From Cape Town to the Cape Winelands

Today we left Cape Town and headed for Franschhoek, with a stop in Stellenbosch along the way.

Just to say, the lift saga continued last night. We got in the lift, I put my face in front of the screen and pressed floor one... nothing. After three attempts the lift suddenly went dark. While I was scrambling to find the torch on my phone, the doors opened and the security guard said, "You are too short!" Apparently the camera couldn't recognise me, so I had to use my fingerprint to access the lift instead. We also had to use our fingerprints to get from the stairs back into reception. It would have been much easier if I'd just been a little taller!

Our morning started with an Uber to the Avis car hire office. They were brilliant and we were able to pick the car up early. Driving was much easier than expected as they drive on the same side of the road as we do, and having an automatic car made it even easier.

Our first stop was Stellenbosch, where we arrived in time for the 11am historical walking tour. We were the only two people on the tour, and our guide was excellent – one of the best walking tours we have been on. She told us about the history of the town, how and by whom it was founded, and showed us the important historical houses and streets, along with the stories behind them.

After the walking tour we visited the museum. It is a little bit like the Weald & Downland Museum, although on a much smaller scale, with four historic houses and a museum building. Each house had a lady dressed in period costume who explained the history of the house and shared fascinating facts about what life was like during that period.

We then wandered around the town before visiting Oom Samie se Winkel, a general store that has been trading since 1904. Some of the stock looked as though it had been there since 1904 too, but it was a fascinating place to explore and full of character.

From Stellenbosch we continued on to Franschhoek, where we are staying for the next two nights. The town was settled by the French Huguenots and is surrounded by vineyards and wine estates, making it one of South Africa's best-known wine regions.

After checking in, we wandered down to the tourist office to get some recommendations for somewhere to eat and to find out more about the famous Wine Tram, which we are planning to do tomorrow.

We finished the day at the Tuk Tuk Microbrewery, where we enjoyed fish and chips, which were delicious.

Another lovely day, with the Garden Route adventure now well underway.