We hired a little 1.3litre Toyota Tazz and drove out of Cape Town along the beautiful coastal road south east of the city, as far as Hermanus, on Walker Bay, at the start of the whale coast. The main season for whale watching is June through to the beginning of December, though we're told that a few of the Southern Right whales can still be spotted later in December- but not by us! We stopped for refreshments in Hermanus, looking over the ocean before turning inland to Caledon. (There are quite a few "Scottish" places in this area - MacGregor, Robertson, Ceres, Napier) Immediately we began to see vineyards & farmlands in the sweeping fertile valleys. We also experienced our 1st dirt road - without warning, the tarmac ended & we were driving in clouds of yellow dust.
Beyond Caledon, we drove through the Holland Hottentot Mountains via the Franschoek Pass to the town of Franschoek. The Pass bore a strong resemblance to a Scottish glen & carried us, it seemed, straight into Provence. It was very beautiful & very hot but we found a tranquil spot in the gardens of "La Fromagerie" where we lingered for an hour or two, gazing over vineyards to the mountains above while eating a delicious lunch. Our meal was followed by a stroll around the town before we drove on to Stellenbosch & Paarl, the other main settlements on the Wine Route, for a brief look round. Paarl is on the edge of the Drakenstein Mountains & has historical significance firstly as the historical birthplace of the Afrikaans language movement in the 19th C (in honour of this, there is a grandiose monument dominating the mountainside above the town) & secondly as the place where Nelson Mandela finally walked free from imprisonment in 1990.
Beyond Caledon, we drove through the Holland Hottentot Mountains via the Franschoek Pass to the town of Franschoek. The Pass bore a strong resemblance to a Scottish glen & carried us, it seemed, straight into Provence. It was very beautiful & very hot but we found a tranquil spot in the gardens of "La Fromagerie" where we lingered for an hour or two, gazing over vineyards to the mountains above while eating a delicious lunch. Our meal was followed by a stroll around the town before we drove on to Stellenbosch & Paarl, the other main settlements on the Wine Route, for a brief look round. Paarl is on the edge of the Drakenstein Mountains & has historical significance firstly as the historical birthplace of the Afrikaans language movement in the 19th C (in honour of this, there is a grandiose monument dominating the mountainside above the town) & secondly as the place where Nelson Mandela finally walked free from imprisonment in 1990.
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