Encountering Endangered Species...and Enjoying a Little WIne

What an amazing day.  We started off with a wonderful breakfast at our accommodations, River Manor.  The rooms and grounds are absolutely lovely.

We then walked around the town and then headed out to the wineries for lunch and some tastings.   We had lunch at the second oldest vineyard in the region, Spier.   It has become rather commercial but we were able to take in the best parts of it.   The winery has invested in sound environmental practices to help preserve water, which is extremely important in South Africa.  They have also donated sections of their land to animal conservation efforts.  There is a Chita program on-site as well as bird sanctuary.  We took both tours and were quite happy that we took the time.  

We learned quite a bit about Chitas and were told that Chitas are actually in danger of becoming extinct.  There are now approximately only 15,000 Chitas in Africa, with 1,000 in South Africa and 3,000 in Namibia.   They are often hunted because they threaten various livestock and are therefore killed to protect farmers’ living.   They currently have approximately 10 Chitas in the sanctuary because these animals have either been injured or could not survive in the wild.  The group now provides specific guard dogs for the herds to various farmers.   The group raises the dogs, donates the dog and food to feed them for a year to the farmers to protect their flocks, and if the farmer is pleased with the results they accept full responsibility for the dog.  In addition, the farmer must sign a document saying they will not kill chitas or the dogs that protect their flocks.   

Next, we moved on to the bird sanctuary.  There were two options, one to walk around and view the various birds and a second to participate in an interactive experience with the birds.  Given that it the second was about to start, we chose to go with the interactive option – and we are really glad we did. 

We were able to meet an eagle, a snow old, a spotted owl, an American vulture and two African vultures.  We learned about their habitat, the reasons why they endangered (many injured or poisoned due to lack of education in the population or simply dying off due to lack of food).   Here are some pictures of Rob and I feeding the birds.  They were amazing up close and because they were tame and used to humans, very gentle.

Finally, we met these two amazing vultures.  We were not able to feed them because they are so large (check out their wingspan) but they were amazing to watch. 

 Finally, we walked around and met a number of the other birds.   Katie was very impressed with this eagle.  He is so majestic that he looks unreal.

After our exciting adventure, we thought we should actually venture out and visit some vineyards.  Our host at the Manor Inn suggested we visit two wineries, the first Rust De Verde that only produces red wines and Waterford that is one of the other oldest estates in the areas.  

Rust De Verde as amazing for so many reasons.  It was based in a quaint setting.  And, the wine was fantastic.  We ended up buying two bottles of their Shiraz. 

We also visited the Waterford Estate.  This was also based in a beautiful yet very different setting.   However, they offered something different.  They paired their wine tasting with a chocolate tasting.  We had a few tastings of their white (one that Katie liked, Rob didn’t really like any), and then had two reds.  The first, a Shiraz, was paired with a dark chocolate and the second, Cabernet Savignon, with a salty dark chocolate.  The third was a very sweet desert wine paired with milk chocolate – needless to say, neither Rob nor I finished it.

We ended the day at dinner at Umami, a fantastic restaurant that offers wine pairings taster menus or a la carte.

The next day, we headed to the semi-desert area where Ostrich farms helped the town make its fortune.