December/ January Holiday 2008/9
We had a great year-end holiday with just the right amount of travel and activity, but not too much on the go. The trip had been pre-organised to be pet friendly as the hounds joined us. Night one we stayed in Nieu Bethesda in a suite attached to the old town hall (with compost toilets nogal, luckily we are experienced after our trips to Bulungula). I was n't sure what it would be like, but it was fantastic. Rustic and charming. Nieu Bethesda is also charming. Nim managed to pop into the Owl House (i have been a few times before) and bought me an aloe in a bedpan as a Christmas gift! We thought it might have belonged to Helen Martins herself, but perhaps best not to dwell too much on that thought.
Katrin and Ian who own and run a number of properties (including our b&b) cooked for us and others at the Outsiders restaurant that night. A huge potjie of karoo lamb which did n't disappoint. The dogs could wander around the street, which is very low key, and where all animals are equal. We will be going back.
The next day we drove down to join my parents at Cape Infanta, at the mouth of the Breede River. A week was spent walking, lying on the river beach and eating. Great stuff. First time for the dogs to see the sea and they loved it too. Akira showed her usual fearlessness and had to swim back from rocks in the river, after getting carried away in her chase of a bird. So at least we know she can swim when the going gets tough!
We then drove back to Cape Town, but took the scenic route: Infanta past De Hoop Nature reserve to Bredasdorp and then on to Napier for lunch. Great little restaurant run by the Daneel family with Jean Daneel Chenin Blanc to complement the meal. Then onto Hermanus via Stanford and through to Bot River. We stayed at Kolkol Mountain Farm off the Van der Stel pass. A fynbos farm, the cottage is very swiss style with a small plunge pool, with an option to heat the water with coals, which we did one night. The farm and accommodation was really lovely, but even better were the wine estates in the area. We started off at Feteiras: portuguese style wine, where the owner spent ages chatting to us about the wine and was very friendly and generous with home made olives and not yet packaged desert wine.
Next was Luddite which is synonymous with superb Shiraz. Again the winemaker was happy to spend time talking about the wine and it (and i suppose his) journey of making it. Nim calls me a Luddite from time to time (when i advocate going local and simple). Given the wine association, I will now hold my head up high! Lunch was at Goedvertrou. We were the only guests and had a delicious simple farm meal cooked for us by the owner, who must be in or close to her eighties and still runs the farm. These sorts of personalised experiences and interactions are what made our holiday so delightful. Of course, fairly gentle but regular wine tasting helped to keep spirits high along the way too!
Simone joined us for a night at Kolkol and we had a lovely time catching up and a bit of a walk (despite regularly losing the track) on the mountain the next morning. Nim and I drove back the scenic route via Kleinmond, Betty's Bay, etc also taking in the wine of Beaumont (we liked), Wildekrantz (a bit put off by their flash, although fortunately absent, owners) and Barton (also good, but windy as hell when we there) en route. I love that Barton uses the Blue Crane in their branding and will be turning their wine box into photo album covers for our pics of the holiday.
The 6 days or so in Cape Town were a good time to catch up with family and friends, and to do a few touristy things. Christmas eve we had cousins over and the dogs were a serious hit. See the photo with Paw Paw posing as baby Jesus! and Akira looking regal with Gran.
Nim and I managed to fit in some of the best low key Cape Town things: walking along the Mouille Point promenade, lunch at Olympia in Kalk Bay ( I got in lots of trouble for spending ages in a retro clothes shop thereafter), and Cecilia forest for walks too. I also managed to squeeze in a fabulous walk with Simone and Tanya in Kirstenbosch one morning, and we caught up with the Stollof brood in Scarborough on another occassion. We joined Michelle for a gathering at a gorgeous old house in Tamboerskloof one evening too, and drank in the views of the mountain.
The way back to Joburg started in Franschhoek with lunch at Reubens. It was spot on on all counts, not too pricey and they were happy for the dogs to lie at our feet inside. They looked rather fetching against the black and white ties on the floor! The next stretch was to Montagu via the pass from Franschhoek to Villiersdrop, then cutting across to Roberston. I reckon that part of the Cape is still comparatively undeveloped from a tourism perspective and between our stay in Bot River and then the drive to Villiersdorp, it warrants more time. Such beautiful scenery and enough adventure/ activity based experiences and food/wine to keep me happy for a while.
4 nights in Montagu were spent at Keisie farm cottages. Although the cottage was unspectacular (but the price was appropriately modest and it had all we needed), the setting was really lovely on a farm about 25 kms outside montagu towards the N1. The mountain ranges around there are dramatic. And a lovely river outside the cottage, and great pool (dam) area. We did some wine tasting (yes, more) and went on a brief river trip on a sort of mini-barge. New Year's eve was spent at Templetons Four Oaks restaurant in town and was delicious. So was the Springfield 'Work of Time' red, pity about the silly name.
Probably the most disappointing part of the holiday was the last night en route home, when we stayed in Philippolis at the Green House b&b. Although the house was lovely, we found our hosts pleasant but quite stiff, and not much good at breakfast either. What was amusing were the gay mags in our room, which could n't have been more out of keeping with the copy of the New Testament or the generally conservative appearing environment. We DID manage to get a nice meal at the Lourens van der Post centre, which was most hospitable of the family running the show. But Philipolis felt depressing and dusty. Pity, because i am sure there is lots of good stuff going on, but not sure we will be back given all the other places we want to return too.
So home now, with lots of wine to help bring back the memories. The dogs have taken the return to a small garden and a minor daily walk in their stride. We are already talking about our next trip!
We had a great year-end holiday with just the right amount of travel and activity, but not too much on the go. The trip had been pre-organised to be pet friendly as the hounds joined us. Night one we stayed in Nieu Bethesda in a suite attached to the old town hall (with compost toilets nogal, luckily we are experienced after our trips to Bulungula). I was n't sure what it would be like, but it was fantastic. Rustic and charming. Nieu Bethesda is also charming. Nim managed to pop into the Owl House (i have been a few times before) and bought me an aloe in a bedpan as a Christmas gift! We thought it might have belonged to Helen Martins herself, but perhaps best not to dwell too much on that thought.
Katrin and Ian who own and run a number of properties (including our b&b) cooked for us and others at the Outsiders restaurant that night. A huge potjie of karoo lamb which did n't disappoint. The dogs could wander around the street, which is very low key, and where all animals are equal. We will be going back.
The next day we drove down to join my parents at Cape Infanta, at the mouth of the Breede River. A week was spent walking, lying on the river beach and eating. Great stuff. First time for the dogs to see the sea and they loved it too. Akira showed her usual fearlessness and had to swim back from rocks in the river, after getting carried away in her chase of a bird. So at least we know she can swim when the going gets tough!
We then drove back to Cape Town, but took the scenic route: Infanta past De Hoop Nature reserve to Bredasdorp and then on to Napier for lunch. Great little restaurant run by the Daneel family with Jean Daneel Chenin Blanc to complement the meal. Then onto Hermanus via Stanford and through to Bot River. We stayed at Kolkol Mountain Farm off the Van der Stel pass. A fynbos farm, the cottage is very swiss style with a small plunge pool, with an option to heat the water with coals, which we did one night. The farm and accommodation was really lovely, but even better were the wine estates in the area. We started off at Feteiras: portuguese style wine, where the owner spent ages chatting to us about the wine and was very friendly and generous with home made olives and not yet packaged desert wine.
Next was Luddite which is synonymous with superb Shiraz. Again the winemaker was happy to spend time talking about the wine and it (and i suppose his) journey of making it. Nim calls me a Luddite from time to time (when i advocate going local and simple). Given the wine association, I will now hold my head up high! Lunch was at Goedvertrou. We were the only guests and had a delicious simple farm meal cooked for us by the owner, who must be in or close to her eighties and still runs the farm. These sorts of personalised experiences and interactions are what made our holiday so delightful. Of course, fairly gentle but regular wine tasting helped to keep spirits high along the way too!
Simone joined us for a night at Kolkol and we had a lovely time catching up and a bit of a walk (despite regularly losing the track) on the mountain the next morning. Nim and I drove back the scenic route via Kleinmond, Betty's Bay, etc also taking in the wine of Beaumont (we liked), Wildekrantz (a bit put off by their flash, although fortunately absent, owners) and Barton (also good, but windy as hell when we there) en route. I love that Barton uses the Blue Crane in their branding and will be turning their wine box into photo album covers for our pics of the holiday.
The 6 days or so in Cape Town were a good time to catch up with family and friends, and to do a few touristy things. Christmas eve we had cousins over and the dogs were a serious hit. See the photo with Paw Paw posing as baby Jesus! and Akira looking regal with Gran.
Nim and I managed to fit in some of the best low key Cape Town things: walking along the Mouille Point promenade, lunch at Olympia in Kalk Bay ( I got in lots of trouble for spending ages in a retro clothes shop thereafter), and Cecilia forest for walks too. I also managed to squeeze in a fabulous walk with Simone and Tanya in Kirstenbosch one morning, and we caught up with the Stollof brood in Scarborough on another occassion. We joined Michelle for a gathering at a gorgeous old house in Tamboerskloof one evening too, and drank in the views of the mountain.
The way back to Joburg started in Franschhoek with lunch at Reubens. It was spot on on all counts, not too pricey and they were happy for the dogs to lie at our feet inside. They looked rather fetching against the black and white ties on the floor! The next stretch was to Montagu via the pass from Franschhoek to Villiersdrop, then cutting across to Roberston. I reckon that part of the Cape is still comparatively undeveloped from a tourism perspective and between our stay in Bot River and then the drive to Villiersdorp, it warrants more time. Such beautiful scenery and enough adventure/ activity based experiences and food/wine to keep me happy for a while.
4 nights in Montagu were spent at Keisie farm cottages. Although the cottage was unspectacular (but the price was appropriately modest and it had all we needed), the setting was really lovely on a farm about 25 kms outside montagu towards the N1. The mountain ranges around there are dramatic. And a lovely river outside the cottage, and great pool (dam) area. We did some wine tasting (yes, more) and went on a brief river trip on a sort of mini-barge. New Year's eve was spent at Templetons Four Oaks restaurant in town and was delicious. So was the Springfield 'Work of Time' red, pity about the silly name.
Probably the most disappointing part of the holiday was the last night en route home, when we stayed in Philippolis at the Green House b&b. Although the house was lovely, we found our hosts pleasant but quite stiff, and not much good at breakfast either. What was amusing were the gay mags in our room, which could n't have been more out of keeping with the copy of the New Testament or the generally conservative appearing environment. We DID manage to get a nice meal at the Lourens van der Post centre, which was most hospitable of the family running the show. But Philipolis felt depressing and dusty. Pity, because i am sure there is lots of good stuff going on, but not sure we will be back given all the other places we want to return too.
So home now, with lots of wine to help bring back the memories. The dogs have taken the return to a small garden and a minor daily walk in their stride. We are already talking about our next trip!
