Cape Town & surrounds…  Thursday 29/05/2025

Have been having a pleasant time in Cape Town. The weather has been mixed – a couple of days have been cold and rainy, the maximum not getting up past 14 degrees and strong wind making it feel quite a bit colder. But there have been lovely warm days too. 

Last weekend was forecast to be consistent sunny, so I took the opportunity to hire a car and travel out of the city. Heading east, the first stop was Vergelegen, a beautiful wine estate founded in 1700 and lying below the Hottentots-Holland mountain range. 

From there it was up over Sir Lowry’s Pass and through fruit-growing valleys east all the way to Swellendam. The third oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town and Stellenbosch, this small town has many old buildings and is in very good condition. Went for a long walk and then checked into my accommodation. This was a great surprise – from the pictures on booking.com it was clear that it was arty, but it was a lot more than that. I was greeted by the owner, an Afrikaans woman in her mid-60s, and given a guided tour. With a background as a primary school and an art teacher, she has transformed what was an ordinary double story house into something from a fairy tale. Exuberant decoration inside, and a Mad Hatters tea garden outside – her primary business is hosting children’s – and adults’ – parties. Having been married to a farmer and spending 23 years living on a farm in the Free State, once she got free of that it seems that she put heart and soul into creating something entirely different… An excellent woman! We did have a long conversation about how she broke away from the very rigid social setting of her earlier years… 

On Sunday morning I stopped for breakfast at a cafe, and then drove the 50 kilometres or so up to Montagu. A small historic town, full of great Victorian buildings, again very well kept. Walked around the town, which is surrounded by high sandy coloured mountains, and even visited a small museum in an old house. 

From there to Paarl, which is really the capital of the Cape Winelands. A large town, with numerous old buildings – again an interesting place to walk around. From there a short drive south, where I stopped in Stellenbosch for ice cream, before heading on to the Kleine Załże wine estate. I was keen to see this estate because staying in Durban we regularly drank its Chardonnay. Given it was late afternoon I felt I could also do a little wine tasting… I left with a bottle of Chardonnay and a bottle of their Syrah, which I thought was very good. (And after a very spirited conversation with a group of about 10 people in their early twenties, a mix of English and New Zealanders. They were very lively, no doubt the result of having tasted at least a couple of dozen wines in a trip around wine estates. But they were charming, and doing their best to persuade me to join them for “a glass of wine” – which I refused, having to drive back to Cape Town…).

The western Cape is well known for its beauty. It really is beautiful – wherever you go there are mountains in the distance and everything is very green. Lots of flowers, despite it being autumn. And the roads are in good shape – no potholes, which is very un-South African! Very simple – just good governance, unlike most of the rest of the country. 

Back in Cape Town, I managed to get a mechanic to come and service the engine – it had started smoking a lot. Everything appeared ok until late this afternoon when he checked the gear oil and found water mixed with the oil. The result is that Manuka will have to come out of the water and get the seals replaced. He’s already organised it – Monday morning at 11am, at the Royal Cape Yacht Club, where there’s a boat lift. Obviously I would wish that this did not have to be done! Things are certainly conforming to the old adage “If it can go wrong, it will go wrong”, but hopefully no further complications, then I can look at leaving Cape Town. 

And on a far happier note, I’ve had a couple of monumental dinners with old friend Chris McWilliams… Excellent steak eaten, outstanding wine drunk. And even cognac… Absolutely no restraint! We’re meeting up again tomorrow evening…