While we were staying in Stellenbosch, at the Auberge Rozendal Wine Farm we experienced a few surprises. Anyone who knows him will tell you that my husband is seldom at a loss for words. But when it does happen, his eyebrows still manage to speak volumes. On this particular occasion they shot swiftly towards his hairline and the words, ‘He has got to be kidding us?’ were creased eloquently across his forehead. ‘Why?’ You might well ask. Well, I’ll put you out of your misery …
We had just made the acquaintance of Joseph at Auberge Rozendal Wine Farm and, along with a mischievous, welcoming grin, his first words were, ‘Please accept a complimentary glass of our house specialty … digestive vinegar!’ As it turned out, kidding us was the last thing on Joseph’s mind. Instead, digestive vinegar turned out to be the first of a number of delightful surprises in store for us during our recent romantic getaway sans kids.
Between the coming and going of in-laws, parents, commuting business partners, and the usual ferrying of kids to and fro, there had been little time for Rest and Recuperation. Added to that, my brother and his wife owed us a weekend of child-minding and those sorts of debts are best collected while fresh.
With a sigh of anticipatory pleasure we booked and planned our escape. We might have known that Murphy’s law would kick in as Saturday dawned. That school function we had thought would be over by 11am… ? It was only starting at 1.30pm. And the light aircraft which only had one functioning wheel and needed moving from one place to another – that urgently needed doing that day, too. Urgh!
As it turned out we could do that second chore on the way, because we were heading right past the airfield to get to Stellenbosch. Apart from the fact that it’s one of our country’s oldest and most characterful towns, it’s also so very close to the city. And being THE original Winelands town, it’s brim-full of Cape Dutch history and architecture, which makes it a fun place to explore on foot at a leisurely pace.
The establishment we decided upon was Auberge Rozendal, which is part of an organic wine farm on the outskirts of Stellenbosch. In short, the perfect blend of town and countryside, space and convenience.
Stellenbosch is within easy reach of the city, so you can reach the countryside and get away from it all in a very short time. I love to have wide, open spaces around me even when I am not miles from civilisation. It’s partly to make sure that the kids will have room to run wild without disturbing other guests, but it works just as well for me when the children don’t form part of the picture at all.
And that’s why Rozendal first caught my eye – it looked like just that sort of place. When the opportunity came up Auberge Rozendal was always somewhere I wanted to check out first-hand. It was perfect for a peaceful, reconnecting weekend away. Without aspiring to be the height of luxury, it’s just very, very comfortable. (As an aside, I always have my eye out for family friendly accommodation and this is perfect. Interconnecting family rooms mean you end up tiptoeing past a sleeper couch en route to bed.)
We arrived on Saturday afternoon – a little frazzled and somewhat later than we had planned. We opted to eat in-house, which gave us plenty of time to settle in and take a nap before stretching our legs with a brisk walk through the local environs. Finally it was time to freshen up and head for dinner.
And that was when we met Joseph. Joseph is the maitre d’ and chief waiter in the dining room. Clad in an African kaftan, he was a charming host. I recognised his regional accent and it tickled him no end when I identified myself as a fellow Zimbabwean. Unlike many of his countrymen, Joseph is not a recent economic refugee – it turns out he has been in South Africa some 20 years, working all along for the same family. And he has travelled with them through Europe, giving him valuable insight into what overseas visitors might expect.
Joseph’s wife has clearly put her years in hospitality to good use, because she runs the kitchen and produced a delicious salmon trout tartare as a starter, followed by pan-fried fillet – cooked slightly beyond our instruction of medium rare, but succulent nonetheless. We washed all that down with a bottle of Rozendal’s own organic red before indulging in a rich chocolate mousse and heading for our room.
We appreciated the complete absence of street lights and city noise, when we awoke the next day feeling refreshed and cocooned from the world. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast (taken indoors, although fellow guests proved hardier and enjoyed the cool spring morning out on the terrace), and then set off to wander around the heart of Stellenbosch.
We poked our inquisitive noses into every corner of the Botanical Gardens of Stellenbosch University (what a lovely conservatory thingy they have), as well as Kerk St, Dorp St and the like. Our single disappointment was that the local Tourist Information bureau had run out of English versions of the self-guided walking-tour pamphlet – we had looked forward to making good use of that…
The highlights of our weekend were Joseph, the one and only! In the course of numerous conversations we discovered that he is the proud owner of 500 head of cattle which he visits and tends once a year. Another highlight was the farm’s digestive fynbos vinegar. It’s matured for 12 years in oak barrels and has an amazing soothing effect on the digestion! The enormous owl that swooped in and scared the life out of the guinea fowl that were rooting around under the huge old oak trees… and then in turn got the fright of its life when it realised that two humans had not only invaded its patch, but were also watching it intently, was our third highlight.
Stellenbosch in summary:
Stellenbosch is the perfect weekend destination, or as an add-on to a visit to Cape Town.
It is just 35 minutes away from Cape Town and combines old-fashioned charm and historical architecture with a fairly laid-back, country atmosphere.
You can see much of the town on foot in the course of a morning, and there are loads of interesting nooks to explore, and eateries to choose from.
For the more active, the Jonkershoek nature reserve is nearby offering great mountain biking and hiking.
Whether you travel with or without children and regardless of whether you feel your digestion needs the help of vinegar; the Auberge offered us a refreshing change of pace and we recommend it unreservedly!
Click here to book a stay at Auberge Rozendal
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