Audacia - Root 44 Market

I'm a real sucker for a market! I just love everything about a market and hearing about a new market is enough to get me out of bed bright and early on a Sunday morning.
There's nothing better then waking up, going to have your coffee and lovingly made breakfast somewhere new.

The Root 44 Market at Audacia Winery (along the R44 to Stellenbosch) started 3 weeks ago and wil be without a doubt one of the best things to hit Stellenbosch. Unlike most markets there's ample space, with 2 huge marques and apparently more in the pipe line you are able to move easily from stand to stand. Once you've bought your tasty treats you're able to find a chair under one of the very cleverly positioned tree shaded tables - they have actually built the tables about the tree trunks. There's also a huge stage that has been built for live concerts during the market. Which caters for young and old as well as hula hoop workshops-definitely the first I've heard of that
.

With so many markets popping up everywhere these days you often land up seeing the same things over and over again but fortunately the Root 44 market is a breath of fresh air with all sorts of new stalls. There's plenty of delicious organic fruits and veg as well as gorgeous baked goods and countless craft beer stands (as well as a beautiful bar called the Blue Moon Bar). There is just so much to choice from!! -Personal favorite was the cannoli from La Masseria and their mascarpone, fig and walnut cheese.

Do yourself a favor and make a day out of it, pack your picnic blanket and don't be put off by the packed parking lot-there is loads of space and so much to see.


ROOT 44 Market is now open on Saturdays & Sundays from 09h00 - 15h30

Snakes and old places

It's Summer in Cape Town and there so many places to go!!!!

A few weekends ago we decided it was about time we dug into the adventure fund and go to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens for a picnic. I think we had the same idea as every other Capetonian but fortunately there's enough trees for everyone and we found a lovely spot with the guinea fowl. It really is a beautiful place to spend and afternoon.

There's so much to see at Kirstenbosch that I never knew existed. If you walk to the top of the gardens you'll find a little coffee shop and gift shop as well as a huge nursery with all sorts of plants. We wandered around the garden for about an hour along different path ways and found some stone art and a big black SNAKE!!! Living life on the wild side...one things for sure,I'm glad he didn't join us for a picnic or my nature days would be over.

On our way out we decided to stop an have a quick drink at Moyo...what an experience! Such friendly staff and the most delicious ice tea under the African Sun. The menu is great and unlike some of the other Moyo's they have an Al la carte menu which is very affordable - Spring onion and cheese samoosas are a definite winner and were accompanied with delicious complementary bread. The best part of this experience was the fact that we had our hands washed before our meal by our lovely waiter.

Around the corner from Kirstenbosch is Rhodes Memorial* and everytime Pieter and I drive through to Cape Town he asks 'What's up there?'.
So off we went to Rhodes Memorial. Other then the lovely view of Cape Town it's really forgotten about and could be a little more looked after and enjoyed (Although I hear the tea room has a great reputation). There must have been at least 3 very brightly colored wedding parties having their photos taken which was sweet but they took over the 49 steps -one for each year of Cecil John Rhodes life- and made it very difficult to get to the top of the memorial. It's worth seeing at least once though.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_Memorial
* Entrance to Kirstenbosch is R42 for adults and R10 for children under the age of 18.
   Gates are open from 8am to 7pm in Summer.

                                                 

Le Bonheur and the Crocs

The other day Pieter and I were talking about our favorite adventures so far and all the amazing places we've been and seen. It's so hard to pick but Le Bonheur Croc Farm is definitely one of my favorites.

As most adventures start this was one where we got kind of lost...we'd heard about the Croc Farm in a teeny tiny advert in a magazine we'd gotten in a hotel room while we were away for the weekend in Paarl. Considering the Simondium road was on the way home we thought we'd stop and see what it was like. Well between the road works and our almost useless map we eventually found the farm and what a gorgeous place it is.

Le Bonheaur is home to over 1000 crocodiles and the in-closure is almost wall to wall croc. 
The tour was absolutely fascinating and I'd definitely recommend it-and it's practically on our door step. Not only was our guild loads of fun but we actually learnt so much, it's something the whole family can enjoy. The highlight would be holding...yes holding one of the baby (3 months old) crocodiles. At the beginning of the tour the guide leads everyone over to a big blue bath and inside was this little snapper. His teeth are like tiny needles and the guide -who from what I can remember still had most of his fingers- opens the little guys mouth and shows you the rows of razor sharp teeth, he also explains how to tell the difference between male and female and allows you to feell its skin which is rock hard -  The word crocodile actually comes from the Greek word, kroko deilos, which means "pebble man".

Le Bonheaur is one of those places that where ever you look it's just beautiful. The restaurant is small and serves delicious home cooked meals (including picnics which you can pre-order)...EVEN crocodile pie and spring rolls which are an absolute treat! The lake beneath the restaurant reflects the beautiful surrounding mountains and has a little jetty with a few tables so you can enjoy your lunch while the kids fish off the end of the jetty (fishing rods etc are for hire).

The Croc tour is about R28 adults, R15 for kids 3-18, R5 under-3s. and you can get tickets there and their open 7 days a week from 9-5pm.  021 863 1142

This is not the Post Office

Because I’ll literally jumping out my skin I’m so excited to go to Madam Zingara Theater of Dreams this month (you just have to check out this website) I thought I’d do a bit of a prelude and share our adventure to This is not the Post Office.

A while back we went through to Cape Town on a complete different adventure which landed up not happening so we took the opportunity to do a little exploring and ventured up Kloof Street. The main reason was to find the Bombay Bicycle club (this strangely enough is also part of Madam Zingaras group) which I'd heard about a few times and was rather curious. It's hard to miss with their massive Jollywood sign on the roof and the car balancing next to it. When we got there they told us their kitchen wasn’t open yet –really disappointing because the menu looked delicious. In hind-sight it was probably a good thing ,because the décor is so crazy I don’t know if I would have been able to keep my eyes on my plate. One of the tables even has swings suspended from the ceiling instead of chairs. The theme seems to change like Cape Towns weather so there's always something new happening.

After we left the Bicycle club we wondered down the road to the giant post box we saw on the way up to investigate further. This is not the Post office is one of the most exciting places you’ll ever stumble upon. I can only describe it as an Alice in Wonderland meets Nania meets Harry Potters under the staircase  room meets some wonderful magical carpet ride. It’s a hoarders dream with nik-naks and sparkly things from floor to ceiling and like Mary Poppins carpet bag it just keeps on going the more you look around.

This is not the Post Office is open mondays to fridays from 10:30 till 6pm 

Saturdays from 10:30 till 5 and sundays from 11 till 4pm

you can find it at the top of Kloof street (number 114)

or you can phone them on 021 423 7817 if you get lost

Triggerfish and Cheetahs

Last November the Cheetahs moved to Somerset West after living at Spier for as long as I can remember. We went to have a look around and found a lot more then just cheetahs.

The cheetah sanctuary* is a lot bigger than I thought it would be and there is a great look out platform that gives you a view over the whole park. There also a number of other wild cats and I guess it's worth goin even if you don’t go the whole hog and touch the cheetahs. We were lucky enough to be able to go into the enclosure and touch them which was really interesting…the black spots and golden coats feel completely different which was pretty fascinating.

Another highlight of the adventure was discovering TriggerFish. They produce 13 different craft brews which are a real treat. They range from light to really heavy one but have such great flavour even people who don’t normally drink beer can enjoy them. We went on a little tour of their building which was also really interesting as even the bottle caps are put on by hand. Definitely worth a trip!! A bottle ranges from R17 upwards and they also have a small menu and every now and then live entertainment – events can be followed on their Facebook.

While we were there we also popped into Flagstone which produces a wide range of really amazing well priced wines

*Adult cheetah encounters take place from 10h00 to 13h00 and from 14h00 to 17h00.  

 R120 per adult and R70 per child to meet an adult cheetah

BUT it's only charge an entry fee of R10 on weekdays and R5 on weekends and public and school holidays which aren't all that bad.

Body Worlds

It is always amazing how science has influenced the study of the human body. When we walked in the Gunther von Hagens, Body Worlds exhibition the first part was the weekly display of the growth of an unborn baby. It was a challenge keeping in mind that all the bodies inside the exhibition are real humans who have given their bodies to be preserved for research. The most interesting part of the whole experience was the preserving of the nerves and blood vessels which resembles the skeleton in its own way with tinny string like networks.

When you visit this exhibition you realise that everybody’s body exist of layers and layers of muscles. The part of the exhibition where they display the human diseases was also an eye opener, especially when they display tumour or compare a healthy lung to a smokers lung.

The extraordinary exhibition is not comparable to the European version that I saw, which is double in size and presents more animal and human bodies. A ticket is a little pricey for the size of the display but considering its a unique experience it is a well worth seeing.

The exhibition is at the V&A Waterfront till the end of January.

Price pp: R140

Here’s a link on Tumblr of some of the interesting things you might see although the one in South Africa is nowhere near as big 

  

The miracle of wine into ice cream

Wine ice cream…. Two of the most wonderful parts of Summer joined in happy matrimony.

Somerbosch is one of the only places we've heard of that has turned wine into ice cream now that is a miracle if you ask me and what a wonderful trip for the taste buds. They pair 4 wines with the same type of ice cream, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage and leave you to enjoy the experience.

They also produce a number of white wines as well as a really enjoyable port with a wonderful rum and raisin nose.

Somerbosch is beautiful but the people in the tasting room really weren't very interested in telling us anything about the wine or the story behind the estate – which was really sad considering the slogan is ‘There's history behind the Vine’ which we would have liked to have heard something about.

Tastings R40 for the Wine and Ice cream or if you’d just like to taste the wine it’s only R10 for 3 wine (absolute bargain). Don't forget to book though otherwise you might miss out.

Amazing AmaZink

AmaZink, WOW! I almost don't know how to start telling you what a unique experience this was.

AmaZink live is South Africa's first Township Theatre Restaurant and you can find it in Kayamandi just outside of Stellenbosch. It's run by a group of incredibly talented people who do absolutely everything...the cast members sing, dance (I haven't even seen the zumba instructor at the gym have this much energy) and on top of it all they were taking all the restaurant orders -the food was delicious,a little bit of everything South African...minus the dodgy stuff like tripe and skaap kop (sheep head).

It's the first time I've experienced something like this,the show draws you in and you can't take your eyes off the 360 degree performance. The story line is truly South African...not the corny leopard print clad tourist type but the kind locals and tourist can enjoy side by side along with the foot tapping boogie South African songs.  Absolute highlight of the show was the Skoonma's ('mother-in-law-to-be') happy birthday song  Mandoza - Nkalakatha- she's got move!

Definitely an experience you'll never forget, it's a feast for your eyes and will without a doubt will make you feel proudly South African.

The Show will be running till the 30th of March on the following days:

• Wednesday evening
• Friday evening
• Saturday evening 

Cost per Ticket R200 per person

Bookings can be made on the website   AmaZink

Getting lost is not a waste of time

So we have known each other for 408 day and right from the moment we met every single second has been an adventure.

We thought we'd start something so we could share all our adventures and stories of the places we've been with you. 
Over the last year we've been so blessed to discover so many new places together - some completely off the beaten track and other just places we've always wanted to see. 

So here's another adventure! a blog of journeys old and new.