A Springtime Trip to the Cape Winelands

The tram rumbles to life before you even feel it move. You were so lost in daydreaming on the open-air upper deck that you missed your departure entirely. Beside you, Poppy—a black Labrador you're dogsitting for a few days—has her nose in the air, taking in the sweet perfume of wildflowers scattered across the rolling foothills. This is Franschhoek, a village about an hour inland from Cape Town, South Africa, nestled in the dips and crevices of the Cape Winelands. Its whitewashed Cape Dutch architecture, with thatched roofs and French flair, is a remnant of its founding by French Huguenots in the late seventeenth century, lending the rustic-chic town an aura of magical timelessness.

The Tram Ride Through the Vineyards

The morning began misty and grey, with the low-lying valley steeped in fog that typically burns off in the late spring sunshine well before noon. You waited at the station with Poppy, stroking her head and feeling her lean into your cupped hand, her tail brushing from side to side on the floor. She pricked up her ears just before you detected the low rumbling of the approaching tram, and gently pulled at her leash until you followed her onto the platform. The tram itself is a delightfully old-timey sight, painted in deep earthy red, and you climbed to the second level to take in the passing countryside from above.