Robben Island

A view of Robben Island from the top of Table Mountain.

Last month I visited Robben Island for the second time. For some reason, the first time I didn't write about it. Maybe that's because I try to avoid writing blog posts where I need to do any research or remember any historical facts. Or maybe it's because what was most memorable about that particular trip to Cape Town was that Mr. Deep and I got lost hiking up Table Mountain.

Table Mountain as seen from Robben Island January 2017. 

Table Mountain as seen from Robben Island January 2016.

Robben Island is located in Table Bay about nine miles off the coast of Cape Town. The island is most famously known as the home of the prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of his 27 year sentence.  In addition to Mandela, numerous other political prisoners were kept on Robben, about 3000 in total. Actual criminals were also held there and political prisoners and criminals were housed together from 1961 until 1971. In the past, Robben Island was also home to a mental hospital and a leper colony. 

As an American I can't help but compare Robben Island to Alcatraz (I also frequently compare Cape Town to San Fransisco) but other than being islands and former prisons, the two are not very similar. 

• The boat ride out to Robben Island is longer than the one to Alcatraz.I think the boat ride to Robben takes at least 45 minutes each way depending on the boat that you take. 
• Robben is much larger than the tiny rock that is Alcatraz Island. Robben Island is over two miles long and nearly two miles wide. 
• There is a town on Robben Island. In the past the warders live there and these days some of the staff who work on the island live there. There used to be a school but it closed and so now any school age students who live on the island have a very long commute to school traveling to Cape Town by boat.

The tour includes a round trip boat ride from the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, a bus tour around the island and and a visit to the prison. The prison tour is led by a former political prisoner. 

Unfortunately, Derek, the ex-political prisoner who spoke to us, was repeatedly interrupted by a crying baby. At some points the baby was making so much noise while Derek was trying to speak that he lost his train of thought completely. All I kept thinking was it was a good thing that Mr. Deep was not on the tour with us because he would have gone bananas over the crying baby and the parents who thought it was a good idea to bring a small baby on this tour. 

Derek enjoying a moment free of baby screeching.

Mandela's cell. Number 5. 

While I love any excuse to pat myself on the back publicly for having read Mandela's book "A Long Walk to Freedom," I truly believe a trip to Robben Island has more impact for those who have read the book. The tour of the island and the prison provides and opportunity to see the quarry where Mandela and the others worked in the bright sun for years as well as Mandela's prison cell, and the garden where he buried his manuscript. 

One of the most unimaginable stories that is shared on the tour is that of Robert Sobukwe. Sobukwe was a freedom fighter and the founder of the Pan African Congress. The apartheid government was very afraid of Sobukwe. He was sentenced to three years in prison but after he served his sentence the government created a new law stating that the minister of justice could extend the sentence of any political prisoner as long as he wanted. So Sobukwe was sent to Robben Island for an additional six years. For those six years he lived alone far from the other prisoners and he was not allowed to speak with anyone.  

The quarry. Notice the pile of the rocks. Each rock was placed by a former prisoner when visiting the island as a free man. 

The garden

The cell block

"There is only one race. The human race."

-Robert Sobukwe

Fabulous Franschhoek

Last January Mr. Deep and I visited Stellenbosch located in the Western Cape Province. About 37 kilometers to the east of Stellenbosch is another lovely area also known for its wine and beauty called Franschhoek. We were lucky enough to spend a day in Franschhoek recently with family visiting from the U.S.A.

The Franschhoek wine valley was settled by French people who came by way of the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries. These French Huguenots brought to South Africa their love of wine and knack for producing it so many of the vineyards in Franschhoek are very old. The area also boasts lovely Cape Dutch style architecture.

But enough about history and buildings. We came to Franschhoek to taste wine and eat delicious food all while enjoying a views of mountains and vineyards. And that is precisely what we did.

Based on a recommendation from a friend, we chose the Franschhoek Wine Tram as a means to visit wine farms. This seemed like a good idea, as opposed to a private driver and tour, for our large group of seven people. Immediately after I booked I began to worry that maybe it wasn't a good idea. The word tram in itself reminds me of Disney and all I could picture were hoards of tourists (us included) drunkenly cramming onto the trams, pouring out onto the once peaceful wine farms and overwhelming the staff and the tranquility. Most of all I worried that if the tram was crowded and the visits to the wine farms rushed that we wouldn't get to taste enough wine. 

Driving to Franschhoek from Cape Town takes a little more than one hour. As we drove we noticed the area becoming more and more agricultural. Hawkers selling cell phone chargers were now hawkers selling fresh fruit. We drove closer and closer to a huge mountain range while cruising by bright green pastures with horses and cattle on the side of the road. I do remember thinking Stellenbosch was beautiful, but I think Franschhoek is even prettier although ideally if you are in the area you would visit both. 

When we arrived, we were dropped off by our driver at the Wine Tram ticket booth. We checked in and talked with a very helpful staff member who gave us all the information we needed for our trip. I had chosen the 11:30 a.m. departure on the red route (there are numerous routes of all different colors so you could go on the wine tram more than once and visit some new wine farms each time.) At the tram office the staff helped us to select which farms to stop at based on our wine preferences. People who prefer white wine may be directed to visit different farms then those who prefer red. Since we were a large group of varying tastes I asked that we be directed to the prettiest stops as well as the most intimate so that we could meet a few winemakers. 

I had strategically selected the red route at the time of booking because it contained the greatest number of wine farms of all the routes. I may not be good at math but I can count when it counts. When we checked in we learned we'd only have time to stop at five of the seven wineries on our route.  This was actually reduced to only four stops because one of the stops involved staying longer and eating lunch. And by the way eating lunch is key if you want to successfully survive a day of wine tasting. The price of the tram (R220 per person) included a free tasting at one farm and a free welcome glass of wine at another. All of the rest of the tastings we had to pay for but they were quite inexpensive (about R60 per person.)

Once we got on board all of my fears quickly disappeared. First, the tram is not that large and maybe holds 30 people or so at one time. So my concerns about hundreds of people crowding into a little tasting room did not materialize. Second, and most important, the wine tram is extremely well organized. The host stands up front with a microphone clearly announces the time guests will be picked up (it's always a minimum of an hour that you can stay at any one farm.) He also clearly announced each stop. Guests can skip farms that don't interest them or that they need to skip due to lack of time. Finally, the tram waits for no man or woman. If you aren't waiting at the bus stop at the right time the tram will leave you and you will be stuck at that farm for another hour. I love things that run on time and don't deviate from the planned schedule because why should people who are late slow things down for everyone else? As the group leader, using the tram made for a more relaxing day for me as I was not spending my time trying to convince our group it was time to move on to the next farm. They all knew the schedule and that we had to stick to it. 

The first stop was Chamonix. We sat outside a beautiful white Dutch Cape style building and were immediately greeted and given a tasting menu. We tasted three whites and two reds. I thought their wine was very good except for the chardonnay which was apparently award winning - even unoaked I don't like it. 

Dieu Donne', our second stop, wins the prize of the day for the most beautiful location. It is set high up on a mountain with amazing 360 degree views. We stayed for two hours and enjoyed a fine lunch at ROCA overlooking the vineyards while sipping some chilled white wine. 

The view at Dieu Donne'

Next, we moved onto Eikehof, which was my favorite stop. We had our tasting only steps away from rows of grapes on the vine and mountains in the background. We  were served by the husband and wife team who own the farm. The wife explained that farming these days is very difficult financially and so being part of the wine tram tour really helps to get people to the farm to give their wine exposure.

Eikehof Wine Farm

For the final part of the tour we got off the tram and onto a train. The train tracks were built in 1904 and used until the 1990's. The tracks then went unused for years until the wine train began in 2012. We took the train to Rickety Bridge for our final tasting. 

An old Ford truck at Eikehof

Mr. Deep getting creative late in the tour with his wine tram sticker placement.

It was a perfect day. We had great weather, a wonderful lunch, met some nice people, tasted lots of wine and enjoyed a memorable time with our family. Mr. Deep and I definitely want to return to Franschhoek again either with friends or by ourselves for a weekend. 

Stunning Stellenbosch

As part of our trip to the Western Cape and Cape Town, we spent a few days in the beautiful wine country of Stellenbosch. This portion of our trip was planned by a friend who sadly didn't end up visiting South Africa due to a family emergency. I was excited for this friend to experience South Africa and I am sorry she had to miss the trip. She would have been our first friend to make the journey from the U.S. Note to other friends - that coveted honor is still up for grabs. Also, this friend knows a lot about wine whereas Mr. Deep and I only know that we like wine. So Mr. Deep and I were flying (or should we say drinking) by the seat of our pants.

The first place we visited was the Jordan Wine Estate.  It was raining a bit when we arrived but it quickly cleared. The rain did cause Jordan to delay the harvest by a day. By the way, we had no idea we were going to be in Stellenbosch during harvest time. I am not even sure that is something that can be planned because I think a lot of the winemakers just decide when it's the right time to harvest based on the conditions. You could probably time the month (we went in January) but being there on the exact right day or days might be difficult.

At Jordan, we were received a tour of the vineyard and viewed the various hillsides where the grapes are grown. We learned that different types of grapes are grown in different areas of the vineyard depending on the level of sun, wind, etc. that a particular hillside receives. While out in the vineyard we got to taste a few wines as well. It didn't hurt that a wine writer from the U.K. was also on our tour and so by association we got the VIP treatment. We nodded our heads and tried to act serious as we learned about fruit, tannin and structure. After exploring the vineyard, we were given a personal tour of the area where the wine is stored as it ages. I guess the wine writer had already seen such things so she did not join us. We learned about different types of barrel aging including the type of oak used (French or American) and the freshness of the barrel. There is a more official term for this barrel freshness but I can't remember what it is. Anyway, a barrel being used for the first time is going to introduce more oak flavour to the wine than a barrel being used for the fourth time. Following our tour and tasting we ate lunch in the lovely Jordan restaurant. We then headed out (via Uber) to visit two more wine farms that day, Neil Ellis and The House of J.C. Le Roux. 

The general manager of Jordan (left) and the wine writer from the U.K. (right.) And seriously can you imagine if your job was being a wine writer and you traveled around and drank wine for a living? Where can I sign up?

Hahahahahaha. As if he has any idea what he is doing.

The chefs at the restaurant at Jordan are artists!

Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

At Neil Ellis and J.C. Le Roux, we didn't take tours and only did tastings.  It was interesting to see the different styles of the wine farms and tasting rooms. The tasting room at Neil Ellis looked like a 1960's style elementary school or library that you would find in the U.S.  J.C. Le Roux was all white and modern looking inside, in a 1980's kind of way.

Me at J.C. Le Roux

Sparkling wine at J.C. Le Roux

Finally, we headed back to Jordan where we had lovely accommodations. 

Mr. Deep was very excited about our accommodations!

The view from our room at Jordan.

On our second day in Stellenbosch, we visited Waterkloof, Zevenwacht and DeWaal wine farms. Waterkloof was not even on on our radar but a former colleague of Mr. Deep, who lives in the area, suggested it. 

Waterkloof sits on top of a huge hill (mountain) and has floor to ceiling windows in their restaurant/tasting room. They were harvesting as well the day we were there. 

Harvest at Waterkloof

View from Waterkloof

While we were tasting at Waterkloof we were able to taste some of the sauvignon blanc grapes. They were sweeter than I thought they would be and actually tasted a lot like regular grapes. But they were smaller in size.

Zevenwacht wine farm was much more of a country setting with a pond and old Dutch style buildings. We ate a picnic lunch near the pond and then had a tasting. For the tasting we sat outside on the porch. We practically had the place to ourselves except for the annoying smokers who came out to smoke while we were trying to taste. How are we supposed to taste earthiness and chocolate while people are blowing smoke in our faces? 

Picnic lunch and more beautiful photos from Zevenwacht below.

The pretty porch where we had our wine tasting at Zevenwacht

                   

On the way back to Jordan, we decided on a whim to stop at one last wine farm, DeWaal, located right next to Jordan. Going to DeWaal was one of those unplanned things that ends up being a highlight of a trip. 

We arrived toward the end of the day and about 15 minutes later Mr. DeWaal himself came over and started chatting with us. I am calling him Mr. DeWaal because Mr. Deep insists his name was David and I am positive his name was Pieter. And, in looking at the website now as I write this post, it appears his name is Pieter. So I win! Anyway, Pieter started talking with us and telling us about the wines and the vineyard. The harvest was also in full swing at DeWaal and we could see the workers coming in from the fields and the grapes being poured by the truckload in the "crusher."

There were two other guys at DeWaal who were visiting from Germany tasting at the same time that we were. After chatting for a while Pieter invited the four of us down to the fermentation area to taste some grape juice that was in the process of fermenting into sauvignon blanc. It was such a cool experience be with the winemaker and taste right out of the tap. According to Mr. DeWaal, the alcohol content of wine increases by about 1% per day during fermentation. We were tasting it on day five and so it tasted like a wine cooler that you would have enjoyed back in the 80s - very sweet. If you didn't drink wine coolers back in the 80s have no fear, you didn't miss much  - except for a really big headache. 

On the beautiful property of DeWaal.

The fermentation tank

German guy tasting the soon to be sauvignon blanc.

Pieter DeWaal