Stellenbosch is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, about 50 kilometres east of Cape Town. It is the second oldest European settlement in the province, after Cape Town. The town became known as the City of Oaks or Eikestad in Afrikaans and Dutch due to the large number of oak trees that were planted by its founder, Simon van der Stel, to grace the streets and homesteads. The town is home to Stellenbosch University.
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The town was founded in 1679 by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Simon van der Stel, who named it after himself – Stellenbosch means "(van der) Stel's Bush". The town grew so quickly that it became an independent local authority in 1682 and the seat of a magistrate with jurisdiction over 10,000 sq miles in 1685. The Dutch were skilled in hydraulic engineering and devised a system of furrows to direct water from the Eerste River through the town to Mill Street where a mill was erected. Early visitors commented on the oak trees and gardens. During 1690 some Huguenot refugees settled in Stellenbosch, grapes were planted in the fertile valleys around Stellenbosch and soon it became the centre of the South African wine industry.
In 1710 a fire destroyed most of the town, including the first church, all the Company property and twelve houses. Only two or three houses were left standing. When the church was rebuilt in 1723 it was located on what was then the outskirts of the town, to prevent any similar incident from destroying it again. This church was enlarged a number of times since 1723 and is currently known as the "Moederkerk" (Mother Church).
The first school had been opened in 1683 but education in the town began in earnest in 1859 with the opening of a seminary for the Dutch Reformed Church. Rhenish Girls' High School, established in 1860, is the oldest school for girls in South Africa. A gymnasium which was known as het Stellenbossche Gymnasium was established in 1866. In 1874 some higher classes became Victoria College and then in 1918 the University of Stellenbosch. The first men's hostel to be established in Stellenbosch was Wilgenhof, in 1903. In 1905 the first women's hostel to be established in Stellenbosch was Harmonie. Harmonie and Wilgenhof were part of the Victoria College. In 1909 an old boy of the school, Paul Roos, captain of the first national rugby team to be called the Springboks, was invited to become the sixth rector of the school. He remained rector until 1940. On his retirement the school's name was changed to Paul Roos Gymnasium.
In the early days of the Second Boer War (1899–1902) Stellenbosch was one of the British military bases, and was used as a "remount" camp; and as a consequence of officers who had not distinguished themselves at the front being sent back to it, the expression "to be Stellenbosched" came into use; so much so that, in similar cases, officers were spoken of as "Stellenbosched" even if they were sent to some other place.
The region has a mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and cool wet winters. Stellenbosch lies at the foot of the Cape Fold mountain range, which provides soil favourable to viticulture. Grapes grown in this area are mainly used for wine production, as opposed to table grapes. The region possesses a wide range of soils in the area, from light, sandy soils to decomposed granite. Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon is beginning to get a good reputation as a fine wine.
Stellenbosch University is one of South Africa's leading universities. This institution has a rich history dating back to 1863 and has 10 faculties, including Engineering, Commerce, Science and Arts. The Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering is the only university department in the southern hemisphere which has successfully built a communications satellite, Sunsat, which was launched in 2000 and orbited the earth for three years. The University currently has about 25,000 students. Although the official language of the university is Afrikaans, most post-graduate courses are presented in English.
Clouds Estate Hotel
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We stayed here for two nights. It was a very modern hotel with fantastic views over the surrounding mountains. Our room was large, well furnished and had a great view.
The only real bugbear we had here was at dinner, which we booked in their restaurant on our first night. There were two waiters on duty and no sign of any duty manager, or indeed anyone above waiter level. We ran into problems with our waiter, who turned out to be brand new on the job,just his second day. He wanted to put our red wine in an ice bucket, and I had to physically remove it from him as he rammed it into the ice. Then he was unable to open the wine bottle, which I did then myself. He continued serving us, badly, through the meal. When the receptionist came round at breakfast the following morning to ask if we wanted to reserve a table in their restaurant for that night, we turned down the opportunity and told her why. I emphasised that it was not the waiter's fault, but management's fault leaving a trainee unsupervised in this way.
Breakfast was nice, with the view as a plus, and Chris enjoyed the infinity edge pool. With hands on management this would have been a great, but without any management presence it lost lot of its shine for me.
Indochine Restaurant
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We really enjoyed our lunch at Indochine. I suppose the only negative is that by local standards it is quite expensive, but nevertheless did deliver reasonable value for money.
The service was first class, both friendly and knowledgeable. We asked not to be hurried, and they were happy to oblige
Our starters and main courses were perfect, but my green tea creme brûlée was somehow not up to the mark. Our bottle of their own Chardonnay was excellent.
I have no idea how it matches up to their other restaurant in the complex (they are Relais & Chateaux), but we were happy with our meal here. Running a hotel and restaurants of this standard is not cheap, so it is bound to cost a bit more than other places
On to the Silversea Explorer and Luderitz