Kids on the W(h)ine Route: Stellenbosch with Tots in Tow
By Lauren Kramer
Stellenbosch is an uplifting vicinity of South Africa, one that has made many a heart surge. The simple sweetness of its Cape Dutch architecture, laid against a backdrop of neat lines of vineyards and soaring, Goliath-sized mountains has inspired local and international visitors for decades. But add a whiny child – or two, or three, and the romance of the wine route can disappear with disarming speed, faster than you can say “I’ll have another glass, please.”
The Whine Route is no place for a sane adult, so it’s good to know, before you set foot out the door, that there are a handful of places where children are welcome to run amok, places where they can expend that pent-up energy from the long drive to Stellenbosch, eat a healthy meal without being confined to a formal dining table and even learn a thing or two on the way.
The Giraffe House is a good place to start your kid-friendly route in Stellenbosch. Just eight months old, the 15.6 hectare property is home to 15 species of animals to date, but will soon house 50, among them ‘the man-eaters,’ two old crocs from Namibia and Botswana who between them have consumed eight children.
“We’re still building an enclosure for them,” says Werner Fourie, who, together with a few partners, has sunk R1 million into the park. A man with a 15-year history in conservation, Fourie is passionate about the Giraffe House, which he sees as an opportunity to introduce Western Cape children to the animal kingdom of southern Africa.
There’s nothing pretty about this park, where fences and enclosures dominate the landscape. But it’s so important for children to meet and learn about these animals, Fourie insists. “I’m an outside lecturer at Cape Technikon, and I’m lecturing second year students in resource management that don’t know the difference between a male and a female ostrich,” he explains.
The Giraffe House is primarily an educational centre, welcoming 1,000 school students each month. But it’s also open to tourists, who get to see giraffe, Cape buffalo, crocodiles, camels, zebras, impala, blue duiker and a handful of other animals. Species soon to arrive include two hippos, bontebok, black rhino, buffalo, and of course, the two man-eaters.
A doleful Zebra stares through the chain link fence that represents its new enclosure. 
“We want to show kids animals they wouldn’t ordinarily see and teach them why they are important,” Fourie explains. “Through the Giraffe House, we hope to plant the seed for their environmental knowledge, and hopefully for future conservation, so the next generation of adults will value what we have here in Africa.”
Sitting shoulder to shoulder with The Giraffe House is “Beautiful Creatures” owned by Brian Vorster, who focuses on snakes, birds, chameleons and creepy crawlies. Vorster’s goal is education through entertainment, and in this park, children learn by handling or seeing reptiles, snakes and birds.
The day we visited the mercury was soaring to 35 degrees Celsius, and the shady lawns of Boschendal were a welcome reprieve from the sunbaked terrain of the Giraffe House.
Boschendal has created a niche for adults and kids alike in their Le Pique Nique offering. Ladies in broad-rimmed hats and flirtatious summer dresses daintily sip wine on the elegant, cushioned lawn chairs. Just steps away, toddlers follow a duck and her fuzzy yellow ducklings, while older kids examine the khoi fish in the pond or play a round of cricket. The spacious grounds permit a daily lunch crowd of some 200 without ever seeming packed to capacity.
With my three children in tow, I was nervous about the contents of their lunch baskets and the junk food it would contain, but as it happened, my anxiety was unfounded. With the exception of a packet of Flings, the kids’ lunch was a healthy assortment of products including yogurt, fruit kebab, cheese roll and dried fruit, delivered in a basket tied to the end of a stick.
The adult vegetarian basket was delightfully light, tasty and refreshing on a blistering day, with wraps, curried lentil salad, couscous, humus, cucumber pate, green salad, baguette, cheese and a couple of brownies whose very aroma was calorie laden.
“We’ve been offering the picnic lunch for over 20 years, and many other farms in the area have followed suit,” says Niel Els, general manager of hospitality at Boschendal. “But ours is still the benchmark.”
Turns out you can enjoy a glass of wine in Stellenbosch with kids in tow. If you go to a place like Eaglevlei, for example. The restaurant’s shady patio overlooks green lawns and a large wooden jungle gym that would be the envy of many a schoolyard. While parents enjoy the view over a cold Chardonnay, kids climb, slide and balance in the play area, returning only for a drink and a toasted sandwich – and only when absolutely necessary.
Another restaurant ideal for children is Moyo, the African themed eatery at Spier. Set beneath the boughs of large trees, Moyo is a cacophony of colour and activity, making a visit to this establishment an event rather than just a meal.
The evening we visited, a face painter walked around the restaurant painting delicate white flowers on the faces of children and adults alike. A burst of drumming would erupt from around the corners, and a soulful guitarist did the rounds, accompanying his strumming with melodic songs in an unknown language.
Most diners find themselves intoxicated with the cuisine, and in particular, the all-you-can-eat component, striving to eat their money’s worth of the R200-per-person fee. It’s not hard to feed to excess at Moyo, with spicy north African tagines, Moroccan chicken, kudu bobotie, oxtail potjie, ostrich skewers and other exotic dishes. Desert is equally tantalizing, with Tunisian pistachio baklava sitting side by side with koeksusters, melktert, chocolate mousse and carrot cake.
But take your eyes off the food and you witness a magical place at Moyo. Families lounge on bright coloured couches, enjoying the sights and activities as dusk turns to night on a still, summer evening. An easy, light atmosphere prevails as bellies are sated and then sated again. Children scamper between the trees, pestering the make-up lady, chasing the ducks that waddle through the grounds and exploring the view from the tree-house tables.
I’ve heard this called a Disneyfied version of Africa, and perhaps there’s a hint of truth in this accusation. It’s comforting to know, though, that Moyo’s guests, both young and old, leave with an exotic taste on their tongues, a picture of Africa devoid of violence, and one filled with vibrancy, colour and beauty.
And the whining has completely stopped.
If You Go: