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It
was the search for food that shaped modern South Africa: spices drew the Dutch
East India Company to Java in the mid-1600s, and the need for a half-way
refreshment stop for its ships rounding the Cape impelled the Company to plant a
farm at the tip of Africa.
There are sections of Commander Jan van Riebeeck's
wild almond hedge still standing in the Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town.
That farm changed the region forever. The Company
discovered it was easier to bring in thousands of hapless slaves from Java to
work in the fields than to keep trying to entrap the local people, mostly Khoi
and San, who seemed singularly unimpressed with the Dutch and their ways.
The
Malay slaves brought their cuisine, perhaps the best-known of all South African
cooking styles.
The French Huguenots arrived soon after the Dutch,
and changed the landscape in wonderful ways with the vines they imported. They
soon discovered a need for men and women to work in their vineyards, and turned
to the Malay slaves (and the few Khoi and San they could lure into employment).
Much later, sugar farmers brought indentured laborers
from India to cut the cane. The British, looking for gold and empire, also
brought their customs and cuisine, as did German immigrants.
And black communities carried on eating their
traditional, healthy diet: game, root vegetables and wild greens, berries,
millet, sorghum and maize, and protein-rich insects like locusts.
Today the resultant kaleidoscope - the famous
"rainbow" - applies not only to the people but to the food, for one finds in
South Africa the most extraordinary range of cuisines.
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AFRICAN CLASSIC ENCOUNTERS SIGNATURE
GASTRONOMIC TOUR
A TASTE
OF SOUTH AFRICA
2011
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- 23 November |
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DAY - 8 |
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After breakfast you will be met for the start
of a memorable Cape Malay Cooking Safari.
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Perched on the slopes of Signal Hill, overlooking Table Bay and Mountain, lies
the colorful Bo-Kaap with its cobblestone streets, legends and secrets.
Your walk through Cape Town’s historical quarter focuses on the extraordinary
cuisine of the Cape Malay community. While shopping for ingredients to make a
typical Cape Malay dish, discover links between history, food and religion in
the Bo-Kaap.
During an informal “hands on” cooking workshop, which follows in a Bo-Kaap
family home, you will learn how to mix Masala, fold Samoosas and balance the
flavors of a Cape Malay curry, catering for both, Vegetarians and
Non-Vegetarians.
The
rest of the afternoon is
at leisure to explore the V&A waterfront and take this
opportunity to go to Robben Island. The ferry departs from the waterfront
and tickets can be purchased just before departure.
Robben
Island, which lies about 8 miles north of Cape Town, has over the years become
synonymous with the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. It was here that
activists like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada,
Robert Sobukwe and Neville Alexander, among many others, were imprisoned because
of their opposition to apartheid.
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DAY - 9 |
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After breakfast you will be met by a
representative of AFRICAN CLASSIC ENCOUNTERS who will take you on full
day private tour. A tour of breathtaking beauty - history, combined with
glimpses of some of the most expensive real estate in the country.
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This
route flanks the cold Atlantic Ocean en route to Hout Bay. Once a
fishing community, now one of the most popular residential areas, the harbor
still has a charm of days gone by.
Enjoy an optional half-hour cruise on the M.V. Circe to Seal Island and sample some local seafood delicacies at
”Mariners Wharf” market.
Travel
along the magnificent Marine drive beyond Lion's Head, past the
"Twelve Apostles", stretching to Hout Bay - a quaint fishing village
on the Atlantic seaboard.
Over Chapman's Peak Drive, which offers unequaled
panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean, and on to Cape Point, where the Indian
and Atlantic Oceans meet. Here is the Cape of Good Hope,
pronounced by Sir Francis Drake to be the “Fairest Cape in all the
circumference of the earth.” And rightly so, it must be the highlight of any
visit to the Mother City, if not South Africa.
Continue over the famous Chapmans Peak drive, with
a 200 meter drop on one side of the road and a 200 meter rise on the other, as
you make your way south, following the Atlantic Ocean and then on to Fishhoek.
Evening at
leisure. |
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DAY - 10 |
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Day at
leisure.
Today
visit the markets, do shopping, explore the many options this vibrant city has
on offer. |
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This
evening you will be met and transferred for Dinner at La Colombe – Winner of
best restaurant in South Africa and 28th in the world.
La Colombe offers innovative
Southern French - inspired cuisine.
The stylish
Chef is dedicated to using the finest local and
imported ingredients to create dishes to delight discerning palates.
The proficient service at La
Colombe creates a relaxed ambience, where guests enjoy the mouth-watering
cuisine and superb wine selection.
"... full of surprises,
tastes, colors, shapes, smells ... it makes us fly. Eviva La Colombe." -
Juliette Binoche
“O my, so delicious! Thank you for a magnificent feast” Oprah
Winfrey
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DAY - 11 |
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After breakfast you will
be met by a representative of African Classic Encounters who will transfer you
to the Cape Town airport for your flight to
Knysna.
Overnight in the
exclusive PEZULA RESORT & SPA
for three nights. |
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The luxurious
Pezula
Resort Hotel stands on the crest of the Eastern Heads, with
the vast Indian Ocean to the south, the tranquil Knysna
Lagoon to the north, the magnificent Outeniqua Mountains in
the distance and, overhead, a boundless African sky.
Explore - Enjoy - Experience the splendor of
Pezula for the remainder of the day.
Luxuriate in a
massage or aromatherapy session on your private
balcony.
However you choose
to spend your time, amenities such as an in-room
refreshment centre and individual climate control
ensure supreme comfort.
After a game of
golf or a walk on a spectacular nature trail, here
is the perfect haven to welcome you, with all
the style and luxury that epitomize this exceptional
hotel.
Midday you will be met and
FOLLOW YOUR NOSE
TO THE WOOD FIRE OVEN BRICK BREAD HAVEN FAMOUS FOR
ITS BREAD for a light snack/lunch.
A visit to
the Oyster farm close by will highlight why Knysna
is so famous for its oysters.
See
how to open an Oyster.
Early evening a
cruise on the Knysna Lagoon to see the sunset and
why Knysna was voted the best town in South Africa
to reside.
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DAY - 12 |
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Today you will experience
a most traditional South African day with typical South African fare and
hospitality to match!
After breakfast you will be met by a
representative of African Classic Encounters who will take you to travel
one of the most scenic and well
built passes in Africa, the Outeniqua Pass, lies the "big bird" ostrich country,
Oudtshoorn. This area lies between the magnificent Outeniqua and Swartberg
Mountains and has a unique un-spoilt beauty with dramatic mountains, rich
indigenous flora, interesting architecture and friendly, hospitable people.
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Right on the main road either leading to or from the famous Cango
Caves, you will find The Cango Ostrich Show Farm. The farm is privately
owned and managed by one of the most hospitable and professional families in
South Africa, not to mention the very best Ostrich fillet chefs you could wish
to meet.
WINE / PORT
TASTING
For those wanting to experience some of the very best Port wine
in South Africa, the farm has an excellent wine tasting where you can select
according to
taste.
RIETKRAAL RESTAURANT
After all of the excitement it
is time to experience the Cango Ostrich Farm's ostrich fillet barbeque.
Only prime cuts are used, the
steaks are personally cooked to perfection by one of the owners, and served to
you either in one of the restored laborer’s cottage houses which are the
Rietkraal restaurant or outside under a covered area with a spectacular view of
the valley.
You will never taste another
ostrich fillet steak to beat one of these!
The food to be enjoyed are:
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The four course Ostrich
steak meal),
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Bobotie & Rice, Desert and
coffee
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Light lunch with 150g
Ostrich steak
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Vegetarian meal (on
request)
All guests get to dine on freshly baked white and brown bread,
and the traditional "vetkoek", "roosterkoek" and home-made jams.
Return to Pezula. Evening at leisure. |
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DAY - 13 |
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After breakfast you will be met by a
representative of African Classic Encounters. Enjoy a tour to the TSITSIKAMA
FOREST - Visit the Big Tree , Tsitsikamma National Park,, Natures Valley, Birds
of Eden and Monkeyland. |
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Stop for lunch at Formosa goat’s milk cheese, made by the cheese maker who
received a Cape Town Slow Food citation. Amongst 12 contenders for this
year’s world champion cheese, also won the Agri-Expo Trophy for the best
South African entry.
Overlooking the beautiful Tsitsikama forest in this exclusive location, enjoying
the company of this interesting cheese maker and fare to match.
This evening enjoy a South African farewell dinner in the "Boma" where
Executive Chef Geoffrey Murray offers a
menu offering a variety of 'modern ethnic' dishes, which feature the freshest
local organic products and are given an original twist using inspiration gained
from Murray's worldwide experiences.
These include
opening 'Boom' in Soho, New York, and his role as executive chef at the
exclusive Seychelles island resort,
North Island.
Enjoy your final evening in South Africa dining in the “Boma” an open
aired enclosure, under the African skies enthralled by the shooting stars of the
milky way. |
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DAY - 14 |
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After breakfast, and a morning of leisure, you will be met by a
representative of AFRICAN CLASSIC ENCOUNTERS who will transfer you to the
airport for your flight to Johannesburg. Bid farewell to Africa as you
board your flight home. |
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Good Bye!
Hamba Kashle!
Totsiens! |
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See the full detailed itinerary >> |
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