Looking for something to do in and around Cape Town with the family?  Yesterday we were too!

A simple Google search turned up this amazing map of the Cape Winelands. (Click Here to download the .pdf 1.3mb) Using it enabled us to quickly pinpoint which wine estate we wanted to try out, and yesterdays selection was Delvera Wine Estate, off the R44 near Stellenbosch.

Please note that all reviews are unannounced and paid for in full by NessWorld.

Images from this post are courtesy of the Delvera Wine Estate website and are hosted on our own server. (A flat battery in my car, and the resulting stress of having everyone packed, hatted, shod and sunscreened and strapped in already, meant that I accidentally left my camera behind. My bad.)

Our plan was to try out the Simonsberg Cafe, and then unleash the children in the play area.

Things that I really liked:

The outdoor restaurant area is beautifully canopied by very large and beautiful trees, so we were well shaded, and enjoyed a dappled sunny afternoon, rather than sweltering in the heat!

The restaurant menu is reasonable (compared to other wine farm restaurant prices) and had many classic childrens favourites.

The children had enough time to play for a little while before the food arrived, so when it did they were more than happy to eat. In fact the timing of the arrival of the wine (we chose a local Knorhoek Chenin Blanc) and the food was perfect in every respect, even considering that we arrived after 14h30.

The waitress was friendly, professional, and thoughtful to remember things for the kids like tomato sauce. (Can’t remember how many times I’ve had to ask for it in restaurants!) She also picked up an error on our bill before we did, and rectified it immediately.

We both ordered the classic ‘Simonsburger’ which exceeded all our expectations when we were presented with a real hamburger patty (as in made from scratch, not pre-packaged frozen rubbish), which was delicately spiced and served on freshly baked farmhouse bread rolls with rocket and the most delectable onion marmalade.

They elevated the chips (literally, in a bowl on the plate) to so much more than just your average french fry and even though it was enough as a portion, I could have happily inhaled another bowl. But then, I do have an unnaturally close relationship with carbs.

Both kids opted for the chicken nuggets (again, real chicken!) and chips, and my eldest not only polished his plate, but attempted to finish his little brothers as well. Again, the portion sizes were fine, but then the food *was* delicious.

The tables where we chose to sit outside were thoughtfully spaced, and ideal for people with little kids. Each table is set into it’s own private little area, and even though you can hear others nearby, it is like you have the place to yourself.

The play area was in site of our table, so my eldest (who is only 4) could go back and forth and wave to us from on top of the play house.

Our entire bill came to ZAR 250.00 (including a ZAR70.00 bottle of wine and a ZAR30.00 tip for the good service), and in my mind was well worth it for a family of four, and in such a beautiful environment.

What I didn’t like:

Absolutely nothing!

Suggestions to visitors considering a visit to the restaurant:

My youngest is 21 months old and is at that age where he just runs without looking where he’s going and without stopping when told to.

Now while this was absolutely fine given the environment, with plenty of little kids around and no major bodies of water (except for a 20 cm deep, 2m wide rock pool at the very bottom picnic area), the area is so well foliaged on either side of brick paved pathways, and shaded that we had to leave the table to keep an eye on him, because the plants are taller than him.

That was my only ‘issue’ as it were, and once we’d finished lunch, we all took the short stroll down to the grassy area at the bottom where we could work off some energy.  Also note, that the play area/jungle gym is only for children under 8, and while it was adequately entertaining for my 4 year old, it is quite small.

Lastly, there are a whole host of other attractions on Delvera Wine Estate that we did not have a chance to visit, including:

A function venue, Pony Drawn Cart rides (on Sundays), a Wine Shop, a Wool Shop and Farm Kitchen, a Ceramics Studio, a Clothing Design Collection by Delilah the Pure Earth Workshop, an indigenous plant Nursery, an Olive Shop, the Dirtopia Trail Centre (we are SO coming back for that!), and I can definitely see us sneaking a weekend away at the Oakleaf Lodge Self-Catering Accommodation.

There is so much more, and far more than I could possibly list here, so please visit their website, or better yet, visit the Wine Estate itself.

The gorgeous weather of late, couple with the fact that the school holidays are on, have made the past week, the ideal time to set about exploring and enjoying the areas that are within a days drive of home.

The Whale Festival was on in Hermanus, which is about 90 mins drive from Cape Town, over the past weekend, and so it was with Whales in mind that our family set out on a day trip in that general direction.

We decided to take the coastal route from Gordons Bay, but had to stop and capture the fantastic view, and hope that the strong wind was not going to blow us off the road! Still, for this view, it was totally worth chancing it right?

Looking back toward Cape Town, you can just make out the distant figure of the back of Table Mountain in the distance, across False Bay.

The coastal route is really quite spectacular, and each bend brings with it new sights, and more incredible mountains, and frothy seascapes that are an absolute pleasure to behold.

Another advantage of this route are the fact that it is NOT a toll road, there are a few stopping off points from which you can safely take in the view on foot (beware the wind), and there is also relatively little traffic, although of course our trip was undertaken midweek, and one imagines that on a Friday afternoon, it may be another story entirely.

The first sign of houses after Gordons Bay, is at Rooi Els, followed by the beautiful, picturesque Pringle Bay. Two seaside havens which are mostly holiday homes and weekend getaways for the well-heeled.

After Pringle Bay is a stretch of road leading to Bettys’ Bay, where the scenery changes yet again…

Betty’s Bay is the next holiday hideaway, before you reach a larger settlement at Kleinmond (including the absolutely stunning Arabella Golf Resort). Just after Kleinmond the R44 meets the R43 which is the main route to Hermanus from Cape Town.

This is what it looks like when you look inland (to the left) as opposed to out to sea.

You can see the route on this map below, marked out in red (start at Gordons Bay and head south). The blue bubbles on the map, are the locations where I shot the photographs for this piece.

We finally reached Hermanus, only to see that the wind was blowing a gale, and the Whale Crier was silent indicating that no Whales had been sighted. The Wiki link will tell you about the Whale Crier, who is believed to be the only one of his kind in the world. He is employed by the town, to blow on a horn made of kelp, and different sounds indicate to the townsfolk where the whales have been sighted.

But sadly,  we did not get to see any Whales on this occasion. Perhaps they were tired after putting on such a great show during the Whale festival. No matter, we’ll definitely get some whale shots onto NessWorld in due course.

The wind was really quite something, so we decided to visit the child friendly haven known as the Wimpy instead, where we were able to build up our caffeine stores by having a mega-coffee (the husband opted for their bottomless Coca-cola option), and the kids were more than happy with the familiar food, and of course the obligatory balloons on offer afterward.

We pressed on eastwards, toward the picturesque and charming town of Stanford, and will definitely be returning there for a weekend getaway soon, the town deserves a whole article to itself, which is why it’s only getting a mention now.

We took the R326 north-east toward Riviersonderend. What an unexpected pleasure THAT route turned out to be!

Look here! (Remember it’s Spring in the Southern Hemisphere right now – at last!)

Those are Waterbuck I believe, and we also spotted some rather camera shy Wildebeest, Zebra and Springboks. We’ll definitely explore this area some more when we go back to Stanford.

Reaching the top of a small mountain pass, we were once again faced with a change of scenery, and we began our descent into a valley filled to the brim with rolling green and yellow fields, and where purple mountains stood in the distance. Reaching our turning point we were about to turn to head homewards, when we met some woolly friends…

The kids loved the fact that we were soon enveloped by sheep!

Spring time is shearing time, and this lot were off to get shorn, like their rather skinny looking counterparts that we past in the coming fields as we turned for home into the fading afternoon light.

Thank you for traveling with us!

Our next installment of Tourist for a Day will be coming soon, but even sooner than that, get ready for the most delicious Sesame Noodle dish with chicken and vegetables! It’s fore-head-smackingly – YUMMY!

The current economy has many people around the world tightening their belts, thinking more about saving, and consequently spending less on family holidays.

In fact, it’s leading to a rediscovery of the sights and sounds of familiar places and if we can derive enjoyment from simple pleasures, within a days drive of home, then why not? It has less impact on the environment, boosts local business, and helps us all to live in the moment, and simply enjoy life, right now.

It is in this frame of mind, that my family undertook a short trip some of my favourite parts of Cape Town, looking at it through the eyes of a tourist.

Many Capetonian locals pride themselves on having many a secret haunt that is somehow ‘better’ or ‘less crowded’ than those frequented tourists, but it occurred to me, that we sometimes focus so hard on avoiding those places popular with tourists that we miss out on all the good stuff!

Our first stop was the new stadium, currently being built in Greenpoint, for the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The visitor centre (housed in an portion of the old Greenpoint stadium), offers a video presentation (which we did not stay for as it would have meant an hours wait for the next one) about the process of building the stadium, and of the history of the land that the stadium is being built on.

Unfortunately, though understandably, there were no tours being offered which allow you to visit the inside of the stadium in his current state of construction. It is however, looking quite magnificent, and the final finished piece should be quite spectacular.

I was really impressed by how we were welcomed by the staff, and ushered in, and the sense of pride with which we were greeted and told about what was on offer.

As a former sceptic, I’m now happy to say that I think that this world cup, may just show the world what South Africans are capable of. (Don’t you dare prove me wrong South Africa!!)

We were unable to even get close enough to the stadium to get a decent photograph, so we decided to drive up Signal Hill to see what it looked like from up there.

It is quite incredible just how much things have changed, in the cityscape that greeted us from on top of Signal Hill.

It was lovely to see the excitement on the faces of the American tourists that were there en mass, correctly picking out Robben Island (pictured) where our own Nelson Mandela spent most of his incarceration, and getting into the rhythm provided by some local ethnic drummers who were performing, and getting them involved in the drumming.

Ahhh. Cape Town. Despite your many problems, you still take my breath away. There are few greater sights in all the world.

There of course many spectacular sites the world over, and many that I desperately miss, and can’t wait to see again, but for a simple day trip? To have this on my doorstep is a most welcome and awe inspiring delight.

Which brings me to this…

The drive back down Signal Hill is almost better than the one on the way up, given that you get to see this wondrous view of Table Mountain, followed by the descent into Kloof Nek, and onwards to Camps Bay beyond.

Driving over and into Camps Bay like this, one never knows what to expect, you could easily have bright sunshine in the city bowl, only to be faced with a massive cold front rolling in to the Atlantic Seaboard, but we were lucky, and nothing but bright clear sky greeted us, along with an almost Fiji-an like blue sea.

We followed the road around and down to Hout Bay, where we headed straight for the tourist mecca that is Mariners Wharf, for the obligatory fish and chips, and dive bombing sea gulls.

A piece of Hout Bay Beach, next to Mariners Wharf, and Mariners Wharf itself – not nearly as busy as I would have expcted, considering that it is currently Spring Break!

It was tasty, delicious, peaceful, and all around awesome, and the perfect way to wrap up our ‘Tourist for Day’ adventure.

The next installment of “Tourist for a Day” will be out later this week: Location: To be advised!

All photographs are copyrighted, by NessWorld Online Magazine, all rights reserved.

Do you remember reading your first Harry Potter book?

Let’s face it, most of us were adults already, when the books rose to global stardom. I sheepishly paid for my first copy (book 5 – yes, I was a bit slow on the uptake), thinking that the bookstore clerk was probably eyeballing me like I was some kind of oddity that liked reading childrens stories.

Hah! Less than one chapter in, and I was unashamedly a thorough Harry Potter dork and proud of it. I’d seen the first two movies, prior to reading book five, and hastily rectified this HUGE gap in my literary education, and quickly purchased books 3 & 4.

I’d have been in line to get book 6 as soon as the stores opened if not for a minor medical emergency which thwarted my attempts to lay my hands on the first available copy. When book 7 was due to come out, my husband was by this time suitably prepped with anything and everything that he would need to see to the care of our first born child, so that I could be left in peace to read my precious! So I could thumb through it’s hallowed pages, and be plunged once more into the dark, magical world, to gasp in fear and dare to hope when approaching the much anticipated climax of the story, lest I be dragged back to realistic consciousness and have to attend to trivialities such as feeding my family, or at worst, laundry.

So, it is with great happiness, childlike enthusiasm and fervor approaching cult levels that I anticipate the opening of this particular theme park in Orlando Florida, in the northern hemisphere spring of 2010 (that is April).

You will be able to purchase wands from Ollivanders, an array of sweet goods from Honeydukes including Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and both restaurants from the books are included in the attractions, that is, The Three Broomsticks, and The Hogs Head Pub and I have a feeling this is where my husband will have the impedimenta jinx suspiciously cast upon him, preventing him from moving any further, and exploring other avenues with me, which include attractions such as Dervish and Banges, where I will no doubt pick up a copy of the Monster Book of Monsters (the one that tries to eat Harry in Book 3).

I wonder if the Zonkos Joke shop planned for the park will include products such as Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, in case I need to make a quick escape from the hotel, in order to make a return visit?

At any rate, at least I know I’ll find next years Christmas gift for my husband. I think I may sneak it into his wardrobe, and see if he puts it on for a board meeting without realising!