South
Africa - Days 1 and 2
Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd January 2026
Participants: Tam & Tam
It's a strange
thing, but a holiday to South Africa was never something that Tam
or I had seriously considered until recently. There's a small
vineyard in Tetbury and we help with the grape picking every
year, so we got to know the owners Wendy and Simon. They told us
that they have a few weeks in South Africa in January and
February and the more we talked to them the more the idea
appealed. At home I investigated potential things to do and the
first thing I came across was the Franschhoek Wine Tram. This
lovely little vehicle (along with buses) trundles between various
wine farms so you can try the tastings without the need to drive.
To be fair, we were pretty much sold there and then, but the more
we investigated the more it appealed.
We decided not to try and shoehorn in a safari as our 3 week
itinerary was pretty full already with the wine areas and all the
things to do along the Garden Route. The amazing scenery, pretty
walks and cheap food and wine were some of the things that drew
us, so let's see how we got on shall we?
Day 1 - Thursday 22nd January
We
drive up to Heathrow on Thursday afternoon. It's raining and
there are a couple of delays, not ideal weather for driving but
perfect for flying out of the country to somewhere sunny. It's
unusual for us to drive and park especially when we're going for
3 weeks, but I found a place called Terminals Parking Park and
Ride that was not too far offsite and cost £126 in total. The
entrance is a bit strange as it's along a small road between two
industrial units, but as soon as we've unloaded the car we're
straight into a van that takes us to terminal 5. Very good so
far.
After dropping off our luggage we go through security fairly
quickly. I guess that's the advantage of having a late evening
flight, it's much quieter. We decide we'll need something small
to eat as the flight isn't until 10.20 pm and I don't suppose
we'll get a meal until past midnight. We choose Gordon Ramsey's
Plane Food and split some sushi along with a glass of Chardonnay
each. It's not really that great and the best part of our meal is
watching a mouse scuttling around on the floor under the tables.
We
move on to the Weatherspoons for another glass of wine. To be
honest this place is a nicer environment than Gordon Ramseys's.
The flight takes off pretty much on time and is as pleasant as a
12 hour flight can be except for some turbulance for much of the
time. I manage to snooze for a while so it's not too bad.
Day 2 - Friday 23rd January
After landing on time just after midday local time we get through immigration and customs reasonably quickly. We're still among the last to leave the airport as we take the time to get changed into summery clothes before walking across to Avis to pick up the car. We had booked a British Airways flydrive, but the lady at the desk tries to charge us another 640 rand (about £30). When I dispute this she manages to get it sorted out and we go outside to pick up our car. Driving is fairly easy for us as they drive on the left and we're not too tired as there is only a 2 hour time difference.
We're
heading to the first stop of our holiday a 2 night stop at
Alluvia Wine Boutique. It's a small wine farm a few miles outside
Stellenbosch. The car is making some rather alarming noises,
especially when going up hills, let's hope it survives!
The drive from the airport isn't quite as picturesque as I'd
expected, but all that changes as soon as you turn into the
Banhoek Valley.
To be fair this isn't such a bad view. It's on the motorway just after you leave the airport with Table Mountain in the distance.
There are mountains all around and it's lovely. We pull into Alluvia Wine Boutique around 3.00 pm and it's everything we'd hoped for. We'd booked a suite at £170 a night, but we thought we'd start the holiday off in style.
We drop off the suitcases and immediately head to the balcony in front of the bar and restaurant for a wine tasting, that is one of the main reasons for being here after all. We get 3 wines each, which are nice but not fantastic. To be honest you could serve up any old pig swill and it would be worth it to sit there and admire the view. The wine tasting was included as part of the package with the room
We wander round and it's very lovely although not that big. The barman told us that it's the smallest wine farm in the area producing only 2000 bottles per year.
This is the wedding pavillion. Hmmm .. I could get divorced just so I could get married here.
Oh yeah, they got lamas too.
Back to the room to shower and we're off to the restaurant at 7.00 pm. We'd booked beforehand and we found it to be generally true that you needed to in most places as it's a busy time of the year. We also found that the earlier you booked the better table you got. We start off with a cocktail each before dinner of tuna steak for me and a Chicken and Mussel Thai Curry for Tam. She says it's quite hot, but very nice. We also share a bottle of wine before moving inside for coffee as it's starting to get a little chilly. This is something that surprised me a little. Having been used to Florida evenings when it's still warm (sometimes to the point of being too humid) I thought it would be the same in the Western Cape. Don't get me wrong the days were mostly very warm and some of the evenings too, but most nights were breezy and you needed a light cardigan or hoodie at times. Not that this is a bad thing, it certainly makes it easier to sleep.
One thing we noticed eveywhere was how the colour of the mountains changed so dramatically dependent on the time of day and the way the sun hit them.
The total bill for 2 cocktails, 2 main meals, 1 bottle of wine, 1 chocolate brownie, 2 coffees and gratuity - less than £60! Florida prices it ain't!
Bed at 10.00 pm.