V & A and Kirstenbosch - Out to Africa - Cape Town 2025

On the Waterfront

We couldn't come to the Cape Town area and not take a look at the V&A Harbour Area and also the famous botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch.  

Waterfront

Seal doing a backstroke at V&A

The Silo Hotel

When you see V&A its easy to think its Victoria and Albert. The 'V' is for Victoria but the 'A' is actually for Alfred, her son. He was a Midshipman aged 16 who visited in 1860 and allegedly laid the first stone for the breakwater. The Alfred Basin was named in his honour. A later expansion was called the Victoria Basin. Hence V&A.

It's not a long drive from Somerset West but it gets a bit stressful with lots of lane changes as you approach the Waterfront. The nervous tourists had carefully researched where to park and we made straight for a multi-storey very close to the centre. We walked across the road and we were in the thick of a very smart mall area with loads of shops and restaurants. Our Lunch spot of choice, recommended by an old English hotelier from Torquay, not Basil Fawlty, was Den Anker. We made a reservation for 13:30 and wandered on. I was keen to see the Hotel Silo and we took a look inside. 

Table Top at Den Anker

I remembered watching a TV programme about its conversion from a grain silo to a Hotel. They didn't seem keen to see us though so we left pretty smartly! We also checked out the Radisson Red, a Hotel recommended to us for an overnight should we ever need one. Walking around shops is exhausting so we parked ourselves at smart French style cafe, the Paul on Victoria Wharf, and people watched. Suitably refreshed we continued our stroll until Lunch at Den Anker beckoned. We sat outside with Table Mountain for a backdrop. Very clear view again, no Table Cloth of cloud. A very pleasant lunch marred only by the return from their break of a construction crew with a pneumatic drill. 

Up above the trees at Kirstenbosch

Next stop Kirstenbosch, the botanic garden on the other side of Table Mountain. We were definitely getting our steps in today! It was a super place to visit and a big contrast to the hustle and bustle of the V&A.  Plenty of green and natural shade. We particularly liked the Tree Canopy walkway. We saw some birds but it was probably the wrong time of day for twitching. After a cafe stop we drove home. The N2 was very busy. Bit of a nightmare really. The white minibuses drivers are terrors. They are on a mission to deliver their punters dead or alive and any opportunity to change lanes is exploited. The wizz down the hard shoulder so you need to be alert. They also drop, and pick up, by the roadside so what looks like one of our Motorways becomes a chaotic mix of vehicles and people. We were relieved to be home and vowed to avoid the N2 at rush hour.

Franschhoek tram touring - Out to Africa - Cape Town 2025

All aboard the Wine Tram

All aboard for the wine tram - but not before a bit of a drive in our little car. We were off on the scenic route to Franschhoek. Franschhoek means Franch Quarter and it was originally settled by the Huguenots back in the 1600's. They were escaping persecution in Europe and brought their wine making skills with them.  So, after leaving Somerset west we took a long climb on a well graded slope up over the mountains. On the other side of the mountain its quite arid and our fellow travellers seemed to be in a massive hurry to get through it. We had driven that way before but on the weekend when it was quieter and much more relaxed. We were very pleased when we turned off onto country roads and past huge fruit farms. The final section of the route was particularly scenic apart from a huge area by the dams that has been burned. There were some sections of the road reduced to single track but happily we didn't meet anyone charging in the opposite direction. As we mounted the ridge  there were stunning views of the valley below. We arrived in Franschhoek just in time to buy our tickets for the 11am departure. The tramline was originally a branch line to carry produce to Paarl. We were give Pink Line tickets and given a little pink badge to wear. Besides Pink, other people had red or blue sticky badges. 

All aboard

Something to do with the routes and how many vineries but too complicated for us to understand. We were pretty in pink. Our little double-decker tram took us to the Rickety Bridge Winery. 

A tractor and its passenger trailer were at Rickety Bridge Station to greet us and carry us across a very narrow bridge to our lunch. We had a nice table and decent lunch served by a trainee waitress. She was quite sweet and jolly and enjoying her new job. Of course the wine tasting, and getting a bit merry as a result, is the norm for the wine tram punters. I just had a glass of wine, I could have had more as TW was driving us home but lunchtime drinking would put me to sleep. 

The tram runs to a timetable so we had to be back to the trailer on-time for the ride back. Passenger jollity had stepped up a notch. Next stop was La Provence and on to another, very bumpy, tractor  to the very smart Grande Provence. We had a wander round this very pretty and commercial winery and walked back to the Station past the orderly ranks of vines and waited for the tram.

 

Tractor Shuttle

Tractor Travel

Our last stop

Not sure we got full value from our Tram Tour but it was fun to have a look. The 'tasters' certainly seemed to be enjoying it and were well loaded, and had a lot of bottles with them to take home. We could have gone to more wineries with our pink ticket on the Tram Bus but three was sufficient for
these tourists.

Franschhoek is a pretty little town and is celebrated as South Africa's wine and food capital. We had a leisurely stroll up its attractive main street. At the top end is a massive Huguenot Monument. It seemed pretty safe in Franschoek but we are a bit wary. There are a number of Cafes and Restaurants along the street. We popped into Franks for a local beer and a Ginger Ale, it would be rude not to. It appeared to be fully booked for Dinner and we wondered how easy it would be to get a table for Dinner in Town despite the number of Restaurants. For us it was time to head home on our circular route. TW drove us back through the busy streets of Stellenbosch. We seemed to always get stuck in a traffic queue in this busy University town?

Huguenot Monument

Dylan Lewis Sculpture Park and Vriesenhof - Out to Africa - Cape Town 2025

 Spot the Sculpture

It actually rained today, quite disconcerting. We had tickets booked for the Dylan Lewis sculpture park. One of the challenges for us in South Africa was staying fit and taking a wander past some clever sculptures was an excellent way to reach our steps target. The Sculpture Park is located just our side of Stellenbosch. We found the traffic in Stellenbosch to be very heavy whenever we passed through so we were happy about the early turn off. 

The skies cleared around midday and it was a nice hot walk around the park. We followed the arrows and saw some great work. We kept bumping into a group on a guided tour. We have no idea what pearls of wisdom were being imparted but we were quite happy to go around on our own and we took far too many pictures. 

There is a cafe at Dylan Lewis but it looked very limited for lunching. We asked a Staff Member about lunch options locally and they told us about Vriesenhof. This is a winery just inside the security barrier that we came through. Apparently the Restaurant opened in November. We didn't spot it on the way in but that is not a surprise as tit has no sign. Apparently it is a devils own job to get permission and approval for a sign in the Stellenbosch area. Vriesenhof had applied for theirs but were still waiting. They were having to rely on word of mouth. We loved it anyway. The restaurant was in a converted Farm House. The previous occupant was a renowned Springbok Prop who had developed the vineyard after retirement. We enjoyed a good meal with friendly service. The wine was lovely. Its quite normal, and more cost-effective, to buy a bottle rather than a glass and take the remnants home.  We went back there for a last Sunday lunch a few days later.

Nice rustic interior

Penguins at Betty's Bay - Out to Africa - Cape Town 2025

Pick up a penguin

There are a couple of options to see these lovely creatures near Cape Town. Boulder Beach south of the City near Simonstown is probably the most popular and reportedly quite busy. For us, with our base in Somerset West, Stoney Point (Betty's Bay) was the obvious choice and the safest option. We drove down to Gordons Bay and then headed along Clarence Drive. It's a lovely winding road that hugs the coast road with very little traffic. We didn't find any obvious, safe and convenient stops on the way and were parked up at Stoney Point in about an hour. Our little Black and White friends were there to greet us and had put on their best suits. There is a small entrance fee to the boardwalk and the opportunity to get up close without disturbing them. They are great to watch, particularly when they go for a wander. At the end of the boardwalk there's very smelly roosting place for Cormorants. We beat a hasty retreat! 

Penguin Tete a Tete

A couple of Penguins

Do not disturb! Or hold your nose!

We checked out the lunch options locally and opted for the Harold Porter Gardens. There is a an entrance fee but seemed very secure. We both had a fish lunch before a wander round the gardens. Quite interesting to see the native plants with a description of their health benefits. A good place to achieve the daily step target.

Harold Porter Gardens

Betty's Bay Beach

Clarence Drive - heading back

We stopped at the edge of Gordons Bay at the Old Harbour. We had been recommended to go to the Thirsty Oyster and took the opportunity to check it out as we passed. It looked great but unfortunately we failed to make it back there.

Fishing Boat tied up by the Thirsty Oyster.

Aquila Game Reserve - Out to Africa - Cape Town 2025

Game for a Drive - Animal Magic

We had to get on the move early. We were leaving Just Unwind for one night and heading inland on the over two hour drive to Aquila. It was another scorcher as we headed inland on good roads. We were a bit concerned that if we broke down we would be cooked.  However, we made it to our oasis OK without any dramas. Our aim was to arrive in time for a nice lunch and we sort of achieved that as we were on-time. Unfortunately we visited the wrong Restaurant. There is one for day guests and one for overnighters. To be fair they were both Buffets and there was not a lot to choose between them. 

After lunch we checked into our really nice room in a large modern block. Our first floor room had a great view of the swimming pool and the park behind. 

It was soon time for the first of our two Game Drives. TW, with her dizzy issue, was kindly given some special treatment by the Front of House Manager. Concerns about motion sickness were allayed by being allocated seats behind the driver and extra cushions.  Our driver was brilliant, Randall, giving enough interesting information but not too much and we saw all the animals we wanted to see plus some stroppy baboons. Rhinos, Hippos and Elephants, Zebra were my highlights. The Lions are just big pussy cats and were very sleepy.

We were back in time for Dinner. We managed to bag an outdoor table and hungrily consumed a decent buffet. Can't say that the food was that great but it's a long way from anywhere. We did a bit of star-gazing after Dinner. We saw the Milky Way from the grass behind the pool. It would probably be better viewing out in the park where there is no stray light but not sure we were keen to get eaten by a lion just to get a better view of the Southern Cross!

We had to be up early, at 6am, for a 7am departure the next morning. As it was early, the previously dozy Lions were wide awake. Not sure that's a good thing, one female lion looked very keen to share a private tour with a young couple. Amusingly their guide was safely ensconced in the the front cabin with the windows up. Afterwards we had another close encounter with the elephants which we really enjoyed.

Anyway, the animals looked to have a happy home at Aquila and we were happy visitors and felt lucky to have seen them.

Breakfast was very welcome. TW had a massage at the spa as she was getting neck pain. Yours truly had a dip in the pool and relaxed under a shady umbrella. 

On the long road home

After a coffee we heading back on the long road back to Somerset West. There are virtually no places to stop on the way until Stellenbosch and it was after 3pm before we could stop for Lunch. We chose the magnificent Guardian Peak. They were about to close the restaurant but allowed us to order. We had a lovely meal looking out on the beautiful vines. Arguably the nicest meal of our stay. Faultless service, tasty fish with veggies and a lovely white wine. 

Guardian Peak

Nice

Guardian Peak view from our table