This time last week we took a trip to Wonderdal at Hazendal Wine Estate and what an experience it was… all of it. It has been an entire year since we went to a media event, and it was well worth the wait. If you need a day out in Cape Town, a trip to the country that feels like a complete holiday in a day. There is definitely something for every member of the family… and what a wonderful day out it was, for all of us.
While we were invited to Wonderdal to play, we discovered an entire wine estate that is really a complete day trip with something for everyone. While my children were playing I was able meet up with my grown up kids for lunch in the Babushka Deli… what a fantastic outing, can’t think when last we went out to a meal and it was fantastic. Scroll down to see what else we got up to while we were there.
A Quick Tour of Hazendal Wine Estate
We arrived way too early for our play time-slot, honestly I thought it would be at least an hours drive away… and it only took us half an hour from the city centre. So we had time to explore the estate together… and we were blown away by the magic everywhere…
First wow moment for at least one of us was the classic car collection…
And vintage wagons…
Then we went on a wander to look for hidden treasures… and did we find them…
Hidden around the beautiful estate… are works of art…
And would you take a peak indoors…
And the most exquisite gardens…
Lovely little places to explore…
By this time there were some folk who were very eager to stop the tour and get around to playing!!!
Wonderdal Edutainment Centre
Wonderdal is an interactive edutainment centre for children age between 5 and 13. It is a two hour fully supervised learn through play experience, that seemlessly integrates educcation and entertainement. My youngest two children fit into the age category, and after a year without any outings they were extremely ready to play!!!
The welcome into the venue is pure magic…
They each get to meet their personal virtual learning companion, Amuki, using an interactive bracelet. Throughout their play they will find opportunities to play and discover, absolutley perfect for curious kids.
They each get to look after an Amuki and find treasures for it, as they adventure their way around the playground.
Otherwise they receive a special pair of socks that may be used for future visits, and their shoes are stored safely away for them.
Once you step in the magical doors… there is full on playtime… full on…
This playground incorporates learning and technology and discovery into every possible corner!!!
From the tree of light… they wandered over to the virtual garden…
The floor plan is full of loads of lovely things to look at…
Beautiful and sturdy mind benders, that would keep children of all ages busy for hours.
A trip around the floor and they were ready to play with their Amuki again at the Health Kitchen.
Each visitor receives an interactive bracelet that contains their magical crystal… and their information, including their age is stored on it, so when they swipe it at the activity centers they get age appropriate questions and learning.
The Tinker Workshop…
This was definitely my kids favourite spot… electronics and marble runs were the flavour of the day. This corner is designed specifically for kids to get totally hands on and explore. There are Wonderpals at every station for your children to get all the help they need, but it is all child led.
Snap circuits were a massive hit for both my kids…
All of this is so empowering for young kids… they can do this on their own… with the least bit of help from an adult.
Hours of play…
All the necessary gear for making things is ready for them to explore and create…
The Story Cave
And then I found my dream home… the story cave is a collection of reading nooks and piles of the best books ever… this is my dream job…climbing into a nook and reading from the book stacks. Honestly, I review books for a living and whoever is doing the book selection over here has ALL the latest and greatest reads…
All the latest and greatest… chapter books, fact books… Dk Books, Usborne Books. Some of the best story collections ever… honestly I could stay here all day…
I wasn’t surprised that my kids emerged with a list of books that they would like to add to their personal libraries.
From the Book nook they headed to the outdoor area for a climb and a play…
The Marvol Gallery
Once I knew that my children were happily playing I stepped out to have a little me-time. Literally the first time in a year… and I went for a wander through the art gallery…
Babushka Deli
From there I went over to the Babushka Deli to meet up with my oldest and his wife, there is lots to ooh and aah over…
How beautiful is this space…
We headed outdoors to the old threshing floor…
The food was absolutely superb…
Beautifully presented…
Coffee for the adults…
And milkshakes for the littles…
When there playtime is over you receive an sms with their security codes and then you can wander over and collect them…
After they had eaten they wanted to go back to Wonderdal to take a look at the store at the entrance, where you can buy little mementos, fridge magnets and such like… as well as loads of beautiful Djeco toys, and scientific games and construction toys… what a lovely, lovely shop.
And a beautiful collection of actual factual books…
The Harvest Garden
Finally, we finished our wonderful day out… with a wander through the Harvest Garden and maze…
ALL The Important Details
Hazendal Wine Estate is situated on the Bottelary Road in Stellenbosch and is literally a half an hour drive from the city centre.
The entire Estate and particularly Wonderdal, is incredibly Covid friendly, numbers are limited, in fact on a week day my children were the only children there… well worth knowing.
There are hand washing stations and hand sanitisers available all over the play centre for your children to use, and at child height.
Wonderdal have a number of special offers available… there is a two for one, ticket offer on at the moment. They also offer birthday parties and class discounts. You can take a look at the Wonderdal Website over here, and it is well worth downloading the Wonderdal brochure over here.
Click on the Image below to see all the Photos from our Wonderful Day Out…
Thank you so so much to Wonderdal and Hazendal Wine Estate for gifting us with a wonderful day out. This is not a sponsored post. This review was written, because we had such a wonderful experience there, and all opinions are entirely our own.