Stellenbosch

Day 19 Stellenbosch Wine Route

We take a scenic drive to Stellenbosch taking in some of Route 62 and a possible stop at Ronnie’s Sex Shop, not a sex shop at all, but a rather interesting country pub…  We will have the opportunity to explore Stellenbosch which forms the heart of the Western Cape’s wine region and second oldest European settlement in the Western Cape. As this is the last night on tour we head to a local restaurant for dinner. Optional Activity: Ostrich Farm Visit, Dinner Out.Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

20th December 2013

Today is "another day, every day is different" and the amended plan was to visit the Cheetah park and one of the wineries, but on the way two things happened. Mika lost her SD card with her work and photos on it and Rimson lost his USB Stick with all his music. They tried calling the campsite to see if they could find them but all to no avail.   The other thing that happened was Owen pulled into Ronnies Sex Shop, apparently it's a bit of an institution in this part of South Africa, it's basically a coffee shop, Curio shop, bar and cafe attached. The closest you get to any sex there is used bras hanging from the ceiling. The coffee / toilet stop took awhile as the coffee machine was not turned on when we got there which is never good when there are lots of us cappachino drinkers.

It was a long scenic drive into Stellenbosch, which included our first sighting of Cape Town and Table Mountain. We pulled into the Cheetah Park and unfortunately for our guides we had seen an almost identical presentation from the other cheetah parks we had visited, the other problem was it was the middle of the day so all the animals were off sleeping and seeking shade. The highlight was getting to pat the cheetah cubs, just like patting a family cat but better, much, much better. Lisa was patting one cub when it decided to rollover, you should have seen Lisa hit reverse, but the really funny thing was it was asleep so there was absolutely no danger. (Hey - I only did what the handler told me! I would have rubbed her tummy if they let me. She rolled over and curled up, then stretched her hind feet out just like any kitten.) Bet she's not laughing at my life and death cheetah experience now.

Next was the winery, given Lisa and I don't drink wine we found a comfy spot on the lawn and relaxed for a couple of hours. The good news is Eva, Esther, Thomas & Michael had a really good time during the tasting.

When we got to the hotel, we were all happy it was another fantastic hotel, it was part of the same chain of hotels that we got the upgrade at. Some folks went to the pool and some sat in the spa, (for too long, yes you Esther) me I needed a nap, I am old after all. We had our last family dinner at the hotel it was nice that we were all together one last time.