Compact Travels - Exploring Places Like Never Before...

It was our penultimate day in the Western Cape and we left our hotel for a full day tour of the Winelands. Many of us were looking forward to yet another interesting excursion of the Western Cape region. Our tour comprised of exploring the Spier Wine Estate and Spier Village known for its luxury accommodation where we could also visit the Cheetah Research Station and sample some of the best wines from the region.

Spier is situated in the regions of Stellenbosch and is approximately 40 minutes drive from the city of Capetown. Stellenbosch is recognized as the Cape's premier wine growing region. Later we took a walking tour of the historical Stellenbosch. However our first wine tasting session was at Spier where we were given a well descriptive explanation of the variety of wines from the Pinotage to Merlot, from Chenin Blanc to Noble Late Harvest and from the Cabernet Sauvignon to Shiraz. Spier is well known for its award winning wines.

The Village at Spier comprises of a wide array of leisure activities which includes a golf course, horse rides, picnics and the cheetah ranch.

The finest grapes from Spier's vineyards are processed at Spier's own custom built cellar. As part of our tour we also visited the Spier Wine Cellars which has a capacity to handle over 2000 tons of red and 800 tons of white grapes and all wine making operations are in line with the best of international standards.

The Wine Centre is a haven for wine lovers and wine lovers are spoilt for choice- Spier showcases wines from over 200 local estates and although I am not a regular wine drinker, being there and going through the wine tasting session gives you the exposure to some of the finest wines that you will find in the African continent.

The tasting sessions are normally conducted between 1000 hours and 1600 hours and you have to fix an appointment for the first session in case you wish to move on to visit other wine estates at Stellenbosch, Franschoek and Paarl.

After an interesting Wine Tasting session, we headed for the Cheetah Outreach which is a major tourist attraction at the Spier Village. Spier has an area allotted to raise Cheetahs as part of the CCF or the Cheetah Conservation fund and here the major attraction is undoubtedly to pet the cheetah at a nominal cost and you can click a picture and take home as a souvenir also knowing that you have played your role in contributing to the Cheetah Conservation movement.

After Spier we headed for the historic town of Stellenbosch entering the town via the historical Dorp Street. Stellenbosch is one of the must see towns on the wine route and the history of the town is reflected in many of its buildings which are in neo-Dutch, Georgian and modern Victorian architecture. Rows of oaks and open spaces with trees around make the quaint little town look very pretty with white walls around you.

One of the most significant places at Stellenbosch is its University known as the "Maties" Several international enterprises have their bustling university town. As part of our walking tour we also visited d'Ouwe Werf- South Africa's oldest inn which forms a historical core of this vibrant town. D'Ouwe Werf which is a four star property stands on the site where the first church of South Africa was built in 1687 and the hotel has been restored in 1890 after it was initially built in 1802 and destroyed by fire on three occasions.

Taking a short tour of this finely decorated hotel, we all wished if we could have spent one night at the Town of Oaks i.e. Stellenbosch and the best place to stay would be the Oldest Inn which is in South Africa's second oldest town.

After Stellenbosch, our next stop was at Franschoek, one of the most beautiful villages in the Wineland. Franschoek Wine Valley lies deep in the Cape winelands and is South Africa's very own 'French quarter". It has its historical significance as this is where Nelson Mandela began his long walk to Freedom. Originally named as Olifantshoek by the Cape Dutch's commander because of the vast herds of elephants that roamed the valley, Franschoek gradually became known by its current title after it had been settled by the French Protestants and the region has retained a distinctively French character. This can be perceived in the type of wines cultivated here as well as the French dominated cuisine. hIt is a must visit place for those who love the Champagne style sparkling wines. At Franschoek we halted for lunch at Polyfyntjies - a traditional South African Restaurant. Polyfyntjies which is pronounced as POL-FAIN-KEES is Afrikaans for "souvenir" and is also a title for a classic South African cookery book. Now the name has been changed to "58 on Main" and the restaurant specializes in traditional South African cuisine such as the bobotie, the Cape Malay Curry and that is followed by some exotic desserts comprising of Malva Pudding and Cape Brandy tart that one can choose from.

Smoked salmon and grilled rainbow trout which are the local specialties were on the menu for us and good to see was that all meals were served with traditional vegetables freshly from the farm. The salad too was an absolute delight and we were fortunate to get some fine weather so that we could not only try out some fine cuisine but also get a panoramic view of the mountains and forests nearby as the seating was organized outside in the garden.

The new restaurant has the capacity to seat 58 inside the restaurant and the garden can take upto 100 people. The set menus are of extremely good value and start from 75 Rands upwards(approx Rs 500).

After two wine tasting sessions - one at Spier and the other at Stellenbosch and a sumptuous meal at Franschoek we were all hoping for a nice siesta when we were told that we would be continuing our wine exploration by visiting the beautiful city of Paarl.

The picturesque town of Paarl is located between the Paarl Mountain and the towering Du Toitskloof Mountain range. The Berg River flows through the valley and the town is nestled between neighbourhoods comprising of historic farms which contribute to the countryside atmosphere making this quaint little town a perfect getaway place from the city of Capetown. As you enter the region, you see the magnificent 50 million year old granite boulders. There's lots to do and see at Paarl and we had a couple of hours and we were straight taken to one of the most phenomenal properties of our trip that we had seen. I am referring to the Grande Provence Estate and more specifically the Grand Roche Hotel - one of South Africa's finest hotel and a member of the Relaix & Chateau , Africa's only Relais Gourmand. The property is situated on a historic wine farm in probably one of the most beautiful valleys of the Cape.

We were greeted by Elmine Nel - the Sales Manager who welcomed us with sparkling wine from the region. We were taken for a guided tour of this property and we started our tour by first visiting the internationally acclaimed Bosman's Restaurant which is the only Relais Gourmand status restaurant in the whole of Africa and is ranked as one of the top 10 restaurants in the world.

From a gourmet specialty to a low calorie dish, a barbeque or even a club sandwich - you name it and you will find it being served at Gourmand. I was intrigued by the number of glasses kept and I was told that they were reading glasses to read the menu and also to see the texture of wines being served at your table.

The property comprises of 29 suites and 6 rooms luxuriously decorated with all modern amenities and ceilings of most of the rooms are with visible thatched or reed covering in traditional style. The stand out room is undoubtedly the honeymoon suite which is located in an independent historical building. The room itself is comprising of a lounge, a bedroom with a king sized bed, a bathroom with double shower and a Jacuzzi, a private sun terrace and a separate patio too. It was interesting to note that all the historical buildings within the property are declared as South Africa National Monuments.

The other highlight of the Grand Roche is the historical chapel which is rented for intimate weddings and you couldn't have a more memorable wedding if budget is not a constraint. The wedding package rates start from 15400 Rands for two nights which is just under Rs 150000.

For those with a lower budget can opt for the 3 nights Grapes of the Cape package which comprises of wine tours to four wine estates, entrance fees and a two course lunch for the wine lover and all this comes to you at a price of 8000 Rands per person or Rs 64000 per person on twin sharing basis.

Then you have the Golf Package, the Saddle the Valley package to go around the property on horse back, the Big Six and many more packages. For business executives there is the Conference Package as well and we at Compact Travels will be glad to book one of these premier packages for you to experience one of your most memorable visits of your lifetime.

After a wonderful day we drove along back to Cape town and we had enough opportunity to once again enjoy a late supper at the V&A waterfront which
wasn't to far away from our hotel.

Our trip was coming to an end and the following morning we would be doing a short tour of the District Six Museum and Bo-Kaap before taking our flight in the afternoon to Johannesburg. To know more about our last day in Capetown and last night in Johannesburg, you will have to wait till the next issue of Opportunities Today.