Tokara at Stellenbosch

It was Leo’s 51st birthday so we decided to make it a special day by celebrating in Stellenbosch. Stellenbosch is the second oldest town in South Africa and is best known as a world-class wine region that is surrounded by stunning natural beauty. Over the last few decades, it has evolved into a destination for wine, food, art and culture. We decided on a winery called Tokara that produces award-winning Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Leo enjoys the occasional glass of wine and I am not a big drinker. The true reason we chose this winery is because apart from being known for its wines and ambiance, it is known by locals as a family-friendly winery with a big play area for kids.

We stopped in the Stellenbosch town area first because we were considering renting bikes. After some discussion with the bike rental owner, we realized it would be an impossible for us to navigate the relentless steep inclines to Tokara. So instead of renting bikes, we stopped for a coffee and cookie at a local coffee shop.

When we arrived at Tokara, we were greeted by a wondrous sight. Everywhere we looked was a carpet of green. At the entrance of the restaurant, there was a stunning bronze statue of African heads stacked one on top of the other from largest at the bottom to smallest at the top. We were led through the restaurant to our table outside in front of the play structure. Leo and I just looked at each other and mouthed “Wow!.” Before us was a majestic view of the play structure surrounded by a manicured lawn in the foreground and an olive grove in the background. Further behind the olive trees was a backdrop of mountains and up above was a beautiful blue sky filled with marshmallow clouds.

The kids immediately ran off to play. They entertained themselves on the play structure and made some new friends. Leo and I soaked up the atmosphere and shared a relaxing moment simply enjoying life together.

After a while, the food was served and we marveled at the contrast in simplicity of our meals in Kenya compared to the meal we were just served in this place of bounty and sophistication. It is not to say that we enjoyed our meals in Kenya any less than this one. While we were in Kenya, we did not feel that we lacked anything. But the spread before us made obvious the difference in the variety and freshness of ingredients as well as the precision in cooking and the refinement of presentation.

Just after our meal, an elderly couple came to our table and introduced themselves to us. This is not unusual as we have found South Africans to be extremely friendly, warm and enjoy a good chat. The reason that they approached us, explained the woman, is because they wanted to compliment us on our children. “They are just lovely. They play so well and are so friendly.” There was magic in that moment. Silver glitter fell from the sky and Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” filled the air… just in my mind. This was a reminder of the power of an unexpected compliment.

The elderly lady told us that her husband was a Professor of Statistics at Stellenbosch University and added that they were celebrating his birthday. They asked if we would like to have a piece of the chocolate birthday cake baked by their daughter in honor of the celebration. “What a coincidence!” we exclaimed and told them that we were celebrating Leo’s birthday too. A few moments later, they returned with a generous slice of a three-layer chocolate cake with buttercream frosting and strawberries. It was moist and delicious and reminded us a little of Sweet Ever After’s chocolate cake.  

We spent a bit more time in the playground and Leo and RY played some ping pong. Well into the afternoon, there weren’t many diners remaining so we had most of the place to ourselves. We spotted a male peacock walking around the playground and we followed him around hoping he would open his tail feathers, which unfortunately didn’t happen. He did, however, give us the idea to explore the rest of the grounds. We toured the hydroponic garden, the olive grove and the vines. Under the afternoon sun, the views were phenomenal and together with the light and the atmosphere, reminiscent of Tuscany.

Leo wanted to go to the tasting room to have a look, so we meandered over there and shared two glasses of wine, a white and red directors’ reserve wines. We taught the children everything we knew about wine tasting, which is not much even though we have visited a few wine regions around the world – Napa and Sonoma in California, Finger Lakes in New York, Margaret River in Western Australia, Tuscany and Umbria in Italy and probably others that I am forgetting. Despite our lack of knowledge about wines, there was no lack of enjoyment in the experience.

That evening, RY cooked an easy dinner of pasta and meat sauce with broccoli and cauliflower because we wanted to make sure we had room for what was to follow. RY, with help from AY and DY, baked a chocolate cake and we celebrated Leo’s 51st birthday with our second chocolate cake of the day.

The children got out all of the gifts they had prepared that morning – letters, drawings, creative crafts and even paper airplanes. Kids are supremely talented at turning next to nothing, just some markers and a few scraps of paper, into unique and special gifts. EY made Leo a pink crown that he wore proudly on his head. We sang happy birthday and enjoyed the chocolate cake with two kinds of ice cream – mint chocolate chip and tin roof (vanilla ice cream with ribbons of chocolate and almond slivers). It was a sweet ending to a magical day.