South Africa 2011
Itinerary, Dinner and Accommodation
Itinerary
This year’s tour of South Africa took in
Stellenbosch - 1 day
Elgin - ½ day
Constantia & Noordhoek - ½ day..
Accommodation
We again stayed at The Inn at Castle Hill Guesthouse, 37 Gatesville Road, Kalk Bay, +27 21 788 2554 www.castlehill.co.za A great B&B on the hillside with a superb veranda with direct views of the sea and within walking distance of several local beaches and seawater pools and, about, 5 good restaurants in the village.
Dinner
Olympia Restaurant, Main Road, Kalk Bay; really good gastro-pub style food in the middle of the village. Always busy so get there late-ish, after 8.30 pm for a table
Theresa’s, Boyes Drive, Kalk Bay, +27 21 788 8051; a number of traditional South African dishes; laid-back atmosphere.
The Annex, behind the Library bookstore on Main Road, Kalk Bay similar food to the previous 2 restaurants but a little less frantic.
Satori, Main Road, Kalk Bay. A pizzeria; if you like thin crust pizza, this is one of the best.
Cellars-Hohenhort Hotel
Shellfish on 'The Beach'
Greenhouse Menu Gourmand
The Greenhouse restaurant at the Cellars-Hohenort Hotel, 93 Brommerslvlei, Constantia (+27 21 794 2137); has deservedly been a ‘top 10’ SA restaurant for years. Try to get their during daylight hours as it is a great suburban area. We had their Menu Gourmand (R575) which was probably 2, maybe 3 star Michelin quality. The pick of the menu was definately the 'Shellfish on 'The Beach''. To go with the meal we had a 2006 Oak Valley Sauvignon Blanc (see Elgin 2011) and a 1995 Overgaauw Tria Corda (see Stellenbosch 2011).
Taste Restaurant just off the R44 from Somerset West towards Stellenbosch ; really good French bistro style within 30 minutes of the airport. Get there for sunset for a great view of Table Mountain in the west
Sign of the times
Beware of Sharks
Thought that you might smile at the above sign in Muizenberg taken from the Sha-Bean Cafe at Surfers' Corner. There seems to be a culture of litigation in SA if signs are anything to go by. I particularly like this warning ‘Use of Ocean at Own Risk’. As far as the shark warning is concerned, False Bay has a large seal island and consequently a large population of great white sharks. Don’t see how the warning can ever be less than a red flag, so what is the use? Having said that one day they did sound the alarm and get all the surfers out of the sea.