South Africa - Day 2

Good morning from Cape Town! 

Class XII got much needed rest last night. It was the first time I had laid down since Sunday, and a full night of sleep was pretty amazing. 

We had a full hot breakfast this morning before loading our bus to head out to wine country. The wine industry in South Africa continues to grow, and is globally popular. 

Our first stop was Paarl (pearl). This is the largest industrial town in the western cape. It was established in 1680 and continues to have strong French influence.

KWV wine was our first winery visit of the day. They are the largest in the region, and are also known for their brandy. We were also given the opportunity for a tasting and were given the ins and outs of wine judging from our tour guide. 

After the tasting we took off toward Stellenbosch, which is historically known for wine and where the South African wine industry started. In the area there are grapes as far as the eye can see. Fields and fields make up the scenic countyside. We noticed several farms where workers were going for the day, and our guide says labor is not an issue for the farms. 

The old part of town in prestine. You are not allowed to move even a brick without permission. Some buildings are over 200 years old. 

We drove through the university area as well. Stellenbosch is also known for education - especially in finance and medicine. While in Stellenbosch we were on our own for lunch. We chose to dine at Dors bar. I had a Jamacian pizza, that had bacon, avacado, and banana! It was delicious and something I typically wouldn't have ordered. I have decided that's the way I meed to order from here on out. 

Then we were back on the bus headed to our next winery. 

The Neethlingsof Estate is the oldest estate in the area, and they were the first winemaking family. The winery is 273 hectares with 95 hectares in vines. A hectare is about 2.5 acres. Eighty percent of the grapes are hand picked, and 20 percent are harvested with mechanization. Exports account for 50 percent and mainly go to Germany, France, and Sweden.

Following our tastings we hit the road for a long drive. 

Once we arrived on the bus our guides Marius and Deon passed out South African cultural treats. We had shooters of something that resembled moonshine and biltong (jerky). Then we passed around hard donut-like treat that was a little like a cold fried twisted donut called Koeksisters. 

One tidbit we learned about on our long drive out to the farm was that pine production for wood has become a line of agriculture that is being researched in order to maximize production due to the limitations of land. This research is focused on maximizing production with limited land resources. This is a somewhat similar to production agriculture in the United States. 

We also drove near a village in the region that produces apples. Fifty percent of the apples grown in South Africa are grown here, and one-third are exported all over the world.   

When we arrived on the farm we were greeted by Thys and O'Nel Roux who operate a diversified farm. They grow mainly wheat and canola, but also have apple and pear trees. Penny Merino sheep are the livestock part of their operation, and they also have an Agritourism business that flourishes. 

Thys took us on a bus tour of his farms and talked about local markets, yields, and farming challenges of the area. The points he made mirrored those of Kansas. The wheat yields, equipment, pricing and markets were all very similar.

Following the tour we were treated to a traditional South African meal that was delicious!

The first course was smoorsnoek over rice. This is a fish dish that reminded me of warm tuna over a very salty rice. 

The main course was Bobati, roasted potatoes, green beans, beetroot and a pumpkin fritter. Bobati is made of ground kudu (antelope like animal), onion, curry, and a custard baked on top. It had a different flavor and texture than beef and was very tender. The beet root was a quarter of a pickled beet, and I loved that part! The green beans were cooked in lamb bacon and onion, and the pumpkin fritter was a sweet and soft. 

The dessert was a warm apple tart with vanilla ice cream, and the ice cream was homemade! One thing we have noticed about desserts is they are not overly sweet. 

Tomorrow we'll visit Robben Island and spend the day on the waterfront.