Gate 1, South Africa - Day 3, wine tour continued

I m writing this on Day 6. A combination of late evenings, early mornings and poor internet has really put me behind and there is so much I want to post about and some lovely pictures but I am being very self disciplined and staying chronological. The trip may end up being posted when I get home.
So to continue.....

We stopped briefly at the entrance to the prison that Nelson Mandela was released from, to take pictures of his statue there.

This, at the base of the statue.

A brief stop, at the request of a guest, at a renown chocolate shop, and it was on to the next winery.

The wine area is very picturesque; a lush valley surrounded by mountains.

Our little group waiting for our tasting.

This time it was 3 varieties of "Bubbly", can't, of course, actually call it champagne.

The area also grows lavender.

Workers in the lavender fields were taking their noon hour snooze.

Our first glimpse of African game and it was domesticated.

Next we had an hour and a half

to wander

and shop

in an old, and very pretty, but rather touristy little town.

Tessa was very uncomfortable with the bartering process

so I tried to assist her with purchasing some paintings in the market area. It was great fun as the vendors are not aggressive and quite adept at drawing you in. They know the game and play it with a good nature.

So, I am now in Johannesburg. Its Day 7! Renier keeps reminding us that large parts of South Africa are considered a 3rd world country and although the hotels have been lovely, the internet has not. So here in "Jo-burg" I am staying in (not going out to dinner with the rest) and trying to catch up a little.

The last winery (Neethlingshof) we visited had lovely views

and old, dutch architecture

but I liked their wine the least.

On our return drive we saw a family of Blue Cranes

South Africa's national bird.

We also drove past "Informal Settlements" beside the highway. These are large areas, fenced, covered in little homemade shacks (corrugated metal, plywood, plastic, whatever they could find). Around the edge are chemical toilets and the people living there are basically squatters. The government provides the toilets, water to central taps and electricity. The people pay nothing to live there. We also passed "Formal Settlements" where the government had erected small houses (a bedroom and one other room, outside toilet) with running water and electricity and this was one step up and the people living there had to pay for the accommodation. Renier spoke of the high unemployment rates, high crime and murder rates, drug and gang issues in all of South Africa. He talked about government corruption and the need for free education. He passionately wants better for his country. Better homes are surrounded by walls that are topped with barbed wire or electric fence due to the crime rates. I was glad I was on an organized tour and our safety kept being emphasized.
We were on our own for dinner so Tessa and I met Chris, Jason, Noah and Kristen (they had been cage diving with sharks and then gone to Table Mountain) at a restaurant called Gold.

It had a set menu of 16 courses of food from all over Africa. The food was fabulous and because they bought small amounts it was almost like a tasting menu and we were full at the end.

They came and painted our faces. The females got flowers while the males got patterns of dots or squiggles.

The troop of dancers and singers wandered around the restaurant entertaining on all the different levels. They also periodically took to the stage area, right in front of us, with drumming, dancing and singing.

It was a great meal and a fun experience.

We took an Ubber back to the hotel as both Renier and the hotel concierge had made it clear that it was not safe to walk.