After spending a fantastic Christmas and new year at Morley House in Bathurst catching up with friends, it was time to head to Cape Town to watch the new year test at Newlands between South Africa and England. I have always wanted to watch a test match at Newlands as it is one of the most iconic cricket grounds in the world. I have seen cricket at Lords, the MCG and Eden Gardens so catching a match at Newlands would complete my top 4. I went online the minute tickets went on sale but I could only bag tickets for days 3 and 4, oh well better than not getting any.
We flew down to Cape Town and had a couple of days to spare before we could get to the see the test live. We have been to Cape Town a few times but have based ourselves out of the city in Simon’s Town and got the train into town. This time we wanted to be in the heart of the action and enjoy beers with the Barmy Army. We had a place booked near Long Street but on arrival it was a complete dive so we moved on. The guy there did not seem to be too surprised and we found a better place not far away for the night. That afternoon we looked round the Castle of Good Hope and enjoyed food and beer in the bars along long street. There were plenty of England fans around taking advantage of the strong pound.
Next day we hiked up Lion’s Head, it was quite a trek from Long Street up the hill to the start of the trail and it was steaming hot. We were not the only people to have the same plan and the path was very crowded but the views were stunning. We looped back on a much quieter track via another view point where many people were paragliding and back down to the city centre. We moved digs again and we got lucky as we rented a small apartment with views of table mountain for a very reasonable price. We caught the afternoon session of the test in the Perseverance Arms, a fantastic old pub just round the corner from the flat. It claims to be the oldest in Cape Town since the Fireman’s Arms burnt down – seriously. Jimmy put in a great spell and got us back in the test. Tomorrow would be a good day as we were going to the game.
We got an Uber to the ground and we were in early to soak up the atmosphere. We had got tickets for our mates Jason and Jeanie who also live in Addis and we met them at the ground. Jeanie is from Stellenbosch so there would be some banter. Turns out as a South African she was much in the minority as the Barmy Army took over Newlands. The tickets we had meant that we couldn’t see the famous Table Mountain back drop but it was still an incredible setting for a game of cricket. It was absolutely steaming so a lot of liquid refreshment was required throughout the day. At stumps the four of us headed to The Forrester’s Arms for food. A great day and we could do it all again tomorrow.
Another superb day on day 4 at the test. England were on top and Sibly and Stokes treated us to some quality batting. It was clear that the game was going to go to day 5 so when they announced tickets were going on sale I nipped out and bagged a couple in the stand with the fabled mountain view. Unfortunately Jason and Jeanie couldn’t make it , well unfortunate for Jason, think Jeanie was glad. However, we would see them again in Jeanie’s home town of Stellenbosch before we head back to Ethiopia. We spent the evening at the V and A waterfront enjoying more South African hospitality.
We arrived early for day 5 and took up position amongst the Barmy Army and the view of Table Mountain was amazing. England needed 8 wickets to win and we were sure we would do it. The Proteas put up stiff resistance and we still needed 5 wickets in the last session. We enjoyed the tea break on the grassy bank under the shade of the trees and even the Barmy Army were starting to think it wouldn’t happen. However, encouraged by the army singing their songs, England got the final wicket late on to win by 189 runs. We celebrated long into the night on Long Street.
Despite the celebrations we were up early the next day to pick up a hire car for the short drive to Stellenbosch. We had never been here before despite it being one of South Africa’s premier tourist destinations. It is a lovely old town surrounded by beautiful scenery and of course 100s of vineyards. We had a lovely small guest house a short walk from town and we really enjoyed our stay. We explored the town and admired all the historical buildings and enjoyed some of the many cafes and restaurants. We went hiking in Jonkershoek Nature Reserve and spent a day touring some of the wine farms in the area. During the road trip we took in the smaller towns of Franshoek and Paarl along the way. Lievland was our favourite winery, stunning setting, not busy and really friendly staff who informed us all about the different wines and grapes. They also let us taste as much as we wanted and all for free. Shame I was driving so couldn’t take full advantage but we bought a few bottles to take away of course. We saw on the map that De Meye wine farm was nearby, we discovered this wine in Namibia and loved it so we had to pop in for a tasting. Franshoek is a lovely town and probably prettier than Stellenbosch ( sorry Jeanie) so we would probably base ourselves there if we return to the area in the future. As I couldn’t take advantage at Lievland we walked to Lanzerac on the edge of Stellenbosch town. Despite this being a famous winery and really busy we had a great experience. The wines on the tasting menu were delicious and they went down well with a cheese and cold meat platter on their terrace. We also got to meet up with Jason and Jeanie for a meal which was a fitting end to a great trip. Our flight back to Addis wasn’t until the evening so we took the scenic route to the airport and headed to the coast to have a peek at the penguins at Betty’s Bay. We have been here loads but Emma seems to think it is law that you have to visit if you are within 200km. Looks like the penguins are thriving as we sat having a picnic just down the beach from the colony and the black and white waiters were everywhere even waddling past our bench. Oh well, best get back to Addis which is a real shame as the next test is in Port Elizabeth, just down the road from Bathurst.
