Stellenbosch: The Magnificent New House of JC Le Roux

Remember that time I lied about not blogging about our road trip to the Cape? I'm about to do it again. The House of JC Le Roux has reopened after a much-anticipated four month makeover. I've been following the progress on their Facebook page, so when we were staying in Stellies, I just had to check it out!

I've never been to the House before, and the road from Stellies was quiet with breathtaking views. Driving into the wine farm is just as spectacular, but far from quiet! There were families, tourists, groups of friends, and buses filled with people in the parking lot, and for a moment I wondered if this was a good idea.

My hesitation lasted only until we walked through the majestic glass doors and were greeted by a maitre d', an exquisite entrance hall, and (most importantly) lovely refreshing aircon. The decor was absolutely magnificent! Large open spaces, awe-inspiring lighting, fresh flowers and bright colours - I could write about it all day and still not do it justice (you'll just have to see it for yourself!).

Our welcome included an introduction to the House and our options for tasting: regular sparkling wine tasting, nougat and sparkling wine pairing, or marshmallow, meringue and sparkling wine pairing. 

We picked the marshmallow and meringue option, took ourselves on a (really interesting!) walking tour, and then settled in to the lower deck to await our tasting. Of course, I was soon distracted by the shiny pink La Flueurette Room (can you blame me? It was shiny! And pink!).

Our waitress (who was absolutely lovely and extremely knowledgeable) came to find us and directed us to the main tasting room, where our table awaited us, boasting some gorgeous looking sweet treats and glasses of bubbly!

She walked us through each of the pairings, explaining the flavours and the characteristics of the bubbly as she went. The sparkling wine was delicious, and the pairing with marshmallow meringues completely set it apart from any other wine tasting I've ever done.

We left the house awed, inspired, and, yes, a little tipsy. If you're in the Cape, I highly recommend making a trip to the House of JC Le Roux! You won't be disappointed!

Check out the JC Le Roux website, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

The Most Fun You'll Have In Cape Town: Cool Runnings Tobogganning

Remember I said I wasn't going to blog about our road-trip to the Cape? I wasn't. But I cannot get out of my head how much ridiculous fun we had on this particular day! So I had to. 

Hows my hardcore face? I think Jeff's needs work.

When Jeffers suggested that we go tobogganing, I was less than enthusiastic (like this). It's not that I was scared (who me? Never. Is that a spider?!). It's just that I've never looked at tobogganing and though "gee, that looks fun". In fact, it's always been more of a "gee look at those crazy people going at that crazy speed so crazily close to the ground. I wonder if their moms had them tested." But, like I said, I wasn't scared or anything.

I checked out their website, and there were photos of very little people on the toboggans. Not looking traumatized or anything! So I put on my big girl pants (I wasn't scared), and we ventured to Green Point. And then I was blown away.

Everything was run so smoothly, with awesome little details (like sparkling toilet seats) and a food shop and a watching deck. We got there early and it was already packed with people of all ages laughing and screaming and whizzing past us. I was excited!

The view from the top of the hill in the toboggan

It's not just the 800m ride-of-your-life-adrenaline-rush that's cool. You get on the toboggan at the bottom of the hill, and a wire track pulls you up to the top of the hill. It's totally relaxing and the view is quite glorious. And - bonus - no hiking up the hill!

Once you're quite relaxed and you've had a chance to sit in the toboggan queue and admire the gorgeous Cape Town landscape, they set you free on the track, and the real excitement starts! (In my case, "real excitement" is synonymous with "high pitched screaming" and some dogs may have started howling in the distance. But I wasn't scared, you guys.) And WOW, what a rush! 

The stop-go sticky thing

To be honest, it wasn't too scary at all, because each toboggan is fitted with a push-to-go, pull-to-stop level, so you can choose exactly how fast you want to ride down the track. There are also helpful people in yellow shirts with official looking walkie-talkies all the way down to give you advice and tell you when to slow down.

On my first trip, I went solo and enjoyed the ride at my own pace. On the second and third trips, Jeffers and I paired up and went together, and that was a whooole different story. I'm not sure that anyone explained the pull-to-stop part of the lever to Jeff, because it was balls to the wall all the way down!

Seriously though, it was the highlight of my holiday! So much fun, a great adrenaline rush, and a giant bread-pretzel to finish it all off (oh and did I mention the glittery loo seats?!).

Take my word for it and give this a try the next time you're in Cape Town. I guarantee you won't regret it.

You can find Cool Runnings on their website or on Facebook, or call them on 021 949 4439. Oh, and pack the sunblock.

Day Trip from Jozi: The Hartbeespoort Aerial Cable Car

The other day my lovely friend, Meg, was telling me about an amazing date she went on to the Harties Cable Way, so I decided to take JD on a surprise adventure to see for ourselves! I gave him a bunch of hints - some less useful than others ("we're not going skydiving") - and although he guessed for 24 hours, he had absolutely no idea!

I opted to buy tickets there, but as you can see, they're available online (at a discounted rate!). I was super impressed with how organised they were, especially since my master plan of getting there included pointing my car in a general Hartbeespoort direction and hitting the accelerator.

As soon as you get near Harties there are signs at every intersection letting you know which way to go. Even though we were there on a Sunday and there were stacks of other people, the ticketing and queuing process was painless and efficient.

There are shops and restaurants at both the top and bottom, and although they ask you not to bring your own food and drinks, there's plenty to eat at the top. Having said that, be warned that the restaurant is self service and the options are small, but if you're okay with burgers, pies, boerie rolls, and a small selection of wraps and cakes, you'll be fine. And the view is so mind-blowingly spectacular that you won't really mind!

When you get to the top, be sure to do the Dassie Loop (the circular walking trail) and read all about the sites you can see in each direction (some - like Botswana - require a little imagination). If your inner Jo'burger hits when you're up there and you need to shop, fear not, there's a gorgeous curios shop with interesting goodies!

Tickets are available online or at the ticketing station at R160 for adults and R90 for kids. As day trips from Jozi go, this one's a winner! And as surprise adventures go, Harties Cableway is a must!