Alsace is a great place for wine tasting. We based ourselves in St Hippolyte, a small village in the foothills of the Vosges. Our hotel was surrounded by vineyards, and from there, we could walk to neighbouring villages along paths through the vines. Our favourite was Rolly Gassmann, based in Rorschwihr. The tasting room is behind large folding doors just off the little main square. We were treated to numerous fabulous wines, ranging from light, delicate Pinot Noirs to rich sweet Gewurztraminers. The interaction was a little stilted, since Mme Gassmann speaks little English, and our French is equally limited, so greater emphasis had to be placed upon the oohs and aahs of delight at each vinous gem we were offered. We gave up at the twentieth sample, much to Mme Gassmann's disappointment!

Rolly Gassmann, 1-2, Place de l´Eglise, Rorschwihr (+33 3 8973 6328)

Domaine Marcel Deiss, 15 route du Vin, 68750 Bergheim, FRANCE
Tel: 03 89 73 63 37
www.marceldeiss.com

Zind-Humbrecht, 4 Route de Colmar, Turckheim
Tel: +33 (0)389 27 02 05

DOPFF AU MOULIN, Vins et Crémants d'Alsace, 2 av Jacques Preiss, 68340 RIQUEWIHR - France
Tel: +33 3 89 49 09 69
www.dopff-au-moulin.fr

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You'd think that a place like Plettenburg Bay would be full of places where you can buy some fresh fish for your braai, but think again. However, the local Tourist Information Office sent us off to Robberg Seafood Safari to satisfy our fishy requirements. It's on the outskirts of town, just off the N2 at the Plettenburg roundabout in the business park area. The selection of seafood is amazing with loads of unusual varieties such as Yellowtail, Kingklip, Kob, etc, with an excellent selection of shellfish, too. They make their own smoked fish, sell sushi, and have a small deli section. A good feature is being able to select your fish early in the day which they will then keep for you in the fridge for collection later on (saves the fish from spoiling if left in the car all day). There's a shop in Knysna, also.

Robberg Seafood Safari, Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape 6600, South Africa

Tel: +27 44 501 2620


www.robberg.co.za/seafood-safari/seafood-safari.html

Google map: tinyurl.com/yzamquw

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We were impressed by driving conditions in South Africa and found that it was an easy and enjoyable way to travel, even over long distances. Driving is on the left, which makes it convenient for drivers from the UK.

We'd been warned that there were quite a few instances of roadworks to encounter and although we did see several excavations and bollards on our journeys, we were only held up once by traffic lights ('robots' in S Africa) and that was on the hill-top road between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek where there seems to be quite a bit of road-widening taking place (Dec 2009).

Overall, we were impressed by the quality of the roads we encountered (around Cape Town, and then on to Port Elizabeth via Franschhoek and Swellendam). Most take the form of 'two-lane black-tops', usually with wide hard shoulders. Initially we thought the latter a bit of a luxury, then we realised that it's polite to pull over onto the hard shoulder to let overtaking cars pass by.

Speed limits out of towns are generally 120 kph (75 mph) which means that you have to keep a careful eye not only on overtaking cars coming the other way, but also on your mirror for the 4x4s pounding up behind you. A disconcerting aspect of driving on these roads is that closing speeds can be upwards of 240 kph (150 mph) without any central divider. We didn't see any accidents on our holiday, but I imagine that if collisions occur, they could be horrendous.

Petrol is cheap (about 60p/litre), so driving is a relatively minor part of your holiday costs. Also, at petrol stations there are staff there to fill up your car, clean windscreens and check oil, which is something that you don't see in the UK too often. We weren't sure whether to tip or not initially, but we gathered later that it's usual to hand over R3-4 for the privilege.

Something we saw quite a lot of was people trying sell you items (shopping bags, flowers, you name it) whilst we were queueing at traffic lights. We didn't have any problems with this (we always kept our doors shut whilst driving), but it's an extra hazard to negotiate, especially if you're turning right at a junction.

Another issue is that in towns of any size, parking (either by the side of the road or in designated car parks) leads you to encounter characters who appear from nowhere to help you to negotiate your vehicle into a space and then offer 'to look after your car' whilst you're away. Some of these 'helpers' seem to be official (wearing high-visibility vests etc), whilst others seem to be punters trying to earn a daily wage. Anyway, it seems it's the done thing to give these guys R3-4 when you get back to your car (for obvious reasons). The only place where we could park without being hassled for money was in Franschhoek where there were notices street-side advising drivers not to hand over money "to prevent our citizens becoming beggars" (sic).

Regarding hire cars, make sure that you establish with your car rental company precisely what they mean by their 'Group A', 'Group B' categorisations etc before you leave the UK (or wherever). We thought that we'd rented a 'Ford Focus equivalent' for the 18 days we were away, only to be given a Toyota Yaris on arrival at Cape Town airport. Nothing wrong with a Yaris, of course, but it wasn't as big a car as we thought we'd rented. We ended up covering over 1200 miles, so you might want to make sure that you get a car that's going be comfortable enough for your needs.

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We stumbled across this place when we'd been on the (hot and dusty) R62, taking the scenic drive from Franschhoek to Swellendam. The café is somewhat hidden by the KFC next door, but look out for signs to the Bon Courage and Le Grand Chasseur wine shops. Grand Café somewhat aptly served the best coffee we had on our holiday. We also ordered their excellent chilli beef pittas for lunch, which come served with a mean curried beetroot pickle. The pickle was so tasty that we bought a jar to take with us on our journey.

Grand Cafe, Robertson, 36 Voortrekker Street, Robertson 6705
Tel: +27 23 6265783
www.grandcafe.co.za

Google map: tinyurl.com/ylsd39a

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Simon's Town is a useful staging-post for coffee or lunch on the drive from Cape Town to Boulders Beach (penguins) or Cape Point. The base of the South African Navy since 1957, and the home of the Royal Navy before that, the main street is worth a tour of its antique and art shops. For lunch, we took the advice of a local shop owner and headed to Bertha's, which is right on the dockside, so close you could dangle your toes in the harbour waters. We watched a flotilla of novice canoeists paddle edgily around the harbour while we sampled delicious sushi from the extensive list of seafood on the menu.

Bertha's Restaurant, Wharf Road, Simon's Town
Tel : +27 21 786 2138
www.berthas.co.za/

Google maps: tinyurl.com/yk5weqj

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A good travel accommodation motto is "never settle for less than what you have at home." Staying at Acorn House doesn't compromise that maxim; indeed, it's better than staying at home due to the enthusiasm and professionalism of its staff to help you get the most from your holiday. Acorn House was originally built for the the Editor of the Cape Times, early in the 20th century and was converted to its present form about 10 years ago. It's full of original features and sits high above Montrose Avenue, looking down across Cape Town and Table Bay. The Manager, Stewart (ably assisted by Jade), was incredibly helpful with advice on what to do, where to go and eat, where to park, etc. We had an excellent room on the ground-floor, with our own terrace next to the herb garden. There's a plunge pool if the heat gets too much, and a beautiful terrace for taking afternoon tea and breakfast. The latter was the best we had in South Africa with an extensive buffet and a daily-changing hot dish. The area is very quiet and it's close enough to the city centre to walk to restaurants on Kloof Street etc. The good thing about staying in a guest house is that you have more interaction with your fellow guests than you would staying in a hotel - we picked up lots of tips about Cape Town and other places on our itinerary. We had a great time and can't recommend Acorn House enough.

1 Montrose Avenue, Oranjezicht, Cape Town 8001
Tel: +27 21 461 1782
www.acornhouse.co.za

Google map: tinyurl.com/yc8wwze

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It's easy to miss this winery - as soon as you've turned off the R44 heading west, look out for the Forrester sign immediately on your left. Don't expect to see the swanky entrances of the Grandes Dames of the SA wine industry like Vergelegen or Groot Constantia, Ken's driveway looks more like the entrance to a private residence. As you head up to the winery, watch out for Ken's snail police - a flock of rather noisy geese. The emphasis here is not on presentation but on attention to detail in the winemaking process. KF has done more for the humble Chenin Blanc grape than an american soft drinks company has done for brown sugary water. Try the simply stunning 'FMC' (officially Forrester Meinert Chenin, unofficially f****** marvellous chenin) to taste what can be done with the grape that the french use to produce a liquid to clean their tractors with. Equally stunning is the red blend, 'Gypsy', produced from grenache, syrah, and mourvedre grapes. There are lower-priced, everyday-drinking wines too, with most available in the UK from Great Western Wine of Bath. Ken, you're the man!

Ken Forrester Vineyards, Winery Road, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Tel: +27 21 855 2374

www.kenforresterwines.com/

Google map: tinyurl.com/ye7raxq

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Tired of eating in restaurants all the time? Then assemble a picnic from your local deli/supermarket and take yourselves off to Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens for a lunch al fresco. Picnicking at Kirstenbosch is serious business for the locals who arrive at 11am to grab their favourite spot in the shade amongst the fynbos.

On Sundays there are evening concerts (5.30pm), so the queues to get in are actually busier late afternoon than earlier.

If you cant be bothered to organise a picnic, you can always have lunch at the Tea Room (near the Plant Centre and Gate 2). We sat outside beneath the parasols and feasted on the excellent Thai calamari salad with a couple of ice-cold Windhoek lagers.

Kirstenbosch National Botanic Gardens, Rhodes Drive, Newland, Cape Town

+27 21 799 8899

www.sanbi.org/frames/kirstfram.htm

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Let's face it, Cape Town has the lot - great restaurants, a bustling waterfront shopping centre, white-sand beaches within 10 minutes drive of the city centre, wonderful weather, and all with the amazing backdrop of Table Mountain (think of the Torridon Mountains parked in Chiswick for the nearest UK equivalent).

You don't even have to drive the 40 minutes or so to Stellenbosch to visit world-class wineries. Instead, take yourself down the M3, past Kirstenbosch, and head for the Constantia valley, the birthplace of South Africa's wine industry, where you'll find the Groot Constantia, Kleln Constantia, and Buitenverwachting ('beyond expectation') estates. We took the excellent winery tour at Groot Constantia, marvelled at the avenue of huge oak trees planted by Simon van der Stel in the late 17th century, and meandered around the manor house and former wine cellar. For lunch, we walked all of 20 metres from the winery to Simon's, a laid-back, modern barn of a place where you can sample some of Groot Constantia's wines (along with those from many other estates) with a sirloin steak, or kingklip served with pesto butter. We visited on a damp Monday, but tables were busy with local business people as well as tourists.

Simon's at Groot Constantia, Groot Constantia Road, Constantia, Cape Town

Tel: +27 21 794 1143

www.simons.co.za/

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If you like eating seafood in sight of the sea, then Enrico's is the place for you. As their T-shirt strap-line says "Any closer and you'll get wet". Enrico's is perched on the cliff-edge where you can feel the spray from the breakers while you're tucking into your crisply-fried calamari. The restaurant provides typical italian fare in its cosy interior, but when the sun's out, the outside tables in view of the surf are packed. Service is prompt and enthusiastic.

Main Beach, Keurboomstrand
Tel: +27 44 535 9818
www.enricorestaurant.co.za/

Google map: tinyurl.com/yfsoffn

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Cape Town should be re-named Sushi City - we lost count of the number of Japanese style outlets. That didn't stop us trying quite a few, but the best we tried was Balducci's 'Royal Sushi Bar' at the V&A waterfront. The sushi bar is separate from, but next to, their traditional italian restaurant, in a sort of sushi-Tardis with seating either at low tables or stools in front of the chefs where you can point out your favourite sushi rolls directly. For lunch, we tried the Royal Platter which is a mixture of sushi rolls and sashimi, washed down with a a couple of Japanese beers (me) and a glass of S African sauvignon blanc (girlfriend), all for a total of R330 (about £28). Bliss!

Shop 6162, Lower Level, Victoria Wharf
Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Tel: +27 21421 6002

www.balduccis.co.za/#/the-royal-sushi-bar

Google map: tinyurl.com/ya9mdx2

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If you're staying in Swellendam as a staging post on the Garden Route, I can recommend La Sosta Italian restaurant.
It's run by a former Milanese optician and his ex-banker wife (he's front-of-house, she's the chef) who decided to down-size their lives and move to South Africa.
The peasant-style food is as good as you'll taste in SA or anywhere else. Try the tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms, or the pork with apples and prunes.
We took our own wine along and they charged us a nominal sum for corkage.
They have rooms to stay, so you don't have to stagger too far to bed.

145 Voortrek Street, Swellendam
Tel: +27 28 514 14 70

Google map: tinyurl.com/yclt3lz

www.lasostaswellendam.com

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Aubergine is a fine dining restaurant, regularly rated in Cape Town's top 10. It's in the Gardens area, so walkable if you're staying in Oranjezicht.
We treated ourselves to dinner there on our last night in Cape Town and enjoyed it immensely.
We had a delicious rack of lamb, accompanied by a serious red blend from Springfield Winery ('The Work of Time'), recommended to us by the very friendly (and unintimidating) sommelier, Dom.
It's not cheap - we paid R900 for two courses (for two of us).
Well worth the visit though!

39 Barnet Street, Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa

Tel: +27 - 021 465 4909
www.aubergine.co.za/

Google map: tinyurl.com/yzkb4g3

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