South
Africa - Day 16
Friday 6th February 2026
Participants: Kev & Tam
We're up at 6.45 am for breakfast and to finish packing before our long drive to Franschhoek. We leave our apartment with the lovely view and are on the road at 7.45 am. The Franschhoek Pass is closed so we will have to go a slightly longer way and it should take in excess of 5 hours.
We'll certainly miss eating our breakfast while looking out over this view.
We stop for the rolls we bought for lunch on a bit of scrubland at the side of the road, so not the prettiest. We go through the Huguenots Tunnel, which is the longest tunnel in South Africa at 3.9 km. It costs 53 Rand and just before we enter we see flames on the mountains as the wildfires that have been plaguing the region are still breaking out. Helicopters are flying to the nearest water source to scoop up water to deposit on the fires.
As we approach our destination we enter the winelands and there are many winefarms as we enter Franschhoek. Our host at Bleu Cobalt Cottage is Jan and he's waiting for us as we arrive. He welcomes us and shows us around our home for the next 5 nights. It's beautiful and there's not a single thing that Jan has not thought of. We have fruit, a bottle of chilled Chardonnay, tea, coffee and biscuits all at our disposal. He even provides a decanter of local port. As we are staying for more than 3 days he also gives us a voucher for a local coffee shop for a free breakfast. Jan shows us through a lovely little courtyard to our private swimming pool with lovely comfy sunbeds.
Tam and I quickly unpack before going to the pool for a swim and to relax for a while. We know already that this place will turn out to be an excellent choice. By the way, the weather is great. A few wispy clouds, otherwise clear blue skies and temperatures in the upper 20's C.
We shower and walk into town at 5.45 pm. It's not far at all as we're 100 yards or so from the Franschhoek Wine Tram depot, which will be convenient in the days to come.
Franschhoek has a road running through the centre of it with shops, bars and restaurants along the route. It's a spectacular setting with mountains all around. All the restaurants look very busy and we haven't booked anywhere as we had no set plans for this evening. We end up at the Tuk Tuk Micro Brewery where most of the tables are taken, but we find a spot inside. We both have a small beer and split the nachoes for one, which is plenty big enough for two.
On to the Mad Hatters Bar where we sit in a courtyard where I have another beer followed by a Rusty Nail and a Guinness. Tam and I also share a pizza while we listen to the musician on the small stage. It's a pleasant evening, not the best, but still enjoyable. Even more enjoyable is the fact that the bill for 6 drinks and a pizza is £30. As I keep saying - take UK prices and cut it in half and you won't be far off.
Back to our cottage where we find that Jan has lit the lanterns in the courtyard. He did this every night.
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