Visiting the Wineries

We were able to visit a couple of wineries to see the vineyards and do some wine tasting. We decided to do two wineries that were kid friendly.

The first one was Fairview. This was a very small farm like winery. Very Quiet. They had a Goat shed that the kids enjoyed watching the goats go up and down.

Enjoying the moment!

We then stopped at Spier. Spier is probably the most commercialized winery. It is very touristy and made for entertainment. We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch, watching the kids ride horses, and tasting some wines. I enjoyed tasting some of their antique wines and just enjoying the day with the family.

Big Boy Alex!

Maddie is a true horse rider!

Mom and Dad Leenstra really enjoyed themselves and relaxed!

We had a great visit. It sure is a beautiful area.

I purchased a bottle of wine at each place we visited for a "souvenir" thinking it would be cheaper to buy direct. Low and behold I went to Pick n Pay (our local grocery store) after we returned and the same bottle of wine I purchased at Spier was cheaper. CRAZY

Wine Country

Day 2 of our trip we drove another 6 hours to Wellington. We drove through the most beautiful mountains and wineries (I have tons of pictures - but none of them really do any justice to the magnitude of beauty). We were in awe. We used our "trusty" GPS unit to get us to our B&B. This place was in the middle of nowhere!! Dirt roads - crazy curves - and no street signs. We were greatly impressed when we arrived.

We stayed in the most beautiful farmhouse built in 1776. We had use of the whole house. The kids loved running around, playing with their big dogs, seeing the horses, and I loved the mountain landscape all around us.

I will post a video of my morning when it eventually loads up - Ok its loaded - just disregard the bunions (I know I have them) and yes I did fall down a step while recording - just to put a smile on your face.

Having my Morning Coffee

DROP EVERYTHING!!!

Side Blog:
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This was not part of our Cape Trip - The kids and I went to a Lion and Rhino Nature Preserve today. We went with Sarah Weeda and her son, Kaden. They are friends from Innotec who have lived in South Africa before. They are visiting South Africa for 3 weeks. We decided to take the a little drive and see some more animals. I was excited about the possibility to interact with Tiger cubs. I was not going to get my hopes up - but to my delight they had 6 week old Tigers and Lions to interact with. So I signed my consent form (for both the kids and I) and off we went into the pin!!!

6 week old tigers!! It has always been a dream of mine to hold a baby tiger!! I can not believe it!!

Here are some more pics!

They were very playful. They took Alex down, but he was still smiling!

Oh - So cute!!

Trying to get them to play with the toys.

Having Fun

Friend or Foe?!?

Gariep Dam

We started our trip traveling about half way to Cape Town.


OUR RIDE

It was great having a trailer! Otherwise we would have been a little cramped inside. I bet you would never guess this car could fit 6 people (and we were all comfortable).


Pit stop to eat

We stayed at a place called Forever Resorts Gariep Dam. It was a great place to stay.

Putt Putt for the kids,

with a trampoline in the middle of the course. Scott and Scott's Dad had to try it out!


a nice chalet to stay in,


and the visit to the Gariep Dam.

Mom and Dad


It was a beautiful drive up.


THE DAM

I get conflicting info on how big the dam is so this is me combining all the data into one answer. It is 914 m long and 88 m high. It is considered the largest Dam in South Africa


A road going across the river at the bottom of the dam.

It was a great first day! No bickering in the car - only voice that was vocal was mine being a HUGE backseat driver. It only go worse as the days went on. I told Scott next road trip -KNOCK ME OUT!!


Day 2 Sneak Peak:


The scenery was amazing!! I never knew there were so many mountains in South Africa.

Sneak Peak on Upcoming Blogs

Well we arrived safely back home from our Cape Town Trip and Scott's parents are on a plane home! We had a great trip and wonderful visit with them! It was so nice to have part of home here in South Africa! We were able to be the tour guides. It is so silent this morning with Mom and Dad gone. SOOOO SAD!

Because it seems to take me forever to upload photos etc. I decided to update daily on different parts of our 10 day trip to Cape Town and beyond. (We climbed mountains, seen amazing scenary, awesome wine country, we were chased by baboons, we went to the southernest point in Africa, went half way up Table mountain, survived the drives through the mountains, saw a parasailer get caught in a tree up a mountain, put our toes (some swam) in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, Scott was kissed by an ostrich - and the list goes on......)

Here is a video to keep you enticed to come back and visit the blog. I PROMISE to update every day.

We will miss you Mom and Dad and we hope you had a pleasant trip back home!

Scott Riding an Ostrich!!