Stellenbosch: Wine Country

View outside the Jordan Winery in Stellenbosch. First Stop
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We got into Stellenbosch at night and planned to have only 1 day there, leaving on the Baz Bus the next morning.  Stellenbosch is a college town, a very beautiful college town with Victorian Student houses, and students braai-ing (cooking-out) on their lawns.  It made us miss our days at Madison.  However, we had only a day and a lot to figure out.

There are hundreds of vineyards in Stellenbosch, so we had to pick an area and a means for transportation.  We did not have a car, and found that at the tourist bureau bike rental was too expensive being 90 Rand/day (after the 4th Vineyard, we decided this was a great call). We tried to tackle the mini-taxis again with a map of the area we wanted a lift to, but failed as none of them claimed to go there (in the end it was just a question of asking for the right spot, as we saw the mini-taxis dropping people off in the area we were walking through).  Frustrated and running low on time, we called a cab.  It was going to be 40 Rand/per person to get dropped off at the furthest of 4 vineyards.  With not a cloud in the sky we opted to walk the 2 kms between them and have the last locale call us a cab.

Wine tasting, scenery, and free rides.

Wendy at the last wine tasting stop.
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The first was the Jordan Vineyard, which had a very nice barrel celler, and a neat wine stopper/air pump, which we purchased.  I (Tovah) also purchased a lovely Chinen Blanc.  By the way the prices range from 29 Rand to 90 Rand ($3.50-$12), but please remember we are on a BUDGET.  The walks between the vineyards were gorgeous, elongated rolling hills covered with grape vines, between which are vineyards estates and flowers.  At the second estate we found a small food and gift festival, where we dined on sample olives and spread.  From there it was a long haul to the next two locations, but we kept ourselves amused in the flower gardens and with travel stories. [Just a side note, due to the lack of a radio everywhere, I have been singing the latest song to get stuck in my head- poor Wendy is being a very good sport about it.] We saw many of the same people at the vineyards on that road, one couple stopping us on the road to give us a lift to our next stop.

Hitting the bottle in the garden.
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The final vineyard was also a life saver, as we met three local girls who were driving back to town.  After giving us a big speech about talking rides from strangers in South Africa, they offered us a ride back to our hostel.  We were extremely glad for the offer and tried to give them 20 Rand for gas (we have fingured that 50 Rand gives you about and hour on the road), they laughed at us and told us to keep the money, as long as we promised not to eat rice that night.  In the end we ate "2 Minute Noddles" (ramen) instead.