If you are just joining the adventure, we are exploring the wonders of South Africa with Adventures by Disney and we invite you to catch up on all you have missed here.
Day 3 started with a ride to the Winelands of Cape Point and another sketching class from Joe. It takes true talent, plus a very amazing wife holding the microphone, to give a lesson on forced perspective and sight lines in sketching while on a moving bus, but Joe really did give some great tips on the way to our first stop of the day.
Eagle Encounters
Located on the Spier Wine Farm, Eagle Encounters is a privately-run, non-profit wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, conservation, education and eco-tourism organization. With animals from baby pot belly pigs to huge the huge white-backed vulture, we spent almost two hours exploring and interacting with some of the inhabitants before watching a very fun and informative bird show.
This location was by far one of the highlights. Yes, I know it is only day 3, but from seeing some of the most unique birds up-close to having the chance to pet baby barn owls, it was truly a blast. But by far my favorite thing was having the chance to have horned owls fly right up to you.
Once all our fun was to be had (I could have stayed a few more days just here), it was off to lunch.
Lunch in the Winelands
The historic Cape vernacular Manor House, which dates back to 1812, was the host of our lunch and wine tasting.
The wine tasting was thankfully not wasted on myself, a non-drinker, as my travel partner is a wine lover and took one for the team by taking part in the tasting. Here is her review of the five limited release wines.
Boschendal Estate, located near the great town of Stellenbosch, has a
rich history of viniculture, wine making, was founded in 1685. During
our time at this beautiful estate, we were able to try 5 different
varieties of the wine grown there; A Sauvignon Blanc, a clear crisp
white wine with notes of green apple, the Blanc de Noir (my personal
favorite) with a light blush color, and a fresh, slightly sweet taste,
a Chardonnay, aged in both oak barrels and steel drums perfecting the
smooth, rich flavor of this wine, a Pinotage (South Africas most
unique red wine) which was created by cross pollinating two different
varieties of vines to create this smooth, medium bodied wine, and a
Merlot which has been aged in oak barrels and hints of blackberries as
you drink. – Tess May
Post lunch, we headed toward the second oldest town in South Africa: Stellenbosch. Cape Town is the oldest in case you were wondering.
Exploring Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch was a chance to stroll through the beautiful streets of this historic town and do a little shopping. I have a fun tradition: whenever I travel, I visit a church just because that is always a true look at the history of that location. While the church was closed, we did get a chance to walk the grounds and admire its beauty.
Due to an early morning flight the following day, we headed back for an early dinner near our hotel. But on the drive, our coach became a safari vehicle as we saw many of the animals seen on the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Dinner gave me a chance to sit with Joe and his lovely wife and hear many stories about his career with Walt Disney Imagineering, including hearing about how the start of what is now Pandora – The World of Avatar. These discussions took place as far back as 2011 and the proposed land became his official project on the opening day of Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa.
With the final return to The Table Bay Hotel, it was time to get to sleep early due to a very early morning flight to George for our next stop on this adventure.
