Follow Rio: Stellenbosch & Cape Town
My first thought when we got to Stellenbosch was, “Why am I living in Johannesburg when places like Stellenbosch exist?” My second thought was, “If I lived in Stellenbosch instead of Jo’burg, I would have run out of money ages ago.” And so it goes. Stellenbosch is a city that manages to feel like a town – great restaurants, cafes, bars and shops placed leisurely along cozy streets. It has the oldest remaining store in South Africa, called Oom Samie Se Winkel, which is the absolute best place for souvenirs like loose leaf tea, rooibos soap and spices (all of which are difficult to find in South Africa; most souvenir stores and marketplaces tend to carry mass-produced wooden carvings and batiks). Stellenbosch also has a fantastic tourist office, which dispenses knowledgeable advice on all matters of things, from restaurants to adrenaline-inducing activities to wine tours.
Stellenbosch is South Africa’s wine country. My friends and I had originally planned to rent bikes and cycle our way through winding roads and green vineyards, but a consultation with the tourist office showed that all bike-able roads were either clogged with traffic or in places where locals wouldn’t go. So, we paid a little more money (about $30 per person) and took the Easy Rider Wine Tour that departed from the Stumble Inn hostel. The full-day tour included four vineyards, a cheese tasting and a generous lunch. We liked wine tasting so much that we stayed another day in Stellenbosch and tried out the Vine Hopper tour, which was a hop on/hop off shuttle with a predetermined route. Since we didn’t see any other customers, we essentially had a private shuttle for the day that took us to four different vineyards for about $20 each.
After visiting Stellenbosch, we made our way to Cape Town. In the interest of full disclosure, let me say: I am probably the only person in the world who is not enamored with Cape Town. It’s a beautiful city with all the beaches you could want, stretches of trendy shops and bars and an overall feeling of perpetual summer and tourism. But that’s not what I was looking for. That being said, I had a great time wandering around the city and exploring shopping areas like the Pan African Market (three floors of craft stalls inside), Greenmarket Square (rows upon rows of craft stalls outside) and the Grand Parade (rows of more disheveled stalls selling FIFA 2010 gear at suspiciously low prices). I also managed to visit several museums, most of which are free on Saturdays. My favorite was the South African National Gallery, which, as someone who doesn’t know much about art, I found quite accessible and interesting (and, in some cases, totally baffling).
Last but not least, my friends and I hiked Table Mountain (so called because it is flat on top, like a table). There are essentially three options for getting to the top of Table Mountain: you can hike up the “front” and use the built-in stairs, hike up the “back” and use trails that involve some rock scrambling and ladders, or take the cable car up; you can come back down any way you choose, but keep in mind that if you go up one side and come down another, you will have to get back to your car or bus stop. My friends and I hiked up the back of Table Mountain; the trails started in the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens (which are a UNESCO World Heritage site), and we chose to continue up the ominous-sounding Skeleton Gorge. And in the interest of totally, completely, absolutely full disclosure, I have to say: whatever my feelings about Cape Town, hiking Table Mountain was the best way possible to end both the Garden Route as well as my own time in South Africa.
