Spontaneous Trips to Stellenbosch

Firstly, I have to announce on a personal note that my sister got engaged this weekend! Congratulations Celeste & Ettiene! A blog post will follow soon :) Now, on with the post!

A while ago, my boyfriend and I decided to take a little day trip to Stellenbosch. I've always known Stellenbosch as "Stellies", which I hate. I think the nickname was originally coined by white suburban girls who couldn't pronounce the full Afrikaans word.

Our first stop off was at Moooiberge Farm.

This would have been beautiful, had it not been for the

CREEPIEST CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND EVER.

Like, seriously... Who would create this and why??? We stayed at this place for a total of seven minutes, only to pick up an ice cream and then drive the hell away from that place. Oh! And just in case the place hadn't creeped us out enough yet, they decided to stick a bunch of the same scary-ass dolls ONTO the polls heading out, leaving them looking like they were piked by tribesmen and left there as a warning for trespassing dolls.


 

I'm just thankful I didn't go to this place when I was a kid. Lord help the children whose parents have made them stay there and pick strawberries, because they will probably have trouble sleeping until they're like, oh I don't know, THIRTY?

To escape the uneasiness of the Creepy Children's Playground, we headed off to the Hillcrest Berry Orchards, where we had the most amaaaazing scones in the world, paired with any jams of our liking. These people make the most delicious jams and the variety they serve is incredible. It's a beautiful little cafe filled with tons of delectable, locally produced homemade eats, overlooking classic Stellenbosch scenery. So if you're in the mood to have a tasty scone one lazy Sunday, you should really give this place a try.

Ah, Stellenbosch. What beauty.

Some cool kids we met whilst driving around town.

Nothing better than fresh farm eggs.

These reminded me of Christmas so I automatically love them!

After we were done scoffing our faces (or sconing, rather. haha. yeah, I just did that) we decided to take a trip to the Stellenbosch Botanical Gardens. I've lived in Durban for most of my life and had only ever really known one botanical garden, so you can imagine how great it was to have a change of scenery. These gardens were a lot different to Durban's and not only in terms of plant species, but also in terms of the entire layout. There are so many different sections to visit and rather than being a spacious plot of land, the Stellenbosch Botanical Gardens serves as more of a maze of botanical wonders.



















They also have a beautiful restaurant (that we, sadly, did not get a chance to try) hidden amongst the winding and twisting viridescent paths. I think I'd rather enjoy going back to give it a try sometime.
































After our siesta on a patch of soft grass, we were on the lookout for an unknown restaurant to try out for dinner. I LOVE fairy lights (as in crazy love. as in "i would cover my entire house in fairy lights if i could" love) so I whipped out my phone and Googled "fairy light restaurant stellenbosch". We went with the first result and damn, were we glad that we did. Because what we found is possibly one of Stellenbosch's most hidden gems - The Trumpet Tree Social Cafe. I'm not at all sure how popular the restaurant actually is because it's sort of tucked away between other stores on a long road, but I would recommend it time and time again. Reasonably priced, delicious food, good music, relaxed atmoshphere and, most importantly, fairy lights! What more could anyone ask for?

    

















































































 
































Don't you just love lazy Sunday afternoons that lead to exciting adventures?

I do!