snapshots from the cape winelands, south africa.
driving up to de zeven guest lodge.
april 2024
for our 2024 trip we went to south africa! neither of us had ever been to the african continent before, and we were so excited. the trip was planned around a safari with our besties that would happen at the tail end of our travel, but the two of us kicked things off in the cape winelands.
we arrived in cape town very early on the morning of our anniversary after over 24 hours of travel. we immediately booked a car to take us to de zeven guest lodge in banhoek valley and the views were absolutely breathtaking. we felt so lucky that this was going to be our home base for the next few days. we didn’t have much planned other than to rest and relax and get over the jetlag, and i could not have imagined doing so in a more beautiful place.
the pool house rooms.
main house.
lavender everywhere.
we stayed in one of the pool house rooms and had the most stunning views every time we walked outside. the weather kept changing on us, but it was always gorgeous.
sauna.
dining room balcony.
when the weather permitted we would sit outside for breakfast, but their indoor common space was beautifully clad in all windows so we never missed out.
coffee with a view.
the pool at night.
since we were in the cape winelands, we had to go wine tasting! we had a driver for the day who planned out an entire itinerary for us after asking us what kinds of wines and wineries we liked. raymond was absolutely delightful and brought us to some amazing places across the stellenbosch, franschhoek, and paarl regions.
fairview wine & cheese
suid-agter paarl road, suider-paarl, 7646
goat bridge at fairview.
we started off the day with the master tasting at fairview wine & cheese. who doesn’t love a good wine and cheese tasting early in the morning? or a goat tower? :insert heart eyes emoji:
the goat tower.
cheeses at fairview.
some fairview wines.
soul barrel brewing
simondium guild r45, simondium, 7670
next, we stopped at soul barrel for some south african craft beer. the space was really cool inside and out, and part of a larger complex of small businesses. we each got a flight to be able to try as many beers as possible.
anthonij rupert wyne tasting room
R45 wine route, franschhoek, 7690
our third stop of the day was the anthonij rupert wyne tasting room. the grounds and manor house where the tasting room was were so, so pretty and we really lucked out with the weather that day.
oldenburg vineyards
zevenrivieren road, stellenbosch, 7601
after a late lunch (and a little sobering up), our final tasting stop for the day was oldenburg vineyards. another beautiful location and a very elegant and modern tasting room.
beautifully shaved cheese and olives.
oldenburg tasting room view.
we technically had one more vineyard to visit that day but as you can imagine, we were very full and more than a little tipsy by this point so we called it and headed back to our accommodations.
BUT! i can’t wait to share all the delicious meals we had in the cape winelands next (where there is good wine, there is always good food). and a final shoutout to my friend keith for not only recommending de zeven to us, but also for connecting us with raymond for our wine tasting day. so grateful to him for being so integral in making the first part of this trip perfect and unforgettable.
