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...
02 October 2009
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
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