From Wine to Wild

Coming from the Okanagan wine region made touring the Stellenbosch and Franshoek regions in South Africa very interesting. The topography there is similar, with stunning mountain vistas and rolling vineyards. What was remarkable was the vastness of the wine farms, the history of wine in that region, and the interesting new ways they are practicing viticulture. There are a number of grape varietals grown here that are not common back home, but the area in particular grows fantastic Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, and of course Pinotage - a varietal developed right here in South Africa. Wine farms here are destinations: huge areas with vineyards, gardens, restaurants, stores, olive groves, orchards, picnic areas, art, amphitheatres, etc. There are smaller boutique wineries popping up too, like back home, and farmers are beginning to experiment different pruning styles: one is vertical...growing each vine separate and vertical, like an apple tree, and the other very trendy thing here is bush vines. Basically they do not prune, and just let the vine grow wild. The vines tend to develop large branches close the the ground and very very deep roots. This then adds a level of minerality to the grapes that pruned vines might not have.

The wine region - which is only an hour from Cape Town is warmer than the city, and we found it very pleasant there. There were quite a few really great restaurants, three markets including a slow food market, natural reserve areas with trails to waterfalls, and unparalleled views from everywhere! We left the wine region after a few days and flew through Johannesburg to Hoedspruit where we were picked up and taken to a lodge on the Timbavati Private game reserve. This large reserve is open, fence free, along Kruger National Park, so the wildlife moves freely in and out of the park. The area where we were is known for its large cats: lions and leopards. There is also an abundance of rhinoceros, elephants, and all manor of antelope, wildabeast, warthog, and innumerable amazing birds. The advantage of doing a safari on a private reserve versus the national park is that the trackers are allowed to take the jeep off road, so you can virtually get within touching distance of the animals. And much like the deer or bears in Canadian parks, the animals have grown up seeing cars and people and they are not afraid and go about their business eating, hunting, and sleeping. In Kruger Park, where we are now, you must stay on the roads with your windows up, and fines are hefty for breaking those rules. We look forward to doing some early morning drives this week, and then enjoying the pool at our resort. Kruger Park is 20,000 square kilometers of bush, tropical forest, mountains rivers teeming with life. The disadvantage to coming here in South Africa’s summer is that wildlife is harder to see in the lush green foliage. There is water everywhere, so animals do not have to congregate around sparse water holes. Game is harder to find, and yet, the beauty of the bushveld was amazing, the bird song enchanting, and there were baby critters to be spotted. Leading up to my trip I read a number of Wilber Smith books - historical fiction about South Africa, and it has been fun seeing the many things he describes. He tells the story of how the settlers from Britian, Holland, and Portugal virtually wiped out most of the wildlife here, and it was not until the late 1800’s that the first national reserve was created in the hopes of saving the animals. There is always a lot of uproar on social media when people see pictures of trophy hunters with dead elephants. It seems so tragic. But here is the truth: The park can only sustain an elephant population of 8000. elephants eat an enormous amount of vegetation, and they kill thousands of trees. By 2012 in The greater Kruger there were almost 17000 elephants. If they are not controlled through hunting, they would devastate the ecology and all the other animals, including those that are endangered, would be at risk. Unfortunately, the Rhinos have not thrived as the elephants, and they are at great risk due to poachers. The market for rhino horn in China, Thailand, and Vietnam is huge, due to their belief that it is an aphrodisiac. I would like to post some more pics, however we seem to be having trouble transferring them from my phone to the ipad where I do this blog. So in the meantime, be sure to check my Facebook posts for lots of pics.