Floating flower

Floating Hibiscus flower 

Cape Point Vineyards

Visitors to the Cape would normally associate wine with the Stellenbosch and Franchhoek areas, so big was my surprise to discover the Cape Point Vineyard on the Cape Peninsula just outside Noordhoek.  Although some reports show that vines were planted in the Noordhoek area as early as 1752, the Cape Point Vineyard's first vines were only planted in 1998.  The vineyard is situated on a narrow strip of land between the cold Atlantic and the mountain with the warm summers and cool sea breeze creating the perfect micro climate with slow ripening conditions.

I'm not much of a wine drinker but couldn't resist escaping the family for an hour or so to go wine tasting at the vineyard's tasting facility.  They have two wine brands that they market, the first under the vineyard label,  Cape Point Vineyards, and the second one being their funky label called “Splattered Toad”.  They produce both white and red wines but their Sauvignon Blanc is world class and has won several awards over the last couple of years.  You can start by tasting a minimum of three wines (for curious non drinkers like me) or there are options that include more wines.  They also have a deli on site and you can order cheese, cold meats and fruit to enjoy with your wine. 

The Cape Point Vineyard, and specially their irrigation dam and system, is a primary breeding ground for the Western Leopard Toad which is endemic to the area.  The toad is also the figurehead of Noordhoek and the Vineyard has started working closely together with the local residents and Toad NUTS (Noordhoek Unpaid Toadsavers) in their conservation efforts of these toads.  The Splattered Toad label is based on the Western Leopard Toad and R1 gets donated to the conservation initiative for every bottle of Splattered Toad sold.  Funding was also made available by Cape Point Vineyards to, amongst others, erect signage to warn traffic of toad breeding zones.

Hydrangeas at Noordhoek

Hydrangeas (or Christmas Roses as we also call them) at the Noordhoek Farm Village during our Cape visit in January.

Hout Bay panorama

This panorama picture of Hout Bay was taken from the world famous Chapmans Peak Drive

Fish on the Rocks

Everybody loves fish and chips and every city or town has a good fish and chips shop on a corner somewhere.  But good isn't always best and for the best fish and chips around one has to head past the harbour at Hout Bay and down to Fish on the Rocks.  Africa's favorite (as they put it) fish and chips shop was started by the Brodericks 23 years ago and has become a very popular stop for both locals as well as national and international visitors.

The choice between hake, snoek, yellowtail, calamari and prawns make it quite difficult to decide what to order and my choice the day of our visit was deep fried snoek.  I can just taste that snoek again along with the smell of vinegar on the chips. Mmmmmmmmmm......

The best way to experience your meal at Fish on the Rocks is actually down on the rocks next to the restaurant overlooking the bay and mountains beyond.  Ours was a windy day but the Damselfly still wanted to go and sit on the rocks.  Even if it was just with a ice cream.

Cruising to Seal Island in Hout Bay

Every morning hundreds of tourists head out on a tour of the Cape Peninsula with most of them making one of their first stops of the day at the Hout Bay harbour for a cruise around the Sentinel Mountain to Duiker Island, more commonly known as Seal Island.  Standing on quay side you have a choice of boats to make the 45 odd minute trip to the island and back with several operators offering tours.  Our choice for the day was the Calypso which was built locally and launched in 2001.  The Calypso is operated by Circle Launches who have been running Duiker Island cruises since 1972. 

The cruise out to the island takes about 10 or 15 minutes with seating available both inside or out on the deck.  We unfortunately chose a bit of a windy day to visit so the wind blew spray across the boat every time we went over a wave.  As soon as you arrive at the island, which is nothing more than a collection of big rocks sticking out the water, you see why its so popular.

Duiker Island is home to about 6,000 Cape Fur Seals of various shapes and sizes with cows weighing up to 115 kg and bulls tipping the scales on a whopping 350kg.  Most of the boats doing the trips also have underwater viewing areas where you can watch the seals swimming below the boat.

After about 15 minutes of seal viewing we headed back to Hout Bay and while my kidz where hiding under deck from the spray, these kids did the Titanic thing and stood on the bow enjoying the experience.

Hout Bay Harbour

Mention the word "waterfront" in South Africa and everybody would immediately think of the V&A Waterfront on the Cape Town harbour.  What few people know is that the first harbour front emporium in South Africa (actually in Africa) was developed in Hout Bay on the Cape Peninsula.  Fourth generation Hout Bay resident, Stanley Dorman, designed and developed Mariner's Wharf in the Hout Bay Harbour after visiting similar developments all over the world.  Mariner's Wharf opened in 1984 and today is still on of the most popular attractions on the Peninsula.

Hout Bay is a busy fishing port and most of the activities taking place can be see as one strolls around the harbour.  Fishermen returning from sea and off loading their catch, seals basking in the sun, gulls overhead and tourists everywhere.  All of this taking place with the mountain and Chapmans Peak Drive in the background.

The activities around Hout Bay Harbour has expanded to more than just Mariner's Wharf these days, but its still the heart of it all.  All along the harbour you now find little shops, take aways, restaurants and a food emporium.  Not forgetting the main reason why thousands of visitors flock there, boat trips to Seal Island.