South Africa - Hemel & Aarde Valley - Hermanus Wine Route

Hemel & Aarde - Hermanus Wine Route

Wine Lovers, photographers, food-loving people, this valley is truly worth a visit. 

This valley, named Heaven and Earth, is a magical place which runs for about 6.7km amidst truly beautiful vistas with many wine farms along the way. The road eventually reaches Caledon - however, the wine route only extends as far as Seven Springs. 
The weather was not great on the day we visited - still worth it!

The valley is famous for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and has been likened to North France because of the clay soil and ocean breezes.

If you really fall in love with the valley, there are homes for sale at a price!

The route starts at Hermanuspietersfontein Wine Shop where you can also enjoy a Saturday Market between 09.00 and 13.00 hrs. Their farm is closer to Stanford.

The "Wine Village Shop" at the start of route R320 is truly a "library" of wines and they are open 7 days a week with free wine tastings. If you can drag yourself out of there, then head off up the valley! Make sure your credit card is handy.

Next up is Southern Right, Hamilton Russel, Ashbourne, Bouchard Finlayson, La Vierge, Sumeridge, Newton Johnson, Restless River, (that name just resonates with me) Spookfontein, Ataraxia, Creation, Mount Babylon, Jacob's Vineyards, Domaine des Dieux and Seven Springs.

As with any wine route, one has to choose as it is impossible to sample all the wines in one day unless you are looking to be locked up in the Hermanus cells till a Monday morning. Sort of difficult to explain to your boss why you won't be at work? So take a stab at the names and choose 1 or 2 farms to stop at.

We decided on Hamilton Russel - a beautiful and tranquil setting, overlooking a dam. With a roaring fire inside the tasting Room, on a cold day, it was a good stop. Tim Hamilton Russel purchased the property in 1975, his son, Anthony Hamilton Russel took over in 1991 and purchased the estate in 1994. HR only do Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and the wines are not cheap. Their  "Southern Right" label is less expensive.

Our next stop was Sumeridge Estate. The Tasting Room is impressively set within the stone-clad walls of an long, regal looking building. They also have a cosy restaurant for light meals, with outdoor seating during summer.  

By now, we were feeling somewhat peckish so decided to try out Mogg's Country Cookhouse for an authentic Hemel & Aarde experience. This restaurant is tucked away off the main R320 - signposted though and don't be put off by the dirt track and tiny building. The dogs will greet you and lead the way to the door which could be tightly shut on a cold day. This restaurant was taken over 17 years ago by a mother an daughter team and they have very obviously succeeded in getting the mix right. Cosy and warm and very busy after a 2 week holiday, they were rather phased by the tripping lights but the problem was sorted out promptly! Artist influence can be seen in the painting of fowls adorning the doors and walls plus many other displays of talent. The Pine cone ceiling was apparently in place when they purchased the restaurant and this adds another quirky feel to the place. With a mix of tourists and many locals (judging by the conversations) it's a successful venture and one we can highly recommend. The food was good, the service attentive and the ambiance just what we needed.

There is certainly enough on this wine route to keep everybody happy and being so close to Hermanus, it is an ideal day out when visited the seaside town. In summer, it's an escape from the crowds on the beach, in winter, what could be better than some roaring fires, wine tasting and valley cooking?

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

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Bloggers are not NERDS!!!

Who said Bloggers are NERDS??? Well, I suppose that is debatable when we spend so much time writing about ourselves and our travels in the hope that somebody out there will enjoy our ramblings and perhaps even "follow" us on our travels. Or, better still, make some nice comments!

Blogging started in the late 1990's and was mainly used by individuals up until as recently as 2009.
For many the journey started as an online diary for friends and family and perhaps to ease the concerned families whilst their offspring went back-packing all over the globe.

Today blogging is a buzz word that has everybody wanted a slice of the pie. And why not?
It's fun, you get to share your experiences online with many people in various countries and maybe, they too, will be inspired to travel more and start their own blog. It's the way of the future and personal experience of a country is always better to rely on rather than a rather boring and factual guide-book. Don't get me wrong, guide books play a very important role in travel and I doubt they will ever become redundant but reading a number of blogs about a destination you may want to visit, gives you a first-hand account from people of all walks of life and these stories are shaping the Internet.

I was privileged to be able to attend the 2nd Getaway Blogging Conference held at Upper Eastside Hotel in Woodstock, Cape Town on 04/08/2012 and I can only say "WOW" Blogging has become a profession for many bloggers who have been blogging for 4 years or more and they are lucky enough to be able to travel to many wonderful and inspiring destinations. Amazingly, I learnt that there are International Blogging Conferences held. Time to start saving.......!

Being a "newbie" to blogging (only just a year now) I was enthralled by 4 International bloggers who had been invited to Cape Town by Cape Town Tourism (see what I mean - expenses paid by somebody else!!!)

Keith Jenkins of Velvet Escape - who is unashamedly into luxury travel. Keith is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands and started life in the banking sector. He was not entirely happy with his life and this sector collapsed in 2008, ending his career path. His love of travel and photography started him on his journey of blogging and he has made a huge success of this.

Nellie Huang is a tiny slip of a girl with a passion for adventure so her blog, Wild Junket, focuses on all things linked to crazy adventure stuff. She lives with her husband in Spain, WHEN they are home, which is not often. She was a pleasure to talk to with a bubbly personality.

Matt Long of Landlopers (this is Afrikaans for Land Walkers!) - the English meaning is an "adventurer" which is what Matt professes to be. Very truly American, I am sure he has inspired many Americans to get out of their "USA is bigger and better than anywhere else" mode and start travelling to different parts of the globe. Even if USA is "bigger and better" there are other wild, beautiful, freezing, over-populated, under-populated, or just plain "wow" places to be explored and enjoyed. Having been to USA from San Franscisco right up to Seattle, along the West Coast, and New York on the East, with its endless noise and bustle, Cape Town CBD did look VERY tiny on my return home, so I can relate to the Yanks thinking "bigger" but not always better!

Melvin Boecher has made a name for himself with his very popular web site, Travel Dudes. Apparently, this started after a 3 month journey to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Their web site is extremely informative and a passion has turned into a thriving business.  Melvin is very much into Social Media and rattles of words like Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, StumbleUpon, Google+, Pininterest, Flickr. Where does he find the time for all this???

All 4 of these international travellers kept us enthralled by their stories and made my feet extremely itchy to get out there and do more.

There were numerous other speakers who shared their expertise - it was total and overwhelming brain overload - yet so great to be part of something that is exploding today on the Internet. Maybe our stories will outlive us all and become a small part of history.

With my passion for photography, which is an ongoing challenge and always needs improvement, I hope to satisfy the childhood dream of becoming a journalist by rather becoming a better blogger. The journalist "thing" no longer excites me but travel does and sharing makes the experience live on in my memory forever.

Technology has advanced so fast and so quickly in the past few years, that it is a challenge to keep up with all the modern terms - one wonders who came up with the term "Blog" and "Blogger"
We are living and breathing our own history and it is changing minute by minute in this fast-paced realm of the Internet where information is live within seconds and can be shared world-wide. This connectivity can be an extremely powerful tool if used in a positive way. Travel Bloggers are surely the most positive, happy and friendly people - who travels to be miserable?? This connects us to others  and spreads goodwill around the globe - with great results. Perhaps the politicians need to take some lessons in how to spread good cheer and well-being without any bribery or corruption, something rife in many countries today. 

I now wear the badge with pride - even if I am still a rank amateur - I am proud to call myself a "Blogger"!!!!

If you intend visiting Cape Town, you can support me in my "work-to travel" day job of running my "Bradclin Portfolio Accommodation" business by booking with us - every night booked means that my next travel plan gets a tiny, little step closer..........!!!

We love guests nearly as much as travel so that means we would truly love having you to stay!

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Please join me on my journeys by becoming a "follower" on this blog and by "liking" our web page and Bradclin Portfolio Facebook page.

You can also tweet at @bradclin1

For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

www.bradclin.com