Bill and Lou Rathburn

Dallas - Texas

17 November 2001

I was introduced to Bill and Lou indirectly via Brian Aldridge and met this wonderful couple at the Table Bay Hotel where they were staying. We decided on doing a winelands tour and after sitting down for a couple of minutes so as to get to know each other better we proceeded to travel to the winelands on what turned out to be a slightly overcast day.

Our first stop was at Cotage Fromage where we had some coffee and bought some cheese.

After Cotage Fromage we travelled to Clos Cabriere where we met the winemaker on the farm, Achim von Arnim. He took us on his cellar tour and then we got to the winetasting where Achim taught us the art of sabriage. Here we see Lou giving Achim a helping hand so as to demonstrate the art of sabre cork cutting. J

Achim von Arnim meets Bill Rathburn!

Achim and Bill share pictures of Lou and Bills Tigers at home while Hildegard von Arnim and Lou have a friendly conversation

Before leaving Clos Cabriere we took this photo in the vineyards of the farm

We travelled on to La Grange restaurant where we had a delightful lunch and took the above photo.

After lunch we travelled on to Stellenbosch and then to the cheetah foundation where Bill and Lou had the time of their lives playing with the cats.

Lou having fun playing with Savannah while Zaza remains fast asleep.

Lou and Bill in the rose garden at Spier Wine Farm where the Cheetah Foundation operates from

After our visit to the Cheetah Foundation we took a slow ride back through Stellenbosch and then paid a shot visit to Kaya Mandi, the black township in Stellenbosch. From there we travelled back to Cape Town and got back to the Table Bay hotel at 19h30. All in all this was a great day.