Stellenbosch
Today I board a beautiful South African Airways flight to Cape Town to once again visit one of my favorite countries, South Africa. It is my third visit to this remarkable country and once again I will be exploring a part of the country completely new to me, Stellenbosch.
Situated in the heart of South Africa’s Cape Winelands, Stellenbosch is a university town that offers unique gastronomic, adventure and cultural experiences. South Africa has a long and vaunted history of winemaking, a fact many outside of the country are surprised by. But for centuries, wines produced throughout the country, and especially the Winelands, have ranked amongst the best in the world. Stellenbosch really is the heart of the wine experience in South Africa, a fact demonstrated by the introduction of the Stellenbosch Wine Routes. In 1971 Stellenbosch became the first wine region in South Africa to establish a wine route as an organized network of wineries at which the tourist could experience the product of the vine and tune into the soul of the region’s winelands. The Stellenbosch Wine Routes provide a co-ordinated network of more than 148 wineries, each offering a unique cellar-door experience for the wine-lover and tourist.
The Stellenbosch Wine Routes also include 5 sub-routes which each have their own characteristics in terms of prominent wine styles, climates and geographical location.
So what am I doing there? Good question.
My trip there is the latest innovative campaign coordinated by iambassador, a global consortium of the top travel bloggers in the world, along with Stellenbosch Wine Routes and South African Tourism. I will be joined in Stellenbosch by other bloggers, both international and South African, where we will split up with the goal of discovering the region in whatever way we choose. We will immerse ourselves in a bucket-list itinerary of sights, sounds and tastes of Stellenbosch and the broader Cape and live the ‘Stellenbosch Way of Life’ like a local, hosted by locals in the know.
From experience I know that there is no better way of learning about a new destination than through the eyes of the people who live there and I can’t wait to make new friends as I discover what makes this region so very popular.
So please be sure to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram amongst other platforms by searching the hashtag #Stellenblog and be sure to let me know if you have any questions about the region you want me to answer while I’m there.
But First…Overberg!
Before our remarkable adventure in Stellenbosch starts on Monday, May 5 we are heading to the beautiful Overberg region for a few days. This stunningly gorgeous region is known for its soaring mountains and dramatic coastlines, a dream frankly for any photographer. I’ve actually been there before, albeit briefly, when I went cage diving with Great White sharks. Staying in Hermanus, this time my focus will be on more calm sea life, like the whales for which the town is famous. I’m a big wildlife fan so this aspect of the trip is especially exciting for me.
Just follow the hashtag #VisitOverberg to see what I and the rest of the team are doing as we explore the region. Speaking of the team, in addition to following me please also make sure to follow my travel companions to see the region from their point of view as well:
Keith Jenkins from Velvet Escape (luxury travel blogger)
Niamh Shields from Eat Like a Girl (one of the UK’s top food bloggers)
Norman Röhlig from i-ref (a leading German lifestyle online magazine)
Once again, be sure to let me know if there is anything you want me to investigate while I’m there!
This campaign is brought to you by the Stellenbosch Wine Routes and Destinate and is supported and managed by iambassador. LandLopers.com maintains full editorial control of the content published on this site.
