South Africa - Reflections on the Trip

Mountains Adjoining Oldenburg Vineyard
Stellenbosch, ZA
February 13, 2025

 I am gonna bore everyone one last time as I reflect on the trip to South Africa. So much happened in the 17 days that I know I have not covered all of the highlights in what I have already written. So much was omitted in the interest of keeping the story interesting and of course I have so many more images to share. 

Ostrich
Cape of Good Hope, ZA
February 15, 2025

First off--I loved South Africa. The wine tour provided ma with a cross section of the Western Cape Province and then the safari provided some insight into the Gauteng (Johannesburg) and North West (Pilanesberg) Provinces.

What surprised me? 

Agriculture! Yes, in addition to the grape vines of the Western Cape Province, the fields of corn, wheat, and other crops in the northern provinces were really astounding. They reminded me of the expansive crop folds of the U.S. midwest. We even saw fields of sunflowers!

Waves Crashing on the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope, ZA
February 15, 2025

Abject poverty. There is a dark side to South Africa. An over 40 percent unemployment rate and the large townships of metal shacks that go one for miles where the unemployed live and die. I was told that it is possible to be born and live an entire life without ever leaving the townships. The government provides services, but seeing the townships reminded me that there is still much to do in South Africa and they are still overcoming their past.

Ships in Harbor
Kalk Bay, ZA
February 15, 2025
Photo by Mark Cronin

Stunning natural beauty. The mountains of both Western Cape and North West provinces provide a natural beauty and setting that is breathtaking. And then there is the coastline. The towns and villages along the coastline are every bit as beautiful as those along the U.S. Atlantic coast. And so, I guess you could say I was impressed with the diversity of the natural beauty from the ocean to the mountains, there always seemed to be something new to see and just enjoy. 

Looking Back at Cape Town and Table Mountain 
‎⁨Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve⁩, ⁨Cape Town⁩, ⁨
Western Cape⁩, ⁨South Africa⁩
From the Bus
February 16, 2025

Diversity. I know that diversity has become a bad word here in the U.S., but in South Africa that is how I would describe the people. And they seem to embrace diversity. There are, for instance, 12 official languages. Yup, 12! And they seem to be very OK with that. They are diverse and from diverse backgrounds--that is the model we used to have for the U.S., strength from diversity! Everyone is not the same, celebrate it.

Dessert
Springfontein Estate, Hermanus, ZA
February 17, 2025 

People. We met the greatest people in every place we visited. They were friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and just fun to be around. Whether English was their first or third language, they were understandable and did not care that we didn't speak IsiZulu of Afrikaans, or one of the other 9 official languages. They accepted us and we enjoyed meeting them. 

Protea Flower
Stellenbosch, ZA
February 17, 2025

Food. Wow! So the 10 day wine tour was accompanied by gourmet food--and it was. I enjoyed a widely diverse assortment of foods including antelope, seafood, and almost anything else imaginable. It was all enjoyable and, with only a couple exceptions, expertly prepared. There was a lamb dish that was so tough it could have been being prepared to be shoe leather.

Grapes
Glenwood Estate, Stellenbosch, ZA
February 18, 2025

Wines. How could I not mention the wines? This was one of my biggest misconceptions about South Africa. I knew of Pinotage, but I was not aware of the diversity of the wine industry in the country. They have all of the major varietals but are most proud of Pinotage and Chenin Blanc. And they do these wines very well. But, as we drove around Western Cape Province, the diversity of the wines became apparent and as we tasted over 100 different wines, I am pretty sure we got a fairly good cross-section of the quality--and it is excellent.

Impalas
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 24, 2024

Animals. And of course there are the animals. While wine dominated the tour, the animals became the stars once we mourned to Pilanesberg National Park for the safari. What is not to love about the animals. They were also present during the wine tour especially as we toured the Cape of Good Hope region and saw so many animals right from the start.

And so here are a few images of the trip to just enjoy.

Rhino in the Grass
Pilanesberg National Park
February 24, 2025

 

Zebras at Night
Pilanesberg National Park
February 24, 2025

Wildebeest at Night
Pilanesberg National Park
February 24, 2025

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Safari Day 3 - Morning Ride

Beginning our Last Safari Ride
Chris Riding Shotgun
Pilanesburg National Park, ZA
February 26, 2025

 This was the last safari ride of our journey. The morning safari ride began the journey home which lasted 40 hours. Ugh. I knew it was long but I had not computed it until now. 

Giraffes in the Morning
Pilanesburg National Park, ZA
February 26, 2025

Our final ride was primarily devoted to giraffes and elephants. We had started out heading to find a lion pride, but we came across so many giraffes and elephants that we just enjoyed watching them instead. 

We came across a journey of giraffes fairly soon after heading out. We were concerned that it was going be hard to find animals because we did not see any right from the start like previous rides. Chris had the honor of riding shotgun with the ranger and she has a great time. 

As we were completing our ride and heading for the lodge, we came upon our last animal sighting of the safari. It was a giraffe in the road way. I took a video of it as we came upon it and it moved off the road. 

Baby Elephant
Pilanesburg National Park, ZA
February 26, 2025

Elephant Browsing
Pilanesburg National Park, ZA
February 26, 2025

The exciting highlights of the day came when we happened into a herd of elephants. We had seen the herd earlier on the mountain but decided to they and find an elusive leopard. We spent some time listening to the baboons make warning calls presumably about the leopard, but never saw the leopard. We then book off the leopard search catch up with the elephants we had seen as they crossed the road.

Momma and Baby
Pilanesburg National Park, ZA
February 26, 2025

Chris had one female sniff her and then sneeze at her. It was pretty exciting. And then of course there were babies! The ranger noted that one of the small elephants we were watching was only about 3 months old. They were cure and there were many of them in this herd.

We spent probably half of our almost four-hour ride watching the elephants in this herd and then another grouping that we came upon as we were leaving the park. That is where the second exciting thing happened--we saw two bulls fight. It is somewhat scary when you realize how big they are and we are in a vehicle not too far away. 

The video is long, but I think worth watching. There are elephants doing all sorts of things including a fight between two bulls. 

And that was that. We had four safari rides into the park and we saw lots of animals. The rides were supposed to be three hours each, totaling 12 hours of animal watching, but our ranger was very generous and we had closer to 16 hours of safari animal watching over the three days! 

After the safari ride, we had to checkout of our room and begin the process of returning home. We were awakened at 4:15 AM South African time on Wednesday for the morning safari ride and did not finally make it home until the equivalent of 9 PM South African time on Thursday! Ugh! But more of that later. 

Oh, by the way, I have been up this morning since 2:30 AM, equivalent of 9:30 AM in South Africa! Adjusting to the 7-hour time change is going to be a process.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

#pilanesberg #safari

Safari Day 2 - Evening Ride

 

Giraffe on Afternoon Ride
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA 
February 25, 2025

The second evening safari ride was equally as exciting as the first, perhaps even more so because we knew what to expect. Our driver/ranger was very knowledgeable of animals and animal activity. 

White Rhino
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 25, 2025

At 4:30 PM we headed out into the park to find animals. We did not get very far before sighting giraffes a short 7 minutes into the ride. MY iPhone telephoto lens continues not to work and so I ditched my camera and started using Chris', which worked great. These giraffes were close to the lodge and we followed them for a bit before running into white rhinos.

It is truly amazing that the animals just appear without warning because of the tall brush and grass. We could be coming around a corner and find almost anything in the road. 

White Rhino
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 25, 2025

The rhinos were very photogenic and even posed for a nice picture. 

From there the ranger received word of a leopard on the move near our lodging and we headed back to try sighting it. This was the first of two failed attempts to find a leopard. We spent a while driving and stopping to listen for the leopard, but we were thwarted.

Zebra Road
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 25, 2025

As we headed deeper into the park we again found a journey of giraffes. We stopped for a while to enjoy them and we subsequently continued on eventually coming across a herd of zebras making use of the road.

And then, it happened. We spotted a lone bull elephant and thus began an afternoon of elephant sightings and watching. We were all excited because to date the only evidence we had seen to confirm that there were elephants in the area was the dung on the road. And there was a lot of elephant dung on the roadways. 

We passed the elephant and drove to spot a Cape Buffalo with the intent of returning for the elephant later. After driving over the incredibly rough roads, we arrived at the location where the Cape Buffalo was spotted, but it had already moved a long way up a hill. We were able to see the buffalo with binoculars, and let me tell you it was huge! But, there was no picture to be taken. 

Bull Elephant
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 25, 2025

Returning to the bull elephant, we found him and after watching him trudge for a while, the ranger knew where he was going to cross the road and so we drove away and staked out our spot. It was a thing of beauty. He was on a trail and we were positioned so as not to block the trail and yesterday be close to the elephant as he passed. 

Sunset over the Park
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 25, 2025

After our elephant encounter we drove off for happy hour and sighting hippos at dusk. We saw quite a few hippos out of the water, but they were a great distance away and the images were not great. Darkness fell while we enjoyed gin and tonics and then we began the nighttime portion of our safari.

Nighttime Bull Elephant
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 25, 2025

Our nighttime safari was equally as exciting as the night before. We spied white rhinos, a small chameleon, and a different bull elephant. We watched the elephant for a while before heading back to the lodge for dinner.

Wow! What a day!

We have one more ride to go. A morning ride on our day of departure. 

-- Bob Doan, Hartsfield-International Airport, Georgia

Safari Day 2 Morning Ride

Heading out before Dawn with High Intensity Light
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 25, 2025

 Who would have believed that getting up at 4:30 AM to be out on safari at 5:30 AM would be a thing? But it was. 

Big Cat on the Move
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 25, 2025

We headed out into the park bright and early, no, wait, it wasn't bright--it was dark and we could only just begin to see some color in the eastern sky as we rode out looking for big game. The ranger used his high intensity lamp to try and find game hidden in the bushes, trees, and under the trees. We did find an impala, but nothing else until after dawn and we could see without additional illumination.  

But after dawn, it did not take long before we encountered our first big cat, a lioness walking down the road towards us. We stopped and she continued her march unfazed by the people and the cameras. Yes, she has a tracking collar. It is part of the wildlife management that the park is doing. If you look closely you can see that she is a nursing mother. 

Lion cubs
Pilanesberg National Park, ZA
February 25, 2025

From this stop, we heard that there was a group of cubs under a tree near the road and headed off to find them. There were three cubs when we arrived, but one of the cubs decided to wander off towards their mother, who was keeping a watchful eye on them and us from a distance.  

I was amazed, and this was not the first time today that it happened, how many safari trucks show up when a significant animal is found. There must have been 10 trucks all vying to see the cubs at play. I can't even imagine the number of images and videos that were taken of the two this morning. We stayed for a long while and then departed to give other tours the opportunity to get closer and enjoy nature at play.

Leopard
Pilanesberg National Park
February 25, 2025

Next up was the search for the leopard! Yes, one was on the move and we headed off across the park to find it. The early word was that they had lost sight of her, but by the time we got close, it was clear that she was generating a lot of activity. Along the way we saw herds of impala and wildebeest. Turns out, the leopard was hunting and one of the impala's became dinner. We found her in a tree eating her fresh kill. Fortunately she was far enough away that I did not try to take a photograph of the carnage.

Giraffe 
Pilanesberg National Park
February 25, 2025

As the day continued to deepen we were excited to see zebras and giraffes.

Each new animal increased our excitement and we soon realized that this was far more of an experience than either of us had dreamed it would be. 

But there was even more to come and this was only our second of four rides into the park.

Zebras
Pilanesberg National Park
February 25, 2025

-- Bob Doan, Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa

The Safari

4 yo Male Lion at Night
Pilanesberg Nature Reserve
February 24, 2025

 The final portion of our South African trip has arrived. We successfully completed on of four planned safari rides last evening and arrived back at the lodge exhausted. 

White Rhinos
Pilanesberg Nature Reserve
February 24, 2025 

The ride was a wild success. We saw White Rhinos, a Black Rhino, Impalas, Wildebeest, some Hippos playing in the water, birds, giraffes in the distance, zebras, some other antelope breeds and we actually saw a lion. The lion was something that Chris dearly wanted to see and I am happy that the last sighting of the night was the lion imaged here.

Impala Crossing
Pilanesberg Nature Reserve
February 24, 2025

We departed the lodge at 4:30 PM and arrived back at about 9 PM. All of the rides are scheduled for three hours, but more if hunting is good. Of course, we are hunting with a camera.

The area has been blessed with rain of late and it is very green. There is water still standing in many places on the trails and the animals are very active. We saw many herds of Impalas, but one of them was huge with maybe 100 animals all told. 

Today we have two rides, one at 5:30 AM in the morning and another 4:30 PM ride until after dark.

We are hoping for some close-up time with giraffes and hippos. And who knows what other animals we may see. We were told that seeing a Black Rhino was rare--but we saw one. 

-- Bob Doan, Pilanesberg Nature Reserve, South Africa

South African Wine Tour Conclusion

Dornier Barrel Room
Dornier Estate, Stellenbosch, ZA
February 23, 2025

 The final day of the wine tour was highlighted by a visit to the Dornier Wine Estate and a wine lunch at Waterford Estate. The real highlight, however, was the goodbye dinner at Steenberg Estate.

Looking into the Vat
Dornier Estate, Stellenbosch, ZA
February 23, 2024

Dornier Wine Estate provided us with a tour of the barrel room and then a tasting of seven wines. The barrel room tour highlighted yet another approach to producing wines. The three story, largely underground facility is suited for the production at Dornier. 

We were able to see red grapes fermenting in large stainless vats and both enjoy the odors of fermentation and the view hanging over the top of the vat looking at the berries. It was quite a sight looking into the vats from the top as they were filled and then looking at an empty vat for perspective. 

While at Dornier we tasted seven distinctive wines. The wines were 2024 Pinot Grigio, 2022 Chenin Blanc, 2022 Semillon, 2021 Tinta Barocca which was a new grape variety for me. It is a red varietal from Portugal originally. 2020 Equanimity Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019 Donatus Bordeaux Blend, and a 2016 CMD which was the former owner's favorite wine blend consisting of Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. 

It was a very enjoyable tasting. 

Lunch
Waterford Estate, Stellenbosch, ZA
February 23, 2025

From there we bussed around the corner for lunch at Waterford Estate. Chris and I had a tasting at Waterford before the wine tour began and we were familiar with their wines. We enjoyed a Chenin Blanc, a Grenache, and a Shiraz with lunch. They all paired very well with the charcuterie platters we enjoyed.  

Sunset at Steenberg
Steenberg Estate, Constantia, ZA
February 23, 2025

After our enjoyable lunch it was back on the bus for the ride to Steenberg Estate on the Constantia region. It was a longer ride, but worth it. We enjoyed luxury accommodations and another gourmet meal to celebrate our last night together. 

We enjoyed some sparkling wine outside mingling and talking about the experiences we had enjoyed during our time together and then it was inside for a scrumptious dinner. 

Our Traveling Companions and Tour Directors
Steenberg Estate, Constantia, ZA
February 23, 2025

It was hard to say goodbye, but we had a 3:15 AM wakeup to get to the airport for our jet to Johannesburg and then onto our safari.

We did subsequently make it to our lodge for the safari and are heading out on our first ride in about two hours. As it was a travel day, the blog is a bit later than expected. Highlight of the flight and drive? We saw three elephants in the wild during our three-hour ride from the airport to the game reserve.

-- Bob Doan, Pilanesberg Game Reserve, South Africa

Next to Last Day

 

We had a slower paced day for our next to last, penultimate, day of the wine tour. It was nice to get back to the hotel about 3:30 for a nap or shopping, or even writing this blog. 

Punching Down the Berries
Starke-Condé, Stellenbosch, ZA
February 22, 2025

After breakfast, we loaded the bus and headed off to Stark-Condé for a tour and wine tasting with the owners. Again, it is harvest season and this wine cellar was definitely in full working mode.

The cellar tour was comprehensive and informative. We sampled juice in different stages of fermentation and watched the winemaker demonstrate how to punch down the berries. 

Stark-Condé Barrel Room
Stellenbosch, ZA
February 

After the tour, we headed off to the island tasting room. Yes, it is on an island in the middle of a bucolic lake. It truly was a different take on a tasting room and provided good separation from the Post-Card Restaurant which adjoins the winery. 

The tasting room sits on an island protected by a large willow tree. Once on the island, the tasting room is a beautifully arranged place to enjoy wine while communing with nature as I watched innumerable birds fly past and into the nearby trees. 

Headed to the Island Tarting Room
Stark-Condé, Stellenbosch, ZA
February 22, 2025

While we were there, we enjoyed tasting five wines, two whites, the 2023 Round Mountain Sauvignon Blanc and the 2023 Field Blend which is made from Roussanne, Chenin Blanc, Verdelho, and Viognier. Following these two nice whites, we tasted their three flagship Cabernet Sauvignon wines. The wines were the 2020 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (which is called the Stellenbosch Cab Sauv on the price list), The 2019 Three Pines Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2018 Oude Nectar Cabernet Sauvignon. All three contain some portions and combinations of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec. All of the wines had a very nice price point and are available in the United States--which is awesome.

Lievland Rose
Lievland Wine Estate
February 22, 2025

Next up was lunch at Lievland Cafe next to the Lievland Wine Estate. We began our visit with a very nice Lievland Rose which was made from Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsaut. We learned a bit about the winery, including the symbol of cupid riding a springbok. Apparently, the springbok which is a type of antelope was given to the previous owners and they placed it in a pen with horses. The horses adopted the springbok and it began thinking it was a horse. So there was love between the horses and the springbok. 

Lievland Barrel Room
February 22, 2025

After the telling of the story, Tom Lennon, the winemaker came out and chatted with us about the winery and we got a short tour of the cellar. I was impressed with the apparent age of some of the barrels. Following the discussion in the barrel room we went into the restaurant for another gourmet lunch. While there we enjoyed two more wines, 2024 Chenin Blanc and 2023 Pinotage. Both were sourced from grapes in the Paarl Region. The winery is actively planting vines and expects to begin producing more estate wines in the near future. 

Wow! What a great day it was. We hopped into the bus and made our way to the hotel in Stellenbosch for a relaxing afternoon. 

Today is the final day of our wine expedition and we are looking forward to a winery in the morning, lunch and a probable tearful good-bye dinner. It truly has been an experience not to be forgotten.

Picture of the Day
The Mountains from the Tasting Room
Stark-Condé Winery
February 22, 2025

-- Bob Doan, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Making our way to Stellenbosch

The Working Barrel Room
Kaapzicht Wine Estate, Stellenbosch, ZA
February 21, 2025

 Another beautiful day dawned in the Western Cape, South Africa. Yesterday, we enjoyed a great breakfast on the veranda of the Royal Hotel to start the day. Fortunately the day was cooler than the over 100-degree day we suffered through the day before. 

We had a relatively early bus time and were on the road to our first vineyard by about 8:30 AM. As an amazing statistic, since arriving in South Africa we have sampled over 100 different wines! We are a bit ahead of the tour because we arrived three days early and visited three wineries even before the formal program began. 

The day began at Kaapzicht Wine Estate in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa. We were treated to a tour of the working cellar where juice was being piped into the tanks straight from the press or the being stirred in the tanks. While in the cellar we sampled freshly pressed juice, juice which had been fermenting for 5 days, and some that had been fermenting longer to gain an understanding of how the process happens. 

After the Tasting
Kaapzicht Wine Estate
February 21, 2025

After touring the barrel room, we transitioned to an extensive wine tasting. All told, we tasted and enjoyed 11 wines, with one of them being a sparkling wine to begin the visit. During the wine tasting we enjoyed 3 Chenin Blanc offerings, a Pinotage Rose, 3 different Pinotage wines, a Cinsaut, a Bordeaux blend and a Cape blend. Wow. And that was all before noon! Each of the wines provided insight into the mind of the winemaker and how grapes become wine. Additionally, each offering was targeted to a market segment and appropriately priced.

Lunch Under the Trees
The Table at De Meye, Muldersvlei, ZA
February, 21, 2025

Being lunch time, we bussed to The Table at De Meye restaurant for our luncheon appointment where we enjoyed another gourmet lunch under some large trees. The restaurant is a farm-to-table type restaurant and also serve the food family style. As the day was cooler, it was very enjoyable and the food and wines paired perfectly.

After lunch it was off to Kanonkop Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. This is a wine that can readily be purchased in the U.S. and it was great to visit and enjoy additional tastings. This was a Pinotage tasting, as Kanonkop thinks if itself as the big dog of Pinotage wines. We tasted 6 wines, a Pinotage Dry Rose, a Cape blend which has more Pinotage than another wine in the blend, and 4 other Pinotage wines with varying price points. By the time we departed, I had to agree that they do great Pinotages, but they are not the only winery doing Pinotage--as we have seen during this wine trip. 

The Wines of Kanonkop
February 21, 2025

After the tasting, we had some time to enjoy the winery and Chris found dogs in need. Two Irish Setters were happy for her to pet their heads and rub their bellies. She is missing her dog Finnegan a lot! 

Chris and the Irish Setter
Kanonkop Wine Estate
February 21, 2025

The day ended as we checked into a very nice hotel in Stellenbosch. We headed out a bit later to secure dinner and enjoy the very busy college town on a Friday night.

-- Bob Doan, Stellenbosch, South Africa