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Thank you

Lesley Cox

Welcome to Meliza & Melanie, travel agents from Gracy Travel USA and first time visitors to the Cape.

Meliza has a good eye for beaded jewellery and first stop was Street Wires - a community project which started in 2000 with a couple of artists and has grown to 75 artists making beaded art for sale.  They have a variety of products for sale and you have the opportunity to meet the artists in the workshop.  Situated in the city bowl, a worthwhile stop on a city tour.

We spent a couple of days touring around the wine region and Cape Peninusular – finishing with visits to some of our five star hotels in the vicinity of the Waterfront.  It is always easier to promote places to new clients once you have seen them for yourself.

Melanie & Meliza at the Cape of Good Hope

Dropping them at the airport, it was a first time experience for me to see the new departures terminal at Cape Town International airport - what a pleasure!  Professional looking, well-organised and plenty of space.

I wish them a safe trip home in time for thanksgiving.

Thank you very much to Robyn from the Alta Bay for recommending me as their.  I also had a wonderful day.  Thor has been working in Botswana and while Froydes was visiting him they decided to make a short trip to Cape Town.  Froydes is an artist and immediately fell in love with Cape Town city – she will definitely be back to paint some of our landscapes and people!

Thor & Froydes Lynaas at Cape of Good Hope

With a day available for touring I took them around the Cape Peninsular.  Cape Point was crowded and as good food is a priority in their life I took them to the Food Barn at Noordhoek for a light lunch in the deli.

I look forward to seeing them again soon.

Welcome back to Oriel, Kim and Dan – now on their third visit to Cape Town and kindly bringing along Kim’s mum for her first visit.  Out in the winelands, we re-visited their two favourites, Tokara   (olive oil) and Moreson (methode cap classique).

Oriel, Kim, Dan & Joan

New vineyards were Seidelberg, and Warwick.  At Warwick

Joan (Mum) & daughter (Kim), demonstrating the wedding cup at Warwick wine estate

 they each had fun demonstating the wedding cup, the famous logo on their wine labels.

The following day – around the Cape Peninsular.  Blessed with perfect weather we visited the penguins, Cape Point nature reserve and finally they get to see Chapmans Peak drive.  Six years ago they missed it, and last year it was closed.  Dan is sitting on the wall at Chapmans Peak with the view of Hout Bay behind him.

Dan, Chapmans Peak drive, with a view of Hout Bay

Fine dining is also at  the top of their list of things to do in Cape Town.  La Colomb, Ginja, and Beluga were some of restaurants where they feasted and I hope that Oriel will post some of her favourite selections when she has a moment.

I look forward to seeing them again when they are next in Cape Town.

While they have American accents it is difficult to say where they are from having listened to the many countries they travelled and worked in.  Currently they are working in Pretoria and making their first exploration of Cape Town in preparation for a longer visit.

To entice them to visit again I drove them around our wine region, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek with a quick taster around Camps Bay and the Atlantic seaboard.

Even tour guides never get tired of our splendid scenary!

Finally a quick trip up Signal hill for the city bowl view.

Plus I like to taket the opportunity to check out our stadium due for completion in December – can’t wait for the Word Cup!!

Thanks to the Cape Heritage hotel for recommending me to Ken and Bernadine and I hope to meet them again on their next trip.

David was taking a quick break from the dynamic world of the theatre.  A technical stage manager – travelling around the UK bringing the theatre to different regions in the UK. 

As we have have just under 700 wine farms to choose from, David was keen to hire a guide to assist him get the most from exploring the wine region in a day.

Beginning at one of my favourites – Vergelegen.  A great introduction to the history of the wine region.

Also home to these camphor trees – 300 hundred years old!

Not too far is Ken Forrester wine estate.  “The king of chenin blanc” reports our wine host Annemie Siebrits, as she pours the chenin blanc range of unwooded, light-wooded and barrel fermented.

David has expensive tastes – his favourite is the barrel-fermented chenin blanc!

We spent the rest of the day leisurely visiting Rust en Vrede, Tokara and Moreson.

Two more favourites to add to David’s list – Tokara olive oil and Moreson Methode Cap Classique!

This was David’s first visit to Cape Town and I am confident not his last!

 

A warm welcome to our agents from Gracy Travel who have been sending us clients for the last five years – Thank you very much.

Agents Doug & Christy (travelling with their respective partners Gloria & Angel), completed a whistle stop tour of Southern Africa.  The only way to promote a product is to experience it for yourself.

Faiez showed them the jewels of the Cape Peninsular, while I gave a brief overview of the wine region.

We appreciate all the clients from the USA they have sent over the last few years and look forward to meeting new in the future.

Thank you – and a safe journey home to Texas.

 

 

A warm welcome to Nicolas and Deborah – guests who prefer to travel like me.  Arriving in a country with only the first couple nights accommodation and a return ticket.  No firm plans, only open minds as to where the adventure will lead them.

Finally, Chapmans Peak drive is open again after months of closure.  I had almost forgotten myself how beautiful this curvy scenic drive really is.   Lunch was at the Food Barn in Noordhoek – a real treat!

I wish them a wonderful tour around South Africa and look forward to hearing about their adventure and who they met

 

The best way to explore Stellenbosch is on foot and currently there is a new dimmension with the outdoor exhibition of bronze sculptures by Dylan Lewis.

There are twenty three sculptures; nineteen can be viewed on foot.  Special sculpture maps and information are available free at the Stellenbosch information centre in Market Street.

Dylan Lewis, born in Johannesburg, spent the first 15 years of his career focussing on large wild cat predators.  He enjoyed international success and now it was time to give something back to the community in the form of an outdoor exhibition.  After gaining permission from the Stellenbosch municipality he financed and selected the appropiate sites for his bronze sculptures.

Depending on size and design a sculpture takes around three months to produce.  He works with the lost wax casting method; looking closely I could see his fingerprints on these final pieces.

Three months seems a relatively short period of time.   I need to mention the endless hours Lewis spends observing and drawing the animals, detailing their anatomy with accuracy.

A couple of favourites on route – above are the two buffalo in front of the Moederkerk (look for Lewis’s foot print).

Below is the rhino on De Braak, weighing in a one ton!

These sculptures will be on display until July 2010 in Stellenbosch when the exhibition moves to Kirstenbosch.

Thank you to Colette for this interesting educational.  Further information on these sculptures www.stellenboschsculpturetour.com

Honeymoon couple Shaun & Andrea wanted to see whales in Hermanus.  While the weather was not co-operating the whales were and we saw plenty of whales close by in the sanctuary.

Shaun (raised in the UK) and Andrea (Hungary) have been working in Qatar for two years and have a passion for cats.  They have five cats at home.

What better way to end the day – a cheetah encounter at Spier.

The cubs are 5 months old – the cheetah in the front is a rare king cheetah, recognised by the stripey appearance.

“You couldn’t have picked a more perfect way to end the day” smiles Andrea as she see the cubs!

Now they are off to Safari and then the Maldives – what a lovely honeymoon!