Vredenheim Wildlife and Winery
The Estate
We continued our journey on the Stellenbosch wine route and stopped at the Vredenheim Wildlife and Winery. At either side of the entrance of the estate, there were a large number of cattle and various buck. The estate boasts two restaurants, wine tasting, an animal farm and a big cats park. Vredenheim Wildlife and Winery can also be hired out for weddings and other social events.
We arrived at the estate just in time for lunch, completely famished. So naturally, our first checkpoint was to grab a bite. After checking the menus for both the restaurants we eventually decided to have lunch at the Hudsons Restaurant.
Hudsons Restaurant
The setting of the restaurant itself is picturesque as it is surrounded by an abundance of fauna. This makes it a light and airy relaxation spot to relish their lunchtime treats. Our visit to Vredenheim Wildlife and Winery was on a particularly hot sunny day in Stellenbosch. As a result, the trees surrounding the outskirts of the restaurant provided a relaxing and refreshingly cool environment.
There was an array of items on the menu which made picking a one quite a daunting task for me. Everything on the menu sounded so amazing. On the plus side, this means that it provides various options to cater for different palettes.
I finally chose their scrumptious lamb burger which was topped with mouth-watering tzatziki and accompanied by crispy fries. My husband, in contrast, chose the chicken fajita with spicy potato wedges.
The Lamb Burger
In addition to being beautifully plated, the lamb burger was cooked to perfection. The patty was moist and juicy with the coolness from the tzatziki complimenting the richness of the lamb. Also in full disclosure, I heart potatoes in any form, so these chunky fries were a treat. The one downside was that the only condiment which the waiter could provide for my fries was tomato sauce. If you do not prefer tomato sauce then you will, unfortunately, being eating your fries with no condiment. Hopefully, they relook at this and provide customers with more condiment options. Especially since fries definitely need to be dunked into something saucy.
The Chicken Fajita
The chicken fajita was also a delicious choice. Consisting of moist, flawlessly cooked strips of chicken and peppers smothered in a gooey sauce. I also had a taste of the spicy potato wedges which were scrumptious. As I said I am a sucker for potatoes, so potatoes in any form steal the show for me.
I do confess that service at the restaurant was a tad bit slow for the duration of our visit, I am unsure if that was due to the fact that it was exceptionally busy on that particular afternoon or if that is the usual position however the food made up for all of this in leaps and bounds.
I must admit that service at the restaurant was a tad bit slow for the duration of our visit. This could be because they were exceptionally busy on that particular afternoon. However, the food made up for all of this in leaps and bounds.
Big Cats Park
Once we completed devouring our lunch, we proceeded to the Big Cats Park. As we endeavoured to work off some of the scrumptiousness we just consumed. Entrance into the park is priced at R65.00 per person, which is fairly reasonable considering that you get to see several Big Cats. You can choose a guided tour, at no extra charge which occurs hourly. Alternatively, you can tread through the park on your own taking in the captivating sights of the big cats. The park is home to lions, tigers, a leopard and a caracal.
During our time at the park, the tour guides were feeding the big cats. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to witness this. The beauty of these big cats is something to be marvelled at. Everyone should embrace any opportunity they have to experience this. We were informed by the tour guides that the lions, tigers and leopard were grown in captivity. The caracal, however, was caught by a farmer, after she slaughtered the farmer’s sheep. The farmer subsequently gave her to the park and she is, therefore, less accustomed to human interaction. The tour guides continued to feed the cats and provided brief backgrounds for each animal. Once the feeding was over, we were able to wander the park on our own.
Recommendation
Since we arrived during midday, we only had the opportunity to visit the restaurant and the big cats’ park. On Saturdays, the estate closes at 16:00 pm. I would suggest you get there early so you can experience all that this estate has to offer. This is an unusual estate as there are so many activities to participate in. It caters for people of all ages.
Please let me know what your experiences have been at the estate in the comments below. Did you enjoy the food as much as I did? I look forward to hearing what you think.
If you liked this, why don’t you check out my post on a unique wine tasting experience involving cake, Delheim Wine Estate
Vredenheim Wildlife & Winery Contact Details:
Tel: +27 21 881 3878
Fax: +27 21 881 3296