Wire jungle versus Huguenot elegance


Franschoek, 10th of August 2018 – It is a sunny day and we drive east to the wine making areas of Stellenbosch and Franschoek. Almost immediately upon leaving the airport, the harsh reality of this magnificent country hits us in the face. Hundreds of shacks line the motorway. Townships. Miserable dwellings in unpaved streets, a dangerous wire jungle of electricity cables tangled over the corrugated iron roofs. Remnants of apartheid. When racial segregation was imposed in 1902 and ‘whites-only’ areas were established, coloured people were forced to relocate to the outskirts of Cape Town and form communities, now known as townships. The contrast of extreme richness and absolute poverty will confuse us every single day we spend in South Africa. After driving miles and miles through vineyards, we enter Franschoek, a village established by French Huguenot refugees. We check into ‘The Ballon Rouge’ and go for a walk on Huguenot Avenue immediately after. Nice shops, wine tasting bistros, diamond sale points. We have delicious pancakes with berries in ‘The Village Tart’. In front of the Franschoek Reformed Church, there is a wedding. Well-off people with BMW's, Audi's and huge pick-ups or ‘bakkies’. Vendors try to sell us wooden meerkats, stone hippos and more. The sun is now very low and we suddenly feel the chill of the African winter.

The lavender outlives the winter in Franschoek (FDC)


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