South African Break Aways

DECEMBER HOLIDAY (6 – Final): Durbanville Hills

Our December holiday is long forgotten – so much has happened in the meantime – but it’s always nice to look back and remember the wonderful time we had on the West Coast of South Africa.

It feels strange to wrap up our December holiday posts and not include our hometown, Langebaan, in any of them. But in all honesty, we didn’t spend a lot of time at home this time around. When we weren’t camping somewhere along the West Coast, we were busy cleaning up our camping stuff (for the next camp) or enjoying a good old ‘braai’ or ‘potjie’ during those lazy summer evenings!

A ‘potjie’ on the fire

Watching kite surfers at the Langebaan Lagoon

For now, we’re wrapping up our 2022 December holiday posts with (another) visit to a wine farm … yes, we started with a visit to a wine farm and now we’re ending with a wine farm!

Durbanville Hills:

This wine farm is only about 20 minutes from Cape Town’s city center and offers a spectacular view of Table Mountain and Table Bay.

View of Table Mountain & Table Bay from Durbanville Hills

The wine produced by Durbanville Hills covers a wide range: Carbernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Merlot Rose, Pinotage, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and even Sparkling Wines.

Vineyards of Durbanville Hills

My mom flew back to East London with us and we decided to treat her (and ourselves) to Durbanville Hills’ award-winning restaurant, The Tangram for lunch.

Entrance at The Tangram

As was the case with Signal Hill, which we visited at the beginning of our holiday, here at Durbanville Hills there is also a cannon on the hill.

Canon at Durbanville Hills

Although wine has been made in the Durbanville area since the end of the 17th century, it was not until the late 1990s that Durbanville Hills Wines was established. So, it’s actually still a very young wine farm, but definitely worth a visit … for the amazing views, their delicious food and of course their excellent wines.

Outside area at Durbanville Hills

The restaurant is on the top floor offering panoramic views of Table Mountain, Table Bay and the rolling hills and vineyards. We ordered a bottle of Durbanville Hills Sauvignon Blanc which arrived in a lovely wine stand and accompanied by freshly baked bread and butter.

Chilled white wine and freshly baked bread

As expected, their food was top notch – delicious and well presented. My mother decided on a Smoked Snoek fishcake with a curry dressing while my choice fell on the Line fish and smoked mussels with a charred corn salsa and sweet potato.

Mom’s fishcake (left) and my line fish and smoked mussels (right)

Berto is definitely the meat eater in our house and he was very pleased with his main course of Char-grilled Sirloin, rosemary smoked potato puree and baby veggies with a balsamic and Shiraz reduction.

Berto’s Char-grilled Sirloin

And there was no way I was going to skip dessert! It was a hot summer day and ice-cream was definitely the perfect way to end our meal. My mom enjoyed her vanilla ice-cream with caramel sauce and I opted for the vanilla ice-cream with raspberry and Amarula parfait, berry compote and brandy snap tuile.

Dessert time

Berto was very modest and only ordered an espresso. He enjoyed this as he picked out a few bottles of wine for us to take back to East London.

Espresso

Wine on sale at The Tangram

When we got outside we had a bit of a giggle … a shiny new Ferrari was parked next to our car. But I can guarantee you, you don’t need to own a Ferrari to come and eat here at Durbanville Hills!

A shiny Ferrari – now that’s arriving in style

We enjoyed a lovely afternoon at Durbanville Hills. From the Cape winelands, camping along the West Coast, exploring villages and feasting on delicious seafood at Muisbosskerm … another December holiday we will cherish! And as always, the sunsets on the West Coast are etched in our hearts.

Sunsets on the West Coast of South Africa

Thank you for joining us on our December holiday! We hope you enjoyed seeing some new places – visit these great spots next time you’re in the area (or put them on your bucket list if you ever visit South Africa).

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48 thoughts on “DECEMBER HOLIDAY (6 – Final): Durbanville Hills”

  2. Ek het beslis van jou blog posts gemis. Sal jou eendag vertel hoe dinge hier by ons was die afgelope 3 maande. Ons hou ook baie van Durbanville Hills. Kan jy glo ek het nog nooit daar geeet nie! Sal beslis n plan moet maak!

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    1. Ag, hoe klink dit dan dat 2023 nie so ‘n goeie begin vir baie van ons was nie! Ons het al ‘n paar maal by Durbanville Hills geeet en dit was elke keer baie lekker … ry volgende keer daar in vir middagete (of selfs ontbyt – dis net so lekker)!

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    1. Thank you Marion, my mother really enjoyed it (so did we 😉). It’s nice to be spoiled sometimes with such a delicious meal, right? Yes, we had a wonderful rest this Easter and are ready for the new week ahead – hope it’s the same for you.

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  8. Ooh, that sounds like a fantastic meal! I found myself making my own choices – I’d copy your mother and have the fishcake, but then copy your ice cream dessert as I love caramel!
    How is Berto doing now? Continuing to improve I hope?

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    1. This was the perfect lunch to end our time in Cape Town – the food was exceptional! Honestly, I could have chosen any item on the menu … everything looked so good. Regarding Berto: We now understand why the doctor said it will be a long road to recovery, because after 3 months he is still not 100%, but he is getting better every day. Thank you for asking Sarah 🌸.

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  11. What a perfect ending. Perfect views, perfect company, perfect food and wine. All of the food looks very appetizing but my choice would be the glass of white wine and the fresh bread and butter. Though I could be tempted with vanilla ice cream and a brandy snap. I didn’t know those still existed!

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    1. Perfect indeed! It was one of the tastiest plates of food I’ve had in a long time – all the flavours worked together perfectly (and the edible flowers were a nice touch). You’re right, I was just as surprised by the brandy snap (what I didn’t say in the post is that I had to share it with both my mom and Berto 😉).

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    1. Oh yes! We love The Chocolate Block! This wine is actually from the Franschhoek Valley (about 80km from Cape Town). Whenever we visit Franschhoek, we always buy a few bottles of The Chocolate Block! But you’re right, the red wines at Durbanville Hills are excellent – we like their Cabernet Sauvignon (probably because you get hints of dark chocolate in this wine 😉).

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    1. The Winelands around Cape Town certainly have some of the most beautiful views. And the food at Durbanville Hills … really in a class of its own! Yes, it’s always special to share these beautiful places with my mom – she’s always so appreciative and really a joy to take around.

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    1. Durbanville Hills certainly has one of the most beautiful views … and their restaurant did not disappoint! We had a quiet Easter but are well rested and ready for the week with its new challenges. Hope the same with you guys!

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  17. What a great afternoon and a memorable ending to another December holiday. The food looks delicious as does the view. Your dessert sounds scrumptious. A lovely treat for your mum. The sunsets are glorious. In this series of articles you took us to a beautiful and fascinating part of the country as always. Hope you are both doing well.

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    1. I would have a hard time deciding which wine farm in the Cape Town area is my favourite … but I have to say, Durbanville Hills has something of everything: Delish food, good wine and a spectacular view! Yes, the sunsets – I love them, while Berto is a fan of sunrises. Thank you for joining us at our various December holiday locations. And thanks, we’re both doing great – hope the same with you and Sladja (still in Greece?).

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      1. We are good, still in Greece, but only just 😉 Leaving Naxos on Monday and will spend three days exploring Athens. After that it’ll be back to Armenia for perhaps 4-5 months. And you know what, we may even look into the possibility of residency. Let’s see.

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      2. Exciting! Enjoy your last few days in Greece – hopefully in sunny weather (and going into sunny weather?) … take care and hope things work out (my belief: things will work out as they are supposed to be) 😉.

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    1. Like you, we also like good food (especially when I think back to your last post 🙂).
      It’s true that there are unsafe places in SA, but as with any other country, you just need to know where you can travel. And of course you have to be aware of your surroundings. We travelled from west to east in our country by car at the end of 2021 and never felt unsafe. Yes, it’s true that our roads are sometimes full of potholes (however, not in the Western Cape), we have a ‘shite’ transport system and power cuts every day due to a shortage of electricity … but it remains a beautiful country to live in (or to explore).

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  19. It seems fitting to start and end with a visit to a wine farm to come full circle. The views look fantastic, the food looks delicious and it sounds like you had great company. What more could you want when tasting some wine!? And what a glorious sunset.

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  21. Table Mountain is surely an appropriate name! I have never heard of a potjie, love that name. How in the world did all those kite surfers not run into each other, that is crazy! I am so envious at all the delicious food you two get to taste all the time, it always looks so delicious. I would take your SUV over the Ferrari any day, except I love red. Lol

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    1. Table Mountain certainly lives up to its name, right! A “potjie” is basically just a small pot in which a dish is cooked outside (yes, on the fire 😉). The food at the wine farms is usually delicious – each farm’s menu is also different, which is why it’s so nice to visit a different one every time! I agree, the SUV is much better (and the insurance is definitely much cheaper than that of the Ferrari)!

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    1. I think the views at Durbanville Hills probably make it one of the most popular wine farms in that area. Oh yes, such beautiful memories and always nice to look back on good times, isn’t it? Thank you for joining us on our December holiday trips Henrietta 🌸.

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