Touring South Africa…one sip at a time

An 11-hour overnight flight from Heathrow finds you blinking into the sunrise of another clear blue Cape Town morning.

We had come to sample the sauvignon, sip the shiraz, marvel at the malbec, and also savour the world-class cuisine. But why, you may ask, travel to the southern hemisphere to experience what we have right here on our European doorstep? You obviously haven’t been to South Africa.

This pilgrimage to the wine-taster’s paradise of Franschhoek began not with an aperitif – say a Graham Beck Game Reserve chenin blanc – but with an appetising few days in Cape Town to acclimatise.

Our hotel, the Cape Grace, sits like a luxury liner alongside the lively marina. It’s in a fantastic location, with the harbour flanked by the flattopped Table Mountain.
From here, you can take a tourist bus ride around the city, a cable-car trip to the top of Table Mountain, and then shop until you drop when you return to the Waterfront area.
At the Baia restaurant, we feasted on seafood bisque, lobster and langoustine – and were then presented with a bill as cheap as chips.


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