Stellenbosch 16th - 18th March

The Backpackers hostel called Stumble Inn is a hive of activity. Lots of music, a bar and numerous aching sofas that have welcomed just too many weary bodies to be still looking their best! We were in a separate house two doors away. It felt a bit like a cleaned out and repainted stable with a double bed. A stable door also appears a little later in our story.

Wine tours are great. We strongly recommend them. When you've driven all over Namibia and started on another epic drive from Cape Town to J'burg, just the idea of being driven in a mini-bus with 13 other expectant tiplers to four wineries is enough to bring on a state of euphoria.

We recommend the "Goats do Roam"; "Goat Door"; "Bored Doe" and "Goats do Roam in Villages" from the Fairview company. It's all true, but the best part is the cheese tasting at the same place. Richard even liked the goats cheese; a bit of a Damascus Road experience for him: Mr.,"Have you got any cheddar", man!

What would you say to a slice of raw meat that had been hung up to dry in a shed? Well it's called Biltong and is rather delicious. The dry curing technique is fine for all sorts of meat. Richard liked the kudu but Ana liked the beef, so we bought some beef. People here often carry a small bag of it around and nibble little bits like we might eat sweets - well some of us do! 

On the sunday we went to a local church and discovered that the pastor is a good friend of someone Ana met on a NHS leaders' course. "It's a small world", so they say!