FRANSCHHOEK - STELLENBOSCH - THE WINE COUNTRY

FRANSCHHOEK

Franschhoek (French Corner) takes its name from its first white settlers, French Huguenots who fled to the Cape to escape Catholic persecution in France in the late 1600s. By the early 18th century about 200 Huguenots had settled in the Cape; today their descendants with names like de Villliers,Malan, and Joubert - number in the tens of thousands. With their experience in French vineyards, the early Huguenots

were instrumental in nurturing a wine-making culture in South Africa. 

Thewoman on the memorial represents freedom from oppression...

Franschhoek is the most spectacular of the three wine centers: a long valley encircled by towering mountain ranges and fed by a single road that runs through town. As spectacular as the valley is today, it must have been even more so in the 17th century, when it teemed with game. In calving season herds of elephants would migrate to the valley  via the Franschhoek Mountains. The last wild elephant died in the 1930s. 

Beautiful houses and gardens line the streets...

The African sculptors  are talented and amazing..bronze representations of Gandhi and Mendela 

This is the cottage I rented for two weeks on a wine estate in Franschhoek for two weeks.....

This is the view from the deck......

A view from the top of the climb in Mont Rochelle National Park

Meeting baboons on the way to the top

It is now is an upscale village with beautifully renovated cottages and gorgeous gardens.

STELLENBOSCH 

South Africa's second-oldest municipality, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch has actually retained the feel of an old town. Wandering the oak-shaded streets, which still have open irrigation furrows (known as lei water).

Some of the finest examples of Cape Dutch , Georgian, Victorian, and Regency architecture in the country.

The town was founded in 1679 by Simon van der Stel, first governor of the Cape who recognized the agricultural potential of this fertile valley.

A lot of the roofs are still thatched...it remains in tact for 30-40 years. No longer in use, too expensive to make, and the insurance companies won't insure them....

Wheat was the major crop grown by the early settlers, but vineyards now blanket the surrounding hills. 

The town is also home to the University of Stellenbosch, the country's first and most prestigious Afrikaner university. 

RUPERT MUSEUM

The museum's collection was started by the late Dr Anton rupert and his wife in the 1940s. It opened in 2005 show  case selected acquisitions of South African and international artworks.

IrmaStern

STREET ART........

Recycling plastic bags in to art

These are scare crows for the vineyards.....

This is the first trademark of the Dutch East India Company 

Everybody has to take a break......

SOUTH AFRICA - THE GARDEN ROUTE

The King Protea - South Africa's National Flower

The Garden Route, which generally refers to the 130 mile stretch of coastline from Mossel Bay to Storms River , encompasses some of South Aftrica's most spectacular and diverse scenery, with long beaches, gentle lakes and rivers, tangled forests, impress mountains and steep, rugged cliffs that plunge into a wild and stormy sea.

This is the scenery that we saw on our drive down the "garden route"

The mountains in the backgroud were exquisite 

It's the mix that has earned the Garden Route is reputation for being one of the most scenic routes in South Africa. 

HERMANUS

Eight diverse communities make of Greater Hermanus. Originally separated by geography, and more recently by the former apartheid government's policies, these communities were amalgamated in 1994. In the early 1800's, Hermanus Pieters, shepherd and teacher at the Caledon farm Boontjieskrall, followed the Elephant Path down to the sea and discovered a fresh spring where he knew he could camp for a few months with his livestock in an environment of exceptional beauty.

Slowly, the secret of "good summer grazing and frest water" spread to the surrounding farming districts. Long-term settlement came about due to the abundance of fish and the establishment of a profitable market.

News of the villages's beauty , healing air, and excellent fishing spread  far and wide. It bcame fashionable to prescribe a visit to the "champagne air" of Hermanus for convalescents. One of the many interesting characters that visited here in the early days was Sir William Hoy, general manager of the South African Railways

This is the hotel that we stayed on the coastline 

Beautiful sculpture in South Africa....

. He was so adamant that the natural beauty of Hermanus remain untouched that he blocked all efforts to connect the town to the existing Bot River railway system. 

The Cape Whale Coast 

Hundreds of years ago, an abundance of whales swarm the waters of the Cape.

I saw this whale from my room...hard to discern, but it is a whale!!!

Jan van Riebeeck wrote in 1652: "I noticed many whales in the bay, and especially this month they were so near the ship that one cold easily jump onto them from the yacht."During the 1800s whaling was such a huge industry that the southern right whale population in South African waters was devastated. By the time commercial whaling was stopped in 1940 there were just 10-30 adult females left. There are an estimated 4,000 - 6,000 southern right whales at present, with a large percentage visiting the South African coast annually. They can be distinguished by their V-shaped blow and the callosities that appear on and around their heads; these are not baarnacies but tough skin which form distinctive patterns on each individual.

PLETTENBERG BAY

Plettenberg Bay is south Africa's premier beach resort, as the empty houses on Beachy Head Road (known as Millionaires' Mile) during the 11 months when it's not high season will attest.

Fisherman in the Bay......

Taking time from school to drop a line in the water.....

But in December inland visitors with all their teenage offspring arrive en masse. Plett, as is commonly known, is one of the best places in the world to watch whales and dolphins. 

The protea is the most exotic flower....the arrangements are stunning......

We are happy and movin' on...................