World-class food and drink Topculturalfive experiences

Cape Town and the neighbouring towns of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek have taken their place as world-class gastronomic destinations, building on the growing reputation of their wine. The Dutch East India Company was quick to recognise the suitability of the Cape’s Mediterranean company Coffeebeans Routes’ The Colour of Wine Safari highlights the growing legion of black winemakers. A great place to start exploring Cape Town’s rich culinary culture, with its influences from Africa, Europe and Asia dating to its days on the maritime trade routes, is Makers Landing food market at the Cruise Terminal. The fertile region’s hamper of produce, coupled with opportunities to uplift locals and mount creative projects in the dynamic environment of post-apartheid South Africa, has attracted such international chefs as Luke Dale Roberts of The Test Kitchen, alongside Mmabatho Molefe from the Zulu-inspired Emazulwini Restaurant. As diners discover at Irishborn Liam Tomlin’s Chefs Warehouse restaurants, a tasting menu of exquisite contemporary cuisine costs a fraction of London or Paris prices.

Throughout South Africa, food is a big part of local culture and visitors eat well – from Cape Malay dishes and steaks in rustic restaurants to tastes of coastal foraging, such as Paternoster’s Wolfgat and the Veld & Sea workshops at Cape Point.

Ask your accommodation to organise these immersive activities.

BUSH CRAFT

Learn the tracking and foraging skills employed by the Khoisan people.

GALLERY TOURS

Art-focused boutique hotels, such as Cape Town’s Silo Hotel and Ellerman House, offer guided tours of galleries and studios.

PROJECT VISITS

Look behind the safari scenes by visiting the lodges’ conservation centres, community programmes and local villages.

CRAFT WORKSHOPS climate for viticulture, planting vines and oak trees for barrels soon after it founded Cape Town as a maritime refreshment station in 1652.

You can taste this heritage and learn some local history on grand Cape Dutch wine farms, such as Groot Constantia, Babylonstoren and Vergelegen. Many estates provide a complete day out, offering restaurants, gourmet picnics, children’s activities and hiking or biking trails through the vineyards, including Constantia Uitsig, Boschendal, Spier and Joostenberg

Craft beer and fynbos-infused gin are also booming, while cultural tour

Take part in Xhosa beadwork with Iphupho Creative Designs in Knysna, Venda woodcarving at Limpopo’s mountaintop Leshiba Wilderness, and more.

TOWNSHIP TOURS

The best visits, offered by the likes of Coffeebeans Routes, focus on a theme such as jazz, political history or cuisine.