Waltzing through the Western Cape

Previous posts have shown you much of the Eastern Cape from Jonah's field trips, so I thought you might like to see another part of the country. 

Let's head west to a quaint little area filled with mountains, lined by the sea, and dotted with wine farms. Oh, Western Cape, you are a joy to behold. 

In January, I attended the AETFAT conference, which was a meeting of the botanical minds of Africa and Europe. The lab arrived in Cape Town on Sunday and immediately headed to the quaint town of Stellenbosch. A trip to Stellenbosch is not complete without a little tour of the wine farms.

We stopped briefly at Uitkyk, where the bartender kindly offered us each one tasting for free. They were closing and hoped to shoo us along quickly.

Next stop: Delheim. This is one of Jonah's and my favorite wineries. The table wine is fantastic and we always have a few bottles on hand. Above is the view as you pull into the lot.

The entrance to deliciousness.

The cellar where we enjoyed tasting different wines. I ended up going home with 2 bottles of their Chenin Blanc, which is not for sale in good ol' Joburg (yet). We then headed back to the University for the opening evening reception.

Fast forward through two days of exhilarating scientific talks and well fed tea breaks...to our Table Mountain Excursion! One of the options for the mid-week excursion was to take a cable car to the top of the mountain and hike around. (photo credit: my phone!)

  

As we climbed up in the cable car, we were a bit worried that the "table cloth" wouldn't lift in time. Thankfully, after a few minutes at the top, the cloth gracefully slid off and we had amazing views.

The Ericas were in bloom! This is one of my favorite groups of plants in SA.

Another favorite group: Orchids! How pretty is this little flower?

The landscape on top of Table Mountain.

Watsonias were everywhere, dotting the mountain top with brilliant fiery orange.

From the Duiker Trail, you had views of Lion's Head (left) and Robbin Island in the distance (right).

A closer view of Lion's Head. 

Of course, this is the trail we took out to the edge for better views. No, Jonah wasn't leading the hike, he was back in Joburg getting ready for his umpteenth rendezvous in the Eastern Cape.

My favorite ocean! 

After coming down off Table Mountain, our tour guide took the bus over to Signal Hill for a short visit.

On Signal Hill, there was a nifty frame set up for the perfect tourist photograph.

From here, you could also see Robbin Island. It reminded me a bit of Alcatraz. Apparently there is a cookbook for sale there that provides details of Madiba's meals while imprisoned.

We weren't finished yet! Afterwards, we headed to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. This is possibly one of my favorite places in South Africa. Pictured above is a Welwitschia mirabilis, which are now being propagated in the greenhouse at the Garden. Welwitschia's are one of southern Africa's most iconic plants (a gymnosperm, not a flowering plant). Each plant only has two leaves that spiral around and grow approximately 15cm each year. You can tell how old the plants are by the "rings" left on the leaves after each growth period.

Castle Rock overlooks the Tea Room (I did buy the cookbook offered at the Garden).

While on our tour through the garden, we were privileged to see the progress on the Canopy Walk that's under construction in the Arboretum portion of the Garden. The Garden staff fondly refer to it as the Boomslang, which is a highly venomous, arboreal snake in SA. Nothing fond about that.

Stellenbosch University, where our meeting was held, is probably one of the most picturesque campuses I've ever visited. Nina- you should totally do a study abroad here. I'd definitely come visit! :)

It's also a primarily Afrikaans university, so not many of the signs were in English. However, almost everyone spoke English.

The main hall on campus.

On the last day, I skipped the last session to walk around the town. The lack of walls and electric fences was a welcome break from the high security of Joburg. The town had a wonderful New England feel to it, with lots of white, Dutch colonial buildings. Above is the presumed Town Hall (Stellenbosch is worse about signs and information than Joburg) with a lovely tribute to Mandela out front. The day before, flowers and cards were laid out in front and added lovely splashes of color to the lawn.

Here's a not-so-great view of the streets, where we'd walk down to find dinner. 

The moon rising over the mountains and campus was one of the most serene views that week.

On my way back to Joburg, I saw this awesome cake at Mugg & Bean in the Cape Town airport. Challenge accepted.

After a great week in Stellenbosch, it's nice to be back.

Home Sweet Home.