Stop the whinning, drink the stuff

Yes, we know….. Capetown has a large rock, the sea, the prison and the wine, and we hear about it every time a Capetonian visits us to do business. We have lions, a clean river, gold dust and real people. But it’s not about having or being one or the other, we believe in having the best of both cities. We provide the best of the Cape along with the best of JHB in what we call Jhb’s Own Wine Route.

At Hadeda Creek on the Vaal River we have created a unique trip that allows clients to partake in two wonderful pastimes. Outside Parys, the Vaal River drops some 15% due to the meteor impact in the Vredefort Dome. This creates 12 kms of exciting rapids that provide fun and excitement for the 5000 rafting guests who participate each year.

Most people have a vision of the Vaal as being a slow, off-colour, speed boat infested playground. Well, this is true to those who have not travelled south of Parys. The river is clear, effervescent and breaks into mystic channels. The rafting can be experienced by both beginners and “pros” alike and the rafting trips range between 2 – 6 hours in duration.

So when does the wine route come into this?

During the last 2 kilometers, the river decides to chill out and it is at this point where our ever alert guides converge all the rafts together and dig into the cooler boxes for silver wine goblets, fine merlots, saviguan blancs and a platter of delectable nibbles to accompany the occasion. The wine even has the distinctive Hadeda Creek label and is the only wine we know the is “The Rafters Choice”.

The relaxing hour back to camp, allows one to savour the beauty of the Vaal while tasting the trophies from the Cape. The sunsets are spectacular, the birdlife abundant and one cannot help but feel really happy about living in this part of the world.

I have heard that Capetonians are trying to do a similar type of combo, but I feel our Pilansberg lions roaming the V&A waterfront will never take off.