We were up before the alarm for a tour of the vineyards. There is another letter under the door. Our transfer departure tomorrow is now 8 am.

After breakfast, we catch the courtesy bus to the waterfront, but ask our very obliging driver to drop us off where we are due to meet our tour. We recced this yesterday on our way to pick up the Robben Island boat.

We got on the tour bus and were so impressed with the tour guide. He was excellent and funny and went around the bus, introducing all the passengers to one another. With so many different nationalities on board, he was particularly concerned that we looked out for one another and made sure everyone was on the bus. Clearly expecting that if there was a lot of wine being drunk, people may lose the way back to the bus. During the day, he also thanked each nationality for their contribution to South Africa’s development and achievements.

The first stop was in the Paarl region to the Rhebokskloof estate where the wine making process was explained, and six wines were selected to match with Belgium chocolate.

The second winery was in the Franschhoek region. The town was established in 1780 by the French Huguenauts, and as it was Saturday, it was buzzing and had a large market. We walked through the town with a stop for my little angel to have a photo taken.

The wine tasting was at Vrede en Lust Wine Estate, where we were also able to have lunch to accompany the wine. Here, the wines we tasted were named after the proprietors 4 daughters, Sarah, Jess, Annie, and Ellen.

The third tasting was in the Stellenbosch region, where we walked through the town to see Nelson Mandela’s shoes (which were missing as the shop was closed) and a fantastic art work which was a rusty steel sheet with cutouts fixed to a block of stone. You had to photograph it before you could see what it was. The temperature was now 37° so we were pleased to get inside anywhere cooler.

The wine tasting at the Rustenberg estate was served with a platter of cheese and snacks. We spent a very pleasant hour talking to couples from Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania, France, and Germany. Fortunately for us, they all spoke English. We learnt that thank you was pronounced, ‘buy a dunkey’, and this seemed to work really well, as the waiters were happy to keep topping up our wine glasses.

After the drive back to the waterfront, we jumped on a big red tour bus, and the driver kindly dropped us off opposite our hotel.

After sorting out our luggage for the flight tomorrow, we adjourned to the poolside bar for drinks and a snack.