Namakwa District Municipality

The tasting room and bar area was lovely - decorative bunting, a log fire, sofas, a pool, long wooden tables, and spectacular views of the vineyards and the mountains behind.

Eleven of us from the group were doing the optional tasting, which was scheduled for 5pm. Nine of us were on time. Two didn’t turn up. Roly, who was conducting the tasting, wouldn't start without them as he had already cut the cheese. We had been told to be on time and to let him know if we changed our minds! I was dispatched to locate the missing two. It transpired that it was the same couple who were late for last night's meeting and for the truck this morning! A pattern is developing! Nobody knew where they were. I returned to the tasting room. By now, a GAdventures group had arrived on site, and Roly had to leave to do their introductory meeting. We were left waiting for him to return.

Fortunately, Sparky, the owner, stepped in to do the tasting with us. We got started at about 5.40pm. We had 6 wines 🍷 to taste - a chenin blanc, a pinotage, a shiraz, a sweet rose, a sparkling rose, and a fortified wine, along with some brie, a blue cheese, some camembert, and a cheddar with sweet chilli 🌶. We enjoyed the chenin and the two reds, but the rest were too sweet for our taste! We bought a bottle of the pinotage and impressed our fellow travellers by drinking it out of the proper glasses we were given at Constantia! No plastic cups for us on this leg - at least, not until we break the glasses! 😂

It was a really enjoyable tasting, especially talking to Sparky. We didn’t finish until ten past seven, by which time most of the rest of the group were sitting on the truck (there had been a brief rain shower) waiting for us so that we could all have dinner 🍽! It wasn't our fault we didn't start on time 😀.

For our first dinner of the trip, Henry had made us pumpkin 🎃 and potato soup 🍲 followed by beef stew with rice 🍚 and vegetables. It was all very good!

After dinner, some of the group went back to the bar, some went straight to their tents ⛺️, and we stayed with the rest sitting around the camp fire swapping stories. We turned it in at about 10.30pm.Read more