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Cape Town: UK News Profile, Ideas, Tips


TLCOhio
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21 hours ago, Omega1 said:

Don’t forget the beautiful winelands area as you get closer to Cape Town, especially Franschhoek.

 

YES!!  Great tips and sharing on this thread.  Wonderful insights.  So glad that in 2016 that we allowed five days for doing exploring in and around Cape Town before starting our cruise sailing.  So much to do and see, including the excellent winelands areas.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 46,890 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

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21 hours ago, Omega1 said:

Don’t forget the beautiful winelands area as you get closer to Cape Town, especially Franschhoek.

 

Agree, but the poster, Tring, said in her prior post that they are not really interested in doing the wine route as they have done this in France.

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6 minutes ago, Mercury said:

I love it too! Although my favourite wines are from the Elgin and Constantia areas.

I know Constantia well but not Elgin - something to explore on our next visit - any particular recommendations? I also like a couple of the wineries in the Hemel en Aarde valley. Basically, you are spoiled for choice - but it’s not just the wine, add superb cuisine, spectacular scenery and you have all the ingredients of an amazing holiday.

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4 hours ago, Omega1 said:

I know Constantia well but not Elgin - something to explore on our next visit - any particular recommendations? I also like a couple of the wineries in the Hemel en Aarde valley. Basically, you are spoiled for choice - but it’s not just the wine, add superb cuisine, spectacular scenery and you have all the ingredients of an amazing holiday.

My favourite wine farm from the Elgin area is Oak Valley but there are many others to try:

https://winesofelgin.co.za

https://oakvalley.co.za

 

The wine farms in the Elgin area are cool climate wines as are those in the Hemel en Aarde valley.

You are right, the restaurants and the spectacular scenery are an added bonus to the wine farms!

 

As a matter of interest, there are also wine farms in the Garden Route, most notably in Plett but also in the Klein Karoo.

Favourites are Bramon, Jakkalsvlei and Karusa.

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52 minutes ago, Mercury said:

My favourite wine farm from the Elgin area is Oak Valley but there are many others to try:

https://winesofelgin.co.za

https://oakvalley.co.za

 

The wine farms in the Elgin area are cool climate wines as are those in the Hemel en Aarde valley.

You are right, the restaurants and the spectacular scenery are an added bonus to the wine farms!

 

As a matter of interest, there are also wine farms in the Garden Route, most notably in Plett but also in the Klein Karoo.

Favourites are Bramon, Jakkalsvlei and Karusa.

Thanks for that. Coincidentally, we had a delightful lunch at Bramon last February and back in 2018 a lovely cheese platter and wine sampling at Karusa. All this Is whetting our appetite for our next visit in 2021!

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7 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 

YES!!  Great tips and sharing on this thread.  Wonderful insights.  So glad that in 2016 that we allowed five days for doing exploring in and around Cape Town before starting our cruise sailing.  So much to do and see, including the excellent winelands areas.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 46,890 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

 

Terry, did you end up having to take malaria pills when you went into Botswana? 

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43 minutes ago, dolllover said:

Terry, did you end up having to take malaria pills when you went into Botswana? 

 

Good question!!  My old memory gets a little fog, but as I re-call during our overall trip, YES, we had and took those malaria pills.  Checked with my wife and she agreed that we did.  BUT, I am not sure that the Botswana portion required use of those pills.  It might have been because of being in the eastern part of South Africa.  That was back in early 2016.  Conditions could have changed as to areas/locations and needs for taking such malaria pills.  Or, not??!!  Do more current checking.  It might also depend as to which part of Botswana or South Africa that you traveling.  

 

Continued great info and sharing from Omega1 and Mercury.  Don't be shy with any and all questions and experiences.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

From late 2018, you can see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East. Now at 15,561 views.  Connect at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

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22 hours ago, Mercury said:

 

Agree, but the poster, Tring, said in her prior post that they are not really interested in doing the wine route as they have done this in France.

 

It is true we are not really interested in visiting the vineyards, but the pictures posted here (and others I have looked at) do show some lovely scenery and would involve a lot less travel than the Garden Route on a longer tour.  The wine areas of France tend to be very mundane in appearance by comparison as they are not surrounded by mountains.

 

We may just spend a few days in Cape Town along with a stay in one or two other locations not too far away.  Hermanus looks nice for one stay, with a good hotel called 'The Marine' which may be worth splashing out on, though we may look for something a bit cheaper if we can find a good option in a similar location with views.  Self drive is obviously the way to tour South Africa, but not entirely sure we really want to get into that as part of a much longer holiday, though I do see they drive on the LHS which would be very good for us, so may be worth considering for a few days. 

 

Thanks to Terry and all the others posters who have given good information.

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On 9/8/2019 at 11:57 PM, Omega1 said:

Don’t forget the beautiful winelands area as you get closer to Cape Town, especially Franschhoek.

 

We will be staying in Franschhoek for 3N/4D after we get off a cruise early April. Any recommendations for wineries, tours or restaurants? We are staying in a boutique hotel in town.

 

Mercury any input from you would be great as well. 

 

Tring, we did a helicopter flight over the Cape and coast and it was wonderful. We managed to get lucky and join a single lady so they classified as a group flight not a private flight so the price was better. She had left her name with the company who have a sales office on the V&A Waterfront and they called her to join us. We had to wait about 40 minutes but for the price difference it was worth it. Funnily enough the lady was from Melbourne and knew some people in Perth that we know...it's such a small world.😊

 

Thanks for any help.

 Julie

 

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Julie, I would recommend the Franschoek tram - such a nice way to see the wine farms.

It's very easy to forget how much you are drinking when you go from wine farm to wine farm so the Franschoek tram is a great idea if you don't have a personal driver. I love the wine farms on the Green line. 

www.winetram.co.za

 

As for restaurants, the cuisine in this area is top notch. My personal favourites are The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais and Reubens.

 

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For anyone who is self driving the wine routes, it is important that you are aware that you can be arrested if you are over the blood alcohol limit. Here is a useful link:

https://www.saps.gov.za/alert/zero_tolerance_agains_drinking_driving.php

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Our favourite restaurants in Franschhoek are:

For dinner:

Le Bon Vivant

Miko at Mont Rochelle

Roca at Dieu Donne

 

For lunch:

The Country Kitchen at Mont Rochelle

Cafe Bon Bon

Leopards Leap

 

For a lighter tapas style evening meal and live music try Cafe Roca.

 

Wineries - you are spoiled for choice. The wine tram has various routes and avoids the necessity of someone having to drive.

Grande Provence (including the Cheetah outreach)

La Motte

Rickety Bridge

Slightly further afield - a picnic on the lawn at Boschendal but worth a visit without a picnic.

Babylonstoren - two lovely restaurants and an amazing garden/kitchen garden.

Delaire Graff - amazing views.

Hope this helps.

Edited by Omega1
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6 minutes ago, Mercury said:

Julie, I would recommend the Franschoek tram - such a nice way to see the wine farms.

It's very easy to forget how much you are drinking when you go from wine farm to wine farm so the Franschoek tram is a great idea if you don't have a personal driver. I love the wine farms on the Green line. 

www.winetram.co.za

 

As for restaurants, the cuisine in this area is top notch. My personal favourites are The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais and Reubens.

 

Unfortunately, The Tasting Room closed in 2017/18 and was replaced by La Petite Colombe. We’ve not been but gets excellent ratings.

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10 minutes ago, Omega1 said:

Unfortunately, The Tasting Room closed in 2017/18 and was replaced by La Petite Colombe. We’ve not been but gets excellent ratings.

 

Oh dear, so sad to hear that. I know Margot Janse has been involved with charity work for her SA charity (involving chefs from other countries). Perhaps she is focusing on this...

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Mercury and Omega thank you so much for this information. I have made notes of your recommendations. I did have La Petite Colombe down as a possible lunch place on our first day. I was thinking that after we disembark, we have an overnight in Cape Town, head straight to Frranschoek, leave our bags at Avenrood then go to lunch as we probably can't get our room. A nice leisurely lunch, wander around town and relax back at our hotel.

 

We have very strict drink driving laws as well so were planning to do mix of wine tram and drivers. Have you ever tried the Tuk-Tuk drivers?

 

Julie

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Hi Julie, no I haven't tried the Tuk Tuk drivers. Only the tram and once we hired a mini bus with driver for the day as we had a group of 9.

 

Franschoek is a lovely town to wander in. Be sure to visit the Hugenot Chocolate Shop - whenever I'm in the town it is my first stop!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/11/2019 at 8:43 PM, frantic36 said:

Have you ever tried the Tuk-Tuk drivers?  Julie

 

YES, we have done Tuk-Tuk transportation in both Libson/Portugal and in Southeast Asia. Kind of fun and interesting!!  Did not try or see any Tuk-Tuk options while in South Africa. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

Just completed Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Lots of visuals and details from our first visits to these scenic areas!!  That live/blog is at: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/

 

Or, you could simply do a quick Google search with these terms: 

Live Terry/Ohio Muse Alaska

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Hi Terry,

 

I agree Tuk-Tuk's are easy to use and have done so in our Asian travels. 

 

We will be staying in Franschoek for a four days post cruise and there is a Tuk-Tuk company there...

 

https://www.tuktukfranschhoek.co.za

 

They don't have a lot of reviews yet as they have only been in business just over a year but it sounds like a fun option for  a day to visit the wineries.

 

Julie

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  • 2 months later...
On 10/1/2019 at 6:46 PM, frantic36 said:

Hi Terry,  I agree Tuk-Tuk's are easy to use and have done so in our Asian travels. 

We will be staying in Franschoek for a four days post cruise and there is a Tuk-Tuk company there...

https://www.tuktukfranschhoek.co.za

They don't have a lot of reviews yet as they have only been in business just over a year but it sounds like a fun option for  a day to visit the wineries.   Julie

 

Appreciate from Julie this excellent follow-up and nice sharing.  Yes, lots to do in and around Cape Town. 

 

From Bloomberg News/MSN yesterday, they had this headline: “Corporate South Africa Loses Faith in National Airline” with these highlights: “Speculation that South African Airways is in danger of going under could become self-fulfilling.  The national carrier has been given 57 billion rand ($3.9 billion) in bailouts since 1994 and last made a profit in 2011. The company’s already precarious finances took another hit last month when workers staged a week-long strike that grounded a number of flights, and customers have canceled bookings on others”

 

My sense is that more and more economic challenges will be facing South Africa during the upcoming years.  In my personal view, it will be better to visit South Africa sooner, not waiting till later when conditions could change significantly and affect tourism. 

 

Full story at:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/companies/corporate-south-africa-loses-faith-in-future-of-national-airline/ar-BBXAk6k

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

From late 2018, you can see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East. Now at 16,728 views.  Connect at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

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