WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2020 -- SOUTH AFRICA
What to do with a gap between two travel adventures - the end of our thrilling Kenyan safari and the start of an exotic cruise from Cape Town? What else but explore another of the world’s iconic wine regions. Since we met three decades ago, whenever possible, my husband and I seek out wine country pleasures - bucolic views, charming inns, leisurely tastings and casual fine dining. If trips bring us near vineyards - Virginia to Oregon, France to Australia, we visit for an afternoon or several days. This time our wine country destination was South Africa, one of the oldest wine-making regions outside of Europe, where Dutch and French settlers began tending vines in the mid-1600s. For a week, including Valentine’s Day when we celebrated our 31st anniversary, we explored the stunningly beautiful Winelands of the western cape, less than an hour drive from Cape Town.
What to do with a gap between two travel adventures - the end of our thrilling Kenyan safari and the start of an exotic cruise from Cape Town? What else but explore another of the world’s iconic wine regions. Since we met three decades ago, whenever possible, my husband and I seek out wine country pleasures - bucolic views, charming inns, leisurely tastings and casual fine dining. If trips bring us near vineyards - Virginia to Oregon, France to Australia, we visit for an afternoon or several days. This time our wine country destination was South Africa, one of the oldest wine-making regions outside of Europe, where Dutch and French settlers began tending vines in the mid-1600s. For a week, including Valentine’s Day when we celebrated our 31st anniversary, we explored the stunningly beautiful Winelands of the western cape, less than an hour drive from Cape Town.
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Boulder Beach Penguin Colony
Boulders Beach is the home of a thriving African
penguin colony. Instead of being isolated like their
South American cousins, these lucky little black
and white guys and gals share the shoreline with
some of the most expensive real estate in Africa
and everyone seems to get along just fine. They’re
called Jackass penguins because of their obnoxious
donkey-like call. Visitors
pay a small fee to wander a
wide elevated wood walkway
along the beach where the
birds live, raising their young
and fishing.
In 1982 these penguins were
almost extinct - only two
breeding pairs remaining in the
area. Heroic conservation efforts
have revived the Boulders
colony to more than 3,000
birds in recent years. During
our visit, a highlight was at the
end of the line where hundreds
of penguins played in the surf,
probably staying clean and presentable
in their exclusive
beachfront digs.
Before our tour stop where jackass penguins
roam, we stopped for refreshments at Noordhoek
Farm Village, the restaurant row of the South
Peninsula. This farm, it seems, raises restaurants
instead of cabbages, with dining spots that cater
to almost every palate. We opted for casual dining
outside at Foodbarn Deli, where we expected
standard deli fare, but were blown away by the delicious
feast brough to our table.
On our way out, when Ron
told the cashier how much we
enjoyed our lunch, she pointed
out a very large aproned man
as the chef. Ron walked over to
shake his hand, thank him and
snap a quick photo. It wasn’t
until we were writing this
story that we discovered that
the deli chef was Franck Dangereux
the original owner-chef
of Cape Town’s La Colombe,
ranked during the ten years he
was there was number 28 in
the world’s top 50 restaurants.
(For more on La Colombe, see
page 52.) We’ll never think of
delis in quite the same way.
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