The last few days have been very busy and fun.
On Tuesday, we went out to Franschoek and Stellenbosch for wine tasting. We started the day at the Cabriere Estate, a small winery. Hilda, the wife of the main wine guy Achim von Arnim, led us in tasting all their normal and sparkling wines, including a very nice pinot noir - chardonnay blend which they made by accident. We missed Achim's party trick of uncorking a bottle of bubbly with a sabre sadly.
Lunch was a picnic in the gardens of the Boschendal estate, followed by more wine tasting there (Cabernet Sauvignon bought) and at Delaire (poncey and unfriendly).
After a walk around leafy, sleepy, Africaaner town of Stellenbosch, we went for our treehouse dinner at the Moya restaurant at the Spier estate, which was absolutely amazing.
We were there in the evening, so it didn't really look like this - the whole place lit up by lanterns, water features in the trees made for nice ambient sounds... and we stuffed our faces from the buffet which I can't even begin to describe except to say that if it was remotely African, and you wanted to eat it, it was available.
Rach got a bit confused, asking whether the waitress's offer of face painting meant she would look like a tiger - british fun fair-esque. The waitress was painted herself with simple traditional African patterns, which I thought gave a bit of a clue...
Yesterday, more wine tasting at Fairview, famous for its goat tower - hence the excellently named Goats Do Roam wine range... This was followed by spit roasted lamb at the Backsberg estate with William's friend Ivan.
In the evening we went with Sarah from Dive Action to the Drum Cafe, where we drank beer and smacked the hell out of rented drums for an evening. Highly cathartic, great rhythms, sore hands!
Finally, the last of the week's many highlights was this morning's township tour, courtesy of Walter of Grassroute Tours. We were both a bit worried that we'd be looking through a goldfish bowl, that we would feel patronising... instead it was an affirming and humbling experience, which demystified township life.
We first drove around what used to be District 6, and had another visit to the museum, which was enhanced Walter's local knowledge - he walked through it every day on the way to high school and work, and knew many residents.
We then visited a school in the township of Langa, run by volunteers - the schoolrooms for the 600 kids are either wooden shacks or converted shipping containers. We went into various classes, where the kids all were mad keen to show us their school books, talk to us, tell us stories about their families. We were then treated to the choir singing songs, which I can tell you would have melted the coldest and darkest of hearts!
After a bit more driving, we ended up in Khayelitsha, a township housing 1.3 million people, with homes varying between breezeblock-built new homes, down to the most basic and small shack. In fact, on the streets were shacks for sale - which could be pulled apart, loaded into a pickup (or Bakkie as called here), and re-assembled where there is space.
We visited a soup kitchen (where the lollies I brought out on Sarah's advice were handed out), the famous Vicky's B&B, and had a beer for 40p in a Shebeen - a local unlicenced pub.
I'd recommend anyone visiting Cape Town to go on a tour like this. The companies are run by township-folk, so the money goes straight where it should. We were welcomed, waved to, and thanked for visiting by everyone we met and saw, and by God did it remind us how lucky we are to be living the way we do. (It also did no favours towards my feelings towards the shoplifting, vandalising pikey communities back home... they don't know they're born!).
Anyway, long entry over, we're planning to do nothing very much for the rest of the holiday, and let's hope England whip the French on Saturday evening. I fear this unlikely.
Byeeeeeeeeeeee!
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