advance, naturally.
It's not "just like that" rehabilitating penguins and seabirds either. For example, penguins are picky eaters. Their fish must be "just so" and clean (fish that drops on the floor cannot be used). And salty; the fish also has to be dipped in a brine before the penguins are willing to eat it. The chicks cannot eat very large pieces of fish, so fish has to be cut for them. In a certain way of course. One also has to make sure they eat enough (or not too much) and that they get their vitamins and necessary medication.
When the penguins arrive, they are first given a veterinary check. They are then moved between various pens, based on their stage of recovery. You could see the differences between the new arrivals (one was especially skinny, as in bones-sticking-out skinny), the ones partially healthy, and the ones ready for release, all feisty and skeptical to people. Only experienced volunteers are allowed to handle the penguins that are ready for release, because they are so strong and healthy and bite even harder than the weak penguins (who can also bite quite hard). We were shown some examples of the damage penguins can do with their beaks - some protective gloves that had lots of holes in them :-)
Washing penguins can also be quite a nightmare. They're just like little kids, dogs, and cats; they don't want to take a bath and will resist any attempt to bathe them! It took two people to bathe a penguin - one to scrub it and the other to hold it down. Sometimes the penguin would almost break free, and make quite a splash. It also took two people to rinse a penguin, and again, one to do the actual rinsing while the other held the penguin down. Both washing and rinsing are important jobs though, as they need to get the oil sludge completely out of their feathers, and then the detergent completely rinsed out. This takes time; around one hour per penguin.
The highlight of the day was a meeting with Rocky, a resident rockhopper penguin. Rockhopper penguins are not indigenous to South Africa, so they cannot be released into the wild. Fortunately, it's rare that rockhoppers (and other type of penguins that aren't African penguins) show up on the South African coast. Anyway, Rocky is quite tame and loves company. He's just like a little puppy. When Karen was in the pen, Rocky came up to her and started nipping at her leg; imagine a little kid hanging on to the leg of Mom. Just like that. Very cute! Rocky was then let out of his pen, and we started taking a closer look at him. At one point, Rocky nipped at a bug that was on Mr. Penguin's leg, and Karen said that it was OK to touch Rocky. So we did. Wheeee! Ms. Penguin managed to sneak in a rub on the belly and is thrilled that she has finally rubbed a real penguin's belly! :-D
Penguins are surprisingly soft, except for the wings, which are hard and bristly. The feathers are short, and the feather density is very high. Petting penguin feathers was almost like petting fur.
Rocky is allowed to walk freely around the area, and he loves to hang out in the SANCCOB offices while the employees are working. Oh, and they're called rockhopper penguins for a reason. He didn't waddle around; he hopped around! Like on a pogo stick! It was very cute! Boing, boing, there goes a penguin!
Oh, and we can't forget Mia (we hope we remember her name correctly), the other young (three months old; Rocky is eight months) rockhopper who shares a pen with Rocky. We could pet her too, but she was a bit shy, so we let her be. She had two prominent scars on her torso - shark bites! This sweet little penguin survived a shark attack somehow. Tough little thing! :-)
After the tour, Mini Wolfgang and Mini Bobble (our plush traveling penguin and owl, for those of you who don't know already) adopted a penguin each! Since The Penguins already have a penguin called Wolfgang, Mini Wolfgang called his penguin Wolfgang II. Mini Bobble simply called his penguin Bobble (and it looks like a bobble too). Egocentric little things ;-)
We drove around the general area for a little while, making stops to take photos. We had lunch at a seaside Italian restaurant in a new development area of the posh kind; think pale men in those wussy golf sweaters who walk around with tiny non-dogs (you know, those kinds that are in fashion now, that eagles can take but don't because they have taste), and then headed back towards Stellenbosch. Along the way back to our apartment, we did two wine tastings. The first one was at Simonsig. They make excellent sparkling wine, both white and rosé. We tasted their higher range wines, as opposed to the last time we were there (as part of an organized tour in 2006) and tasted the regular stuff that they give to people who come to do tastings but don't know what to ask for.
The next tasting was at Beyerskloof. They had an interesting rosé sparkling wine using the Méthode Charmat method (where the second fermentation is done in stainless steel tanks, as opposed to bottles like with the Champagne method). It had a lovely foamy feel and a delicate flavor. Their Diesel Pinotage 2007, named after the winemaker's pet dog, was also fantastic.
Beyerskloof was the 30th winery we did tastings at during this trip!
Umami was the restaurant of choice for dinner. The concept is based on the umami taste, the fifth taste, and the food is prepared with the intention of bringing out its "umaminess." Fascinating stuff.
In our usual boring style (hah!), we ate the same thing, both for the starter and for the main. All vegetarian. Not because we were specifically after vegetarian food, but because they were the choices that looked most interesting. Our starter was a mushroom bento box - four different mushroom dishes beautifully presented in an elegant bento box. The dishes were: tempura shiitake with truffle mayonnaise; aubergine and roasted garlic stuffed brown mushroom; marinated king oyster mushrooms and beetroot salad; Thai green curry button mushroom turnover. Our favorite was the one with the aubergine, although all four were very tasty. This starter was also huge - huge enough to be its own main course!
For the main dish, we had waterblommetjie (water lily) risotto. It was served as a risotto with steamed corn, water lilies, and shiitake mushrooms, with a water lily tempura on top. This was absolutely delicious! Ms. Penguin is on a water lily kick now, and wishes she could get them at home...
With our meal, we had the Uva Mira Sauvignon blanc 2008, which was the suggested wine for both the bento box and the risotto:
color: too dark to see
nose: tropical fruits, slightly flowery
palate: dry, pleasant acidity, fruity, flavor of lemon and green gooseberries, relatively full-bodied. It was a nice match with our food, and would also be nice with fish and seafood.
Grade: :-)+
Table View is called that for a very obvious reason. It sports an amazing view of Cape Town and Table Mountain. I don't even want to know how much it costs to buy a house there, especially one that is close to the beach. The pristine white sand beach that is popular with surfers. Aaah...
Anyway, when we got to SANCCOB, we were met by our guide Karen, and shown around the different areas and told about the kind of work they do. Basically, they are a wildlife rehabilitation charity that survives on private donations. They rehabilitate mostly penguins (oiled penguins, abandoned chicks, penguins that have washed onto shore for some reason or other, etc.), as well as other seabirds. They are NOT a zoo or an aquarium; if you want to visit you have to make arrangements in advance. They also do talks for school groups; this alsoy has to be booked in advance, naturally.
It's not "just like that" rehabilitating penguins and seabirds either. For example, penguins are picky eaters. Their fish must be "just so" and clean (fish that drops on the floor cannot be used). And salty; the fish also has to be dipped in a brine before the penguins are willing to eat it. The chicks cannot eat very large pieces of fish, so fish has to be cut for them. In a certain way of course. One also has to make sure they eat enough (or not too much) and that they get their vitamins and necessary medication.
When the penguins arrive, they are first given a veterinary check. They are then moved between various pens, based on their stage of recovery. You could see the differences between the new arrivals (one was especially skinny, as in bones-sticking-out skinny), the ones partially healthy, and the ones ready for release, all feisty and skeptical to people. Only experienced volunteers are allowed to handle the penguins that are ready for release, because they are so strong and healthy and bite even harder than the weak penguins (who can also bite quite hard). We were shown some examples of the damage penguins can do with their beaks - some protective gloves that had lots of holes in them :-)
Washing penguins can also be quite a nightmare. They're just like little kids, dogs, and cats; they don't want to take a bath and will resist any attempt to bathe them! It took two people to bathe a penguin - one to scrub it and the other to hold it down. Sometimes the penguin would almost break free, and make quite a splash. It also took two people to rinse a penguin, and again, one to do the actual rinsing while the other held the penguin down. Both washing and rinsing are important jobs though, as they need to get the oil sludge completely out of their feathers, and then the detergent completely rinsed out. This takes time; around one hour per penguin.
The highlight of the day was a meeting with Rocky, a resident rockhopper penguin. Rockhopper penguins are not indigenous to South Africa, so they cannot be released into the wild. Fortunately, it's rare that rockhoppers (and other type of penguins that aren't African penguins) show up on the South African coast. Anyway, Rocky is quite tame and loves company. He's just like a little puppy. When Karen was in the pen, Rocky came up to her and started nipping at her leg; imagine a little kid hanging on to the leg of Mom. Just like that. Very cute! Rocky was then let out of his pen, and we started taking a closer look at him. At one point, Rocky nipped at a bug that was on Mr. Penguin's leg, and Karen said that it was OK to touch Rocky. So we did. Wheeee! Ms. Penguin managed to sneak in a rub on the belly and is thrilled that she has finally rubbed a real penguin's belly! :-D
Penguins are surprisingly soft, except for the wings, which are hard and bristly. The feathers are short, and the feather density is very high. Petting penguin feathers was almost like petting fur.
Rocky is allowed to walk freely around the area, and he loves to hang out in the SANCCOB offices while the employees are working. Oh, and they're called rockhopper penguins for a reason. He didn't waddle around; he hopped around! Like on a pogo stick! It was very cute! Boing, boing, there goes a penguin!
Oh, and we can't forget Mia (we hope we remember her name correctly), the other young (three months old; Rocky is eight months) rockhopper who shares a pen with Rocky. We could pet her too, but she was a bit shy, so we let her be. She had two prominent scars on her torso - shark bites! This sweet little penguin survived a shark attack somehow. Tough little thing! :-)
After the tour, Mini Wolfgang and Mini Bobble (our plush traveling penguin and owl, for those of you who don't know already) adopted a penguin each! Since The Penguins already have a penguin called Wolfgang, Mini Wolfgang called his penguin Wolfgang II. Mini Bobble simply called his penguin Bobble (and it looks like a bobble too). Egocentric little things ;-)
We drove around the general area for a little while, making stops to take photos. We had lunch at a seaside Italian restaurant in a new development area of the posh kind; think pale men in those wussy golf sweaters who walk around with tiny non-dogs (you know, those kinds that are in fashion now, that eagles can take but don't because they have taste), and then headed back towards Stellenbosch. Along the way back to our apartment, we did two wine tastings. The first one was at Simonsig. They make excellent sparkling wine, both white and rosé. We tasted their higher range wines, as opposed to the last time we were there (as part of an organized tour in 2006) and tasted the regular stuff that they give to people who come to do tastings but don't know what to ask for.
The next tasting was at Beyerskloof. They had an interesting rosé sparkling wine using the Méthode Charmat method (where the second fermentation is done in stainless steel tanks, as opposed to bottles like with the Champagne method). It had a lovely foamy feel and a delicate flavor. Their Diesel Pinotage 2007, named after the winemaker's pet dog, was also fantastic.
Beyerskloof was the 30th winery we did tastings at during this trip!
Umami was the restaurant of choice for dinner. The concept is based on the umami taste, the fifth taste, and the food is prepared with the intention of bringing out its "umaminess." Fascinating stuff.
In our usual boring style (hah!), we ate the same thing, both for the starter and for the main. All vegetarian. Not because we were specifically after vegetarian food, but because they were the choices that looked most interesting. Our starter was a mushroom bento box - four different mushroom dishes beautifully presented in an elegant bento box. The dishes were: tempura shiitake with truffle mayonnaise; aubergine and roasted garlic stuffed brown mushroom; marinated king oyster mushrooms and beetroot salad; Thai green curry button mushroom turnover. Our favorite was the one with the aubergine, although all four were very tasty. This starter was also huge - huge enough to be its own main course!
For the main dish, we had waterblommetjie (water lily) risotto. It was served as a risotto with steamed corn, water lilies, and shiitake mushrooms, with a water lily tempura on top. This was absolutely delicious! Ms. Penguin is on a water lily kick now, and wishes she could get them at home...
With our meal, we had the Uva Mira Sauvignon blanc 2008, which was the suggested wine for both the bento box and the risotto:
color: too dark to see
nose: tropical fruits, slightly flowery
palate: dry, pleasant acidity, fruity, flavor of lemon and green gooseberries, relatively full-bodied. It was a nice match with our food, and would also be nice with fish and seafood.
Grade: :-)+
2009-10-07 - The Mother City
Finally - a trip into Cape Town! Now, as much as we love the city, we don't love the traffic. At all. And things have only worsened because there's a lot of construction and roadworks stuff going on in preparation for the World Cup in 2010. Urgh. And in typical big city style, traffic is plentiful and angry. Not good for the nerves at all...
Our first stop was the District Six Museum. We were there for a very short time in 2006, and wanted to be able to spend more time this year. Getting there was a stressful challenge, and I really wish there was an easier way because everyone should see this museum, yet I can understand how the traffic can turn some people off from it.
Anyway, the District Six Museum is dedicated to the story of District Six, an area in Cape Town whose not-so-shiny-white inhabitants were forcibly moved out by the apartheid regime after the district was declared a whites-only area. You can either google for more information or wait for the edit; it will take too much time to write about this now. The whole thing is quite appalling, but that was then. Former residents of District Six have since visited the museum and written on a linen that is displayed prominently in the museum. These comments are very interesting to read.
Next, the V&A Waterfront. Yeah yeah, we know. Cheesy tourists. But we had to find out how to do the VAT refund stuff, and since it was lunch time, we had a nice seafood lunch at Quay Four, while watching the starlings and seagulls pester lunch guests at the restaurant on the lower level of the area. The starlings were especially über-cheeky, hopping on tables and trying to grab food while people were eating. We both had the chowder as our starter and a grilled calamari steak as our main. Yum.
After lunch, we looked around at some of the shops. Mr. Penguin got himself a Victorian hot towel shave at Mr. Cobb's The Barber. His face was as smooth as a baby's bottom! Mr. Penguin believes that this type of shaving is the kind all men should enjoy every now and then. By then, it was getting late and shopping was boring, so we headed back to Stellenbosch, where we picked up some African silk pillowcases for gifts. Ms. Penguin also found a few interesting necklaces and Mr. Penguin found some interesting cufflinks. Photos coming later.
We ate dinner at 1802 Restaurant at D'Ouwe Werf, and both had the kudu loin stuffed with mushrooms and cheese and wrapped in bacon, served with chocolate and red wine jus and savory polenta and seasonal vegetables. It was delicious! The meat was perfectly cooked and very tender and had a pleasant gamey taste. And being wrapped in bacon was a most excellent added bonus :-D
For dessert, Mr. Penguin had the star anise-infused crème brûlée and Ms. Penguin had the baked cheese cake with vanilla pod ice cream. The cheesecake was one of the best that Ms. Penguin had ever eaten. Really, it was that good! The crème brûlée was also very good, creamy, and flavorful.
Our first stop was the District Six Museum. We were there for a very short time in 2006, and wanted to be able to spend more time this year. Getting there was a stressful challenge, and I really wish there was an easier way because everyone should see this museum, yet I can understand how the traffic can turn some people off from it.
Anyway, the District Six Museum is dedicated to the story of District Six, an area in Cape Town whose not-so-shiny-white inhabitants were forcibly moved out by the apartheid regime after the district was declared a whites-only area. You can either google for more information or wait for the edit; it will take too much time to write about this now. The whole thing is quite appalling, but that was then. Former residents of District Six have since visited the museum and written on a linen that is displayed prominently in the museum. These comments are very interesting to read.
Next, the V&A Waterfront. Yeah yeah, we know. Cheesy tourists. But we had to find out how to do the VAT refund stuff, and since it was lunch time, we had a nice seafood lunch at Quay Four, while watching the starlings and seagulls pester lunch guests at the restaurant on the lower level of the area. The starlings were especially über-cheeky, hopping on tables and trying to grab food while people were eating. We both had the chowder as our starter and a grilled calamari steak as our main. Yum.
After lunch, we looked around at some of the shops. Mr. Penguin got himself a Victorian hot towel shave at Mr. Cobb's The Barber. His face was as smooth as a baby's bottom! Mr. Penguin believes that this type of shaving is the kind all men should enjoy every now and then. By then, it was getting late and shopping was boring, so we headed back to Stellenbosch, where we picked up some African silk pillowcases for gifts. Ms. Penguin also found a few interesting necklaces and Mr. Penguin found some interesting cufflinks. Photos coming later.
We ate dinner at 1802 Restaurant at D'Ouwe Werf, and both had the kudu loin stuffed with mushrooms and cheese and wrapped in bacon, served with chocolate and red wine jus and savory polenta and seasonal vegetables. It was delicious! The meat was perfectly cooked and very tender and had a pleasant gamey taste. And being wrapped in bacon was a most excellent added bonus :-D
For dessert, Mr. Penguin had the star anise-infused crème brûlée and Ms. Penguin had the baked cheese cake with vanilla pod ice cream. The cheesecake was one of the best that Ms. Penguin had ever eaten. Really, it was that good! The crème brûlée was also very good, creamy, and flavorful.
2009-10-06 - waddling from winery to winery
We had been looking for some kind of organized winery tour to do, so that Mr. Penguin didn't have to spit. While at the Stellenbosch Adventure Center for something somewhat unrelated, Ms. Penguin found a leaflet for Wine Walks - you walk among the vines along the Simonsberg route, through different vineyards. They have a special marked trail set up for it, and you can go with a guide, or on your own...
Our guide was a fantastic and interesting woman named Annelee (Anli). She is very energetic and enthusiastic, passionate about nature and good wine, and also very knowledgeable about the wine region, the varietals, and the wines. We learned about the different varietals and how to recognize and care for them, about regular vines vs bush vines, about the different families in the area, and about how the end of apartheid has changed winemaking in the region.
The starting point was DelVera, an area that houses a bunch of independently-owned businesses. It's a starting point for some wine trails for both walking and cycling. The trail itself is beautiful - not only do you see the vines, you get the beautiful mountain scenery, you encounter friendly farm workers, and you see interesting wildlife. Among other things, we saw some gorgeous blue cranes, South Africa's national bird.
The weather was cool and drizzly; not a bad day for a walk. However, the farmers were very stressed. Farm workers were frantically spraying the vines with an anti-fungal substance (sulphur with an organic resin as binding agent). We also saw a bunch of Sauvignon blanc vines where the leaves had been attacked by disease - a disaster for the crop.
Our first tasting was at Warwick Estate. In Norway, they sell an excellent blend called "Three Cape Ladies," which is exellent stuff, and their "Trilogy" blend is even better. Their Professor Black Sauvignon blanc 2009 was also lovely.
Laibach was our next destination. Their best offering was the 2006 Friedrich Laibach.
Next, we stopped at Delheim for both lunch and a tasting. We were first greeted by a man named Simon - a black South African guy - who started speaking Norwegian to us! It turns out he had lived in Bergen and had studied music there. Cool! Anli knew this beforehand so she somehow or other arranged for this little surprise. How fun!
We started with a very lovely sparkling (Brut) while deciding what to have for lunch. Ms. Penguin ended up with dolmades (rice wrapped in vine leaves) with sundried olives as starter and snoek fishcakes with salad as main dish. The fishcakes were so goooooood! Mr. Penguin had the samosas as his starter and a green bean and lamb stew as his main. Very tasty, and very filling!
We did our tasting as we ate lunch. Our favorite was the Grand Reserve 2004. Delheim also makes a nice dessert wine - the Edelspatz Nobel Late harvest 2007.
The final stop was at Muratie. Our favorite there was the Ronnie Melck Shiraz 2006. They also make a very lovely port, the LBV Port 2004. But if anything, Muratie's tasting room has a rather interesting decor, and it's worth a visit there just for that.
All in all, we had a great day! If any of you are in the Stellenbosch area, DO THIS TOUR! For information, contact Annelee Steyn at info [at] capexpectations dot com.
Since we had such a big lunch, we only had "snacks" for dinner - we bought a package of ravioli, cooked it, and munched on what we wanted to munch on.
Our guide was a fantastic and interesting woman named Annelee (Anli). She is very energetic and enthusiastic, passionate about nature and good wine, and also very knowledgeable about the wine region, the varietals, and the wines. We learned about the different varietals and how to recognize and care for them, about regular vines vs bush vines, about the different families in the area, and about how the end of apartheid has changed winemaking in the region.
The starting point was DelVera, an area that houses a bunch of independently-owned businesses. It's a starting point for some wine trails for both walking and cycling. The trail itself is beautiful - not only do you see the vines, you get the beautiful mountain scenery, you encounter friendly farm workers, and you see interesting wildlife. Among other things, we saw some gorgeous blue cranes, South Africa's national bird.
The weather was cool and drizzly; not a bad day for a walk. However, the farmers were very stressed. Farm workers were frantically spraying the vines with an anti-fungal substance (sulphur with an organic resin as binding agent). We also saw a bunch of Sauvignon blanc vines where the leaves had been attacked by disease - a disaster for the crop.
Our first tasting was at Warwick Estate. In Norway, they sell an excellent blend called "Three Cape Ladies," which is exellent stuff, and their "Trilogy" blend is even better. Their Professor Black Sauvignon blanc 2009 was also lovely.
Laibach was our next destination. Their best offering was the 2006 Friedrich Laibach.
Next, we stopped at Delheim for both lunch and a tasting. We were first greeted by a man named Simon - a black South African guy - who started speaking Norwegian to us! It turns out he had lived in Bergen and had studied music there. Cool! Anli knew this beforehand so she somehow or other arranged for this little surprise. How fun!
We started with a very lovely sparkling (Brut) while deciding what to have for lunch. Ms. Penguin ended up with dolmades (rice wrapped in vine leaves) with sundried olives as starter and snoek fishcakes with salad as main dish. The fishcakes were so goooooood! Mr. Penguin had the samosas as his starter and a green bean and lamb stew as his main. Very tasty, and very filling!
We did our tasting as we ate lunch. Our favorite was the Grand Reserve 2004. Delheim also makes a nice dessert wine - the Edelspatz Nobel Late harvest 2007.
The final stop was at Muratie. Our favorite there was the Ronnie Melck Shiraz 2006. They also make a very lovely port, the LBV Port 2004. But if anything, Muratie's tasting room has a rather interesting decor, and it's worth a visit there just for that.
All in all, we had a great day! If any of you are in the Stellenbosch area, DO THIS TOUR! For information, contact Annelee Steyn at info [at] capexpectations dot com.
Since we had such a big lunch, we only had "snacks" for dinner - we bought a package of ravioli, cooked it, and munched on what we wanted to munch on.
2009-10-05 - Close Encounters of the Penguiny Kind
We had been looking at the weather forecast for the week, and it looked kind of dismal (forecasted rain) for Wednesday and Thursday. So we decided we had better go to Simonstown to see the penguins while the weather was still good.
The drive over there on the R310 and M5 is actually quite nice, especially once you get to the shores of False Bay. When we drove there in 2006, we saw whales from the shore (ca. Fish Hoek/Kalk Bay); they were hopping and frolicking about. But this time no whales jumping around, hmmf, although at one spot we did see some whales swimming around...
When we got to Boulder's, there was some kind of military activity going on, and this big noisy helicopter was circling around close to the penguin beach (but not over the beach itself). It seemed like the penguins weren't too thrilled about such an intrusion, and many of them were hiding under the boardwalk or in the shrubs. If they were out on the beach, they'd run under the boardwalk the moment the helicopter started getting too close. A lot of penguins were also moulting, making them a bit lethargic, but also rather funny looking, with all the pin feathers sticking out from awkward places. The rest of the penguins were out at sea to feed. Bad timing for penguin watching on our part, but oh well. We did see a lot of cute penguins...
There are several different places where people can visit the penguins. There's one place that is particularly crowded; this is where most of the busloads of people go. The other parts of the penguin colony are a bit more relaxed. At one of the more secluded areas, we spotted a pair of penguins hiding under some steps. Cute photo op right there, and Ms. Penguin tried to introduce Mini Wolfgang (our traveling plush penguin) to the real penguins. The real penguins tried to bite him though, hehe. And then, when we started climbing the steps, one of the penguins bit Ms. Penguin on the toe! How sweet! :-D
After penguin watching and buying a few souvenirs, we were hungry, and drove off to this farm where we had a great dinner in 2006, hoping to get some lunch. Unfortunately, the restaurant and most of the shops and activities are closed on Mondays. Bah. We just decided to keep it simple, and bought some ginger ale (Frankies!), droewoers, and tortilla chips to snack on, and drove back to Stellenbosch.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant called De Volkskombuis. We were also there in 2006 and liked it so much we were determined to go back if we were ever in Stellenbosch again. Mr. Penguin didn't get a starter, but Ms. Penguin was getting her appetite back, so she ordered the Cape Malay wontons - one wonton filled with bobotie and served with homemade chutney, one wonton filled with waterblommetjies (water lilies) and mushrooms, and one wonton filled with snoek (a sort of mackerel-like fish) and served with grape and rooibos syrup. All of these were lovely, but the waterblommtjies were quite fascinating. It was the first time Ms. Penguin (and Mr. Penguin too) had ever tasted them, even after so many trips to South Africa.
For the main, Ms. Penguin had the Cape Country Sampler - a dish with bobotie, waterblommtjies bredie (water lily stew with lamb), and chicken pie. All three were delicious in their own way. The bobotie was nice and fruity, but without chunks of fruit like Mr. Penguin makes. The stew was very flavorful. The chicken pie was very tasty and "comforting." Mr. Penguin got the oven-roasted honey and orange duck legs, served with risotto and steamed vegetables. We both had the Middelvlei Pinotage 2008 with our meal.
The drive over there on the R310 and M5 is actually quite nice, especially once you get to the shores of False Bay. When we drove there in 2006, we saw whales from the shore (ca. Fish Hoek/Kalk Bay); they were hopping and frolicking about. But this time no whales jumping around, hmmf, although at one spot we did see some whales swimming around...
When we got to Boulder's, there was some kind of military activity going on, and this big noisy helicopter was circling around close to the penguin beach (but not over the beach itself). It seemed like the penguins weren't too thrilled about such an intrusion, and many of them were hiding under the boardwalk or in the shrubs. If they were out on the beach, they'd run under the boardwalk the moment the helicopter started getting too close. A lot of penguins were also moulting, making them a bit lethargic, but also rather funny looking, with all the pin feathers sticking out from awkward places. The rest of the penguins were out at sea to feed. Bad timing for penguin watching on our part, but oh well. We did see a lot of cute penguins...
There are several different places where people can visit the penguins. There's one place that is particularly crowded; this is where most of the busloads of people go. The other parts of the penguin colony are a bit more relaxed. At one of the more secluded areas, we spotted a pair of penguins hiding under some steps. Cute photo op right there, and Ms. Penguin tried to introduce Mini Wolfgang (our traveling plush penguin) to the real penguins. The real penguins tried to bite him though, hehe. And then, when we started climbing the steps, one of the penguins bit Ms. Penguin on the toe! How sweet! :-D
After penguin watching and buying a few souvenirs, we were hungry, and drove off to this farm where we had a great dinner in 2006, hoping to get some lunch. Unfortunately, the restaurant and most of the shops and activities are closed on Mondays. Bah. We just decided to keep it simple, and bought some ginger ale (Frankies!), droewoers, and tortilla chips to snack on, and drove back to Stellenbosch.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant called De Volkskombuis. We were also there in 2006 and liked it so much we were determined to go back if we were ever in Stellenbosch again. Mr. Penguin didn't get a starter, but Ms. Penguin was getting her appetite back, so she ordered the Cape Malay wontons - one wonton filled with bobotie and served with homemade chutney, one wonton filled with waterblommetjies (water lilies) and mushrooms, and one wonton filled with snoek (a sort of mackerel-like fish) and served with grape and rooibos syrup. All of these were lovely, but the waterblommtjies were quite fascinating. It was the first time Ms. Penguin (and Mr. Penguin too) had ever tasted them, even after so many trips to South Africa.
For the main, Ms. Penguin had the Cape Country Sampler - a dish with bobotie, waterblommtjies bredie (water lily stew with lamb), and chicken pie. All three were delicious in their own way. The bobotie was nice and fruity, but without chunks of fruit like Mr. Penguin makes. The stew was very flavorful. The chicken pie was very tasty and "comforting." Mr. Penguin got the oven-roasted honey and orange duck legs, served with risotto and steamed vegetables. We both had the Middelvlei Pinotage 2008 with our meal.
06 October 2009
2009-10-04 - Sunday is wine day too
Sunday is a sort of sleepy lazy day in South Africa in general. Most things are closed, and there tends to be little to do. With some exceptions of course. Spier Wine Estate is open on Sundays, so we decided to go there just to look around a little bit, and to visit the birdies at the Eagle Encounters section of the estate.
But first, Mr. Penguin did a wine tasting. Ms. Penguin was still somewhat unwell after yesterday's ordeal and decided to opt out, which made her a sad, sad penguin, but there really wasn't much she could do about it. Mr. Penguin did a tasting of the higher range of Spier wines. This tasting, if done by the book, would include tasting three wines (as opposed to five for the normal range). Things did not go by the book. Mr. Penguin got to taste 7 delicious wines, and got to compare vintages. Weee! He also ended up buying the Spier Private Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. It is a wine that is ready for drinking now (it would be great with a good, hearty steak), but it can be stored for several years. The Penguins doubt they will be patient enough to delay drinking this wine...
After Mr. Penguin's wine tasting, we went to visit Eagle Encounters. This is where you see various birds of prey on display; they also do feedings and aerial shows. As we arrived, one of the raptor keepers was performing a little "operation" on one of the peregrine falcons, removing a cyst on its foot. Poor thing. There will be more information on these cysts when this blog entry is updated. When the operation was over and the bird was put back on its perch, it showed its appreciation for the ordeal by lifting up its tail and releasing a nice little "bomb." Hehe...
In the same general area, we also saw a little owl. A cute little owl. It was there because some kids had tied up its feet and wings, and kicked it around as if the poor sweet little owl were a football. Yes, you read that right. We were quite upset about this, but were happy to learn that the sweet little owl would be OK. There was also a big cage full of young barn owls (don't remember why they were in the "patients" area) and a box that contained an über-fluffy owlet that had fallen out of its nest.
We walked around the area, admiring the various birds of prey. But our RoFs were demanding food, so we left the enclosure and went to the deli to pick up some stuff for a picnic lunch. You aren't allowed to bring your own food, but they sell all kinds of things to cater to all kinds of tastes, including plenty of vegetarian choices and even halal stuff (on a wine estate!). Ms. Penguin knew she needed to eat, but didn't have that much of an appetite. However, she did get a big roll and some tasty hummus for herself. Mr. Penguin got himself some rolls and ham and cheese. There were lots of families there at the time, and many of them had a big blanket out on the lawn. Since we didn't have a blanket, we sat at a picnic table and enjoyed our lunch, while watching birds flying frantically about (spring, you know) and watching the darn kids all over the lawn.
When we were done eating, we went back to Eagle Encounters, to finish seeing what we didn't see. The ultimate highlight for Ms. Penguin was handling a black eagle! Wheee! Despite the thick and stiff leather glove that Ms. Penguin was wearing, she could really feel how sharp the eagle's claws are, and how powerful its grip is. She was allowed to feel the eagle's thigh muscles, and concluded she would never ever mess with such a bird!
By then it was getting "late" - at least in relation to when we were going to move into our apartment (Blenheim Self Catering). So we headed back towards Stellenbosch proper. But not without another stop to a winery, this time Asara. Ms. Penguin also skipped out on a tasting, but she managed to taste a little bit out of Mr. Penguin's glasses. The tasting at Asara is done a little differently from all the other tastings we have been to. When you enter the tasting room, you inform the staff which wines you want to taste (up to five different ones), and then they pour five glasses so you can taste all of them side by side. Nice. This means it is much easier to compare the wines directly, and to figure out the differences. This is especially useful at Asara, where the red wines are quite similar in both style and quality, so the side by side tasting is quite educational. Anyway, the wines tasted were: 2005 Ebony (a nice Cab. Sauv./Merlot blend), 2006 Shiraz, 2005 Merlot, 2004 Cab. Sauv., and 2005 Bell Tower Estate Wine (a Cab. Sauv./Petit Verdot/Cab. Franc/Merlot/Malbec blend). We ended up buying a bottle of the 2005 Bell Tower Estate Wine, their flagship.
So now it was off to the apartment. And it's a nice one! A really, really nice one! With two bedrooms and a decent kitchen and even a (much needed!) washing machine. Woohoo! We moved all our stuff in, headed out to the local Spar to get some washing powder and food for breakfast, and then started a load of laundry and surfed the intertubes (yes, wifi works here).
Dinner was at an Italian restaurant called Gino's @ De Kelder. It was OK; Ms. Penguin had some ravioli and Mr. Penguin had a steak. The steak was ordered medium rare, but received medium. Or more than medium. But Mr. Penguin didn't complain about it. The ravioli was, on the other hand, just what Ms. Penguin needed. Calories and nutrients. In retrospect, we considered leaving the place after finding out their house wine was Drostdy Hof. For those of you who haven't tried Drostdy Hof, please don't...
But first, Mr. Penguin did a wine tasting. Ms. Penguin was still somewhat unwell after yesterday's ordeal and decided to opt out, which made her a sad, sad penguin, but there really wasn't much she could do about it. Mr. Penguin did a tasting of the higher range of Spier wines. This tasting, if done by the book, would include tasting three wines (as opposed to five for the normal range). Things did not go by the book. Mr. Penguin got to taste 7 delicious wines, and got to compare vintages. Weee! He also ended up buying the Spier Private Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. It is a wine that is ready for drinking now (it would be great with a good, hearty steak), but it can be stored for several years. The Penguins doubt they will be patient enough to delay drinking this wine...
After Mr. Penguin's wine tasting, we went to visit Eagle Encounters. This is where you see various birds of prey on display; they also do feedings and aerial shows. As we arrived, one of the raptor keepers was performing a little "operation" on one of the peregrine falcons, removing a cyst on its foot. Poor thing. There will be more information on these cysts when this blog entry is updated. When the operation was over and the bird was put back on its perch, it showed its appreciation for the ordeal by lifting up its tail and releasing a nice little "bomb." Hehe...
In the same general area, we also saw a little owl. A cute little owl. It was there because some kids had tied up its feet and wings, and kicked it around as if the poor sweet little owl were a football. Yes, you read that right. We were quite upset about this, but were happy to learn that the sweet little owl would be OK. There was also a big cage full of young barn owls (don't remember why they were in the "patients" area) and a box that contained an über-fluffy owlet that had fallen out of its nest.
We walked around the area, admiring the various birds of prey. But our RoFs were demanding food, so we left the enclosure and went to the deli to pick up some stuff for a picnic lunch. You aren't allowed to bring your own food, but they sell all kinds of things to cater to all kinds of tastes, including plenty of vegetarian choices and even halal stuff (on a wine estate!). Ms. Penguin knew she needed to eat, but didn't have that much of an appetite. However, she did get a big roll and some tasty hummus for herself. Mr. Penguin got himself some rolls and ham and cheese. There were lots of families there at the time, and many of them had a big blanket out on the lawn. Since we didn't have a blanket, we sat at a picnic table and enjoyed our lunch, while watching birds flying frantically about (spring, you know) and watching the darn kids all over the lawn.
When we were done eating, we went back to Eagle Encounters, to finish seeing what we didn't see. The ultimate highlight for Ms. Penguin was handling a black eagle! Wheee! Despite the thick and stiff leather glove that Ms. Penguin was wearing, she could really feel how sharp the eagle's claws are, and how powerful its grip is. She was allowed to feel the eagle's thigh muscles, and concluded she would never ever mess with such a bird!
By then it was getting "late" - at least in relation to when we were going to move into our apartment (Blenheim Self Catering). So we headed back towards Stellenbosch proper. But not without another stop to a winery, this time Asara. Ms. Penguin also skipped out on a tasting, but she managed to taste a little bit out of Mr. Penguin's glasses. The tasting at Asara is done a little differently from all the other tastings we have been to. When you enter the tasting room, you inform the staff which wines you want to taste (up to five different ones), and then they pour five glasses so you can taste all of them side by side. Nice. This means it is much easier to compare the wines directly, and to figure out the differences. This is especially useful at Asara, where the red wines are quite similar in both style and quality, so the side by side tasting is quite educational. Anyway, the wines tasted were: 2005 Ebony (a nice Cab. Sauv./Merlot blend), 2006 Shiraz, 2005 Merlot, 2004 Cab. Sauv., and 2005 Bell Tower Estate Wine (a Cab. Sauv./Petit Verdot/Cab. Franc/Merlot/Malbec blend). We ended up buying a bottle of the 2005 Bell Tower Estate Wine, their flagship.
So now it was off to the apartment. And it's a nice one! A really, really nice one! With two bedrooms and a decent kitchen and even a (much needed!) washing machine. Woohoo! We moved all our stuff in, headed out to the local Spar to get some washing powder and food for breakfast, and then started a load of laundry and surfed the intertubes (yes, wifi works here).
Dinner was at an Italian restaurant called Gino's @ De Kelder. It was OK; Ms. Penguin had some ravioli and Mr. Penguin had a steak. The steak was ordered medium rare, but received medium. Or more than medium. But Mr. Penguin didn't complain about it. The ravioli was, on the other hand, just what Ms. Penguin needed. Calories and nutrients. In retrospect, we considered leaving the place after finding out their house wine was Drostdy Hof. For those of you who haven't tried Drostdy Hof, please don't...
2009-10-03 - the fountain of Ms. Penguin
And no, it's not the fountain of youth kind of thing...
Ms. Penguin is really starting to hate fancy schmancy places. When she goes bush camping, where there are no modern facilities and questionable hygienic conditions at times, she stays perfectly healthy. When she goes to fancy places, well...
The queasiness started right after breakfast and got really bad when we were at Bilton. Ms. Penguin was enjoying her wine tasting, and the next thing she knew she was leaning over the loo, puking in the porcelain, and had she been standing up, well, think Mr. Creosote of Monty Python fame. Yeah, just like that. Mr. Penguin was in the men's loo and heard it; he thought it was someone pouring a bucket of water or something into the toilet. And while puking provided temporary relief, it did not end. Ms. Penguin just got more and more queasy, pukey, and miserable, and the problem didn't end there. Literally. You have an imagination. Use it.
So bloody typical... the one day the Penguins meet people, and something like this has to happen. Ms. Penguin was not only feeling like crap from what was probably food poisoning (from breakfast?), she was feeling quite bad about not being very social. Not a good combination at all. Ugh ugh ugh...
When Ms. Penguin got back to her room at the guest lodge, she tried to sleep and drink some fluids. Mr. Penguin was kind enough to run out to the local Checkers (supermarket) to bring her some ginger ale (and it was proper ginger ale too!), and she managed to drink it, but a lot of it came right out again. She couldn't drink a lot of water because it was causing stomach cramps, and diluting what salts were left in her body. Food was out of the question...
In the end, and quite late in the evening, Mr. Penguin had to drive Ms. Penguin to the emergency room (Stellenbosch Medi-Clinic). After the initial paperwork, Ms. Penguin was first seen by a nurse, and then the doctor, who ordered a rehydration drip that also included a cocktail of anti-nausea medication, painkillers, anti-diarrhoea medication, electrolytes, and medication for fever. Or something like that (Ms. Penguin was a bit too groggy to get it all). She was on that drip for nearly two hours, but felt considerably better afterward. She left the clinic with a prescription for a nice cocktail of meds in her hand, which she obtained the following day.
Kudos to the staff at the Medi-Clinic. They were great!
And no, this entry will not include photos!
Ms. Penguin is really starting to hate fancy schmancy places. When she goes bush camping, where there are no modern facilities and questionable hygienic conditions at times, she stays perfectly healthy. When she goes to fancy places, well...
The queasiness started right after breakfast and got really bad when we were at Bilton. Ms. Penguin was enjoying her wine tasting, and the next thing she knew she was leaning over the loo, puking in the porcelain, and had she been standing up, well, think Mr. Creosote of Monty Python fame. Yeah, just like that. Mr. Penguin was in the men's loo and heard it; he thought it was someone pouring a bucket of water or something into the toilet. And while puking provided temporary relief, it did not end. Ms. Penguin just got more and more queasy, pukey, and miserable, and the problem didn't end there. Literally. You have an imagination. Use it.
So bloody typical... the one day the Penguins meet people, and something like this has to happen. Ms. Penguin was not only feeling like crap from what was probably food poisoning (from breakfast?), she was feeling quite bad about not being very social. Not a good combination at all. Ugh ugh ugh...
When Ms. Penguin got back to her room at the guest lodge, she tried to sleep and drink some fluids. Mr. Penguin was kind enough to run out to the local Checkers (supermarket) to bring her some ginger ale (and it was proper ginger ale too!), and she managed to drink it, but a lot of it came right out again. She couldn't drink a lot of water because it was causing stomach cramps, and diluting what salts were left in her body. Food was out of the question...
In the end, and quite late in the evening, Mr. Penguin had to drive Ms. Penguin to the emergency room (Stellenbosch Medi-Clinic). After the initial paperwork, Ms. Penguin was first seen by a nurse, and then the doctor, who ordered a rehydration drip that also included a cocktail of anti-nausea medication, painkillers, anti-diarrhoea medication, electrolytes, and medication for fever. Or something like that (Ms. Penguin was a bit too groggy to get it all). She was on that drip for nearly two hours, but felt considerably better afterward. She left the clinic with a prescription for a nice cocktail of meds in her hand, which she obtained the following day.
Kudos to the staff at the Medi-Clinic. They were great!
And no, this entry will not include photos!
2009-10-03 - wine is best when shared with friends
Ms. Penguin hangs out on certain travel-related discussion forums on teh intertubes, where she meets interesting people from all around the world. One of these interesting people, "L", and her husband ("D") lives in the Cape Town area, so we arranged to get together to do some wine tasting. Long story short, they drove to our guest lodge in Stellenbosch, we discussed where to go and which wineries to visit (Helderberg wine route), and then we were off!
Our first destination was Alto. They had some really nice reds. Our tasting companions bought a bottle here.
Next up was Bilton, just a few hundred meters down the road. This is a small winery with a range of some really impressing red wines. We ended up buying two yummy wines there - the Bilton Shiraz 2005 and the Bilton Sir Percy Classic Blend 2005.
By then it was time for lunch, so we headed out towards Haskell, as the Penguins had been there in 2006 and had wonderful lunch at their little restaurant with an incredible view. However, when we arrived, the whole place was dead. No tastings, no restaurant. Nothing. Totally deserted. Only the buildings and the stunning view remained. WTF? Disappointed, we left. We later learned that Haskell had moved its operations to Greater Simonsberg.
Disappointed, but still determined to get some lunch, we headed towards Rust en Vrede. The place is well known for its restaurant, so it should be a piece of cake to get a good lunch there, right? Wrong. Turned out that for lunch, they had only one dish on the menu, and it was a meat dish. Since one of the Penguins' tasting companions does not eat meat, our plans were foiled. Again. However, Rust en Vrede is well known for having good wines, so we did the wine tasting since we were there. The wines did not disappoint us, and we ended up buying their 2005 Shiraz.
By now, we were almost desperate for some food, so we headed off to Guardian Hill to get something to stuff our hungry RoFs with. Did we get to stuff our faces with food immediately? No such luck! The restaurant was full, so we had to wait for a table. Ever noticed how slow time goes when you are hungry and can see and smell food around you? Anyway, we finally got a table. Ms. Penguin had the baby marrow (zucchini) soup, while Mr. Penguin had the venison (Mr. Penguin doesn't remember what kind, and Ms. Penguin didn't write any notes for the day, for reasons that will be explained in the next entry).
After lunch, again, for reasons that will be explained in the next entry, we had to end the day. It was a shame because under different circumstances, it could have gone on and on. But it was nice to meet L and D - they were wonderful company! We hope to meet again sometime!
Our first destination was Alto. They had some really nice reds. Our tasting companions bought a bottle here.
Next up was Bilton, just a few hundred meters down the road. This is a small winery with a range of some really impressing red wines. We ended up buying two yummy wines there - the Bilton Shiraz 2005 and the Bilton Sir Percy Classic Blend 2005.
By then it was time for lunch, so we headed out towards Haskell, as the Penguins had been there in 2006 and had wonderful lunch at their little restaurant with an incredible view. However, when we arrived, the whole place was dead. No tastings, no restaurant. Nothing. Totally deserted. Only the buildings and the stunning view remained. WTF? Disappointed, we left. We later learned that Haskell had moved its operations to Greater Simonsberg.
Disappointed, but still determined to get some lunch, we headed towards Rust en Vrede. The place is well known for its restaurant, so it should be a piece of cake to get a good lunch there, right? Wrong. Turned out that for lunch, they had only one dish on the menu, and it was a meat dish. Since one of the Penguins' tasting companions does not eat meat, our plans were foiled. Again. However, Rust en Vrede is well known for having good wines, so we did the wine tasting since we were there. The wines did not disappoint us, and we ended up buying their 2005 Shiraz.
By now, we were almost desperate for some food, so we headed off to Guardian Hill to get something to stuff our hungry RoFs with. Did we get to stuff our faces with food immediately? No such luck! The restaurant was full, so we had to wait for a table. Ever noticed how slow time goes when you are hungry and can see and smell food around you? Anyway, we finally got a table. Ms. Penguin had the baby marrow (zucchini) soup, while Mr. Penguin had the venison (Mr. Penguin doesn't remember what kind, and Ms. Penguin didn't write any notes for the day, for reasons that will be explained in the next entry).
After lunch, again, for reasons that will be explained in the next entry, we had to end the day. It was a shame because under different circumstances, it could have gone on and on. But it was nice to meet L and D - they were wonderful company! We hope to meet again sometime!
2009-10-02 - frolicking among the flowers
(This is another one of those blog entries that is utterly useless without the photos. Do come back later because photos will eventually come!)
Today's activity was a trip to Kirstenbosch National Botanic Gardens. We were there in 2006, but didn't get a chance to spend as much time there as we would have liked. So we decided to spend a good amount of time there this time, including having a picnic lunch on their never-ending nice green lawn.
So the first thing we did upon arrival was to go to the deli and buy a picnic box (this took a little bit of time since we didn't prebook it). We took that out to a bench under a tree, a nice shady spot close to a duck dam. Upon opening the picnic box, we were quite shocked to see the amount of food we got. Sure, we ordered some kind of "deluxe" type picnic box, but geez... lots of food. But we just dug right in - salad, fruit salad, different kinds of cold cuts and cheeses, bread, dried fruit, nuts, etc. Lots of good stuff. And it was filling... oof! Seriously... according to the picnic menu, the picnic box was supposed to be food for two people, but it could have easily fed four people. Lots of food!
After all that food, we had to walk around. It was quite rough in the heat though (the South African sun is hot, powerful, and brutal). Nonetheless, we managed to see quite a bit, but still only a fraction of what Kirstenbosch has to offer. You really have to spend at least several days there to see it all. Ms. Penguin's favorite part was the useful plants area; she thinks it's interesting how different kinds of plants are used to treat various ailments or otherwise used as food, tea, or cosmetics. The areas with the fynbos, ericas, and proteas is also well worth spending a lot of time in. All the beautiful colors! We were there right in time for the spring blossoms. The photos that will eventually come will serve no justice to what meets you when you go through the gates!
Kirstenbosch is being marketed as the most beautiful garden in Africa. We don't know if that is true or not, but it sure is amazingly beautiful there!
In the end, it just got too hot. So we headed back to Stellenbosch. Still a bit stuffed from our picnic, we had a simple dinner at an Internet café, where we also published the previous batch of blog entries :-P
Today's activity was a trip to Kirstenbosch National Botanic Gardens. We were there in 2006, but didn't get a chance to spend as much time there as we would have liked. So we decided to spend a good amount of time there this time, including having a picnic lunch on their never-ending nice green lawn.
So the first thing we did upon arrival was to go to the deli and buy a picnic box (this took a little bit of time since we didn't prebook it). We took that out to a bench under a tree, a nice shady spot close to a duck dam. Upon opening the picnic box, we were quite shocked to see the amount of food we got. Sure, we ordered some kind of "deluxe" type picnic box, but geez... lots of food. But we just dug right in - salad, fruit salad, different kinds of cold cuts and cheeses, bread, dried fruit, nuts, etc. Lots of good stuff. And it was filling... oof! Seriously... according to the picnic menu, the picnic box was supposed to be food for two people, but it could have easily fed four people. Lots of food!
After all that food, we had to walk around. It was quite rough in the heat though (the South African sun is hot, powerful, and brutal). Nonetheless, we managed to see quite a bit, but still only a fraction of what Kirstenbosch has to offer. You really have to spend at least several days there to see it all. Ms. Penguin's favorite part was the useful plants area; she thinks it's interesting how different kinds of plants are used to treat various ailments or otherwise used as food, tea, or cosmetics. The areas with the fynbos, ericas, and proteas is also well worth spending a lot of time in. All the beautiful colors! We were there right in time for the spring blossoms. The photos that will eventually come will serve no justice to what meets you when you go through the gates!
Kirstenbosch is being marketed as the most beautiful garden in Africa. We don't know if that is true or not, but it sure is amazingly beautiful there!
In the end, it just got too hot. So we headed back to Stellenbosch. Still a bit stuffed from our picnic, we had a simple dinner at an Internet café, where we also published the previous batch of blog entries :-P
2009-10-01 – back to where it all began
Here we are, in Stellenbosch again. Much of it is pretty much the same, although there have also been quite a few changes since 2006. It seems like they're building and renovating a lot of things in preparation for the World Cup next year.
We're staying at Bonne Esperance Guest Lodge for the next three nights, and will stay in a self-catering apartment for the remainder of the time.
After checking in at Bonne Esperance, we went for a walk through the city center, did some shopping, had a couple of beers at Basic Bistro, and then went on to the tourist information center to pick up a map listing the wineries in the area, and then walked around some more, to see what had changed, and what was still the same.
We had dinner at Cape Town Fish Market (CTFM), which is just a few blocks away from Bonne Esperance; we were too lazy and not hungry enough to put lots of energy into finding a better place. CTFM has good food, but it is a chain restaurant, so things can be a bit too standardized. The CTFM was quite busy, so we had to wait a little to get a table. No worries, we just waited at the sushi conveyor belt while we studied the menu, and by the time we were ready to order our food, we got a table right next to a big aquarium. Ms. Penguin had a Dorado Stack with prawns, spinach, feta, sundried tomatoes, and olive tapenade, while Mr. Penguin had the Calamari Duo – a combination dish with deep fried calamari and grilled calamari tubes. The food was washed down with Windhoek lager.
We're staying at Bonne Esperance Guest Lodge for the next three nights, and will stay in a self-catering apartment for the remainder of the time.
After checking in at Bonne Esperance, we went for a walk through the city center, did some shopping, had a couple of beers at Basic Bistro, and then went on to the tourist information center to pick up a map listing the wineries in the area, and then walked around some more, to see what had changed, and what was still the same.
We had dinner at Cape Town Fish Market (CTFM), which is just a few blocks away from Bonne Esperance; we were too lazy and not hungry enough to put lots of energy into finding a better place. CTFM has good food, but it is a chain restaurant, so things can be a bit too standardized. The CTFM was quite busy, so we had to wait a little to get a table. No worries, we just waited at the sushi conveyor belt while we studied the menu, and by the time we were ready to order our food, we got a table right next to a big aquarium. Ms. Penguin had a Dorado Stack with prawns, spinach, feta, sundried tomatoes, and olive tapenade, while Mr. Penguin had the Calamari Duo – a combination dish with deep fried calamari and grilled calamari tubes. The food was washed down with Windhoek lager.
2009-10-01 – Mini Bobble almost subject to cannibalism
We were thinking of eating lunch at Spier Wine Estate, so we stopped there. On our way to the restaurant, there were two employees in the general area, each with their own bird of prey to show off to visitors. One woman had an eagle owl. A big, beautiful eagle owl. Mini Bobble wanted to take a closer look at his relative, but the owl tried to bite him. Did the owl think that the nice and plushy Mini Bobble was real prey? Mini Bobble is still a bit traumatized from the incident.
Oh, and we ended up not having lunch at Spier. The restaurant was only doing a buffet and we weren't hungry enough for it. The deli was too busy. So we ended up going to Hudson's at Vredenheim Wine Estate, for a Cape Malay curry. Yum. We have been to this place before; they have a very lovely picnic garden.
Oh, and we ended up not having lunch at Spier. The restaurant was only doing a buffet and we weren't hungry enough for it. The deli was too busy. So we ended up going to Hudson's at Vredenheim Wine Estate, for a Cape Malay curry. Yum. We have been to this place before; they have a very lovely picnic garden.
2009-10-01 – Penguins (and an Owl) do Roam in Tasting Rooms
We got up early (although not as early as planned) to do some scenic photography in the early morning light.
After a lovely breakfast (at Träumerei's in Franschhoek) of poached eggs, tomato relish, rye bread, and bacon, washed down with coffee and orange juice, we just started driving around. We were hoping to find and visit Drakenstein, the prison where Nelson Mandela was released from, but just couldn't find it. There were no signs for it either, so we guess that it's not open for visitors.
So we decided to do the next best thing (hah), and go to Fairview instead. We had been on a tasting there in 2006, and at that time they were building a new tasting room. The final result was quite an impressive way to greet visitors – very spacious tasting areas with rustic décor. Fairview does two different types of tastings, a standard one and the “master tasting” - a tasting of the more exclusive wines paired with Fairview's own cheeses. As an added bonus, they use a separate, more fancy tasting room, where no kids were allowed :-)
Anyway, we were the only ones there at the time, so we got a lot of attention from Billie, who was in charge of the wine and cheese tasting. Ms. Penguin mentioned she was allergic to blue cheese and needed substitutes for the blue cheese items on the tasting menu; that wasn't a problem. While tasting a Sauvignon blanc 2009 to get our palates ready for the more heavy duty wine tasting, we discussed what kind of wines we liked. “The big guns.” We were told that we were not going to be disappointed today. She was right...
Our first wine and cheese pairing was the Fairview Weisser Riesling 2008, paired with a brie. The wine was nice and dry, refreshing, and tasty.
The second wine was the Fairview Sauvignon blanc/Semillion, also 2008, paired with a cheese called Vat #3, which was a camembert made with extra cream. Fairview only started making this wine in 2008.
Next, the Fairview Viognier 2008, paired with a Camembert. This wine was our favorite among the whites. Fairview was the first winery in South Africa to produce Viognier. Viognier is the only white with tannins, and can give the wine some “oiliness.” This wine would be great with spicy Asian food.
Then it was on to the reds. First, the Spice Route Mourvedre 2006, paired with the Bleu & Blanc – Camembert with a blue veined center. Ms. Penguin got the La Beryl as a replacement for the evil blue cheese. The whole Spice Route series is made from unirrigated vines, and the comment was “the more they suffer, the better they do.” This wine had a smoked meat nose and a very lovely flavor. It would be very nice, ever so slightly chilled, with a braai. It was very “light” - at least in flavor – to contain 14.5% alcohol!
Our next red was the Fairview Caldera 2007, made in a Chateauneuf du Pape style. It was served with a Chevin Traditional (70% goat's milk 30% cow's milk).
Spice Route Pinotage 2007 came next; it was the first Pinotage of all the Pinotages we have tasted on this trip that was actually decent – nice and meaty and smoky and chewy. It was paired with the Boland Blue; Ms. Penguin got a black pepper cream cheese.
Next, we tried a Shiraz – the Cyril Back 2006 (paired with Blue Tower, a sort of gorgonzola) – and the Spice Route Flagship Syrah 2006 (paired with Blue Rock, a sort of Roquefort) side-by-side. They are the same grape, but Shiraz and Syrah are two different styles. That is, Shiraz and Syrah are made in different ways, with the Syrah being a softer, French style and the Shiraz being a “sharper” New World style. Both were really good.
We also got to try some stuff that was not on the regular tasting menu. This included a Pinotage Viognier 2008 (with only about 4% Viognier) that was very smooth and would work nicely with roast duck, probably game, and roast turkey or goose.
We tried the Flagship Shiraz 2005 as well; it was very easy to drink.
The best one of all was the Spice Route Malabar, Fairview's flagship. It is a blend of 70% Syrah, 25% Petit Syrah, 5% Grenache. We bought a bottle of this one to take home :-)
After we were done with our tasting, we took a look at the goats and walked around the area a little bit, before heading off to Stellenbosch. The goats were not as willing to be photographed as they were last time we were at Fairview. Last time, they were more than happy to pose for us. This year, they were aloof and only wanted to eat. Hmmf.
After a lovely breakfast (at Träumerei's in Franschhoek) of poached eggs, tomato relish, rye bread, and bacon, washed down with coffee and orange juice, we just started driving around. We were hoping to find and visit Drakenstein, the prison where Nelson Mandela was released from, but just couldn't find it. There were no signs for it either, so we guess that it's not open for visitors.
So we decided to do the next best thing (hah), and go to Fairview instead. We had been on a tasting there in 2006, and at that time they were building a new tasting room. The final result was quite an impressive way to greet visitors – very spacious tasting areas with rustic décor. Fairview does two different types of tastings, a standard one and the “master tasting” - a tasting of the more exclusive wines paired with Fairview's own cheeses. As an added bonus, they use a separate, more fancy tasting room, where no kids were allowed :-)
Anyway, we were the only ones there at the time, so we got a lot of attention from Billie, who was in charge of the wine and cheese tasting. Ms. Penguin mentioned she was allergic to blue cheese and needed substitutes for the blue cheese items on the tasting menu; that wasn't a problem. While tasting a Sauvignon blanc 2009 to get our palates ready for the more heavy duty wine tasting, we discussed what kind of wines we liked. “The big guns.” We were told that we were not going to be disappointed today. She was right...
Our first wine and cheese pairing was the Fairview Weisser Riesling 2008, paired with a brie. The wine was nice and dry, refreshing, and tasty.
The second wine was the Fairview Sauvignon blanc/Semillion, also 2008, paired with a cheese called Vat #3, which was a camembert made with extra cream. Fairview only started making this wine in 2008.
Next, the Fairview Viognier 2008, paired with a Camembert. This wine was our favorite among the whites. Fairview was the first winery in South Africa to produce Viognier. Viognier is the only white with tannins, and can give the wine some “oiliness.” This wine would be great with spicy Asian food.
Then it was on to the reds. First, the Spice Route Mourvedre 2006, paired with the Bleu & Blanc – Camembert with a blue veined center. Ms. Penguin got the La Beryl as a replacement for the evil blue cheese. The whole Spice Route series is made from unirrigated vines, and the comment was “the more they suffer, the better they do.” This wine had a smoked meat nose and a very lovely flavor. It would be very nice, ever so slightly chilled, with a braai. It was very “light” - at least in flavor – to contain 14.5% alcohol!
Our next red was the Fairview Caldera 2007, made in a Chateauneuf du Pape style. It was served with a Chevin Traditional (70% goat's milk 30% cow's milk).
Spice Route Pinotage 2007 came next; it was the first Pinotage of all the Pinotages we have tasted on this trip that was actually decent – nice and meaty and smoky and chewy. It was paired with the Boland Blue; Ms. Penguin got a black pepper cream cheese.
Next, we tried a Shiraz – the Cyril Back 2006 (paired with Blue Tower, a sort of gorgonzola) – and the Spice Route Flagship Syrah 2006 (paired with Blue Rock, a sort of Roquefort) side-by-side. They are the same grape, but Shiraz and Syrah are two different styles. That is, Shiraz and Syrah are made in different ways, with the Syrah being a softer, French style and the Shiraz being a “sharper” New World style. Both were really good.
We also got to try some stuff that was not on the regular tasting menu. This included a Pinotage Viognier 2008 (with only about 4% Viognier) that was very smooth and would work nicely with roast duck, probably game, and roast turkey or goose.
We tried the Flagship Shiraz 2005 as well; it was very easy to drink.
The best one of all was the Spice Route Malabar, Fairview's flagship. It is a blend of 70% Syrah, 25% Petit Syrah, 5% Grenache. We bought a bottle of this one to take home :-)
After we were done with our tasting, we took a look at the goats and walked around the area a little bit, before heading off to Stellenbosch. The goats were not as willing to be photographed as they were last time we were at Fairview. Last time, they were more than happy to pose for us. This year, they were aloof and only wanted to eat. Hmmf.
02 October 2009
2009-09-30 – all aboard the wine bus!
Hmm. We were able to get up relatively early and were otherwise in pretty good shape after our evening of RoF indulgence. After our showers (cold ones, brrr!), we walked into town to get some breakfast. We forgot to write down the name of the place... bah. But we got an “English breakfast omelette” - a big fluffy omelette filled with bacon, sausage, mushrooms, etc. Yummy and filling!
The guy who owns Otter's Bend Lodge, Mark (who is part Norwegian, owns a farm in Norway, and has a daughter who lives in Bergen), runs wine tours in the Franschhoek area, so we did a tour with him.
Our first visit was to GlenWood. We tried the Sauvignon blanc 2009, the Semillon 2007, the unwooded (claimed to be a sushi wine) and wooded chardonnays, the Merlot 2007, the Shiraz 2007, and a Syrah and Viognier blend (2007); this last one was quite nice.
The next stop was to Boekenhoutskloof. Yes, it's a challenge to pronounce. They are the wine estate that does, among other things, the Porcupine Ridge range. But since we are familiar with it, we went right for the flagship – the Chocolate Box 2008. Only 888 barrels of this was produced, and it is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, and Viognier. And yes, as the name suggests, the wine has a very chocolatey palate. We also tried their Syrah 2006, which was nice, but it was nothing like the chocolatey winey goodness. So we bought a bottle of Chocolate Box to take home.
Next on the tour was Stony Brook. We tasted the Sauvignon blanc 2008, Rosé 2008 (this is of Merlot), The “J” 2008 (35% Viogner, 40% Semillion, 25% Sauvignon Blanc), Semillion Reserve 2007, Shiraz 2004, Shiraz-Mouvrede 2005, “The Max” 2005 (named after their pet dog; blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot).
Then we went to La Couronne. They were very crowded, so we didn't really stay too long. We tried the 277 Mereaux Red 2003, the Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, and the Shiraz 2006.
By then we were hungry, and stopped at Moreson for lunch. We had some tasty ravioli, but the portion was surprisingly and annoyingly small. We also did a tasting here. They have a very nice Merlot 2007 and a Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 that was so good we bought a bottle.
We ended the tour with a visit to Chamonix; their tasting room was freeeeeezing cold. We tasted the Sauvignon blanc reserve 2008, Rouge 2007, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, and Troika. The Troika was excellent but a bit overpriced (in our opinion), so we didn't buy a bottle.
A nap was in order when we got back to our room; we were both quite exhausted after managing six wineries in one day! After our nap, we walked into town and ate dinner at a nice bistro called The French Connection. We both got filet mignon (because it was only 180 grams, compared to the other steaks, which were 300 grams). This was delicious; it was very flavorful and tender! The filet mignon was served with a three mushroom sauce, some greens, some vegetables, and frites for Ms. Penguin and rösti potatoes for Mr. Penguin.
The guy who owns Otter's Bend Lodge, Mark (who is part Norwegian, owns a farm in Norway, and has a daughter who lives in Bergen), runs wine tours in the Franschhoek area, so we did a tour with him.
Our first visit was to GlenWood. We tried the Sauvignon blanc 2009, the Semillon 2007, the unwooded (claimed to be a sushi wine) and wooded chardonnays, the Merlot 2007, the Shiraz 2007, and a Syrah and Viognier blend (2007); this last one was quite nice.
The next stop was to Boekenhoutskloof. Yes, it's a challenge to pronounce. They are the wine estate that does, among other things, the Porcupine Ridge range. But since we are familiar with it, we went right for the flagship – the Chocolate Box 2008. Only 888 barrels of this was produced, and it is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, and Viognier. And yes, as the name suggests, the wine has a very chocolatey palate. We also tried their Syrah 2006, which was nice, but it was nothing like the chocolatey winey goodness. So we bought a bottle of Chocolate Box to take home.
Next on the tour was Stony Brook. We tasted the Sauvignon blanc 2008, Rosé 2008 (this is of Merlot), The “J” 2008 (35% Viogner, 40% Semillion, 25% Sauvignon Blanc), Semillion Reserve 2007, Shiraz 2004, Shiraz-Mouvrede 2005, “The Max” 2005 (named after their pet dog; blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot).
Then we went to La Couronne. They were very crowded, so we didn't really stay too long. We tried the 277 Mereaux Red 2003, the Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, and the Shiraz 2006.
By then we were hungry, and stopped at Moreson for lunch. We had some tasty ravioli, but the portion was surprisingly and annoyingly small. We also did a tasting here. They have a very nice Merlot 2007 and a Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 that was so good we bought a bottle.
We ended the tour with a visit to Chamonix; their tasting room was freeeeeezing cold. We tasted the Sauvignon blanc reserve 2008, Rouge 2007, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, and Troika. The Troika was excellent but a bit overpriced (in our opinion), so we didn't buy a bottle.
A nap was in order when we got back to our room; we were both quite exhausted after managing six wineries in one day! After our nap, we walked into town and ate dinner at a nice bistro called The French Connection. We both got filet mignon (because it was only 180 grams, compared to the other steaks, which were 300 grams). This was delicious; it was very flavorful and tender! The filet mignon was served with a three mushroom sauce, some greens, some vegetables, and frites for Ms. Penguin and rösti potatoes for Mr. Penguin.
2009-09-29 – tasty tasty Tasting Room
We know that this blog entry is absolutely worthless without the pics. This entry will probably be edited a bit, once the photos come. Read now, and then return for more. Much more!
While doing the research for this trip, Ms. Penguin learned about the Tasting Room. It is ranked as one of the 50 best restaurants in the world (don't remember who does this particular ranking but check back later as we'll update the information). A booking was made well before leaving for South Africa...
The Tasting Room is a part of the famous Le Quartier Francais. We arrived early, which was just as well because we both were in very bad need of coffee. So we sat at the bar and had some of the tastiest coffee we've had in a long time. It was fair trade coffee too! We both felt a lot better after that, and were ready for a night of RoF indulgence!
While at the bar, we were met by our hostess Adele, who discussed the menu with us. Ms. Penguin had pre-booked the eight course tasting menu, but one of the courses included gorgonzola, and Ms. Penguin is allergic to blue cheese. She was given a list of items from an a la carte tasting menu to find a replacement for the gorgonzola, and picked the cheese dish from that menu. So everything was set, and soon after that, were were taken to our table...
The dining room itself was nice, spacious, and intimate – and a little bit on the dark side, so it was difficult to see the color of our wines properly. Not that it was that much of a big deal. Our main waitress was Pauline; she brought us water and some homemade bread, and things were really getting started!
We started with an amuse bouche – tuna with lime foam and cucumber sorbet. The sorbet was very nice, with an intense sweet cucumber flavor and an intense green color. It went nicely with the flavorful tuna, and the lime foam gave extra flavor and texture.
First course: “warm gingered oyster, carrot, bacon crumbs” paired with Monis pale dry sherry. The sherry was very nice; Ms. Penguin usually does not like sherry at all but she liked this one. It had a nice subtle sweetness and fruitiness. The dish itself was interesting. The oyster was served with a carrot foam and a gingery gelatinous substance (don't remember the proper name for it).
Second course: “lemon poached crayfish tail, prawn wafer, marshmallow” paired with Graham Beck Brut. The prawn wafer was similar to those Chinese prawn snacks in taste, although more prawny and slightly sweeter. It was filled with a pleasant prawn cream. As for the presentation, it looked like one of those wafer cookies filled with cream. The crayfish tail was perfectly cooked – barely seared and very succulent. It was served with a lemon butter foam. The marshmallow was the most amusing part of all; it was a marshmallow made with squid ink and lemon, and pretty much looked like what you would expect from something made with squid ink – a gray marshmallow. The flavor was an interesting blend of sweetness and lemony squid. This was Ms. Penguin's favorite dish for the whole evening.
Third course: “foie gras, prosciutto, cranberry and smoked whisky dressing” paired with Cederberg bukettraubbe 2009. The wine was very Riesling-like, with a pleasant sweetness in the background and a wonderful aroma. The dish was served as a foie gras parfait, a French brioche, and a terrine of foie gras with prosciutto. The plate was decorated with smoked whisky-infused cranberries, which were fried and sliced in two. The foie gras parfait was very different from what we expected. It had a very mild and pleasant flavor, and lacked that nasty fattiness that you get from the foie gras you typically get in Europe. The terrine was also very pleasant.
Fourth course: “celeriac and buchu risotto” paired with Glenwood Semillion 2007. Buchu is a local herb. We were given a glass filled with dried buchu to look at and smell; it smells like peppermint with some sage or thyme. It is used for making tea as a medicine for colds and the flu. We were quite excited about how this would work in food, and we were most certainly not disappointed. The dish was served in a small bowl, decorated with buchu powder on the edge of the bowl. We tasted the powder first and found it quite interesting. And then we tasted the risotto and... wow! What a lovely herb for that dish! The rice was also perfectly al dente. This was Mr. Penguin's favorite dish for the whole evening. Oh, and as an extra bonus, we were given a small vacuum-sealed packet of the buchu to take home with us, because we asked where we could buy it but were told it was difficult to find.
Fifth course: “sous vide quail breast, truffled quail egg, asparagus” paired with Vergelegen vin de Florence 2008 (a blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon, chenin blanc). The dish was served as roast quail breast with asparagus salad and the deep-fried truffled quail egg. Despite how the egg was actually prepared, the yolk was still runny. The quail itself had crispy skin and tender, juicy meat. The salad was also very nice. As for the wine, we would have never thought a wine like that would work with quail, but it was a beautiful match.
Sixth course: “rabbit ballotine, leek, and rooibos gel” paired with Raats Cabernet Franc 2007. The wine had a lot of prune and raisins in both the nose and flavor. The dish was served as the rabbit ballotine with a fennel salad, rooibos gel, and a potato and leek gratin. There was a thin layer of leek around the rabbit ballotine, which gave it a nice extra, pleasant bite. The gratin had a long aftertaste. The salad was refreshing, with a nice “bite.”
Seventh course: the cheese course – for Ms. Penguin (who is allergic to blue cheese), the cheddar fritters with cumin flatbread and spiced apples (don't know what it was actually called on the menu) paired with the Monis fino extra dry sherry. She wasn't too crazy about the sherry, but really enjoyed the puffy mild cheddar fritters; the apples gave a nice tang to the dish.
For Mr. Penguin: “whipped gorgonzola, mustard pear, pistachio sable” paired with Simonsig Gewürztraminer 2009. He really enjoyed the gorgonzola and pear combination, but wasn't too crazy about the biscuit it came with.
Pre-dessert: Before our dessert, we got a small dish of caramel apple with honeycomb and espresso ice. There was a lot of cardemom in this little dessert. Very nice!
Eighth course: “naartjie and buttermilk cannelloni, raw jersey milk sherbet, fennel” paired with Rickety Ridge natural sweet Chenin blanc 2007. The wine was delicious, with a pleasant sweetness that wasn't syrupy. The cannelloni seemed to be a combination of the naartjie (orange), buttermilk, and raw milk, made into a nice ice creamy roll; there were some chocolate biscuit crumbs there to add flavor and texture. It was served with a very nice fennel sorbet, which was served on top of some gold foil.
After our dessert, we both ordered some Rooibos chai tea; it was very nice and spicy, and had a lovely orange-red color. We were given a plate of cookies (petits fours if you must) to go with the tea – strawberry macrons, coffee truffle filled chocolates, apricot biscotti, and a sort of fruit tart cookie. Yummy.
While dining, we had fun watching (and eavesdropping on) some of the other diners. There was a group that sat at a table close to us that was apparently more there for the food than the food-wine pairings or wine at all, as one of them proclaimed loudly that she liked her wine “sweet, sweet, sweet!”
Oh, and Ms. Penguin just has to report that the walls of the women's toilet are bright pink :-P
In general, we were quite impressed with the effort made to match the wine and food so perfectly. We were also quite pleased with the creativity of the dishes. All in all, this was a great night, well worth everything!
While doing the research for this trip, Ms. Penguin learned about the Tasting Room. It is ranked as one of the 50 best restaurants in the world (don't remember who does this particular ranking but check back later as we'll update the information). A booking was made well before leaving for South Africa...
The Tasting Room is a part of the famous Le Quartier Francais. We arrived early, which was just as well because we both were in very bad need of coffee. So we sat at the bar and had some of the tastiest coffee we've had in a long time. It was fair trade coffee too! We both felt a lot better after that, and were ready for a night of RoF indulgence!
While at the bar, we were met by our hostess Adele, who discussed the menu with us. Ms. Penguin had pre-booked the eight course tasting menu, but one of the courses included gorgonzola, and Ms. Penguin is allergic to blue cheese. She was given a list of items from an a la carte tasting menu to find a replacement for the gorgonzola, and picked the cheese dish from that menu. So everything was set, and soon after that, were were taken to our table...
The dining room itself was nice, spacious, and intimate – and a little bit on the dark side, so it was difficult to see the color of our wines properly. Not that it was that much of a big deal. Our main waitress was Pauline; she brought us water and some homemade bread, and things were really getting started!
We started with an amuse bouche – tuna with lime foam and cucumber sorbet. The sorbet was very nice, with an intense sweet cucumber flavor and an intense green color. It went nicely with the flavorful tuna, and the lime foam gave extra flavor and texture.
First course: “warm gingered oyster, carrot, bacon crumbs” paired with Monis pale dry sherry. The sherry was very nice; Ms. Penguin usually does not like sherry at all but she liked this one. It had a nice subtle sweetness and fruitiness. The dish itself was interesting. The oyster was served with a carrot foam and a gingery gelatinous substance (don't remember the proper name for it).
Second course: “lemon poached crayfish tail, prawn wafer, marshmallow” paired with Graham Beck Brut. The prawn wafer was similar to those Chinese prawn snacks in taste, although more prawny and slightly sweeter. It was filled with a pleasant prawn cream. As for the presentation, it looked like one of those wafer cookies filled with cream. The crayfish tail was perfectly cooked – barely seared and very succulent. It was served with a lemon butter foam. The marshmallow was the most amusing part of all; it was a marshmallow made with squid ink and lemon, and pretty much looked like what you would expect from something made with squid ink – a gray marshmallow. The flavor was an interesting blend of sweetness and lemony squid. This was Ms. Penguin's favorite dish for the whole evening.
Third course: “foie gras, prosciutto, cranberry and smoked whisky dressing” paired with Cederberg bukettraubbe 2009. The wine was very Riesling-like, with a pleasant sweetness in the background and a wonderful aroma. The dish was served as a foie gras parfait, a French brioche, and a terrine of foie gras with prosciutto. The plate was decorated with smoked whisky-infused cranberries, which were fried and sliced in two. The foie gras parfait was very different from what we expected. It had a very mild and pleasant flavor, and lacked that nasty fattiness that you get from the foie gras you typically get in Europe. The terrine was also very pleasant.
Fourth course: “celeriac and buchu risotto” paired with Glenwood Semillion 2007. Buchu is a local herb. We were given a glass filled with dried buchu to look at and smell; it smells like peppermint with some sage or thyme. It is used for making tea as a medicine for colds and the flu. We were quite excited about how this would work in food, and we were most certainly not disappointed. The dish was served in a small bowl, decorated with buchu powder on the edge of the bowl. We tasted the powder first and found it quite interesting. And then we tasted the risotto and... wow! What a lovely herb for that dish! The rice was also perfectly al dente. This was Mr. Penguin's favorite dish for the whole evening. Oh, and as an extra bonus, we were given a small vacuum-sealed packet of the buchu to take home with us, because we asked where we could buy it but were told it was difficult to find.
Fifth course: “sous vide quail breast, truffled quail egg, asparagus” paired with Vergelegen vin de Florence 2008 (a blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon, chenin blanc). The dish was served as roast quail breast with asparagus salad and the deep-fried truffled quail egg. Despite how the egg was actually prepared, the yolk was still runny. The quail itself had crispy skin and tender, juicy meat. The salad was also very nice. As for the wine, we would have never thought a wine like that would work with quail, but it was a beautiful match.
Sixth course: “rabbit ballotine, leek, and rooibos gel” paired with Raats Cabernet Franc 2007. The wine had a lot of prune and raisins in both the nose and flavor. The dish was served as the rabbit ballotine with a fennel salad, rooibos gel, and a potato and leek gratin. There was a thin layer of leek around the rabbit ballotine, which gave it a nice extra, pleasant bite. The gratin had a long aftertaste. The salad was refreshing, with a nice “bite.”
Seventh course: the cheese course – for Ms. Penguin (who is allergic to blue cheese), the cheddar fritters with cumin flatbread and spiced apples (don't know what it was actually called on the menu) paired with the Monis fino extra dry sherry. She wasn't too crazy about the sherry, but really enjoyed the puffy mild cheddar fritters; the apples gave a nice tang to the dish.
For Mr. Penguin: “whipped gorgonzola, mustard pear, pistachio sable” paired with Simonsig Gewürztraminer 2009. He really enjoyed the gorgonzola and pear combination, but wasn't too crazy about the biscuit it came with.
Pre-dessert: Before our dessert, we got a small dish of caramel apple with honeycomb and espresso ice. There was a lot of cardemom in this little dessert. Very nice!
Eighth course: “naartjie and buttermilk cannelloni, raw jersey milk sherbet, fennel” paired with Rickety Ridge natural sweet Chenin blanc 2007. The wine was delicious, with a pleasant sweetness that wasn't syrupy. The cannelloni seemed to be a combination of the naartjie (orange), buttermilk, and raw milk, made into a nice ice creamy roll; there were some chocolate biscuit crumbs there to add flavor and texture. It was served with a very nice fennel sorbet, which was served on top of some gold foil.
After our dessert, we both ordered some Rooibos chai tea; it was very nice and spicy, and had a lovely orange-red color. We were given a plate of cookies (petits fours if you must) to go with the tea – strawberry macrons, coffee truffle filled chocolates, apricot biscotti, and a sort of fruit tart cookie. Yummy.
While dining, we had fun watching (and eavesdropping on) some of the other diners. There was a group that sat at a table close to us that was apparently more there for the food than the food-wine pairings or wine at all, as one of them proclaimed loudly that she liked her wine “sweet, sweet, sweet!”
Oh, and Ms. Penguin just has to report that the walls of the women's toilet are bright pink :-P
In general, we were quite impressed with the effort made to match the wine and food so perfectly. We were also quite pleased with the creativity of the dishes. All in all, this was a great night, well worth everything!
2009-09-29 – rolling on the river
It was finally time to do some river rafting, and it was going to be a nice sunny day for it. We started with a quick oatmeal porridge breakfast, and got all our stuff packed (since we were leaving for Franschhoek after the rafting tour) and our stuff that we needed for the rafting tour stuffed into the waterproof bag that was given to us to use for the tour. After signing the indemnity forms (a very South African thing; even they joke about them) and getting our life jackets, we drove out to a river bank where we would start the tour. Kevin was our guide; he gave us some quick instructions on how to paddle and how things were going to be along the tour, and then we were off!
The tour itself was pretty relaxing. There were some rapids in some places, but nothing heavy duty; only level one. However, there was one spot where we all had to get out of our rafts to move them past a barrier. While getting out of the raft, Ms. Penguin stumbled on the wet rocks and banged her knee. It was only right before getting back into the raft and Kevin asking “are you OK?” that she realized that there was a good-sized cut on her knee. Hmmf. So that had to be dealt with – some antiseptic wash and some ointment and a bandage. No big deal. And then we were off again...
We took two breaks; the first one was for some water and cookies. There were a bunch of cows grazing in that area, and didn't seem very happy about the intrusion. The next stop was for lunch. We got sandwiches and pieces of fried chicken and vegetables and a hard boiled egg, as well as a piece of chocolate. Lots of food. We couldn't finish ours, so we saved it for later on, and ended up eating it on the way to Franschhoek.
There are nice things to see along the river. The best thing was a pair of barn owls that we saw underneath a bridge. They were so cute; first one of them had a look at the freaks in the raft, and then another one came to have a look. They looked at us for a little while, and then hid themselves again. Sneaky owls. We also saw (and heard) a fish eagle, and spotted its nest high up in a treetop. There were also lots of cormorants and ducks and geese, including one goose that flew away from the raft, pretending to have a broken wing, in order to distract us from its family. Other birds included a kingfisher, swallows, and weaverbirds and red bishops in the reeds.
After the tour, we headed back to the backpackers, rinsed ourselves in the shower, got all our stuff packed into the car, and headed out to Franschhoek. We made a quick stop at Graham Beck to taste their wine, and buy a bottle of Brut, and made a couple of quick stops to take photos (not the best light though, and too much haze, hmmf, we'll see how they turn out), and finally got to Franschhoek in the late afternoon. After getting settled into our accommodation (Otter's Bend Lodge), we took a much needed nap...
The tour itself was pretty relaxing. There were some rapids in some places, but nothing heavy duty; only level one. However, there was one spot where we all had to get out of our rafts to move them past a barrier. While getting out of the raft, Ms. Penguin stumbled on the wet rocks and banged her knee. It was only right before getting back into the raft and Kevin asking “are you OK?” that she realized that there was a good-sized cut on her knee. Hmmf. So that had to be dealt with – some antiseptic wash and some ointment and a bandage. No big deal. And then we were off again...
We took two breaks; the first one was for some water and cookies. There were a bunch of cows grazing in that area, and didn't seem very happy about the intrusion. The next stop was for lunch. We got sandwiches and pieces of fried chicken and vegetables and a hard boiled egg, as well as a piece of chocolate. Lots of food. We couldn't finish ours, so we saved it for later on, and ended up eating it on the way to Franschhoek.
There are nice things to see along the river. The best thing was a pair of barn owls that we saw underneath a bridge. They were so cute; first one of them had a look at the freaks in the raft, and then another one came to have a look. They looked at us for a little while, and then hid themselves again. Sneaky owls. We also saw (and heard) a fish eagle, and spotted its nest high up in a treetop. There were also lots of cormorants and ducks and geese, including one goose that flew away from the raft, pretending to have a broken wing, in order to distract us from its family. Other birds included a kingfisher, swallows, and weaverbirds and red bishops in the reeds.
After the tour, we headed back to the backpackers, rinsed ourselves in the shower, got all our stuff packed into the car, and headed out to Franschhoek. We made a quick stop at Graham Beck to taste their wine, and buy a bottle of Brut, and made a couple of quick stops to take photos (not the best light though, and too much haze, hmmf, we'll see how they turn out), and finally got to Franschhoek in the late afternoon. After getting settled into our accommodation (Otter's Bend Lodge), we took a much needed nap...
2009-09-28 – spit or swallow?
I forgot to add the disclaimer for the past few posts. Photos will come later, and some content may be edited. We're also doing a mass posting now, since we've been without the InterTubes since leaving Wild Spirit Lodge (we're in Stellenbosch now).
(Yes, there were lots of empty glasses to wash from last night ;-)
Today was the day of our Robertson wine district wine tasting tour. Our traveling companions, Mini Wolfgang and Mini Bobble, were especially looking forward to this part of the vacation, even more so than the two of us, we suspect. There was another couple – an Irish couple – with us on the tour as well. They had just gotten married – on September 12th hehe... (the Penguins' wedding date :)
We started at a boutique winery called Kranskop, and tried the Sauvignon blanc 2008, Chardonnay (5 months wooded) 2008, Merlot 2007, Shiraz 2007, and Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. These were all nice, but didn't have the “oomph” we were looking for. Perhaps the best part about this winery was the estate itself and the magnificent view from the veranda. They also have a teeny tiny dwarf poodle (OK, an enormous Great Dane, or was it a pony?) that was extremely friendly and wanted everyone's attention.
Our next stop was De Wetshof. The tasting room is located inside a very beautiful manor building. The Penguins had been to De Wetshof before, and it was no mistake returning. Their rosé (Danie De Wet 2009) and their dessert wine (Cape Muscadel 2007) were as delicious as ever. We also tried their Sauvignon blanc 2008, Riesling 2008, various chardonnay from unwooded to 12 months wooded, a red Bordeaux classic blend, and a Pinotage.
Bon Courage was next on the tour. They make a very nice Cap Classique (sparkling wine made according to the champagne method, but they cannot call it champagne). It was the Brut Reserve 2005, made from 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Nice and mineraly. Yum. We also tasted the Blanc de Blancs 2006 (also a bubbly, 100% Chardonnay), the Gold Reserve Chenin blanc (meh), and the “Like Father Like Son” white blend and Andre's Fame Chardonnay, both of which were quite nice and would be great with curry. Of the reds, we tried regular and “Inkara” versions of their cultivar. The Inkara Shiraz was especially impressive, and we ended up buying a bottle.
Springfield was next, and we tasted the Life From Stone Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Special Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Wild Yeast Chardonnay (unwooded), Methode Ancienne Chardonnay (wooded), and some reds.
The final stop was at Major's Hill, where we tried the Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Chardonnay 2008 (3 months unwooded), Pinotage, Shiraz 2006, Merlot 2007, and Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 and 2006. It was quite cold in the tasting room.
After the tour, we all went back to Robertson Backpackers, and after resting a little bit ate dinner together with the Irish couple who were on the tour with us. It was a very lovely red Thai chicken curry. After dinner, we sat by the fireplace and finished our wine and drank some port before going to bed to be ready for the next day!
(Yes, there were lots of empty glasses to wash from last night ;-)
Today was the day of our Robertson wine district wine tasting tour. Our traveling companions, Mini Wolfgang and Mini Bobble, were especially looking forward to this part of the vacation, even more so than the two of us, we suspect. There was another couple – an Irish couple – with us on the tour as well. They had just gotten married – on September 12th hehe... (the Penguins' wedding date :)
We started at a boutique winery called Kranskop, and tried the Sauvignon blanc 2008, Chardonnay (5 months wooded) 2008, Merlot 2007, Shiraz 2007, and Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. These were all nice, but didn't have the “oomph” we were looking for. Perhaps the best part about this winery was the estate itself and the magnificent view from the veranda. They also have a teeny tiny dwarf poodle (OK, an enormous Great Dane, or was it a pony?) that was extremely friendly and wanted everyone's attention.
Our next stop was De Wetshof. The tasting room is located inside a very beautiful manor building. The Penguins had been to De Wetshof before, and it was no mistake returning. Their rosé (Danie De Wet 2009) and their dessert wine (Cape Muscadel 2007) were as delicious as ever. We also tried their Sauvignon blanc 2008, Riesling 2008, various chardonnay from unwooded to 12 months wooded, a red Bordeaux classic blend, and a Pinotage.
Bon Courage was next on the tour. They make a very nice Cap Classique (sparkling wine made according to the champagne method, but they cannot call it champagne). It was the Brut Reserve 2005, made from 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Nice and mineraly. Yum. We also tasted the Blanc de Blancs 2006 (also a bubbly, 100% Chardonnay), the Gold Reserve Chenin blanc (meh), and the “Like Father Like Son” white blend and Andre's Fame Chardonnay, both of which were quite nice and would be great with curry. Of the reds, we tried regular and “Inkara” versions of their cultivar. The Inkara Shiraz was especially impressive, and we ended up buying a bottle.
Springfield was next, and we tasted the Life From Stone Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Special Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Wild Yeast Chardonnay (unwooded), Methode Ancienne Chardonnay (wooded), and some reds.
The final stop was at Major's Hill, where we tried the Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Chardonnay 2008 (3 months unwooded), Pinotage, Shiraz 2006, Merlot 2007, and Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 and 2006. It was quite cold in the tasting room.
After the tour, we all went back to Robertson Backpackers, and after resting a little bit ate dinner together with the Irish couple who were on the tour with us. It was a very lovely red Thai chicken curry. After dinner, we sat by the fireplace and finished our wine and drank some port before going to bed to be ready for the next day!
2009-09-27 – solving all the world's problems
As mentioned earlier, we bought crackers and cheese to have for “dinner.” While we were sitting on one of the sofas, chomping on our snacks and drinking (and writing notes for) our wine, there was an interesting conversation going on at the bar; it was a mother and daughter pair who were staying at the backpackers, who were also friends of Kevin and Lynda (the owners). So after we were done writing the wine notes, we grabbed our bottle and our plate of cheese and asked if we could join them. No problem! The mother is a teacher, so our first discussion revolved around the darn disrespectful schoolkids these days and how to improve the education system in general. Worldwide. Then suddenly, there was more wine. And then some port from Calitzdorp. And then some homemade Limoncello. And shots – Springboks and bubble gum something or other and brain hemorrhages. And more philosophy and great ideas mixed in between the glasses of wine and port and the shots. All this went on until around midnight, when everyone was too tired to continue. And yes, we were much better behaved and civilized than those darn youth who were there earlier ;-)
2009-09-27 - wining about the rain...
Rain, rain, rain. So much for the river rafting tour we had planned for today. Grrrmf, so typical, and pretty much everything is closed on Sunday. Bah...
We still managed to find stuff to do, and in the end had a pretty good day. We started at a place called Birds Paradise; it's a sort of guesthouse/farm with lots of aviaries filled with all kinds of exotic birds – parrots of all shapes and sizes in particular. They also have several kinds of monkeys and even a few crocodiles. This place was nowhere near as spectacular as Birds of Eden (in The Crags) or even World of Birds (in Hout Bay), but it seemed like a nice sanctuary for these parrots (abandoned pets?) and they had some good-sized cages to fly around in.
Our next planned stop was McGregor, but while driving along, we suddenly saw a sign that said “wine sales” and “open” - wheee! Hit the brakes and make the turn. It was a little boutique winery called Tanagra. It's now owned by a lovely German couple, who bought the farm and moved into it just six months ago. Their plan is to convert it into a guesthouse/guest farm, in addition to producing wine. And grappa; they bought a still for that very purpose. Nobody else in the region produces grappa, so it will be interesting to see what comes out of this.
Anyway, we tried all of the wines they had available for sale; these are wines that were produced before this couple moved in, and all the wines came with the purchase of the farm :-) The first wine we tried was a chardonnay – Devine Order Cape Dry White. It was delicious, and quite unlike any other chardonnay we've tasted. It was very fruity and neither buttery nor woody. One of the owners, Annette, mentioned that she normally does not like chardonnay but loved this one. The Penguins aren't really big chardonnay fans either, but loved this one so much they bought two bottles. One for quaffing while here, the other to take back to Norway...
We then tried three different reds. We were allowed to taste the first one (Heavenly Chaos Cape Dry Red) only under the condition that we promised to try the rest of them, because Annette didn't think it was representative of the rest of the range. It was supposedly a bit “wild” and “rough.” Hmm. We didn't think it was that bad though, a bit rough on the edges but a good table wine that would go well with a whole range of foods, including foods that are somewhat difficult to match such as pizza and pasta with tomato sauces.
The next wine was called Felicity (Cab. Sauv./Merlot blend if memory serves correctly), 2003 vintage. It was a very nice, smooth, high-calibre wine. This was followed by the Carah 2003, a Cab. Sauv./Shiraz blend. This had even more flavor and “oomph” than the Felicity. Fantastic stuff! We also bought two bottles of this, one for here and one to take back home. All in all, we think we really hit the jackpot here; it was great value for the money.
After our tasting, we were given a tour of the farm, where we saw, among other things, what will become the guest rooms (at least the three that were almost finished) and a small irrigation dam where guests can go swimming or bird watching. Or just chill out with a glass of wine (fresh from the farm wine cellar of course) and a good book...
OK, now it was time to go to McGregor! We were getting hungry by then and needed to get some lunch. However, being Sunday, everything seemed to be closed. Except for one little place called Temenos. So we went in, got seated and given menus, and then ordered chicken curry. Ms. Penguin had been craving a curry for the past few days; Mr. Penguin was trying to decide between sirloin steak and the curry and finally chose the curry, because our waiter (the guy who runs the place?) said that you could get a steak anywhere (“but not as good as ours”) but the (Cape Malay-style) curry was a bit more special.
It was a really nice curry; not very hot-spicy, but very flavorful with a pleasant chili heat. It was served with rice, tomato and onion salsa, sliced bananas, and chutney. Yum yum yum. The only thing that could have been better, was a bit more chicken. But otherwise, we have nothing negative to say about our meal. The curry was followed by a big piece of tasty cheesecake for dessert. It was served with chocolate sauce and a green-yellow fruit syrup drizzled on the plate as decoration, and Mr. Penguin's first thought was “WTF? They put olive oil and balsamico on the plate?!?”
By the time we were done eating, it was starting to drizzle again (we had an outdoors table), so we took a quick look around the back garden, to see the birds there. We also had a quick chat with the owner; he mentioned that he wanted to come to Norway in the winter, because he likes the cold and snow. We suggested that he go to Svalbard and do a dog sledding tour :-) We then said goodbye, and got in the car and headed back to Robertson. We made a quick pitstop to the Pick 'n' Pay for some cheese and crackers for later on tonight (we're skipping dinner since we had such a late lunch), and now we're here. Updating the blog entry that won't be published for a while ;-)
We still managed to find stuff to do, and in the end had a pretty good day. We started at a place called Birds Paradise; it's a sort of guesthouse/farm with lots of aviaries filled with all kinds of exotic birds – parrots of all shapes and sizes in particular. They also have several kinds of monkeys and even a few crocodiles. This place was nowhere near as spectacular as Birds of Eden (in The Crags) or even World of Birds (in Hout Bay), but it seemed like a nice sanctuary for these parrots (abandoned pets?) and they had some good-sized cages to fly around in.
Our next planned stop was McGregor, but while driving along, we suddenly saw a sign that said “wine sales” and “open” - wheee! Hit the brakes and make the turn. It was a little boutique winery called Tanagra. It's now owned by a lovely German couple, who bought the farm and moved into it just six months ago. Their plan is to convert it into a guesthouse/guest farm, in addition to producing wine. And grappa; they bought a still for that very purpose. Nobody else in the region produces grappa, so it will be interesting to see what comes out of this.
Anyway, we tried all of the wines they had available for sale; these are wines that were produced before this couple moved in, and all the wines came with the purchase of the farm :-) The first wine we tried was a chardonnay – Devine Order Cape Dry White. It was delicious, and quite unlike any other chardonnay we've tasted. It was very fruity and neither buttery nor woody. One of the owners, Annette, mentioned that she normally does not like chardonnay but loved this one. The Penguins aren't really big chardonnay fans either, but loved this one so much they bought two bottles. One for quaffing while here, the other to take back to Norway...
We then tried three different reds. We were allowed to taste the first one (Heavenly Chaos Cape Dry Red) only under the condition that we promised to try the rest of them, because Annette didn't think it was representative of the rest of the range. It was supposedly a bit “wild” and “rough.” Hmm. We didn't think it was that bad though, a bit rough on the edges but a good table wine that would go well with a whole range of foods, including foods that are somewhat difficult to match such as pizza and pasta with tomato sauces.
The next wine was called Felicity (Cab. Sauv./Merlot blend if memory serves correctly), 2003 vintage. It was a very nice, smooth, high-calibre wine. This was followed by the Carah 2003, a Cab. Sauv./Shiraz blend. This had even more flavor and “oomph” than the Felicity. Fantastic stuff! We also bought two bottles of this, one for here and one to take back home. All in all, we think we really hit the jackpot here; it was great value for the money.
After our tasting, we were given a tour of the farm, where we saw, among other things, what will become the guest rooms (at least the three that were almost finished) and a small irrigation dam where guests can go swimming or bird watching. Or just chill out with a glass of wine (fresh from the farm wine cellar of course) and a good book...
OK, now it was time to go to McGregor! We were getting hungry by then and needed to get some lunch. However, being Sunday, everything seemed to be closed. Except for one little place called Temenos. So we went in, got seated and given menus, and then ordered chicken curry. Ms. Penguin had been craving a curry for the past few days; Mr. Penguin was trying to decide between sirloin steak and the curry and finally chose the curry, because our waiter (the guy who runs the place?) said that you could get a steak anywhere (“but not as good as ours”) but the (Cape Malay-style) curry was a bit more special.
It was a really nice curry; not very hot-spicy, but very flavorful with a pleasant chili heat. It was served with rice, tomato and onion salsa, sliced bananas, and chutney. Yum yum yum. The only thing that could have been better, was a bit more chicken. But otherwise, we have nothing negative to say about our meal. The curry was followed by a big piece of tasty cheesecake for dessert. It was served with chocolate sauce and a green-yellow fruit syrup drizzled on the plate as decoration, and Mr. Penguin's first thought was “WTF? They put olive oil and balsamico on the plate?!?”
By the time we were done eating, it was starting to drizzle again (we had an outdoors table), so we took a quick look around the back garden, to see the birds there. We also had a quick chat with the owner; he mentioned that he wanted to come to Norway in the winter, because he likes the cold and snow. We suggested that he go to Svalbard and do a dog sledding tour :-) We then said goodbye, and got in the car and headed back to Robertson. We made a quick pitstop to the Pick 'n' Pay for some cheese and crackers for later on tonight (we're skipping dinner since we had such a late lunch), and now we're here. Updating the blog entry that won't be published for a while ;-)
2009-09-26 – Route 62 - from port to port
Yay! We finally found out how to open an ostrich egg! We watched as one of the ladies at Backpackers Paradise used a stone to weaken the top of the egg, slowly grinding a hole into it. She then used a knife to complete making a proper hole. Next, she just shook the contents of the egg into a bowl, and then did the preparations to make the scrambled eggs that would be our breakfast. (Um no, we did not eat a whole ostrich egg.)
Ostrich egg is very rich and flavorful, and über-tasty, with a texture very unlike chicken eggs. Our scrambled egg was served with bacon, tomato, and toast.
After breakfast, we checked out and drove out to an ostrich safari farm, where we just went to the gift shop to buy ostrich leather goods. Ms. Penguin bought a purse, two wallets, and some credit card holders, and Mr. Penguin bought a belt, a credit card holder, and a keyring. Expensive stuff, but hey... it's kind of special stuff that would cost at least 3 times as much at home.
After shopping, the car's RoF was whining about needing to be fed, so we went to an Engen station to feed it with a tasty unleaded 95 octane, and then we all headed out to Calitzdorp. Calitzdorp is the port capital of South Africa, and regular wine is produced as well.
Along the road, we saw quite a few tortoises, and even stopped to pick one of them up from the road, to put it on the side of the road, in order for the poor little thing to not become roadkill...
Our first visit was to Calitzdorp Wines, where we tasted a lot of their goodies. They had a lot of really nice wines (as opposed to what we tried in 2007), and ended up buying a chardonnay (almost got the Sauv. blanc, but the chardonnay was slightly better) and a shiraz.
The next stop was De Krans. Their regular wine was only so-so, but they had a wonderful tawny port; it had a beautiful apricot color and was very flavorful. We just had to buy a bottle of it! At R60, it was excellent value for money.
The final stop was Boplaas. Their regular wine was also only so-so, except for a sparkling Pinot Noir brut (2009):
color: salmon/trout pink
nose: raspberry drops (hard candy), Kool-Aid
palate: dry, refreshing, lots of tiny, crispy bubbles. Flavor of raspberries and love hearts (this Norwegian candy). Great wine as an aperitif alone or with canapes, or with strawberries. This was a very different kind of bubbly. It was very nice.
grade: :-D
We also tried their port wines and ended up buying a bottle of their flagship port; we're going to bring this back home :-D We also bought a little bottle of some generic port for enjoying at some point during this trip, as well as some dried fruit.
So it was back on the road, and our next destination was a rather (in)famous haunt called Ronnie's Sex Shop. The place is, well, special. It's owned by a guy called Ronnie, and was originally a sort of general store. Ronnie's Shop. Then one day, probably after a very drunken evening, some of Ronnie's friends painted “sex” on the shop wall. So it became Ronnie's Sex Shop. Of course Ronnie was upset about this at first, but in the end, he milked it for what it was worth, and the place is now a pub and café (Road Kill café). The décor in the pub is rather, um, interesting. If you haven't been there or know of its reputation, you'll have to wait for the photos. Otherwise, there's a geocache inside the pub. We traded a Norwegian puffin with a little plastic lizard; photos to come.
The Penguin RoFs really wanted food by then, so it got food. From the Road Kill Café. Mr. Penguin got a (roadkill?) burger, while Ms. Penguin got a broccoli quiche.
After our meal, we continued driving, and drove along some very beautiful mountain landscapes. However, we were both getting very tired, and Ms. Penguin even dozed off a bit. When we arrived at Montagu, we found a charming little tea house where we had coffee (!!!) and cake; Ms. Penguin had the chocolate mousse cake and Mr. Penguin had the cheesecake. Both cakes were delicious, but very rich – a bit of a match for the Penguin RoFs.
By then there was really nothing left to do except drive on to Robertson Backpackers (OK, with a stop in between to take photos of a very beautiful mountain pass), where we will be spending the next three nights. When we arrived, it was somewhat chaotic; there were lots of people there! The braai was already fired up, so after we got our stuff into our room, we headed out to a nearby Pick 'n' Pay to buy some boerewoers for the braai, plus some salad to go with it. We also bought a big package of strawberries; 1 kg for 30 Rand!
So that was dinner – woers and salad and some Windhoek. And of course, as expected, Roxy (one of the house dogs) was veeeery interested in our food. Poor girl; she has developed a grass/lawn allergy recently and has to go on steroid medication for it. One of the side effects is that she is more interested in food than usual. She observed Mr. Penguin cooking the woers on the braai, and of course connected him with food. When we were eating, she was sitting patiently by Mr. Penguin's feet, looking at him with huge, hungry, “I'm starving to death here” brown eyes.
Now we're sitting at the table, drinking our bubbly and nibbling on strawberries. Life is good. Again.
Ostrich egg is very rich and flavorful, and über-tasty, with a texture very unlike chicken eggs. Our scrambled egg was served with bacon, tomato, and toast.
After breakfast, we checked out and drove out to an ostrich safari farm, where we just went to the gift shop to buy ostrich leather goods. Ms. Penguin bought a purse, two wallets, and some credit card holders, and Mr. Penguin bought a belt, a credit card holder, and a keyring. Expensive stuff, but hey... it's kind of special stuff that would cost at least 3 times as much at home.
After shopping, the car's RoF was whining about needing to be fed, so we went to an Engen station to feed it with a tasty unleaded 95 octane, and then we all headed out to Calitzdorp. Calitzdorp is the port capital of South Africa, and regular wine is produced as well.
Along the road, we saw quite a few tortoises, and even stopped to pick one of them up from the road, to put it on the side of the road, in order for the poor little thing to not become roadkill...
Our first visit was to Calitzdorp Wines, where we tasted a lot of their goodies. They had a lot of really nice wines (as opposed to what we tried in 2007), and ended up buying a chardonnay (almost got the Sauv. blanc, but the chardonnay was slightly better) and a shiraz.
The next stop was De Krans. Their regular wine was only so-so, but they had a wonderful tawny port; it had a beautiful apricot color and was very flavorful. We just had to buy a bottle of it! At R60, it was excellent value for money.
The final stop was Boplaas. Their regular wine was also only so-so, except for a sparkling Pinot Noir brut (2009):
color: salmon/trout pink
nose: raspberry drops (hard candy), Kool-Aid
palate: dry, refreshing, lots of tiny, crispy bubbles. Flavor of raspberries and love hearts (this Norwegian candy). Great wine as an aperitif alone or with canapes, or with strawberries. This was a very different kind of bubbly. It was very nice.
grade: :-D
We also tried their port wines and ended up buying a bottle of their flagship port; we're going to bring this back home :-D We also bought a little bottle of some generic port for enjoying at some point during this trip, as well as some dried fruit.
So it was back on the road, and our next destination was a rather (in)famous haunt called Ronnie's Sex Shop. The place is, well, special. It's owned by a guy called Ronnie, and was originally a sort of general store. Ronnie's Shop. Then one day, probably after a very drunken evening, some of Ronnie's friends painted “sex” on the shop wall. So it became Ronnie's Sex Shop. Of course Ronnie was upset about this at first, but in the end, he milked it for what it was worth, and the place is now a pub and café (Road Kill café). The décor in the pub is rather, um, interesting. If you haven't been there or know of its reputation, you'll have to wait for the photos. Otherwise, there's a geocache inside the pub. We traded a Norwegian puffin with a little plastic lizard; photos to come.
The Penguin RoFs really wanted food by then, so it got food. From the Road Kill Café. Mr. Penguin got a (roadkill?) burger, while Ms. Penguin got a broccoli quiche.
After our meal, we continued driving, and drove along some very beautiful mountain landscapes. However, we were both getting very tired, and Ms. Penguin even dozed off a bit. When we arrived at Montagu, we found a charming little tea house where we had coffee (!!!) and cake; Ms. Penguin had the chocolate mousse cake and Mr. Penguin had the cheesecake. Both cakes were delicious, but very rich – a bit of a match for the Penguin RoFs.
By then there was really nothing left to do except drive on to Robertson Backpackers (OK, with a stop in between to take photos of a very beautiful mountain pass), where we will be spending the next three nights. When we arrived, it was somewhat chaotic; there were lots of people there! The braai was already fired up, so after we got our stuff into our room, we headed out to a nearby Pick 'n' Pay to buy some boerewoers for the braai, plus some salad to go with it. We also bought a big package of strawberries; 1 kg for 30 Rand!
So that was dinner – woers and salad and some Windhoek. And of course, as expected, Roxy (one of the house dogs) was veeeery interested in our food. Poor girl; she has developed a grass/lawn allergy recently and has to go on steroid medication for it. One of the side effects is that she is more interested in food than usual. She observed Mr. Penguin cooking the woers on the braai, and of course connected him with food. When we were eating, she was sitting patiently by Mr. Penguin's feet, looking at him with huge, hungry, “I'm starving to death here” brown eyes.
Now we're sitting at the table, drinking our bubbly and nibbling on strawberries. Life is good. Again.
2009-09-25 – flying high into the sea of feathery pink
Urgh. We had to get up at 5-ish in order to be ready for pickup for our balloon ride with Oudtshoorn Ballooning. We thought it would be something like Bill Harrop's, well over an hour's drive into the countryside, but it turned out that they used a local rugby field as the ballooning field. So we could have walked. But we still would have had to get up as early as we did... bleh ;-)
The balloon itself was smaller than the one we rode in before; we watched and took photos while they inflated it (kind of like our RoFs for the time being). There were two other couples on the ride – one South African couple, and one Dutch couple. The ride itself ended up being a perpetual state of hovering over Oudtshoorn, because of the wind (or lack thereof). The dogs in the area were not amused, and kept barking and barking and barking. Even when we were 1 km up, we could hear the dogs, barking and agitated. We could also see people coming out of their houses, in their bathrobes, looking up and seeing a big balloon heading towards their gardens. Some ran in to get their camera phones, others just stood and waved, and others just ducked back into their homes and didn't turn up again. I suppose it could be a bit annoying when you wake up early in the morning to find a big balloon hovering over your place hehe...
While we were hovering over some random houses, the South African guy proposed to his South African girlfriend. I was taking photos, and I suddenly saw this guy on his knee, placing a ring on the girl's finger. She was absolutely thrilled; tears were running down her cheeks, and they both embraced and were just so happy. It was rather sweet :-) After we landed, I took a look at her ring, and it was a really nice one. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it wasn't one of those boring diamond solitaire rings. It was a more elaborate and interesting design, and something Ms. Penguin wouldn't mind having... (hint, hint, Mr. Penguin ;) (fat chance, Ms. Penguin! :-P )
Anyway, because of the shifty wind, Charl, the balloon pilot, had a difficult time figuring out where to land; his ground crew was faithfully following (stalking) him in his vehicle and trailer (the photos we'll eventually put up will “explain” this a lot better than words). At one point, we were flying towards a church, and Charl mentioned how fun it would be to place a rubber ring over the church tower. I suppose it would also have been fun dropping ostrich eggs on people's houses :-P We finally flew to some bush area, and landed there. A sort of soft landing at first, but then the basket tipped over, and we had to crawl out. No big deal; we are here for a bit of adventure and excitement, right?
Since we had breakfast included with our tour, the two of us and Charl went to a local B&B/café for a tasty breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, mealie pap, bread, and coffee. Yum...
After breakfast, we headed back to the backpackers, took showers, sent our laundry to be washed, and headed into town. Ms. Penguin made a shopping stop at Nini's, where she bought a fantastic boa in 2007. This year, she bought two boas. One über-pink boa, and one 50-50 white and pink boa. Lots of pink. You can never have too much pink (yes, you can, Mr. Penguin declares). They are just fantastic boas. Ms. Penguin can't wait to use them. She also checked out some of the ostrich leather purses that they sold, but they were a bit on the expensive side... bah...
Next on the agenda was a trip to Kango Wines. When we got there, there was a whole busload of people inside, doing a tasting. Grrrmf. But it seemed like they were just finishing their tour, to our relief. So we didn't have to wait long to do our tasting. Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed this time around. The last time we were at Kango, we found some really nice wines, especially the red blend. This year, they all seemed thin, boring, and bitter. I hope this is the result of just a bad year, rather than changing a formula that worked. Or is it our taste that has changed? Hmmm. As opposed to last time, we ended up not buying anything...
By then, it was approaching lunch time. We chose a café that served traditional South African food and waffles. We won't dwell on this and bore the reader with a long description of the concept or food that didn't live up to our expectations. Long story short, the food was mediocre, as was the house wine (Drostdy Hof = bleh)...
After lunch, we walked around a bit. Mr. Penguin noticed a place called Beauty Rescue Lounge, and wondered if Ms. Penguin could go and get a pedicure there; Mr. Penguin was getting tired of Ms. Penguin's itchy scratchy talon-like webbed feet :-P So we went in, and Ms. Penguin talked to the staff, and lo and behold, she got an appointment for a pedicure a little later on. Yay!
So between then and Ms. Penguin's appointment, we walked a bit around town, around a market square with blaring ghetto blasters, as well as a minibus stand and street hawkers. We stopped at a sports clothing shop (where Mr. Penguin bought a hat in 2007) before heading back to the main street to stop at a café called Pancake Bizarre for lunch #2 – pancakes filled with apples, with ice cream on the side. Washed down with coffee. Now this was good stuff... yum yum!
We walked around a little bit more, and then it was time for Ms. Penguin's pedicure. Ms. Penguin had a nice chat with Laurika, the young woman doing the pedicure. She had literally opened the salon that day, and already had several walk-in customers; she was pleasantly surprised by this as their planned grand opening is next weekend. Anyway, if you're in Oudtshoorn and want a pedicure or any other kind of beauty treatment (facial, massage, manicure, etc.), then do visit this place. Beauty Rescue Lounge – located on Church Street (next to Poetry Coffee Shop), telephone number 076 822 1918. Oh, and Ms. Penguin is now happy with über-pink talons, and her webbed feet are no longer itchy or scratchy :-D
While Ms. Penguin was getting her pedicure, Mr. Penguin went back to La Dolce Vita for some beer quaffing and relaxation. By the time Ms. Penguin was done with her pedicure, both penguins were quite tired. So we went back to our room to take a nap before dinner. Ms. Penguin was rudely awaken by someone playing religious music at full blast. Blah.
Tonight's dinner was consumed at Kalinka; it is owned by a Russian woman. It's a very cozy restaurant with a friendly staff. Mr. Penguin didn't get a starter, but Ms. Penguin did – she had the Karoo Caprese salad with local goat cheese. When it was served, both penguins were reminded of the standard caprese with mozarella cheese. But Ms. Penguin thought it was a nice touch with the goat cheese, as it had a bit more flavor, even though it was a rather mild goat cheese. The tomato slices were big and flavorful, and South African olive oil was used. It was all very delicious. Grade: :-)+
Both penguins chose the quail as the main course; it was served with honey and soy sauce, with wild mushroom polenta and quince. Two waitresses brought our meals, which initially was covered with one of those fancy lids; these lids were lifted simultaneously and we were faced with our wonderful feast. The quails were cooked perfectly – nice and tender meat and crispy skin. The sauce was very flavorful and tangy and was a nice complement to the meat. The polenta was nicely cooked, and contained good-sized pieces of mushroom. It was so delicious! We even got each our own finger bowls with warm water and lemon to wash our fingers :-)
Now, Mr. Penguin isn't really crazy about polenta at all. But even he ate everything on his plate, and gives this entire dish the grade :-D And Ms. Penguin agrees.
The wine we chose was an excellent match with the quail. The wine was:
Terra D'Aria 2007 (from Durbanville)
color: opaque red-violet
nose: leather, earthy cellar, alcohol, dark berries
palate: full-bodied, but light at the same time. Fruity, flavor of blackberries and forest berries, with spiciness in the background.
Grade: :-)+
We were quite stuffed by then, but our RoFs demanded dessert. So it got dessert. Ms. Penguin got ice cream – a scoop of butternut with cinnamon and a scoop of hazelnut. This was very obviously homemade, and very, very good. Mr. Penguin got an amarula crème brulee, served with candied pear and amarula fruit on the side. Delicious, delicious. There is no other word for it.
Tomorrow's breakfast will be at 8:30 am and will include ostrich egg. Yes, despite how stuffed we are, we're still thinking about food. ;-)
The balloon itself was smaller than the one we rode in before; we watched and took photos while they inflated it (kind of like our RoFs for the time being). There were two other couples on the ride – one South African couple, and one Dutch couple. The ride itself ended up being a perpetual state of hovering over Oudtshoorn, because of the wind (or lack thereof). The dogs in the area were not amused, and kept barking and barking and barking. Even when we were 1 km up, we could hear the dogs, barking and agitated. We could also see people coming out of their houses, in their bathrobes, looking up and seeing a big balloon heading towards their gardens. Some ran in to get their camera phones, others just stood and waved, and others just ducked back into their homes and didn't turn up again. I suppose it could be a bit annoying when you wake up early in the morning to find a big balloon hovering over your place hehe...
While we were hovering over some random houses, the South African guy proposed to his South African girlfriend. I was taking photos, and I suddenly saw this guy on his knee, placing a ring on the girl's finger. She was absolutely thrilled; tears were running down her cheeks, and they both embraced and were just so happy. It was rather sweet :-) After we landed, I took a look at her ring, and it was a really nice one. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it wasn't one of those boring diamond solitaire rings. It was a more elaborate and interesting design, and something Ms. Penguin wouldn't mind having... (hint, hint, Mr. Penguin ;) (fat chance, Ms. Penguin! :-P )
Anyway, because of the shifty wind, Charl, the balloon pilot, had a difficult time figuring out where to land; his ground crew was faithfully following (stalking) him in his vehicle and trailer (the photos we'll eventually put up will “explain” this a lot better than words). At one point, we were flying towards a church, and Charl mentioned how fun it would be to place a rubber ring over the church tower. I suppose it would also have been fun dropping ostrich eggs on people's houses :-P We finally flew to some bush area, and landed there. A sort of soft landing at first, but then the basket tipped over, and we had to crawl out. No big deal; we are here for a bit of adventure and excitement, right?
Since we had breakfast included with our tour, the two of us and Charl went to a local B&B/café for a tasty breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, mealie pap, bread, and coffee. Yum...
After breakfast, we headed back to the backpackers, took showers, sent our laundry to be washed, and headed into town. Ms. Penguin made a shopping stop at Nini's, where she bought a fantastic boa in 2007. This year, she bought two boas. One über-pink boa, and one 50-50 white and pink boa. Lots of pink. You can never have too much pink (yes, you can, Mr. Penguin declares). They are just fantastic boas. Ms. Penguin can't wait to use them. She also checked out some of the ostrich leather purses that they sold, but they were a bit on the expensive side... bah...
Next on the agenda was a trip to Kango Wines. When we got there, there was a whole busload of people inside, doing a tasting. Grrrmf. But it seemed like they were just finishing their tour, to our relief. So we didn't have to wait long to do our tasting. Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed this time around. The last time we were at Kango, we found some really nice wines, especially the red blend. This year, they all seemed thin, boring, and bitter. I hope this is the result of just a bad year, rather than changing a formula that worked. Or is it our taste that has changed? Hmmm. As opposed to last time, we ended up not buying anything...
By then, it was approaching lunch time. We chose a café that served traditional South African food and waffles. We won't dwell on this and bore the reader with a long description of the concept or food that didn't live up to our expectations. Long story short, the food was mediocre, as was the house wine (Drostdy Hof = bleh)...
After lunch, we walked around a bit. Mr. Penguin noticed a place called Beauty Rescue Lounge, and wondered if Ms. Penguin could go and get a pedicure there; Mr. Penguin was getting tired of Ms. Penguin's itchy scratchy talon-like webbed feet :-P So we went in, and Ms. Penguin talked to the staff, and lo and behold, she got an appointment for a pedicure a little later on. Yay!
So between then and Ms. Penguin's appointment, we walked a bit around town, around a market square with blaring ghetto blasters, as well as a minibus stand and street hawkers. We stopped at a sports clothing shop (where Mr. Penguin bought a hat in 2007) before heading back to the main street to stop at a café called Pancake Bizarre for lunch #2 – pancakes filled with apples, with ice cream on the side. Washed down with coffee. Now this was good stuff... yum yum!
We walked around a little bit more, and then it was time for Ms. Penguin's pedicure. Ms. Penguin had a nice chat with Laurika, the young woman doing the pedicure. She had literally opened the salon that day, and already had several walk-in customers; she was pleasantly surprised by this as their planned grand opening is next weekend. Anyway, if you're in Oudtshoorn and want a pedicure or any other kind of beauty treatment (facial, massage, manicure, etc.), then do visit this place. Beauty Rescue Lounge – located on Church Street (next to Poetry Coffee Shop), telephone number 076 822 1918. Oh, and Ms. Penguin is now happy with über-pink talons, and her webbed feet are no longer itchy or scratchy :-D
While Ms. Penguin was getting her pedicure, Mr. Penguin went back to La Dolce Vita for some beer quaffing and relaxation. By the time Ms. Penguin was done with her pedicure, both penguins were quite tired. So we went back to our room to take a nap before dinner. Ms. Penguin was rudely awaken by someone playing religious music at full blast. Blah.
Tonight's dinner was consumed at Kalinka; it is owned by a Russian woman. It's a very cozy restaurant with a friendly staff. Mr. Penguin didn't get a starter, but Ms. Penguin did – she had the Karoo Caprese salad with local goat cheese. When it was served, both penguins were reminded of the standard caprese with mozarella cheese. But Ms. Penguin thought it was a nice touch with the goat cheese, as it had a bit more flavor, even though it was a rather mild goat cheese. The tomato slices were big and flavorful, and South African olive oil was used. It was all very delicious. Grade: :-)+
Both penguins chose the quail as the main course; it was served with honey and soy sauce, with wild mushroom polenta and quince. Two waitresses brought our meals, which initially was covered with one of those fancy lids; these lids were lifted simultaneously and we were faced with our wonderful feast. The quails were cooked perfectly – nice and tender meat and crispy skin. The sauce was very flavorful and tangy and was a nice complement to the meat. The polenta was nicely cooked, and contained good-sized pieces of mushroom. It was so delicious! We even got each our own finger bowls with warm water and lemon to wash our fingers :-)
Now, Mr. Penguin isn't really crazy about polenta at all. But even he ate everything on his plate, and gives this entire dish the grade :-D And Ms. Penguin agrees.
The wine we chose was an excellent match with the quail. The wine was:
Terra D'Aria 2007 (from Durbanville)
color: opaque red-violet
nose: leather, earthy cellar, alcohol, dark berries
palate: full-bodied, but light at the same time. Fruity, flavor of blackberries and forest berries, with spiciness in the background.
Grade: :-)+
We were quite stuffed by then, but our RoFs demanded dessert. So it got dessert. Ms. Penguin got ice cream – a scoop of butternut with cinnamon and a scoop of hazelnut. This was very obviously homemade, and very, very good. Mr. Penguin got an amarula crème brulee, served with candied pear and amarula fruit on the side. Delicious, delicious. There is no other word for it.
Tomorrow's breakfast will be at 8:30 am and will include ostrich egg. Yes, despite how stuffed we are, we're still thinking about food. ;-)
2009-09-24 – marshmallows and ostriches
Guess when we got up this morning. Just guess. Six. Yep, 6 am, in order to watch the sunrise from the veranda at Wild Spirit Lodge. Of course Mr. Penguin went right back to sleep after that (since he was going to be driving a lot), while Ms. Penguin went out to stalk the birds. She hopes to have gotten a good photo of some kind of shiny emerald green sunbird; she also found a swallow's nest but missed out on getting a shot of the swallow in the nest... :-(
We had that homemade bread again for breakfast, along with the cheese that we bought yesterday and various jams and marmelades, including an awesome pineapple jam and an even awesomer melon jam. After we settled our bill and packed the car, we went back to the breakfast area to say goodbye to people, a horse wandered into the area, to drink from the fountain. One of the women who runs Wild Spirit told us the evening before that they had this male horse that was allowed to run around the place. But he suddenly fell in love with a mare at a neighboring farm, and this poor guy suddenly had to be locked in. For safety reasons and all. But he seemed to be on parole now... ;-)
Our next destination was Oudtshoorn, but we took a scenic route there. We drove along the N2 past Stormsrivier, and stopped for coffee in Stormsrivier Village, but we didn't stop at the bridge because of all the road work being done there (plus we had seen it in 2007 and already have tons of good photos). We then started driving Route 62, from the Eastern Cape part of it. We drove through some very scenic farm land, which was mostly fruit (apple) farms. A lot of the trees were in full bloom, but it was too difficult to get any decent photos from the car, and there were few places to actually stop and get out to take photos too... bah. Some of the road signs we saw indicates that the area is actually called “apple country” and there were even a pair of hawkers selling apples along the roadside...
Once we got to the Western Cape, we drove through a lot of very scenic mountain passages, and saw interesting scenery... and a dead snake on the road (and yes, we stopped to take photos of this). Later on, the scenery got even more interesting – we were driving through a valley, and there was rather heavy cloud cover on the mountains. Imagine mountains topped with marshmallow creme. That's exactly what it looked like. Fascinating...
Anyway, we eventually arrived in Oudtshoorn, and got settled into our room at Backpacker's Paradise, which is ranked as one of the top backpackers hostels in all of South Africa. Since Mr. Penguin was very thirsty after all that driving, we walked to a local pub (La Dolce Vita) for some cold Windhoek lager and relaxation. After that, we walked through some of the residential parts of Oudtshoorn; they have some nice houses here! When we got back, Mr. Penguin needed a nap before dinner. Ms. Penguin napped a little bit, but wasn't really tired enough for that, so she grabbed her book and read a little bit.
And then it was dinner time... ostrich braai! The perfect meal for National Braai Day :-) We each got a nice chunk of ostrich steak, an ostrich boerewoers, a potato, salad, and bread. We watched the staff cook part of the meal; the braaimaster was wearing a Springboks apron :-D The food was excellent! Nice, flavorful and tender meat, lovely sausage... everything was just wonderful. We washed this down with the following wine:
Vulkani Shiraz 2007
color: blue-violet
nose: plums, blueberries, pepper
palate: full-bodied, very spicy start (lots of pepper), flavor of plums, red apples, and raspberries. Excellent match with steaks.
Grade: :-D
There were quite a lot of people at dinner, including an Australian couple who were also at Wild Spirit Lodge at the same time we were there. We also had a long conversation with a 16-year old boy from Germany, who is an exchange student in Cape Town. It was a really nice conversation; he speaks excellent English and otherwise seems very intelligent...
In case you were wondering, today's weather was perfect – sunny and warm, with a nice breeze, aside from the valley of the marshmallow clouds, where the wind was stronger and colder...
Now it's probably a good idea to go to bed. We do have to get up insanely early tomorrow for our balloon ride! :-D
We had that homemade bread again for breakfast, along with the cheese that we bought yesterday and various jams and marmelades, including an awesome pineapple jam and an even awesomer melon jam. After we settled our bill and packed the car, we went back to the breakfast area to say goodbye to people, a horse wandered into the area, to drink from the fountain. One of the women who runs Wild Spirit told us the evening before that they had this male horse that was allowed to run around the place. But he suddenly fell in love with a mare at a neighboring farm, and this poor guy suddenly had to be locked in. For safety reasons and all. But he seemed to be on parole now... ;-)
Our next destination was Oudtshoorn, but we took a scenic route there. We drove along the N2 past Stormsrivier, and stopped for coffee in Stormsrivier Village, but we didn't stop at the bridge because of all the road work being done there (plus we had seen it in 2007 and already have tons of good photos). We then started driving Route 62, from the Eastern Cape part of it. We drove through some very scenic farm land, which was mostly fruit (apple) farms. A lot of the trees were in full bloom, but it was too difficult to get any decent photos from the car, and there were few places to actually stop and get out to take photos too... bah. Some of the road signs we saw indicates that the area is actually called “apple country” and there were even a pair of hawkers selling apples along the roadside...
Once we got to the Western Cape, we drove through a lot of very scenic mountain passages, and saw interesting scenery... and a dead snake on the road (and yes, we stopped to take photos of this). Later on, the scenery got even more interesting – we were driving through a valley, and there was rather heavy cloud cover on the mountains. Imagine mountains topped with marshmallow creme. That's exactly what it looked like. Fascinating...
Anyway, we eventually arrived in Oudtshoorn, and got settled into our room at Backpacker's Paradise, which is ranked as one of the top backpackers hostels in all of South Africa. Since Mr. Penguin was very thirsty after all that driving, we walked to a local pub (La Dolce Vita) for some cold Windhoek lager and relaxation. After that, we walked through some of the residential parts of Oudtshoorn; they have some nice houses here! When we got back, Mr. Penguin needed a nap before dinner. Ms. Penguin napped a little bit, but wasn't really tired enough for that, so she grabbed her book and read a little bit.
And then it was dinner time... ostrich braai! The perfect meal for National Braai Day :-) We each got a nice chunk of ostrich steak, an ostrich boerewoers, a potato, salad, and bread. We watched the staff cook part of the meal; the braaimaster was wearing a Springboks apron :-D The food was excellent! Nice, flavorful and tender meat, lovely sausage... everything was just wonderful. We washed this down with the following wine:
Vulkani Shiraz 2007
color: blue-violet
nose: plums, blueberries, pepper
palate: full-bodied, very spicy start (lots of pepper), flavor of plums, red apples, and raspberries. Excellent match with steaks.
Grade: :-D
There were quite a lot of people at dinner, including an Australian couple who were also at Wild Spirit Lodge at the same time we were there. We also had a long conversation with a 16-year old boy from Germany, who is an exchange student in Cape Town. It was a really nice conversation; he speaks excellent English and otherwise seems very intelligent...
In case you were wondering, today's weather was perfect – sunny and warm, with a nice breeze, aside from the valley of the marshmallow clouds, where the wind was stronger and colder...
Now it's probably a good idea to go to bed. We do have to get up insanely early tomorrow for our balloon ride! :-D
23 September 2009
2009-09-23 – climbing and climbing... and then wining about it...
NB: the usual disclaimer; see old posts
We started the day with a nice, simple breakfast that included locally-baked bread, as well as fried eggs and tomato. (OK, Ms. Penguin started her day with her usual bird stalking, and saw, among other things, a rather feisty black-headed oriole.) We had the breakfast in the reception/dinner/common area at Wild Spirit Lodge, with a stunning view of the mountains and the valley in between. The breakfast was good fuel for our next activity – a two hour hike (Kalanderkloof Trail) in the Tsitsikamma National Park.
The hike was very enjoyable. We walked along a dry river bed through a beautiful forest filled with very old trees. One of the guys at Wild Spirit told us that we could encounter animals – baboons, vervet monkeys, antelope, and so on, but the only things we saw were birds and a cute little green-headed lizard. Hmmf.
The trail was also physically demanding at some parts, and involved a lot of climbing, including stairs that seemed to go on and on and on... who needs the silly stairmaster machine to work up a good sweat? Anyway, when the stairs did finally end, we were greeted with one of the most amazing views ever. A whole field of fynbos and views of the mountains and the sea. It's difficult to describe how incredible this view is, but we hope that the photos we took and will eventually publish here can help give an idea, but you just have to go there to see it and really enjoy it! Just be sure to wear proper shoes and clothing while on the hike though...
Oh, and we can't complain about the weather either. Around 25 Celsius and clear skies, with a nice breeze :-)
We were quite hungry after our hike, so we stopped at a little restaurant at Nature's Valley, a beachfront village inside the national park. Ms. Penguin got an ostrich burger topped with fried calamari, while Mr. Penguin got an ostrich burger topped with cheese, eggs, and bacon. Both served with fries on the side. Not the most gourmet thing in the world, but still yummy, especially after hiking and climbing for two hours... (one must appease the anti-exercise RoF, right? ;)
After lunch, we put on our Vibram Five Fingers to walk along the beach and do another trail that is along the coast. However, the terrain proved to be too much for the Five Fingers – too many sharp rocks and rocky outcrops – and if we had used our regular shoes they would have been filled with sand (been there, done that in the Namib desert; it blisters up your feet very quickly), so we gave up that idea and decided to drive around a little bit...
While driving, we came across a little wine estate called Bramon; it is named after the owners' children – Bram and Manon. They bring in barrels from various vineyards, but they make their own sparkling Sauvignon blanc, which is absolutely lovely and what the Penguins are drinking as they type this blog entry...
Tasting notes:
Bramon Sauvignon Blanc Brut 2007 (Plettenberg Bay). Methode Cap Classique.
color: very pale gold with a hint of green
nose: green apples, pears, grass
palate: dry and refreshing, with pleasant bubbles; flavor of green apples, pears, hint of grass; easy to drink (and perhaps get drunk on hehe... )
grade: :-)+
We also bought a bottle of their Shiraz and their Cabernet Sauvignon.
After the visit to Bramon, we stopped by a farm stall close to Wild Spirit Lodge to taste and buy some tasty local cheese. We also bought some homemade oatmeal cookies and a few bottles of water. It *is* safe to drink the tap water here, but sometimes it doesn't taste so great. We haven't tried it here (yet), but it's a good idea to have bottled water around anyway, especially for the drive to Oudtshoorn tomorrow...
And, as you have probably guessed, we're back at Wild Spirit Lodge, enjoying our wine, updating itchywebbedfeet, looking forward to the lamb stew for dinner tonight, and enjoying life some more... :-)
We started the day with a nice, simple breakfast that included locally-baked bread, as well as fried eggs and tomato. (OK, Ms. Penguin started her day with her usual bird stalking, and saw, among other things, a rather feisty black-headed oriole.) We had the breakfast in the reception/dinner/common area at Wild Spirit Lodge, with a stunning view of the mountains and the valley in between. The breakfast was good fuel for our next activity – a two hour hike (Kalanderkloof Trail) in the Tsitsikamma National Park.
The hike was very enjoyable. We walked along a dry river bed through a beautiful forest filled with very old trees. One of the guys at Wild Spirit told us that we could encounter animals – baboons, vervet monkeys, antelope, and so on, but the only things we saw were birds and a cute little green-headed lizard. Hmmf.
The trail was also physically demanding at some parts, and involved a lot of climbing, including stairs that seemed to go on and on and on... who needs the silly stairmaster machine to work up a good sweat? Anyway, when the stairs did finally end, we were greeted with one of the most amazing views ever. A whole field of fynbos and views of the mountains and the sea. It's difficult to describe how incredible this view is, but we hope that the photos we took and will eventually publish here can help give an idea, but you just have to go there to see it and really enjoy it! Just be sure to wear proper shoes and clothing while on the hike though...
Oh, and we can't complain about the weather either. Around 25 Celsius and clear skies, with a nice breeze :-)
We were quite hungry after our hike, so we stopped at a little restaurant at Nature's Valley, a beachfront village inside the national park. Ms. Penguin got an ostrich burger topped with fried calamari, while Mr. Penguin got an ostrich burger topped with cheese, eggs, and bacon. Both served with fries on the side. Not the most gourmet thing in the world, but still yummy, especially after hiking and climbing for two hours... (one must appease the anti-exercise RoF, right? ;)
After lunch, we put on our Vibram Five Fingers to walk along the beach and do another trail that is along the coast. However, the terrain proved to be too much for the Five Fingers – too many sharp rocks and rocky outcrops – and if we had used our regular shoes they would have been filled with sand (been there, done that in the Namib desert; it blisters up your feet very quickly), so we gave up that idea and decided to drive around a little bit...
While driving, we came across a little wine estate called Bramon; it is named after the owners' children – Bram and Manon. They bring in barrels from various vineyards, but they make their own sparkling Sauvignon blanc, which is absolutely lovely and what the Penguins are drinking as they type this blog entry...
Tasting notes:
Bramon Sauvignon Blanc Brut 2007 (Plettenberg Bay). Methode Cap Classique.
color: very pale gold with a hint of green
nose: green apples, pears, grass
palate: dry and refreshing, with pleasant bubbles; flavor of green apples, pears, hint of grass; easy to drink (and perhaps get drunk on hehe... )
grade: :-)+
We also bought a bottle of their Shiraz and their Cabernet Sauvignon.
After the visit to Bramon, we stopped by a farm stall close to Wild Spirit Lodge to taste and buy some tasty local cheese. We also bought some homemade oatmeal cookies and a few bottles of water. It *is* safe to drink the tap water here, but sometimes it doesn't taste so great. We haven't tried it here (yet), but it's a good idea to have bottled water around anyway, especially for the drive to Oudtshoorn tomorrow...
And, as you have probably guessed, we're back at Wild Spirit Lodge, enjoying our wine, updating itchywebbedfeet, looking forward to the lamb stew for dinner tonight, and enjoying life some more... :-)
2009-09-22 – wine and dinner
We can't neglect the important things, can we? ;-)
Raka Barrel Select Merlot
color: deep red-violet
nose: spices, alcohol, cherries, black currants (kind of hard to tell as we're not really using the right glass for tasting :)
palate: powerful and full-bodied, flavor of red meat and sour cherries, very “concentrated” flavor. Will be great with meat dishes and griling.
Grade: :-D
Oh, and they served a very nice pasta dinner here at the Wild Spirit Lodge ;-)
Raka Barrel Select Merlot
color: deep red-violet
nose: spices, alcohol, cherries, black currants (kind of hard to tell as we're not really using the right glass for tasting :)
palate: powerful and full-bodied, flavor of red meat and sour cherries, very “concentrated” flavor. Will be great with meat dishes and griling.
Grade: :-D
Oh, and they served a very nice pasta dinner here at the Wild Spirit Lodge ;-)
22 September 2009
2009-09-22 – walking with elephants and birds in love
NB: this entry will eventually be edited with photos, links, etc.
Ya know, there are few things better than starting your day with an enormous fruit salad that also came with a waffle topped with yogurt and honey, followed by eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato, and fried potatoes. Seriously, what's better than that? Hmm? No, didn't think you could come up with anything ;-) And yeah, there are photos...
If anything, if you're in Mossel Bay, stay at the Aqua Marina for the breakfast. Otherwise, stay for the good conversations with the host and hostess. We could have stayed there all day...
But we eventually did head out along the Garden Route. After a short pitstop to buy some beach towels, our next destination was the Elephant Sanctuary at The Crags. This is a place where they do a “walk with the elephants” tour. You literally get to walk alongside an elephant. You have to walk in front of them, and hold your palm flat out behind you. They take your hand with their trunks, and you can feel their warm, wet breath from their trunk. The elephant Ms. Penguin walked with even sneezed on her! Anyway, the tour started with the first walk, using three young females. Next, our guide talked to us about elephant behavior, and the elephant handlers gave their elephants commands so that the behavior could be demonstrated. After that, we were allowed to approach the elephants to touch them – their faces, tusks, knees, ankles, tail, etc. It was all very interesting. Elephants have very thick skin and bristly hairs, and their tusks are nice and smooth. Their eyelashes are very bushy, but it gives them a very cute look.
We then did some more walking, and one of the tourists there rode one of the elephants (it costs extra). This was followed by a short lecture on elephant anatomy.
After the elephants, we went to Birds of Eden, an enormous aviary that is literally made for the birds. It's actually the largest free flight bird aviary in the world. We were quite hungry after walking with the elephants, so we decided to eat lunch first. The little restaurant is right in the aviary. Where all the birds are. Now, the intention of the aviary is to give people a closer encounter with the birds. Well, at the restaurant, this was taken quite literally. You could see that there were lots of birds hanging around, which was kind of expected – possible free scraps and all. But then the birds started getting a little bit too close and personal. First, a Senegal parrot jumped on Ms. Penguin. And then an Indian Ringneck Parakeet did pretty much the same thing with Mr. Penguin. It was cute at first, and although we had a hard time shaking them off, they eventually left us. But not for long. Within a short amount of time, they hopped onto us again. And again. They were almost like flies; big flies with feathers that we had to swat away. And then a new big green parrot decided to hop onto Ms. Penguin's head. And then on Mr. Penguin's head. This was going on all during lunch. Eventually one of the staff gave us a squirt bottle, and that helped a little bit ;-)
Incidentally, a lot of the parrots at Birds of Eden used to be pets, and they therefore seek human contact and company.
After lunch, we walked around the aviary and saw lots of interesting species of birds. However, our little green parakeet friend kept following us everywhere. It was there all the time, and was particularly interested in hopping onto Mr. Penguin; Ms. Penguin is quite sure it was in love with him. It's spring, you know... breeding season. The birds were all broody ;-)
We are now sitting in the lounge at Wild Spirit Lodge, a backpackers here in The Crags, just a few minutes driving from the elephant sanctuary and Birds of Eden. They have wifi here, so we are finally able to get up some blog entries and otherwise check our e-mail and stuff like that. We're also waiting for dinner – pasta bolognaise – and enjoying a cold beer. Life is good... :-)
Ya know, there are few things better than starting your day with an enormous fruit salad that also came with a waffle topped with yogurt and honey, followed by eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato, and fried potatoes. Seriously, what's better than that? Hmm? No, didn't think you could come up with anything ;-) And yeah, there are photos...
If anything, if you're in Mossel Bay, stay at the Aqua Marina for the breakfast. Otherwise, stay for the good conversations with the host and hostess. We could have stayed there all day...
But we eventually did head out along the Garden Route. After a short pitstop to buy some beach towels, our next destination was the Elephant Sanctuary at The Crags. This is a place where they do a “walk with the elephants” tour. You literally get to walk alongside an elephant. You have to walk in front of them, and hold your palm flat out behind you. They take your hand with their trunks, and you can feel their warm, wet breath from their trunk. The elephant Ms. Penguin walked with even sneezed on her! Anyway, the tour started with the first walk, using three young females. Next, our guide talked to us about elephant behavior, and the elephant handlers gave their elephants commands so that the behavior could be demonstrated. After that, we were allowed to approach the elephants to touch them – their faces, tusks, knees, ankles, tail, etc. It was all very interesting. Elephants have very thick skin and bristly hairs, and their tusks are nice and smooth. Their eyelashes are very bushy, but it gives them a very cute look.
We then did some more walking, and one of the tourists there rode one of the elephants (it costs extra). This was followed by a short lecture on elephant anatomy.
After the elephants, we went to Birds of Eden, an enormous aviary that is literally made for the birds. It's actually the largest free flight bird aviary in the world. We were quite hungry after walking with the elephants, so we decided to eat lunch first. The little restaurant is right in the aviary. Where all the birds are. Now, the intention of the aviary is to give people a closer encounter with the birds. Well, at the restaurant, this was taken quite literally. You could see that there were lots of birds hanging around, which was kind of expected – possible free scraps and all. But then the birds started getting a little bit too close and personal. First, a Senegal parrot jumped on Ms. Penguin. And then an Indian Ringneck Parakeet did pretty much the same thing with Mr. Penguin. It was cute at first, and although we had a hard time shaking them off, they eventually left us. But not for long. Within a short amount of time, they hopped onto us again. And again. They were almost like flies; big flies with feathers that we had to swat away. And then a new big green parrot decided to hop onto Ms. Penguin's head. And then on Mr. Penguin's head. This was going on all during lunch. Eventually one of the staff gave us a squirt bottle, and that helped a little bit ;-)
Incidentally, a lot of the parrots at Birds of Eden used to be pets, and they therefore seek human contact and company.
After lunch, we walked around the aviary and saw lots of interesting species of birds. However, our little green parakeet friend kept following us everywhere. It was there all the time, and was particularly interested in hopping onto Mr. Penguin; Ms. Penguin is quite sure it was in love with him. It's spring, you know... breeding season. The birds were all broody ;-)
We are now sitting in the lounge at Wild Spirit Lodge, a backpackers here in The Crags, just a few minutes driving from the elephant sanctuary and Birds of Eden. They have wifi here, so we are finally able to get up some blog entries and otherwise check our e-mail and stuff like that. We're also waiting for dinner – pasta bolognaise – and enjoying a cold beer. Life is good... :-)
2009-09-21 – a bay full of mussels
NB: this entry will eventually be edited to add photos, links, etc.
The next place on our itinerary was Mossel Bay, a very nice little city along the Indian Ocean, with lots of beaches for surfing. Or that's what it looked like to us; we never really did any research on the place. We somehow really screwed up the calculations for driving from Struisbaai to Mossel Bay, and thought we would arrive so late that we wouldn't have time to do anything there...
We ended up arriving in the early afternoon, and got settled into our guesthouse – Aqua Marina. We got a huge room with an even huger bathroom, including a nice big tub that we unfortunately never got to use... bah. The room also had quite a huge view of the huge ocean. (Is Ms Penguin using the word 'huge' too much as she writes this? :)
Anyway, our hosts weren't around so we decided to explore the city a little bit on our own. We went out to an area called The Point (where they have this apparently well-known hotel), and walked along the beach to watch the surfers. As we were walking, we came across a teeeeeeeeeeny tiny shark aquarium/research center. They were feeding the sharks as we arrived; they were also teeeny tiny, at least compared to the great whites that are the main focus of the research going on at the research center.
Afterward, we went back to our guesthouse. Over there, we got information about where we could go for dinner. There is a shuttle service in Mossel Bay that takes people to and from various restaurants, which is quite nice because then Mr. Penguin could have wine with his meal (remember people, drinking and driving kills!). Oh, and the driver is a really lovely older chap who enjoys talking to people. So we had dinner at The King Fisher, at The Point...
The King Fisher was quite busy that night; there was a lively atmosphere and lots of (local) people were coming in and out. We learned afterward that today's special was sushi, and that was the reason so many people were there. Darn... sushi would have been nice... It also explains why it took them so long to bring Ms. Penguin her aperitif – a cosmopolitan – as they were quite busy at the bar (Mr. Penguin had an easy-to-make gin and tonic). It was also the strangest cosmopolitan Ms. Penguin had ever received anywhere. It was served in a huge glass with cranberry sugar on the rim and with a huge pink umbrella. Yes, there are photos but you will have to wait for those...
Ms. Penguin had mussels with creamy garlic sauce as her starter, while Mr. Penguin had big, chewy snails in garlic butter, with bread on the side. The mussels were fresh and tasty, but the sauce was a bit boring. The snails were tasty.
We both had the calamari feast as our main course – three types of calamari served with fries and salad. It included a battered and fried calamari steak, calamari in the house sauce, and calamari naturel. It was very tasty and very filling... oof ;-)
To wash everything all down, we quaffed a Durbanville Heights Sauvignon Blanc 2009
color: too dark to see
nose: gooseberries, grass
palate: young, dry, refreshing; flavor of gooseberries, granny Smith apples, hint of starfruit and peaches. Very nice with seafood.
Grade: :-)+
Since RoF was demanding dessert, we fed it dessert – we each had a piece of delicious cheesecake, served with ice cream, with some coffee on the side...
We really enjoyed The King Fisher, and when you have a lively place as it was, you observe some interesting things. Like people's drinking and eating habits. Like the people sitting a few tables away from us, drinking red wine with their sushi. Or the people at the table right next to us dumping large quantities of ice cubes into their sweet white wine. To each their own, I guess...
When we finally got back to our guesthouse, we had a nice long conversation with one of the owners until we finally decided that we all needed some sleep. That's one of the really fun things with the guest houses and B&Bs in South Africa... you can really get into some very interesting conversations :-)
The next place on our itinerary was Mossel Bay, a very nice little city along the Indian Ocean, with lots of beaches for surfing. Or that's what it looked like to us; we never really did any research on the place. We somehow really screwed up the calculations for driving from Struisbaai to Mossel Bay, and thought we would arrive so late that we wouldn't have time to do anything there...
We ended up arriving in the early afternoon, and got settled into our guesthouse – Aqua Marina. We got a huge room with an even huger bathroom, including a nice big tub that we unfortunately never got to use... bah. The room also had quite a huge view of the huge ocean. (Is Ms Penguin using the word 'huge' too much as she writes this? :)
Anyway, our hosts weren't around so we decided to explore the city a little bit on our own. We went out to an area called The Point (where they have this apparently well-known hotel), and walked along the beach to watch the surfers. As we were walking, we came across a teeeeeeeeeeny tiny shark aquarium/research center. They were feeding the sharks as we arrived; they were also teeeny tiny, at least compared to the great whites that are the main focus of the research going on at the research center.
Afterward, we went back to our guesthouse. Over there, we got information about where we could go for dinner. There is a shuttle service in Mossel Bay that takes people to and from various restaurants, which is quite nice because then Mr. Penguin could have wine with his meal (remember people, drinking and driving kills!). Oh, and the driver is a really lovely older chap who enjoys talking to people. So we had dinner at The King Fisher, at The Point...
The King Fisher was quite busy that night; there was a lively atmosphere and lots of (local) people were coming in and out. We learned afterward that today's special was sushi, and that was the reason so many people were there. Darn... sushi would have been nice... It also explains why it took them so long to bring Ms. Penguin her aperitif – a cosmopolitan – as they were quite busy at the bar (Mr. Penguin had an easy-to-make gin and tonic). It was also the strangest cosmopolitan Ms. Penguin had ever received anywhere. It was served in a huge glass with cranberry sugar on the rim and with a huge pink umbrella. Yes, there are photos but you will have to wait for those...
Ms. Penguin had mussels with creamy garlic sauce as her starter, while Mr. Penguin had big, chewy snails in garlic butter, with bread on the side. The mussels were fresh and tasty, but the sauce was a bit boring. The snails were tasty.
We both had the calamari feast as our main course – three types of calamari served with fries and salad. It included a battered and fried calamari steak, calamari in the house sauce, and calamari naturel. It was very tasty and very filling... oof ;-)
To wash everything all down, we quaffed a Durbanville Heights Sauvignon Blanc 2009
color: too dark to see
nose: gooseberries, grass
palate: young, dry, refreshing; flavor of gooseberries, granny Smith apples, hint of starfruit and peaches. Very nice with seafood.
Grade: :-)+
Since RoF was demanding dessert, we fed it dessert – we each had a piece of delicious cheesecake, served with ice cream, with some coffee on the side...
We really enjoyed The King Fisher, and when you have a lively place as it was, you observe some interesting things. Like people's drinking and eating habits. Like the people sitting a few tables away from us, drinking red wine with their sushi. Or the people at the table right next to us dumping large quantities of ice cubes into their sweet white wine. To each their own, I guess...
When we finally got back to our guesthouse, we had a nice long conversation with one of the owners until we finally decided that we all needed some sleep. That's one of the really fun things with the guest houses and B&Bs in South Africa... you can really get into some very interesting conversations :-)
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