Stellenbosch is one of the oldest European settlements in South Africa, famous for its wine, university and well-preserved Cape Dutch architecture. Located in the Cape Winelands, Stellenbosch is surrounded by vineyards, mountains and lush valleys. There are over 150 wine estates in this region!! The university is one of South Africa’s top universities and the student presence gives the town a lively, youthful feel.
Stellenbosch was the last stop on our road trip before we returned to Cape Town. In late March we spent two weeks in Wellington which is not far from Stellenbosch, so we purposely did not come this far knowing we would be back. This is a famous wine region so basically all we did was visit wineries for 3 days, and maybe squeeze in a visit to the University gym 😂 With so many wine estates nearby it was hard to choose which ones to visit so we ended up going to the ones offering great views.
First up was Waterford Estate in the Blaauwklippen Valley for a wine tasting and cellar tour. The estate is 120 hectares with citrus groves, rolling lawns, lavender and rosemary in addition to the vineyards. For the cellar tour, our waiter walked us through a small area of the vats and barrels full of wine explaining the process the estate uses to create their wines. We combined two different tastings that included 6 wines and 3 chocolate pairings, at a cost of 350 Rand (USD $18.75).
Leaving Waterford we popped into Rust en Vrede for lunch in their gardens. This estate has been making wine for over 300 years and appealed to us because they primarily make robust red wines.
Ernie Els Wines is named after South African golf legend, Ernie Els. We used to watch him on TV when he was a professional golfer and thought it would be fun to visit his winery. The restaurant and tasting room are set high on the mountain slopes with incredible views all the way to Cape Town on a clear day, there is even a tee box with a small green below for guests to practice their chipping skills. The estate specializes in red wines so this was another reason it was high on our list of places to visit. When we arrived we were greeted with a glass of ‘welcome wine’ which was a very nice welcome. The tasting flight we chose was called The Majors, it included 4 different reds and cost 265 Rand (USD $14.20). We shared the tasting and paired it with a spicy hummus appetizer. Of the 4 wines we tasted our favorite was the Proprietors Blend, we bought a bottle to take home, it cost 350 Rand (USD $18.75), one of our more expensive wine purchases.
Rainbows End Wine Estate is a boutique winery set high on the mountain slopes below the Jonkershoek Mountain overlooking the Banghoek Basin. This family run estate specializes in red wines with 7 of their 10 wines produced on the estate being red. We shared a 5 wine tasting at a cost of 150 Rand (USD $8.05) and bought a bottle of our favorite, the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Leaving Stellenbosch we returned our rental car at the Cape Town airport then took an Uber to the Sea Point neighborhood in Cape Town, the same area we stayed for two weeks back in March.
Our return to Cape Town gave us the chance to do a couple of touristy things that we missed doing earlier. The first of which was a boat tour to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of the 27 years he was imprisoned before the fall of apartheid. The prison was closed in 1996 and has been turned into a museum with tours conducted by former inmates. The tour includes a ferry from the V&A Waterfront to the island, then a bus tour to various places of interest around the island before the final stop, the walking tour of the prison itself. It was interesting and thankfully not nearly as shocking as some of the prisons we visited in Asia. The 3.5 hour tour costs 600 Rand (USD $32.50) per person. The online booking portal was showing as full so we took a chance and went to the departure terminal at the V&A Waterfront, we were able to buy tickets for the next tour. They do get cancellations so it’s worth checking in person.
Along the Sea Point promenade are a pair of giant stainless steel glasses. They are called ‘Mandela’s Glasses’ and offer a direct line of sight to Robben Island, serving as a symbol of vision and freedom and the country’s journey towards democracy.
The second touristy thing we did while in Cape Town was go up the Table Mountain Cable Car. We watched the weather carefully to find a clear morning for a ride to the top of the mountain. We also went early in the morning because we heard about 2 hour or more lineups as the day goes on. You can buy tickets online but we wanted to see the lineup situation before committing so we bought them on arrival, that line was only 6 people in front of us. The lineup to board to cable car was much longer but moves fairly quickly and I estimate we waited around 30 minutes. It’s roughly a 6 minute ride up to the top and the rotating floor inside the cable car gives everyone a 360 degree view during the trip. At the summit there are a variety of trails with panoramic vistas of Cape Town, Robben Island, Lion’s Head, Signal Hill and the Twelve Apostles mountain range. We could see as far as the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Point lighthouse that we climbed up to in March. It’s worth coming up here for the views. Tickets cost 490 Rand (USD $26.65) per person.
On our last day in Cape Town we took an Uber to Camps Bay, a wealthy suburb with a large beach and lots of waterfront restaurants. It was a beautiful day for a walk along the promenade and lunch overlooking the ocean before we headed back to the apartment to pack our suitcases for an 11:30pm flight to Mauritius.
South Africa has always felt like it’s a long way from anywhere and has not been a convenient place to stop on any of our travel routes, so it had to become a destination. Once we committed to a safari in Tanzania we decided to continue south on the African continent all the way to the bottom. Once we got here we were pleasantly surprised how wonderfully inexpensive it is. We began and ended our 2 months in South Africa in Cape Town, thoroughly enjoying our time staying in the Sea Point neighborhood.
Rental cars are relatively inexpensive, our car cost us USD $34.40 per day with unlimited mileage and included the zero deductible extra coverage insurance offered by rentalcars.com who we rented the car through. The car agency we ended up with was First Car Rentals and they seem to be about as good as any. My only complaint was they charged close to USD $250 for a fuel deposit on our credit card and when it was refunded we lost USD $30 in currency exchange. In the past, car rental companies have put a hold on our credit card but never actually taken the funds so we were a bit disappointed in this practice. Fuel was costing 21 Rand (USD $1.10) a liter on average in this part of South Africa. Our total fuel cost for the 38 days we had the car was USD $177, not bad for all the driving we did.
Safety always comes up as a concern in South Africa, and it is definitely real but also manageable by using common sense. We followed recommendations regarding not walking around late at night, using Uber to get around which was fabulous, not driving at night and when we were on our road trip we always asked our hosts if there were routes or areas we should avoid. We never felt threatened or unsafe but always paid attention to our surroundings. I think what bothered me the most about South Africa is the obvious disparity between the haves and the have nots. It saddened me every time we drove past the townships on the outskirts of every city and town 😞
Overall, we found South Africa an inexpensive place to visit and we enjoyed our time here more than we expected. The tourist activities are similar in price to other hot spots around the world but the day to day costs such as wine, groceries and restaurants are great. We could go out for a nice dinner for around USD $50 and that included a bottle of wine and gratuity. It would cost at least double that in Canada!
I hope that one day we can return to South Africa and explore more of this country, as well as neighboring countries we have heard so much about. Until then, we are jetting off to an island in the Indian Ocean and a new country for us, Mauritius…..
TRIP TIPS
Maties Gym is part of Stellenbosch University and a one day pass cost 200 Rand (USD $10.70) each and includes full access to the gym and the swimming pool.