The Town of Knysna

When was the last time you were in Knysna? This ever popular Garden Route town has plenty to offer. The middle of the year is when thousands of people descend on this town for the Knsyna Oyster Festival and those who've been training take part in either the Knysna Forest Marathon and Knysna Cycle Tour.

But when the buzz of the Oyster Festival calms down and the tourists leave this town doesn't go to sleep ... it does the opposite of that. Reason being because there is so much to do in and around the town of Knysna. There are plenty of festivals that happen each year, the Pink Loerie Mardi Gras is another favourite.

Not only is the town filled with festivals but your will find a host of Things to Do in Knysna. I've taken a slice out of all the exciting places to visit and things to see and have round up 10 great things to do when you're next in town ...

Beer Tasting & Tour at Mitchells Brewery

Mitchells Brewery Tasting

An absolute must visit is the Mitchells Brewery, here you can discover all there is to know about brewing fine natural ales. The tour guide will enlighten and excite you with terms such as Mash Tun, Whirlpool and Grist Hopper. After your tour you'll be taken to the sales area for a tasting and a chance to purchase some of the ale to take home. If you're a group of 6 or more persons you are able to arrange an alternative tour time to the scheduled tours.

Address: Arend Street, Knysna Industria, Knysna, Garden Route
Telephone: +27 (0)44 382‑4685
Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 08h00 to 17h00. Please contact us for Tour & Tasting Times.

Canoeing on the Knysna Lagoon

Canoe the Lagoon

If you're feeling a little bit energetic and would like to get out on the water why not hire yourself a Canadian-syle canoe for either one or two persons from Lightleys River Runners (who are known as The Boat People). The canoes are very easy to use and would be the perfect opportunity to take that special someone on a little romantic outing ... don't forget it is Valentines Day next week. Or if romance is not what you're after and you're looking for birds of the feathered variety this would also serve you well. If you like, you can arrange for a delicious picnic as well which includes succulent oysters and a bottle of bubbly

Address: Lightleys River Runners, Phantom Pass Road, Knysna, Garden Route
Telephone: +27 (0)44 386‑0007
Opening hours: By arrangement

Oyster Farm Tour

Oyster Farm Tour

Knysna is very well known for its oysters. This is something that not everyone is a fan of, but if you are one who loves these slippery shellfish then I would highly reccommend an Oyster Farm Tour. On the tour you will learn all there is to know about The Knysna Osyter as it grows wild on this stretch of coastline. The tour drifts off towards the Knysna Heads and your guide will not only find out a bit of the history of the Knysna Head but also all you need to know about the oyster beds. The tour includes drinks, lights snacks and three oysters per person (you'll taste both wild and farmed oysters). If three is not enough don't fret there will be oysters on sale.

Address: Tours depart from Thesen Island Harbour, Knysna
Telephone: +27 (0)82 892‑0469
Opening hours: Tours depart at 11h00, 13h00 and 15h00 daily and last 90 minutes

A Pastry from île de pain

île de pain

Come to île de pain Bakery and Café where bread is not just bread, it is a religion. Every morning the crew get up before the crack of dawn to create the most scrumptious bread you have ever tasted. Thus ensuring île de pain is one of the most popular eateries in Knysna. You'll find the first artisan, wood-fired bakery in South Africa at the Thesen Island in the Knysna Waterfront. The eatery offers a delectable selection of pastries which include baked pear tartlets, or choose something from the simple breakfast menu. Be warned though you might enjoy yourself so much you'll want to stay on for lunch deciding between healthy gourmet salads, delicious tarts or their signature beef burger. Whatever you do make sure you come hungry!

Address: Thesen's Island Street, Knysna Waterfront, Knysna, Garden Route
Telephone: +27 (0)44 302‑5707
Opening hours: Please enquire

Harkerville Saturday Market

Harkerville Saturday Market

You'll find this market situated on the N2 between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. Why make the effort you might ask, perhaps because it has been going for 10 years and is not just a flea market, nor a craft market, it isn't even just a farmers market ... it is a combination of all three. You can be looking for any number of things from books to organic vegetables, sumptuous home-baked goodies to locally produced cheeses. Relax under one of the trees and enjoy breakfast with friends and family — the perfect opportunity for a catch up.

Address: On the N2, between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route
Telephone: + 27 (0)44 533‑9094
Opening hours: Saturday mornings from 08h00 to 12h00

Dine aboard the Paddle Cruiser

Knysna Paddle Cruiser

Take a trip on the only paddle-driven vessel in South Africa and enjoy a completely unique Knysna Lagoon experience. Decide between a lunch time (12h30 departure) or evening (18h15 departure) cruise. The evening cruise will allow you to relax into the evening while sipping a cocktail and watching the sunset. Feast on a large a la carte selection which features a Tapas Mediterranean menu for lunch and a 3-course Mediterranean buffet for dinner — and of course when in Knysna savour a succulent oyster.

Address: Remembrance Lane, off Waterfront Drive, Knysna, Garden Route
Telephone: +27 (0)44 382‑1693
Opening hours: Lunch cruise at 12h30 and evening cruise at 18h15

The Red Barn Restaurant & Country Store

Red Barn Restaurant

Nestled amongst Macadamia nut orchards this recently renovated, 20 year old Cape Cod style barn is a wonderful place to you to purchase fresh produce, browse through local art and dine of wonderful creations from the talented chef at the Red Barn Restaurant. The menu is inspired by seasonal produce and you can expect to find artisan meats, cheeses and a range of other produce that is produced either locally or on site. Come and spend a lazy lunch with your friends and enjoy a glass of wine from their extensive wine list.

Address: Fern Gully Farm, Rheenendal, Road, Knysna, Garden Route
Telephone: +27 (0)82 739‑0962
Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday and Public holidays from 09h00 to 16h00 and Friday night the kitchen closes at 22h00

The Dry Dock Food Co

Dry Dock Food Co

A wonderful venue for a large group of friends or an intimate dinner for two. With three separate floors you might think you don't need to book but due to their popularity it's adviseable to give them a call. The location couldn't be more ideal as it is situated at the Knysna Waterfront and you'll leave wanting to come back soon because the food is delectable. Lunch is served daily from 12h00 to 18h00 — I would suggest something from the many seafood options, you'll be begging for more. If you are a fan of prawns they have some many options of how it is prepared you are rather spoilt for choice.

Address: Shop 1, The Waterfront Knysna Quays, Knysna, Garden Route
Telephone: +27(0)44 382‑7310
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 12h00 to 22h00

Day Sailing Charter with Springtide

Charter with Springtide

Take up position at the help of the 50 foot yacht, Outeniqua, thanks to Spring Tide Sailing Charters. This will be a sailing experience like no other — sail through one of the most notoriously difficult sea passages in the world — the Knysna Heads. The crew will let you enjoy a lagoon cruise and then carefully take you through the Knysna Heads and sail on towards Buffalo Bay. When you return you can anchor down and enjoy a few delicious treats and even a swim to cool down. The Outeniqua was hand built by owner and skipper, Stephan Pepler and has been a luxury sailing yacht since 1998.

Address: The Outeniqua Yacht is situated in front of Building 34 South
Telephone: +27 (0)82 470‑6022 or +27 (0)82 829‑2740
Opening hours: By arrangement

The Anchorage

The Anchorage

The Anchorage has a strong history of more than 20 years so you can be rest assured that this is a local favourite. The restaurant offers an unpretentious evening with traditional seafood dishes and perfect steaks. The Anchor Platter includes mussels, prawns, calamari and linefish alternatively if you're looking for the best in both worlds you can opt for the steak and prawn combo. For pudding treat yourself to a South African favourite, Malva Pudding or a splendid Amarula crème Brule.

Address: 11 Grey Street, Knysna, 6570, Garden Route
Telephone: +27 (0)44 382‑2230
Opening hours: Please enquire

No matter what you're after you will find it in Knysna! Share your best experiences with us in the comments section below.

Have you vis­ited Knysna? Why not tell us what you thought by sub­mit­ting a review. See: Knysna Reviews

Useful Links:
Knysna Attractions
Knysna Accommodation
Things to Do in Knysna
Knysna Events
Garden Route Hotels
Garden Route Accommodation

Jozi Food Market

If you live in the Greenside area of Johannesburg and are looking for somewhere a bit more novel than the local supermarket for your weekly groceries why not give the Jozi Food Market a try?  Open every Saturday from 08h30 to 13h30 and conveniently located at the Pirates Sports Club you can expect to be greeted by artisans and stall holders happy to share their love and knowledge of food.

The market offers a wide selection of food; take your pick from the 50 delicious recipes that Soup ‘n Stuff has perfected (who doesn’t love soup on a chilly day) while Sue’s Karoo Lemon Cordial (and ginger beer) is just the tonic on a summers day.  Also available is tasty muesli from All About Muesli, yummy, decadent pies from The Granary Pies and don’t forget La Bonne Cuisine’s chicken liver pate.

The list of produce on offer is endless and with plenty of playing space for the children and sport on big screens for Dad it seems the Jozi Food Market is an ideal way to spend a Saturday morning.

“Shop outdoors instead of suffocating in a stuffy shopping mall, and buy local goods made by Jozi artisans” punts the market owner, Lee Anderson! It’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning! Kids and dogs are welcome, and there is plenty of play space. Dads can even watch sport on big screens and drink in the pub!

The selection of Jozi Market goods should amply provide for a week’s supply of family food – here are some of the stalls to choose from:-

Soup ‘n Stuff really makes an outstanding impression. Over 50 unbelievable soups are sold here — including peanut and potato, pomegranate, mussel, spicy chicken and almond, honey roasted parsnip and so much more – carnivore, omnivore, vegetarians and vegans are all accommodated here.

Sue’s Karoo Lemon Cordial is crammed with real lemons, and goes well with both water and vodka! Her ice-cold ginger beer is a kid’s favourite!

Raw Honey offers all manner of bee related products such as mead, honey, fudge and healing skin cream – expect to meet Caroline the beekeeper, who will educate you on everything you need to know about the benefits of bees.

All About Muesli offers a variety of tasty low GI muesli’s as well as a honey baked granola, dark chocolate covered goji berries and a variety of plump, dried fruit and nuts.

The Granary Pies are a delightful surprise. Not the usual boring steak and kidney at this stall! Think pork and pineapple, beef and ale, duck and bacon and turkey and plum just to name a few. All the pies are preservative free and although more expensive than your average supermarket pie, are well worth the price.

La Bonne Cuisine’s chicken liver pate is one of the best you’ll taste. So too are his Mauritian inspired relishes, and he does a great take on Pickled Onions.

Goat Peter sells delectable goat’s cheese, including their award winning local Grison, alongside Cremalat’s splendid range of Italian traditional cheeses – try Taleggio for an exciting twist on Brie

Heartwood Smokehouse’s wood-smoked bacon rolls are a great way to start the morning’s shop, especially when combined with freshly roasted and brewed coffee from Green Bean Coffee. The Green Bean Roastery is based at the Casalinga Restaurant in Muldersdrift, and offers a wide variety of African coffee roasted-to– order. Other tempting ‘on-site’ nibbles included sweet and savoury pancakes from Marcel’s House of Crepes, samoosas, and hot dogs!

Chef Shaun, from Simply Wild, crafts the most outstanding chili sauces and condiments. A cheese board should not be without his tomato chili jam; he fires up a boring mayonnaise with wasabi and jalapeno, which turns any salad on its head!

La Cucina produces a wide range of outstanding Italian vegetarian antipasti and pesto sauces. Her Greek tzatziki is the best you’ll get, and great olive condiments will trump up any pasta.

The most intriguing products are Mushroom Factory’s DIY mushroom kits, which take all the work out of growing one’s own oyster or button mushrooms at home.

There were numerous other products such as edible pet treats, a variety of olive products, fresh organic vegetables and baked goods.

Where to Find Them:

Address: Pirates Sports Club, Braeside Road, Greenside, Johannesburg
Telephone: +27 (0)76 469‑8995

Useful Links:

Johannesburg Accommodation
Things to Do in Johannesburg
Johannesburg Attractions
South Africa Attractions

Lunch in De Rust

We don't mean to stop in De Rust. We're on the N12 that heads off the N1 close to the Karoo National Park en route to Ladismith, our intended destination, and have just come through the incredible Meiringspoort, when De Rust appears out of nowhere.

The main road through town is littered with colourful restaurants, coffee shops and the odd boutique. The place is hot and humming. And a big board informs us that De Rust has won 'dorp van die jaar' and claims to be the best town in the Karoo.

Besides, we're hot and hungry. And with all the jolly jostling for attention that each of the establishments makes in a bid to get you to stop at their restaurant (they're rather colourful), the town deserves exploration.

The towns we've passed through, the heat of the Karoo and the incredible towering sandstone cliffs of Meiringspoort have all reminded me of author Ettienne van Heerden's The Long Silence of Mario Salviati (if there's one book that to me epitomises the Karoo, then it's this one, although the original, is of course, Die Swye van Mario Salviati).

Meiringspoort is De Rust's major drawcard. One is compelled to stop in town after passing through the kloof from the north, just to catch your breath. The sheer magnitude of the cliffs brings home sharply the arduous taks faced by farmers from the north to get their ox wagons through here, in an attempt to trade with Mossel Bay, George and Oudtshoorn.

Even today, if the road that was built finally only between 1920 and 1923 floods, which it is prone to do, trucks have to travel via Graaff-Reinet and Uniondale along the R62, or along the N1 to Laingsburg, branching off to Riversdale or Oudtshoorn, to arrive finally in George – both tedious and rigorous detours.

De Rust markets itself as a gateway to both the Great and Little Karoos. Its location is enviable, snuggled in amongst the Swartberg and Kammanassie Mountains. It's one of the few towns that isn't flat. Its tree-lined streets slope up and away from the entrance to Meiringspoort, and there is evidence that more than a few of the little Karoo houses have been spruced up and made pretty.

Around De Rust there are green valleys, incredibly rock formations, streams, an enviable bird life and walking and cycling trails to keep you busy for more than a couple of days. It's perfect as a place to lunch, but the town is also out to prove that it will hold your attention for a little while longer.

We finally settle on lunch at the Village Trading Post. From the road its exterior invites you to explore, while over the doorway there is the word 'courtyard' surrounded by swirling green curlicues, which suggest a cool veranda off the back somewhere. The mood is further endorsed by a couple of Harleys outside, and a dilapidated windmill on which is pegged the sign: 'windmaker kuns'.

We're not disappointed. Inside is an eclectic mix of things. Antique clothes, light shades donned with scarves and roses, furniture, a plethora of hearts, handbags, clocks and a selection of hats over the doorway catch your eye as you pass through the old house and out of a doorway into the courtyard, where there is also an art gallery.

Photographs — Left: De Rust Main Street / Right: Village Trading Post

We manage to find a perfect little nook up above the courtyard, next to the gallery, in amongst the leaves of a fig tree and a giant umbrella, its branches draped with glass bottles filled with pink liquid and wind chimes, the walls gently embroidered with painted climbing roses and the words of Ingrid Jonker — “...weerlose roos van die môre . wond van die rose...”

Afrikaans Karoo nostalgia as only the Karoo towns can do...

There isn't a hint of a breeze and we're grateful for the glass jug of iced water the waitress brings us. It's thoughtful. She could have simply slapped down three glasses filled with tepid tap water, as many restaurants do when you don't order a drink but request the freebie instead. Besides, I've spotted the water filter system similar to ours attached to the pump that brings water to the house.

Our food, when it comes, is also pleasantly refreshing, and not without artistry. The menu includes all day breakfasts, omelettes, salads, open sandwiches on home baked bread or ciabatta, toasted sandwiches, and 'magic meals' that include spaghetti 'bolle' naise served with tomato relish, and the village Trading Post's burger (their speciality).

There is also a good selection of local wines from Van Loveren, Hermanuspietersfontein, Bergwater and Rooiberg cellars. Part way through our meal, the Harleys are heard starting up and vrooming off.

At the gallery I become entranced by a painting. It isn't often I'm hooked. I'm not an art connoisseur, neither am I offay with South African art, but this beautiful modern and bright work with a swirling, almost green river that runs up towards a vivid farmhouse has me walking in muttering circles, wondering if I dare part with R4500 of my savings.

The heat and the added pressure of having to continue our journey abate my dilemma, but I still think about it. Often. I even have the gallery's card, delivered into my hands together with a little feather, lost somewhere in the bottom of my handbag. I think.

Photographs — Left: The courtyard / Right: Inside the Village Trading Post

Things to do when in De Rust:

• Herrie se Klip is a national monument found in Meiringspoort and is the famous spot where the writer CJ Langenhoven (he wrote the country's first national anthem) was want to sit and relax. Some say he even wrote here.
• Hikes and walks – there are numerous in the area. Contact Pieter Schoeman on +27 (0)82 377‑0547 or Barry Meijer on +27 (0)82 495‑5196
• Mons Ruber Winery – the local winery offers wine tasting
• Stompdrift dam – biggest dam in the Klein Karoo where you can fish and sail
• The old Slave dams – built in 1834
• The Swartberg Circular Route – from De Rust via Oudemuragie to the Cango Caves, then from the caves via the Swartberg pass to Prince Albert, then on via Meiringspoort and the waterfall to De Rust (find a map at De Rust's tourism office where they are very helpful)
• Karoo National Park – but an hour away, via Meiringspoort and Klaarstroom
• The Red Hills – found on the farm Rietvalley, roughly 10 kilometres outside of De Rust, these red collured hollow caves of Enon-conglomerate, or pudding stone, are millions of years old and a national nature heritage site
• Local artists – De Rust has attracted numerous sculptures, painters, landscape artists and writers
• Scenic drive – drive the section of Route 62 between De Rust and Ladismith as it is particularly scenic. En route stop off at Ronnie's sex shop, the hot springs just outside the town of Barrydale, and the town itself

Useful Links:

De Rust Accommodation
De Rust Guest Houses
Karoo Attractions
Things to Do in Karoo
Karoo Accommodation
Western Cape Accommodation
Western Cape Hotels

Obesa Cacti Nursery

You either get it, or you don't. With the Obesa Cactus Nursery. Although describing it as a 'nursery' hardly does the experience justice. For a visit here, if you allow it, is far more of an experience than it is a simple trip to the nursery to pick up a cactus or two for your window sill.

First of all the 'nursery' takes up the better part of a block. For those of you who want to find it, hunt down the street dominated by a myriad psychedelically painted houses. They're a series of guest houses that go by the same name as the nursery (run by Johan's ex-wife, who remains a fan despite that). The nursery is directly across the road, and all over the pavement, and, if you look around you, on just about every available piece of ground.

That this is the work of a man with a passion is obvious. Having lived with a gardening nut who has transformed the better part of our city garden into a wild vegetable mandala, I think I can handle it.

I enter the gardens on one of those ridiculously hot days (and it isn't even February) reserved typically for little towns in the Karoo. Not a breath of wind stirs, sweat slithers down my face as I hide under a large hat, my arms protected from the sun by a linen blouse that feels rather as though I've encased myself in a furnace.

All thought of my discomfort vanishes, however, as we enter the nursery. So as not to totally overwhelm a mini 'nursery' is what greets one first, set under shadecloth. Johan, his grey hair drawn back in a ponytail under a sorry excuse for a hat, his wild woolly grey beard slightly yellowed from years of smoking, shakes my hand and welcomes me, his distinctly blue eyes an indication of his obvious intelligence and knowledge of plants.

At first he's slightly reticent, in a warm kind of way, sending me on a walk through the cacti, brushing off any questions. He point blank refuses a photograph. The only one of him, he says, is the one in his ID book. I think I'm going to like this man.

I've already done an internet trawl on the nursery and know there isn't much there. On his own website Johan speaks about himself simply as CJ Bouwer and says very little about himself and his passion, bar the fact that he knows cacti (the pictures alone are worth looking at). Nothing quite prepares you for the real thing.

Photographs — Left: What colour / Right: Spiky bundles

For the cacti gardens at Obesa are art. It's like outsider art. Along the lines of the Owl House, but in plants. Not only that, it also extends for miles (okay, slight exaggeration on my part, but we're not talking a mere nursery here). There are at least ten hectares' worth of cacti, and nothing to distract one except the intense blue of the Karoo sky.

As I begin to gently walk through the cacti, careful not to catch my flimsy skirt on any of the needle like projections that masquerade as thorns, I am joined by an avid cacti collector who deems himself something of a connoisseur. In typical Gauteng fashion he manages to give me a running commentary about his pursuit of cacti and former visit to the garden, photograph the plants he hasn't yet managed to capture, and chat on his cell phone.

I'm just wondering whether or not he's actually enjoying any of this, when his wife calls and obviously declines to join him. He's off and I get to enjoy the space in quiet. It deserves to be taken slowly and appreciated. As I said originally: you either get it, or you don't. And I imagine quite a few people don't.

Johan has spent the better part of forty years planting cacti. The place is a labyrinth – small pathways interspersed with huge, towering cacti, then around the next corner an entire garden's worth of little, fat, spiky cacti, euphorbs and caudiciforms. And so it continues. The place is ablaze with aloes, rare and endangered and Madagascan succulents and more.

Johan initially began by collecting haworthias and seeds, followed soon by a series of lithops, and then every and any seed he could lay his hands on. That he has green fingers is obvious, as the place is literally crawling with plants.

Everything is in flower too, something we're incredibly lucky to witness. The flowers come 10 days after rain, and last but 5 days. I later learn that some cacti only open their flowers in the exception, whilst others can only fully open for two hours at night. But the flowers here have either just flowered or have been open for a day or two, so I get the full benefit.

Photographs — Left: Little boxes on the hillside / Right: Cactus flowers in bloom

I walk for ages, drinking in the different arrangements of these sometimes huge, sometimes little plants that can take the punishing heat of the Karoo, and hook up with my son and husband, who have been the entire way around the cacti at least twice. My six-year old is already chatting nine to the dozen about the cacti he wants for his garden bed at home. Am I destined to have two plant fanatics to deal with?

Hard to believe but Johan is a lawyer by trade. You would never say that the hippy I see infront of me, moonlights in the courts (or is it the other way around?). Whilst cacti are his life's passion, he's needed to earn to put his three children through school and university. And the beauty of the garden helps take his mind off some of the less savoury aspects of his work in the criminal world.

Over-and-above my respect for the incredible cacti jungle he's single-handedly produced, I'm amazed that he manages to juggle the two professions that seem so diametrically opposed. Most artists need to indulge or totally immerse themselves in their work to achieve anything. And yet here we stand in amongst a lifetime's part-time work.

Johan smiles and nods. The garden has only been open to the public for six years. “People visiting from other countries complained” he quips, “it was time to share it”.

I for one, am glad he does. By now my son is awkwardly staggering towards us, his arms laden with little succulents he's selected. I'm busy swatting off the mosquitos that have decided they may as well dine in style. Johan declines to accept money for the plants. “I don't charge children for anything,” he says.

We part at the gateway to the garden and nursery, having made a friend.

The name 'Obesa' is derived from the euphorbia obesa plant that is indigenous to the Kendrew area, which lies in the Graaff-Reinet district. It is protected by the World Succulent Society, and it's common name used to be 'kafferhutjie' because of its similarity to to an African hut.

Photographs — Left: Scale the heights / Right: Succulents a growing

Directions to Obesa:

Iin Graaff Reinet, drive south down Church Street, turn left into Bresler Street, where the massive white signboard says: 'Obesa Wholesale Nursery'.

Useful Links:

• Graaff-Reinet Attractions
• Graaff Reinet Map
• Graaff Reinet Accommodation
• Graaff Reinet Hotels
• Eastern Cape Accommodation

Reinet House

Stop your car on the outskirts of town on the Camdeboo Mountain Drive and below you will lie the circular shape of Graaff-Reinet, held within a generous bend of the Sundays River closest to you, and the mountains of the Sneeuberg in the background. It's a glorious setting, to say the least.

Depending upon the time of year that you go, it will either be mercilessly hot (at least 40 degrees in the shade if the last couple of summers are anything to go by) or really cold (during winter).

Neither of which should act as a deterrent, for the town is not only beautiful, it is also pretty large as far as Karoo towns go, full of a rich history (it's the fourth oldest town in the country after Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Swellendam) and it has countless places to visit and things to do.

And just about everyone is equipped with air-conditioning and heaters anyway (they're geared for visitors).

Graaff-Reinet lies within the heart of the Grassy Karoo, closest to the towns of Aberdeen (which is in the Nama Karoo) and Cradock. It's a little off the beaten track for us en route to Bloemfontein, but we need little excuse to divert from the monotony of the N1 to head back to a town we haven't visited in, oh, eleven years.

You will know the town by its gorgeous Dutch Reformed Church (yes, I know most towns have prominent NG churches, but this one is indeed marvellous) modelled on the architecture of the Salisbury Cathedral in England, a stone Victorian Gothic Grootkerk that you cannot miss, as Church Street has to bypass it by way of a traffic circle.

Here follows a series of our top activities when in Graaff-Reinet:

Historical buildings

Town is peppered with an array of historical buildings and museums — at least thirty of them, each marked with a special plaque. But if you're not that much of a history buff or don't have the time to explore it at length, at least take in Parsonage Street and Stretch's Court.

Parsonage Street, Graaff-Reinet's most historical street, at the end of which stands the beautiful Reinet House, is also lined with The Residency, the John Rupert 'Little Theatre', Rupert House and a feast of restored buildings that now function as upmarket office space for lawyers and the like, or accommodation.

And Stretch's Court, which now serves as alternative accommodation for the Drostdy Hotel, is a series of beautifully restored Karoo cottages that were the homes of labourers and emancipated slaves.

(An illustrated historical guide by Tony Westby-Nunn is available from McNaughtons bookshop on Church Street at a mere R95 – well worth it, if you're going to explore the town on foot).

Photographs — Left: Groot Kerk / Right: Valley of Desolation

Valley of Desolation

Graaff-Reinet is enclosed within the Camdeboo National Park. We were pleased to give our Wild Card an airing, although it necessitated a stop at the park's office as we had lost the letter which served as proof of our having a Wild Card, the card proper not yet having been posted.

That the Valley of Desolation is called a 'valley' is something of a misnomer, as it isn't really a valley at all, but an incredible geological phenomenon that is a series of sheer cliff faces made up of dolerite columns that stand as high as 120 metres. Or perhaps the valley is the space below the columns into which swallows dive?

It lies just 14 kilometres outside of town (historical documents describe it as a mere walk, a day's outing, but in truth, I wouldn't like to have to walk here from town), in the Camdeboo National Park. The drive is along a rather steep road up to a couple of view points and picnic areas, the second of which brings one to the columns themselves, formed as a result of erosive and volcanic forces. You can hike here, but the most popular time is sundowners, when the heat of the day is over, and the sun plays magic across the face of the dolerite cliffs.

Nieu-Bethesda

Beautiful Nieu-Bethesda used to be something of an insider secret, but these days it's part of an offical 'Owl Route', and is firmly part of the local tourism. Despite this, the town has managed to retain its dust roads, has little development other than a couple of municipal buildings and a few new homes, and a series of attractions other than the Owl House (although this remains its major calling card).

We can recommend visits to: the Owlhouse Foundation on Martin Street (as you enter town), the Melting Pot restaurant, and The brewery and Two Goats deli on Pienaar Street for refreshing beer and organic cheeses, across Gats River (although in summer there isn't even a hint of water). There is a village market on every Saturday, various restaurants, the Kitching Fossil Centre, a bookshop, a women's co-op and other hidden gems.

Photographs — Left: Helen Martin's Museum / Right: Stretch's Court

Obesa cactus nursery and garden

Set just across the road from the really bright buildings of the Obesa Lodge, the Obesa nursery is a must-do, even if cacti have no meaning to you, and an absolute must if you're even remotely in-love with these succulents. Whilst the nursery stocks some incredible options to take home with you, it is the garden that will astonish you. Ten acres of land are filled with cacti of every description, laid out in an artistic, loving and delightful way. It has taken Johan 40 years to achieve this and, whilst it is done for his own pleasure, visitors now get to benefit too (six years ago you wouldn't have been able to share, as it was closed to the public).

Camdeboo National Park

Don't tell anyone, but there is a secret spot to swim when the heat hits. If you follow the road out of town to the Camdeboo National Park in the direction of the airstrip, you can take the second dirt road (I think, but don't quote me on this) to the left down towards the dam. Actually anywhere along the Nqweba dam (used to be the Van Ryneveld's Dam) is going to allow you to cool off. Whilst the Valley of Desolation is the main attraction of the Park, it definitely is not all there is to see of the reserve. There are 43 mammals that include black wildebeest and various antelope, Cape mountain zebra (although they're pretty elusive), bat-eared foxes and meerkat, as well as a fantastic array of birds (so good that there is a birding weekend in March 2012).

Photographs — Left: The entrance to Obesa / Right: Little Theater, Parsonage Street

Have you visited Graaf-Reinet? Why not tell us what you thought by submitting a review. See: Graaff-Reinet Reviews

Useful Links

• Graaff-Reinet Attractions
• Graaff Reinet Map
• Graaff Reinet Accommodation
• Graaff Reinet Hotels
• Eastern Cape Accommodation

Cape leopards are special – for one, they're incredibly beautiful, but they're also much smaller than those found in other parts of Africa, and they are the top predator in the mountains of the Cape. Their extinction can have an impact on the entire ecosystem. What this means is that the leopard is the apex predator in the Western Cape ecosystem. It thus acts as an 'umbrella species'. By protecting the leopard, one is also helping conserve smaller predators, as well as other animals occurring in the system.

The range of area each leopard needs in order to hunt and live is understandably threatened by development, but also by people who kill them to protect their farm animals. Today there are the Trust focuses on using information on the ecology of these predators to show that killing or relocation of them is not a solution to conflict situation. Some mitigating measure can be used such as livestock guardian dogs (like Anatolian shepherd dogs) and especially herders. The Trust currently has an experimental farm where they themselves are testing farming with herders and dogs while monitoring the behaviour of the predators (leopards, caracals and jackals) in the same area.

There are the added natural threats to the leopard especially when they are young, like snakes, disease, black eagles, malnutrition and, as their territories shrink, vying for territory with one another — sometimes to the death.

Leopards are very different from cheetahs, with whom they are often confused. Spots aside (cheetahs have individual spots whilst leopards have rings of spots called rosettes) leopards stalk their prey and need to get really close to them, when they pounce. In bushveld savanna, leopards then drag their prey up trees, however, in the mountains they have no suitable trees to hoist their prey into – so the generally find a comfy place with a good view to take their time and eat their meal. They are stockier and stronger as a result, whilst cheetahs are leaner and built for speed, chasing their prey over huge distances.

Quinton has shown that male leopards in the Cederberg have home ranges of between 200km² in the Fynbos and 1000km² in the Karoo. The Trust's website suggests that in comparison Kruger National Park male leopards have ranges of between 25 and 50km². This equates to densities being much lower in the Cederberg, as leopards are solitary cats with exclusive home ranges. Males have exclusive ranges, each with 2 – 3 females having their own exclusive ranges within these.

Since 2004, Quinton studied the leopard in the Cederberg to ascertain their population status and vulnerability. He started the Trust and serves as its project manager and major researcher, completing his PhD in 2010 through the University of Bristol. Elizabeth Martins runs the Education and Outreach Programme that the team feels is essential for the future of the cat and nature conservation in general.

The Trust runs children's camps that teach them about the wilderness and themselves. Via a National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) grant the Trust provides sponsored camps and day trips to connect children to the wilderness. It also runs local environmental clubs such as the one at Eselbank, a local Cederberg school with whom the Trust actively works, and school presentations during which the Trust inspires children through a 45 minute presentation.

Ongoing leopard research in the Cederberg is, in the meantime, helping in a big way in managing and conserving the leopard population. Quinton has written his PhD on the ecology of leopards in the Cederberg, which gives researchers a reference to use in monitoring the movements of other leopard populations in similar mountainous terrain.

Quinton's approach has involved modern technology in the form of GPS satellite tracking devices and remote camera traps, which has brought him a little closer to establishing the needs of this unique cat population.

Part of the process has been to capture and collar adult leopards with GPS collars, allowing the Trust to collect data on their movements. This they've used to influence how best to manage predator/land owner relationships.

When the project began an average of seven leopards a year died in farmer-predator conflict. In the last seven years, only two have died in this way. Through the work of the Trust, the Cederberg Conservancy has supported leopard conservation and as a result, the Cederberg now has a stable leopard population the Trust can monitor over the long term.

The Trust keeps individual records of the leopards they tag. Most of them now have names. They have become individual cats to the team, not just numbers that form a statistic for science. They've identified 27 leopards in the Cederberg study over a six-year period – visit this page and then hover your mouse over Cederberg leopards.

Trapping any individual leopard to collar it is not a walk in the park. Traps have to be regularly checked — at least every two – three hours — so placing them way out of the way is counterproductive. At the same time, putting traps close to foot paths used regularly by hikers is also out of the question unless the trails are closed to the public.

The trapping process has been approved by the statutory conservation body and an ethics committee and a capture is always supervised by a vet. And the team test internationally acclaimed trapping techniques, such as the foot-loop traps revamped by American Dairen Simpson. Science has shown that these are the safest traps for large carnivores. The Trust is keen to use where possible, and are keeping records of their safety and efficacy.

If you do walk in the Cederberg and come upon a sign warning you of a leopard trapping in progress, you will be urged not to approach more – please take note and do not go near the traps as this could interfere with their hard work trying to capture these cats for conservation. Sometimes iti takes months to catch a targeted individual.

Of course finding a leopard in a vast and untamed area is anything but a walk in the park. Leopards are shy by nature and will go out of their way to avoid being seen. Very few people sight these wonderful cats at all. Which is why the Trust uses digital cameras with an infra-red sensors triggered by motion and heat.

This they call 'camera-trapping' – one can equate them to permanent fieldworkers — and it gives the team a good indication of the numbers of nocturnal leopards – a non-invasive and affordable option to capture. If two cameras are arranged at what's called a 'double station' – two cameras opposite one another – one is able to put together individual leopard identikits with photos of both the left and right flank of any individual cat.

The Trust is also involved in projects in Gouritz, the Boland mountains and Namaqualand.

Get Involved

If you want to get involved in the project there are a number of ways: you can raise awareness by buying (and wearing) a rather cool, hemp Cape Leopard Trust T-shirt, you can sponsor a camera trap, you can Adopt a Spot or if you are an organisation you can sponsor a school camp for disadvantaged children. Soon, leopard tracking trips in the Cederberg will become available to the hiking fit public. Register for updates on their website to be informed as soon as this happens – www.capeleopard.org.za

The team is happy to do presentations for any group, and they do school presentations at no charge.

Get in Touch

Email Elizabeth Martins on elizabeth@capeleopard.org.za

Useful Links

• Cederberg Attractions
• Things to Do in Cederberg
• Cederberg Accommodation
• Western Cape Accommodation

Five Bay Trail

It is just as well that when first reading the email inviting us to join one of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Trails that the rather obvious fact that I was going to have to actually walk the 28 km didn't register. Or I probably would have chickened out and sent my other half without me.

My eye, instead, homes into the word 'gentle' (used to describe the hiking trail) and the fact that we will not have to carry heavy packs, will have our food laid on for us, and be put up in a B&B in Paternoster. I need no further persuasion.

The Five Bay Trail is described as a walking trail. And for those who are seasoned hikers, it is possibly a walk in the park, although you'll more than get your exercise in. For those of you, like me, who walk occasionally and do not count yourselves as fit, you will manage, only just...

The trail, which starts and overnights on both evenings in Paternoster, and ends in Jacobsbaai, hugs the coast taking place mainly along the beaches of a myriad bays between the two villages. The weekend was to have many highlights, including delicious food, incredible views, and good conversation.

Arriving late afternoon on the Friday at Klein Paternoster self-catering lodges, Tracey welcomes us with an ice-cold beer and the chance to meet the rest of the group — a diverse and interesting bunch that because the hike is the last of the official launch of this particular trail, and geared towards the few journalists invited, means that we have a fauna and flora expert from the biosphere, and one of the original team involved in designing the trails along.

The Five Bay Trail is one of five trails designed within the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve. The others are the Darling Stagger, Eve's Trail, Wheels of Time, and the Berg River Canooze. Each of these aims to create awareness about the biosphere whilst at the same time contributing towards the socio-economic well-being of the communities through which it passes.

It's a feel-good hike, in other words, where proceeds of the cost of the hike go towards local guides, caterers, drivers and boosting the local economy. Responsible Tourism at its best.

I have to bring only a willingness to walk, a pair of hardy walking shoes (and even that wasn't necessary as Sven, the journalist from Go mag proves after doing almost the entire trail barefoot) sunscreen, a hat and a swimming costume.

The trail begins with a preliminary stroll along the beach of Paternoster to our dinner across on the other side of town, where Oep Ve Koep chef, Kobus van der Merwe, hosts us for a meal in his B&B.

Part-way through supper we learn that one has to book even for breakfast at Oep Ve Koep (it might look like a general-dealer store, but it's obviously rather a lot more). No surprises there, as the meal is incredible.

Kobus is renowned as a local forager and our veges include interesting edible fynbos. The presentation is beautiful and the service, at our table d'ote in the heart of the home, professional. Home-made bread, springbok steak and dessert are highlights.

Up bright and early the next morning, a wonderful breakfast spread (but didn't we just eat?) of fruit salad, granola, yoghurt and what can only be described as Pikkie's aplomb — an egg, mushroom, cheese and bacon dish that puts shame to the average eggs sunny-side-up. Pikkie manages somehow never to run out of just-made plungers of coffee, a smile and the grace of a good hostess.

We pass through the town of Paternoster. It's the first weekend of crayfish season. Town is abustle with or without crayfish season, but the beaches alongside and all the way to Titiesbaai (in Cape Columbine Nature Reserve) are so full of campers all intent on hauling in their four crayfish a day to enjoy on an evening or morning braai, that we virtually trip over them. It's an interesting perspective – that of a hiker passing through...

In our backpacks are self-made sandwiches from food laid on for us that we enjoy on the rocks just beyond Titiesbaai. A passing whale and her baby appear as if to order and our feet enjoy a welcome respite from all the sand walking. The day is hot. I am glad of my long-sleeved linen shirt and wide-brimmed hat. Particularly when I see how burnt Rhett, who manages the biosphere's stewardship programme, has got.

But we've already lost enough time (I admit to taking too many pictures and asking a myriad questions about the various fynbos flowers we pass), and lunch is over. We press on.

The second half of the first day is difficult for me. The heat of the day and sore feet are nothing though compared with the views and the blue of the sea, the endless sandy curves of bays, shell middens, incredible fynbos and different colours of lichen that hug the hulking boulders of some of the bays.

Just as the heat gets to me, whilst walking against a cliff with little respite from the sun, we stumble across a perfect inlet that functions as a swimming hole. Decorum is flung to the winds as each of us strips down to the bare minimum before jumping into the icy water. For those who can stay in beyond a minute, the tide pulls hither and thither treating us in similar fashion to the large fingers of seaweed that line the rocks.

We trudge across Noordwesbaai to the Trekoskraal headland and the end of day one.  Despite the gorgeous food that evening at Skipskebys, we're all in bed by 9.30pm.

Day three dawns. The green bus (no more guilt trips), which has already met us partway with water, and at the end of yesterday, takes us back to Trekoskraal after another incredible Pikkie breakfast. This morning is foggy. It's just rained and is cooler than the day before.

It's slightly easier going. Despite this part of the coast not being part of a reserve, people are still camped along various parts, without facilities. Someone has placed a toilet (a chair with a toilet seat in it) in the middle of the fynbos with a view of the sea – just hope they've dug a hole beneath it, are my thoughts, even as I muse about the view from the loo.

The bays across which we traipse include the incredible dunes of Wesbaai where swales have hollowed out nests in the sandy cliffs overhead. As the wind has got hold of them so each has become deeper and more like the window of a human abode. It's a bird-version of Cappadocia, the cave dwellings in Turkey.

Morgan, one of our guides, shows me how to walk in the footsteps of others of the group ahead of me on the trail. It is both a practical lesson (it's a lot easier when walking in sand to walk in the footsteps of your fellow hikers) and a metaphysical one. Now tired, I find that I am the third person to have stepped in these particular sandy indentations, occasionally erased by an errant wave as the tide recedes.

It's our last bay before Jacobsbaai and the trail's end. Hospitaalbaai is named such not because, as I think, it is the nursing bay of whales and their calves, but because in the old days ships used to offload their sick in the bay en route to Table Bay where there were strict quarantines. If recovered, sailors could hope to reconnect with their ship on the way back.

We lunch at Weskusplek, renowned because Steve Hofmeyr is part-owner, his photograph none too subtly displayed. The food isn't great, but it's a wonderful setting.

The hike's members are sad to take their leave. Camaraderie when on a hike easily builds. Stories have been told, details disclosed, lives explored. The trail has been an incredible experience. On the journey back to Paternoster, Morgan, who can't resist a moment to play, begins singing 'I did it my way” in true Sinatra style, until he reaches the end and gleefully inserts “I did it five bays”.

Ja, nee...

Get in Touch
For further details please contact:
086 187 2456 (Trails)
022 492 2750 (Cape West Coast biosphere Central Office)
022 451 2648 (Cape West Coast biosphere Hub R27)

Useful Links

• Paternoster Accommodation
• Jacobsbaai Accommodation
• Cape West Coast Accommodation
• Western Cape Accommodation

Karkloof Canopy Tour

The Karkloof Canopy Tour is probably the most well-known outdoor activity in the Natal Midlands, attracting people from all walks of life in search of the adventure of a lifetime. Situated amidst the beauty and greenery of the majestic Karkloof Valley, the tour involves traversing from one wooden platform to another along a pair of steel cables (with a two ton breaking strain) suspended high above the forest floor.

Those in the industry refer to this traversing as ‘zip lining’ because this is exactly what takes place as participants ‘zip’ along the cables at speeds of up to 80km/h. The Karkloof Canopy Tour has its roots in the balmy rainforests of Costa Rica where adventurous biologists, eager to record the diversity of animal life found at the canopy level of the forests, devised a system of cables and platforms that enabled them to explore this previously inaccessible ecosystem.

This new development soon heralded the onset of a breathtaking eco-tourism activity that not only allowed people access to the upper realm of a rainforest, but raised awareness of the many challenges that these endangered ecosystems face. Certainly there couldn’t be a more appropriate venue for the tour than the picturesque Karkloof Valley –home to some of the most spectacular scenery KwaZulu-Natal has to offer.

After arriving at The Karkloof Canopy Tour office I made my way to the assembly area where I, along with the rest of my tour party, received a customary safety briefing followed by the compulsory signing of an indemnity form. After being kitted out with a variety of equipment, which included harnesses, helmets and a pair of thick safety gloves, we boarded a Landcruiser and were driven to the starting point of our adventure.

Having a natural, almost primal fear of heights, I knew that traversing between the various platforms was going to present a tough challenge. In fact, I already knew that going ‘solo’ was likely to be impossible and it was for that reason that I requested a ‘tandem’ adventure where I would be accompanied by a trained guide at all times.

There are seven platforms and eight ‘foefi’ slides in all and after arriving at the first platform, our guides explained some basic techniques of the trade. In a nutshell these techniques involve pulling down gently on the cable to slow down and lifting your legs as you approach a platform so as to ensure a safe landing.

The first cable was quite short (about 30m) and basically constituted a practice run. Entrusting all braking manoeuvres to my guide (a standard procedure for the tandem adventure) I took the plunge and was soon whizzing along the cable. After reaching the second platform without a hitch I began to relax a little although I was still quite nervous considering the challenges that lay ahead.

But this merely proved to be the calm before the storm when I realised the second slide was a 170m monster with the valley floor seemingly thousands of feet below. If I had been a little scared before embarking on this adventure I was now absolutely terrified. With or without a guide it was now clear that just completing the tour was going to be a monumental challenge.

Somehow I summoned the courage to proceed and soon both my guide and I were traversing what seemed to be the entire expanse of the valley. Within seconds we were approaching the third platform but then what I had been dreading the most happened, my guide braked too early leaving both of us suspended in mid air still metres short of the third platform.

Too shocked to do anything I remained as calm as possible while my guide wriggled past me and skilfully hoisted me (along with the help of a colleague) onto the platform. While I was assured that this manoeuvre was all in a day’s work for the guides, I was still gripped by fear as my trembling legs could attest to.

After a couple of deep breathes and a silent prayer I was ready to proceed with my ‘Tarzan and Jane’ adventure although by now I was seriously beginning to wonder if I had bitten off more than I could chew. My fears proved to be unfounded though as I quickly grew accustomed to zipping along the cables, which is a tremendously exhilarating experience.

Soon we had come to the end of our adventure and while making the short walk back to the office I began to reflect on my experience. Billed as a ‘unique eco experience’ given the fact that guides are instructed to provide interesting facts about the forest ecology during the adventure, the Karkloof Canopy Tour is actually tailored more for out and out thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies than nature lovers.

My reasoning for this is that there is hardly any time to appreciate the beauty of nature while tearing along a steel cable at 80km/h. Your adrenaline is pumping so much that all your senses are heightened to such an extent that it becomes impossible to concentrate on individual aspects of your surroundings.

Only once you have reached a platform and have had time to gather your breath is it possible to take in the beauty that surrounds you. However, there’s a constant feeling of being rushed as you mentally prepare yourself for the next ‘dash between the tree tops’ and our guides, as friendly as they were, did not really mention much about the area’s flora and fauna.

Back at the office we were treated to a light lunch of juice, sandwiches and salad which was included in the tour price of R450 per person. For R150 extra you can request a CD containing photos (taken by the guides) of the outing.

If it’s purely thrills that you’re after then The Karkloof Canopy Tour is most certainly worth the money given the guaranteed adrenaline rush, but if you are a quite and cautious sort or if you have a genuine fear of heights, then this adventure could prove to be rather daunting. It’s also quite taxing on the body (whether you choose the ‘tandem’ option or not) requiring a fairly strong core to lift heavy legs as you shoot between the tree tops.

While I certainly don’t regret embarking on this activity given the thrills I experienced, I’m not sure if I’d do it again. It’s an adventure that’s not for the faint hearted and although all precautions are taken to ensure the safety of participants, the signing of an indemnity form means that there must be an element of risk involved, however small.

Contact details:
Tel: +27 (0)33 330 3415
Address: Karkloof Valley, Kwazulu-Natal Midlands

Useful Links:
Karkloof Accommodation
Karkloof Attractions
Natal Midlands Accommodation
KwaZulu Natal Accommodation

The Cape in a side car

There are a lot of things I've not done in Cape Town that the average tourist has. Exploring Cape Town through the eyes of a tourist can be as good as going on holiday elsewhere, a lot cheaper, and will earn you greenie points for saving on carbon emissions and for contributing to the local economy.

So this year over the Festive Season, why not try to explore the city as a tourist. Here is my choice list of things we'd like to do – not all of them fall in the Top 10 Things to do in Cape Town, but then they've also got to appeal to those who have lived here a while ...

Explore your own city:

Drive the Cape in a sidecar
Seriously, tell me you've not yearned to have a whirl in one of these before your more sensible side kicks in, and warns of the rather obvious perils involved. Bet you didn't know that you can organise a chauffeured tour in a vintage World War II sidecar through the Cape wine routes, along the peninsular or you can create your own itinerary – the choice is yours. A two-hour drive is probably going to set you back about a grand (they don't appear to offer cheaper, shorter rides), but wow, I think it's worth it – a marvellous birthday or Christmas gift idea for a special someone in your life. Or a self-treat, for a year well done.

Things to Do in Cape Town

Cape Malay Cooking Safari, Bo-Kaap
Andulela offers a series of cultural and culinary tours, one of which is a Cape Malay cooking safari priced at about R500 per person. Starting at the Bo-Kaap Museum you get to know the history of the area, take a stroll through the more historic streets, followed by a 'hands-on' informal cooking workshop in a local Bo-Kaap family home. You'll learn how to mix masala, fold samoosas and how best to produce a Cape Malay curry, after which you dig in and experience the meal for yourself. Fun? I think so. (Contact: +27(0)21 790‑2592)

Climbing Lion's Head at Full Moon
My all-time favourite activity despite having still to do it (which is probably why it's still a favourite; once I've seen the heights I am to scale, I may change my mind). Lion's Head is renowned for the incredible views out over Robben Island, the Atlantic Seaboard and the Blouberg beaches. The hour-long walk is extremely popular during the full moon. The climb though is pretty strenuous, and there are sections where your fear of heights and your rather tenuous grip on the mountain may result in early termination of said climb. But by all accounts it is worth it.

Sandboarding on the dunes of Atlantis or Silversands in Betty's Bay
This one is a rather active activity and one which, given that I've waited this long to give it a whirl, I reserve the right to back out of given my level of fitness. But I have to say that the idea appeals. I've not snowboarded, but they say that you require roughly the same skills to achieve sandboarding (how much can there be to it?) and both dunes are well worth travelling for. For the young-at-heart and the super fit, this is a tremendously fun outing.

Things to Do in Cape Town

Cape Town by foot
You can do this in a couple of ways, either by booking a tour guide through Cape Town Tourism, or you can pick up a couple of free self-guided walks that take one through the CBD, Sea Point and Vredehoek and do it yourself. Either way, you will get to experience a side of Cape Town that even the average local knows little about.  You can pick up the maps at Cape Town Tourism on Hout Street.

Visit the Berlin Wall
I did not even know that Cape Town had a bit of the Berlin Wall (segments of the Berlin Wall have been given to various institutions and countries since 1989). Our bit was at St George's Mall given to Nelson Mandela during the 1990s and placed outside the Mandela Rhodes Foundation at 150 St George's Mall. Judging by the online pictures and descriptions of the bit of wall, it has now moved to the Waterfront. It now lies beyond the Aquarium and V&A Hotel, past Mitchell's Brewery and then down a side street... worth going to find?

Taking the Topless Bus
My six-year old is constantly asking me to take him on the double-decker red bus he sees around town, and the hop-on-hop-off bus is a wonderful way in which to see the city, visitor or local. A one-day ticket costs between R110 and R150 (depending on whether or not there is a special on) and includes 17 great stops around the city. Considering the traffic in town, a seat at the top of one of these is worth every cent.

Things to Do in Cape Town

Tea at Mount Nelson
If you haven't done this, you have not yet lived. Tea at the Mount Nelson is an institution, and one that every visitor and local alike should experience. Served daily between 2.30pm and 5pm the array of cucumber sandwiches, cakes and pastries accompanied by loose leaf teas, will keep you happily ensconced on the veranda for hours. I've already been, but try and keep me away...

Horse riding on Noordhoek beach
There are a couple of horse-riding companies who make ponies available for riding on Noordhoek beach, one from Imhoff Farm close to the little village of Kommetjie that offer three rides daily from the Kommetjie side of Long Beach, and the other from the foot of Chapman's Peak that take rides onto the beach at Noordhoek via a series of wetlands. The ride will set you back roughly R400. (See Things to Do in Noordhoek)

Picnic at Vergelegen
Vergelegen wine estate is one of the oldest in Somerset West and provides a gorgeous setting under a forest of camphor trees in summer. Booking your pre-prepared picnic is essential, but the romance of the flowing white table cloths, the sound of water, the incredible ponds and streams and faerie world atmosphere is worth every cent. A wonderful outing for a special occasion or just to meet up with friends.

Things to Do in Cape Town

Sunset at Camps Bay
You cannot live in Cape Town and not experience at least an annual sunset on the Atlantic Ocean, preferably on one of the more beautiful beaches like Camps Bay and Llundudno. The Cape Doctor aside, head out on a good evening with sundowners and snacks and you will not be disappointed at Camps Bay Beach.

Learn to surf at Big Bay
This bay, near Table View, is said to be one of the best bays in which to learn to surf, and at least one of the surfing schools in the vicinity claims to get you standing and surfing within a day. A full-day programme will set you back between R500-R700.

Useful Links:
Things to Do in Cape Town
Cape Town Attractions
Cape Town Hotels
Cape Town Accommodation
Western Cape Accommodation

Rawdons Estate

Situated in the heart of the Midlands Meander and only a five minute drive from the N3 highway is Rawdon’s Estate, probably one of the oldest hospitality establishments on the Midlands. The first thing that struck me about Rawdon’s was its unique, old world charm.

Closely resembling an English country estate of a bygone era the establishment is furnished with a variety of prize antiques that create an atmosphere of class and sophistication. Walking through its numerous hallways and investigating its many nooks and crannies was an absolute delight and I especially enjoyed the countless, animated framed sketches that adorned the walls.

Although Rawdon’s is most famous for its pub, The Boars Head, where visitors from far and wide come to enjoy a pint (or two) of their favourite brew, it’s also home to a first class restaurant as I discovered when I dropped in for lunch recently.

After perusing through the menu I was tempted to request an offering of roast beef, roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding (R65) but I decided to select the de-boned Berg trout, known to be a speciality and a signature dish of the Midlands, instead. Although I found the taste a little unusual I rather liked the trout (R68) which also came with a hearty helping of vegetables and a garnish of your choice. My friend Mary-Anne, who had accompanied me for the afternoon along with my mom, also had the trout. She, too, enjoyed the dish although she did feel that had she applied less of her lemon and herb butter garnish (I opted for the garlic butter), she would have enjoyed it even more.

Considering this fish already has a rather unique flavour of its own, the key to a superb tasting trout seems to be the application of as little garnish as possible. However, since this was the first time either of us had eaten trout, we weren’t aware of quite how to proceed resulting in the rather over zealous application of our respective garnishes. Oh well, as they say you live and learn in this life and I’m pretty sure that both of us will keep this in mind next time we order trout.

My mom, who had a Greek salad (R32) as a starter, opted for the roast beef, roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding (which also came with a helping of vegetables) for her main course. She had nothing but good things to say about the meal, remarking that the beef was “exceptionally tender”, the potatoes “crispy and very tasty”, the Yorkshire pudding “light and fluffy”, and the veggies “nice and crunchy”.

After lunch Mary-Anne and I decided to take a leisurely stroll along Rawdons’ neatly manicured lawns. We soon ended up exploring further and were most impressed by the beautiful lake that teemed with various types of birdlife. It was certainly one of the most tranquil settings I had encountered during my travels around the Midlands and the perfect remedy to calm jangled nerves.

I really enjoyed my visit to Rawdon’s. The food was tasty and affordable, the service top notch, the atmosphere very relaxed and the hospitality first class thanks largely to the personal touch applied by senior manager George who has worked at the establishment for 52 years.

George is probably one of the friendliest souls a person is ever likely to meet and his welcoming attitude and hospitable nature made us all feel right at home. He is a credit both to Rawdon’s and the hospitality industry in general and I’m sure it won’t be long before I return to experience the good old fashioned service this popular Midlands venue has became famous for.

Contact details:
Telephone: +27 (0)33 266 6044
Physical address: Nottingham Road, Natal Midlands (off R103), KwaZulu Natal
Useful Links:

• Nottingham Road Accommodation
• Natal Midlands Attractions
• Natal Midlands Accommodation
• KwaZulu Natal Accommodation
• KwaZulu Natal Hotels

The Red Windmill

Eat, play, live at the nursery | garden shop | restaurant | play area | vintage shop ...

Just outside the town of Napier, en route to Bredasdorp, sits a beautiful old Cape Dutch farm house, just off the road, with a bright red roof and white gables and walls. To the side of it stands a red windmill, admittedly minus its blades, but that's a story for later.

The Red Windmill isn't the farmstall it first appears to be. Instead its something of a collection or collaboration of four independent shops under the umbrella of Red Windmill. I bump into Dee Robinson. She's drinking coffee on the stoep with Erica (of Dave's Country Kitchen) and Lesley (of Cool Beans sweets shop). Everyone's laughing and generally having a rather festive time. If this is what collaboration looks like, count me in.

It's late in the afternoon on a Sunday and the lunch rush is over. Dee explains how she just had to have the house when it came up for hire last year. “I've had my eye on this building since we arrived in Napier from Cape Town,” she smiles. “I didn't know what we were going to do with it, but I knew something would emerge.”

And emerge it has. Dee and husband Neal run a nursery and landscaping business that they brought with them from Cape Town from the side of the beautiful old house, since April 2010. Dee also runs a trendy antique clothing boutique filled with items from the 40s through to the 80s in one wing of the house, called Vintage, which she says attracts the young girls. You can pick up some gorgeous creations at really good prices.

“Our collaboration is really a wonderful idea,” elaborates Dee. “The minute Dave and Erica were available, we convinced them to come in with us at the Red Windmill, and it's great, as all of us bounce ideas off one another, and no one individual feels the stress of having to get it all right, there's a team spirit going on here.”

She is right. Friends and patrons alike are now seated outside under red umbrellas in amongst the scatter cushions on which Dee's two little jack russels are spreadeagled out in the sun. There is a relaxed atmosphere to the place that extends indoors where another group have settled in for afternoon tea.

Dave Spilhaus, of Dave's Country Kitchen has brought an added dimension to the affair, for what is a farmstall without food to sit and eat. A selection of breakfasts, tea time treats and lunch fare, including one of the only country menus I know offerring a bunny chow (home made bun filled with lamb curry), all served in a totally unpretentious environment, makes a stop here far more than a stroll through an indigenous nursery.

I follow Dee outside. She has countless ideas for the place and I sense that there is a large element of play to the way the team approach their days here at Red Windmill. Dee walks me through her, admittedly little, indigenouse and succulent nursery. “We do quite a bit of landscaping of gardens in the village,” she explains. I've already caught a glimpse of the feature Tuis&Home did about them, on the walls of the nursery.

We stroll (because in the country you don't walk anywhere briskly) past a water feature her husband Neal has just whipped together to beyond the nursery to a small forest of blue gum trees. “The farm is a working sweet potato and red onion farm,” she explains, “so it's a real working farm.” I agree that this gives it a sense of added vibrancy as we look out yonder to surrounding fields of wheat.

“Just here,” Dee indicates a clearing they've just made in a natural circle evident in amongst the trees, “is where we're going to lay the labyrinth.” Dee explains how every time she ventured out in amongst the trees it seemed to her that natural circles became evident, and that they were calling out for some sort of creation. “I woke one night and just realised that we had to put a labyrinth in here for people to walk. With these views out over the farm lands, it will just lovely.”

I agree, thinking back to the other labyrinths I've walked already – Boondocks just outside Nelspruit, The Edge in Hogsback, Bodhi Khaya just outside Gansbaai, all of them based on the Chatres Cathedral as Dee intends doing, and I wonder if each of their creators has been called to place them around the country; if they are to play a very necessary role in reconnecting us with our selves in an age where almost every other activity diverts us from the connection.

Whilst I imagine, Dee is already pointing to the out buildings where she wants to add a wine tasting element, and probably another shop as well as a couple of donkeys for children. Speaking of children. I nip round the front to see how the other parts of my family are doing, to find my son at play in amongst the jungle gyms and see saw with Jessica, Dave and Erica's two-year old. For the first time in memory, my son is displaying a gentleness I've not seen when interacting with other children, and I'm relieved to see it.

Back inside the house I explore Cool Beans. It's a lot as I imagine an old-fashioned sweet shop must have looked – glass jars filled with brightly coloured balls and other shapes and size sweets. I can imagine the average child easily gets lost in here, emerging with a brimming brown paper bag.

Inside the main building the nursery has also added a 'kitchen table', which is what gives the place its 'farmstall' element, filled with local jams, pickles, olive oils, free range eggs (if and when Dee's Koek Koek hens feel up to the occasion) etc. And one can hire the whole Red Windmill space for an event, where the space and wonderful food, the atmosphere of candle lit nights would make this positively unique.

And the headless windmill? Well, it took Dave and Neal long enough just to move the base to where it is. The blades will just have to wait until a certain truck is available. And this is the country. It could take a while...

Where to find them:

Addresss:  Sanddrif Farm, 3km from Napier en route Bredasdorp, Napier, South Africa
Telephone: +27 (0)28 423‑3576

Useful Links:

Napier Attractions
Things to Do in Napier
Napier Accommodation
Napier Bed and Breakfast Accommodation
Cape Agulhas Accommodation
Western Cape Hotels
Western Cape Accommodation

City Bowl Market

Is it just me, or has the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill in Cape Town become ridiculously busy, over priced and just plain unpleasant if you happen to arrive at any time past 9am, and who doesn't?

I'm the last one to knock the Neighbourgoods. They're a first-rate market — they've outlasted the very best, they've set the benchmark as far as excellent food markets go, and could rival any similar European market. But enough already. It's really time for another market in the city bowl...

Enter stage left – the City Bowl Market — situated on the rather obscure Hope Street in Gardens, which, not being a city bowl dweller myself, I managed to capably miss for twenty minutes before finally finding it (but I did get to drive around Gardens, which was lovely).

I must admit to being a little sceptical on setting out for the market. Cape Town has a lot of weekend food markets. Some of them have come and gone with alarming speed, whilst the stalwarts – like the Earthfair Market, the Porter Estate Market and the Neighbourgoods Market — have gone the distance. How can one more market carve a niche for itself?

That said, I arrive to find it housed in an absolutely gorgeous period building with a fantastic atmosphere – it's really unpretentious and relaxed, and people spill out of here as early as 10am with their baskets already filled with vegetables and fruit. Best of all, there is easy parking.

“We really welcome everyone,” says Madelen Johannson, the market's organiser who hails from Sweden, pointing out an enormous greyhound lurking around the vegetables with a smile. “Big or small, dog or cat, children and friends, this is not a niche market aimed at only a select segment of society.”

Madelen must be doing something right. For a market that's only been running for six months the place is heaving by lunch time, but not enough to make you want to grab your bag and make a run for it. There is a pleasant, laid-back feel to the way people shop here, and the space has an almost serene atmosphere about it.

I'm not surprised to learn that the building, which was built in 1926 and now belongs to Madelen's partner – Pug Roux – has served as a Jewish Synagogue and has been used as a meeting place for Jehovah's Witnesses, Hindus and most recently, by a Christian church who hire the hall from Pug during the week and on Sundays. Their combined efforts have created a building with a serene presence that definitely adds something to the market.

Trendy but unobtrusive music plays in the background, whilst the hall and the building have been cleverly used to make the most of the facilities. In the hall itself, the 20 to 25 stallholders' tables are laid out around a central eating area, where you can collapse on a series of hessian straw cushions at trestle tables, which are using doors as table tops, with your plate of food.

Upstairs in the gallery, originally used for the women of the Jewish Synagogue, they're serving Darling brew and wine, whilst there is another chill out area to the side of the hall with further shady nooks and crannies in which to sit and sip. I like the inner-city feel to the place.

Outside along the back of the hall, Madelen has put in a rather unobtrusive flat-screen television so that rugby and sports' fans don't have to miss out, and there's a collection of people and their dogs taking in the World Cup along the wall outside a little fashion stall that doesn't appear to be doing any business.

Out another door on the opposite side of the hall is a little garden with a children's jungle gym, and upstairs there's a further banquet hall, chandeliers hung from the ceiling, that hosts the once-a-month Fashion Market (held at the same time as the food market), which adds further sparkle and allure to the weekly event (reminder to self to attend the next one).

The food market's intention is for visitors to go home with all their weekly food needs satisfied. With local food markets like these, you'll only need the likes of Pick n Pay once a month, if you plan it right.

The vegetable and fruit stall ight at the front of the hall claims to handpick from farmers growing as organically and naturally as possible, but not necessarily certified. By the time I select my carton of strawberries and sweet potatoes there is a queue to pay for goods. I'm intrigued to see how they'll solve my dilemma: I've left my shopping bag in the car, but the stallholder smiles and offers me a cardboard box.

Just behind the vegetable and fruit stall there is an area for children where today they're doing sand art, in similar style to the Earthfair market in Tokai, whilst to my right is Cherene organics where we pick up a strawberry plant for my son's little vege patch at home.

Simply Wholesome sell free range chickens and other meat, Mich's Pantry is an ingenious glass jar mix for crunchies, choc chip cookies and brownies to which you need only add eggs, butter and milk and voila, you've a batch to take to the oven. She also sells the mix in glass jars, making them easily recyclable.

I pick up a few fish cakes that serve as lunch a little later, that come without egg or flour, from Havah Catering just below the coffee stall that has found its spot on stage, where Bean There coffee is poured liberally for a growing number of visitors intent on their morning fix. Some of them sit in groups on cushions on the stage.

A little further along on I come across Saszali's homemade chocolates, which, although a little pricey, seem worth every penny particularly as they come boxed and beautifully wrapped – ideal for Christmas gifts, if anyone needs any prompting. Saszali has also a range of specially designed cards, to match the individual flavour of the chocolates.

Calvin from Sashimi Tuna Steaks is a find, not only because his tuna steaks sell at really reasonable prices but because he's also really good at typography and while I chat to Madelen, he draws my son's name in larger-than-life letters.

There are breads, cheeses, take-away food, jams, Dr Juice who make a mean smoothie, Tai noodles, and a myriad other mouth-watering breakfast and lunch temptations, including a wonderful icecream stall where you can get a cone or tub for just R10.

As Madelen says, what the Neighbourgoods Market has done for Woodstock, this market could do for Gardens. As we leave, we drive down a narrow little avenue known as Glynville Terrace, filled with Victorian style terrace homes. Admittedly the neighbourhood needs a little work, but the prices of property here already reflect the general trend, and fashionable design studios and little restaurants are already making their presence felt.

It's not long now before Hope Street becomes a pivotal part of the scene in Cape Town, a place at which to meet up with friends, a trendy spot at which to hang out.

Where You Will Find It:

Address: 14 Hope Street, Gardens, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Telephone: +27 (0)73 270‑8043
Opening hours: Every Saturday between 9am and 2pm

Useful Links:

Gardens Attractions
Things to Do in Gardens
Gardens Accommodation
Gardens Guest Houses
Cape Town Guest Houses
Western Cape Accommodation
Western Cape Hotels

CocoáFair

There is a little more to CocoáFair than simply chocolate. For many of us just the promise of locally made, artisan, organic chocolate is enough of an invitation to have us reaching for a taste...and believe me, having sampled, it is a mouth-watering experience.

But Thor soon explains, as I query the name, that yes, CocoáFair is definitely about the fairness involved in the way the cocoa is traded, but the emphasis is also very much on the 'affair' with cocoa – not only the love of it, but the relationship of cocoa with the people who grow it, and the people who turn it into chocolate.

And an affair there most definitely is. On display on shelves to my right and left are bars of organic chocolate, pralines, truffles, a barrel filled with incredibly reasonably priced raw cacoa, organic sugar, and slivers of chocolate — bagged, and tied up with a ribbon.

I do not realise on entering the factory of CocoáFair, tucked into the corner at the Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, that I'm about to learn more about social entrepreneurship than I am about chocolate.

Thor, the Dane who has imagineered the CocoáFair brand into being, greets me at the entrance to the below street level factory with a firm handshake. Nearby is Marlon, who first introduced me to the chocolate at the local Obz market, Zuki, whose ever present shadow in the kitchen behind me is the proof that chocolate is slowly being produced, and Thor's Italian 'business' partner, Antonino (Tino to his friends).

Social entrepreneurship, Thor explains, has recently gained new meaning and is emerging at a rapid rate out of Europe and other countries where business now focuses on people, profit and planet.

I've heard the term 'people, profit, planet' bandied about quite a bit by some businesses who are not all that ethical about how they treat their people, but as Thor continues to explain, I begin to see the picture.

At CocoáFair the term translates into low price but high quality; an emphasis on the environment with systems already in place like using as little packaging as possible, and saving enormous amounts of water in a self-made mechanism (involving an old chest freezer, a black dustbin and several metres of copper piping) that recycles and cools the water necessary for making chocolate.

It is also about being organic, and more importantly about looking for social innovation, and giving value to people, so that the business improves the lives of many. Profit is important, obviously, so that reinvestment can occur, but the principle focus is on people.

Thor goes on to describe how the team are helping rebuild the cocoa industry in Uganda, which did not recover after the crops were destroyed under Idi Amin. “We aim to have the CocoáFair brand completely African. At the moment we're importing beans from Ghana, Peru, Equador and the Dominion Republic, but with the project in Uganda, things will change.”

“This is not a 'hand-out',” Thor continues, “our project will place the farmers in charge of the processing, so that they eventually own what is produced from cocoa beans in Uganda.” “Our intention is not only to buy cocoa beans from the individual farmers, but also vanilla pods, chilli, passion fruit — all used in the processing of the chocolate.”

The idea is that the Uganda project will begin processing their own products, like cocoa butter, from the beans, because a product immediately fetches greater value on the market, than raw cocoa beans.

Thor wants the farmers in the CocoáFair project to be equipped with the means to eventually own the products. He believes that this is the way out of poverty, through social entreprenuer projects, by which individual farmers collectively own the process of product production thus earning enough money to reinvest in further potential product production.

“But we need to put an infrastructure in place in Uganda”, Thor explains, which he believes starts at grass roots level with a Cocoa school that will make sure that children finish school, and are the best possible cocoa farmers because of it. At the moment, too many children are dropping out to help their parents produce cocoa for the market.

The ambitions of the project extend further still. Thor, whose background includes an ice cream chain in Denmark, intends taking the social enterprise to Denmark in 2012 where he will identify an underprivileged group and set up a similar project there, for the production of chocolate. A project that will use the cocoa beans and products coming out of Uganda.

Thor's idea is to get business and other interested parties involved as shareholders of the projects, so that he has money to invest in expanding the social projects. The idea is that, once it's worked in Cape Town and Copenhagen, they will get buy-in. Thor believes that social enterprises like this are the future.

I'm even more impressed when Thor begins outlining the little ways in which the project at the Biscuit Mill is a social entrepreneurship. Already the price of an organic bar of chocolate is more reasonable, at only R20 a 100g bar, despite being artisan and locally produced, than one can buy at Woolworths (who re-package the former Green & Blacks chocolate bar).

CocoáFair throw nothing away. All the shavings and 'waste' chocolate is mixed up to produce an organic chocolate which Thor intends selling in the townships at a ridiculous price of R1 for a bag of pralines.

He smiles when I exclaim at the cost. “In this way we can encourage entrepreneurship in the townships. When someone can then knock the price up and still sell a cheap bag of first-rate chocolate, then we're improving the lives of people – both those who sell and those who eat the healthier product.”

In a similar vein he intends bringing the price of the healthier chocolate down. One of the ways of reinvesting in people, CocoáFair believes, is to lower the cost of the healthier chocolates – so the 95% and 75% cocoa chocolate bars – so that they are more accessible to the average person, and not just those of us who can afford them.

And then there is Zuki Balata, whose dream, when she was interviewed by Thor, is to own her own chocolate shop. Zuki may have started by cleaning up, but she is fast learning the ins and outs of chocolate production, and soon Thor and CocoáFair will help Zuki realise her dream, when they open a shop in Woodstock.

I think I'm inlove with the concept of social entrepreneurship the way that CocoáFair is doing it.

Ask yourself: “If I want to buy a piece of chocolate and I stand in front of two chocolate shops. They are completely equal when it comes to quality, price, product etc. The only difference between them is the business model. Shop A is a social enterprise and shop B is a full profit orientated business enterprise. Which one would I enter?”

For the visitor:

• Visit -  CocoáFair at the Biscuit Mill, 373 – 375 Albert Road, Old Biscuit Mill, Woodstock, Monday to Saturday
• Tour — either for a group or a school through the workshop
• Kiddies' parties – think Mr Wonka and Charlie, and a river of chocolate, they get to eat as much as they can and have fun!
• Learn – attend a 3–4 hour chocolate course

CocoáFair is the first organic bean-to-bar chocolate factory in Africa based on social entrepreneurship.

Useful Links

Woodstock Attractions
Things to Do in Woodstock
Woodstock Accommodation
Cape Town Accommodation

Kamers vol Geskenke

If there is one event you attend for all your Christmas gift shopping, then make it Kamers vol Geskenke at Lourensford wine estate in Somerset West, happening now: until 29 October, 9am to 6pm daily.

I'm just back from three hours of soaking up the ambiance of a market that gives new meaning to the word 'craft'. The recent term for this type of craft is 'high-end craft' (there's that word again, but obviously it is irreplaceable). So, don't expect to see hand-knitted jerseys and wooden toys as you might at your average local craft market.

'High-end craft' describes originally designed, timeless 'craft' that could easily, and does, grace the shelves of local boutiques as they open all over the country to cater for this burgeoning community of artists who combine contemporary creativity with inspired talent to arrive at a level of flair and ingenuity that inspires all who pass through the rooms of this event ...

Behind the event is the philosophy if share, support, believe, and the group of eight women who pull this amazing annual feat off want those who visit to feel as passionate as they do about the idea of a gathering of people who come together to share and collaborate on ideas and creativity.

There's also a lovely play on the idea of feminine energy, which subtly permeates the stalls (most of the crafters are women, although not all). But for all the good will, honesty, elegance and freshness of the ethos of the market, there is also an adept selection team with an eye for what their market will respond to.

Every stall here has gone through a rather rigorous selection process, having to literally 'audition' for their place at Kamers, before being hand picked. The team emphasise individual style and original products and have established themselves so solidly over the last nine years, that to exhibit at Kamers now places you very firmly in the market. It's the Debutante's ball of the craft world.

The team is already taking in photos of ranges for next year's Kamers.

Around me were, mostly women, of all ages and sizes, all of them exclaiming over some item of clothing, or inspired gift, piece of jewellery or unique idea. Alternative music styles washed over me as I moved from marquee to marquee, none of it clashing, but yet providing a constant happy background noise.

The event lies just beyond the polo fields of Lourensford, panoramic mountain views providing a superb backdrop, whilst the marquees, supplied by Downings, are given names like 'carousel of creativity', Kamers fantasie and Kamers kombuis.

A friend who exhibited last year comments on the annual theme. Last year's was enchanted forest, this year's – carousel of creativity. It's a cute idea, but not really necessary, as the stallholders wares speak for themselves.

But nothing prepares me for the way in which the stalls are set up, decorated and presented. Stalls look more like shops than stalls. There is no evidence of having simply grabbed the nearest table cloth as decoration to offset their wares. Exhibitors have brought in furniture, carpets, floor décor, chests of drawers, hat stands and racks to offset their products at their best. I'm impressed.

Claris at the Potters Gallery tells me how the first day of this year's event, yesterday, was a little chaotic for her. “There was something of a frenzy to the day,” she says, and we muze that perhaps it was because it was the first day and buyers were intent on getting to the best buys first.

There is also the 'opening night' that sounds well worth attending. You might pay over double on the usual entrance fee (to get into the event one pays R45) but you get to browse, unharried by crowds, a glass of wine in your hand. And, of course, you're one of the first there, so you get your pick of the merchandise.

Not that I felt I had lost anything by arriving on day two. Leslie, an artist friend also exhibiting and into whom I unwittingly bump, is on her way to do present wrapping duty. “They're very nice about it,” she laughingly says, referring to the event's organisers, “they're just rather insistent as to your enthusiasm for volunteering to wrap gifts.” Leslie is referring to the stall where one can gift wrap presents for R15 a present.

She also comments on how the prices remain do-able. And I must agree. One obviously pays for quality – these are clearly not items brought in from China – but the prices are good and I easily find affordable gifts for my family and friends.

Halfway through I stumble upon an old school colleague (does one have colleagues at school??) and recognise her immediately. She doesn't know me, but it's one of those embarassing moments where, being ahead of me at school, I most certainly remember her, and I have to make peace with my overzealous memory for faces and the ability to embarrass myself by admitting to a school girl 'crush' at my age.

Be that as it may, Lovell is a volunteer with Woza Moya, one of the initiatives at Kamers this year. It's an income generating project of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust and helps the families of men and women affected by providing them with craft work that sustains them.

In the same marquee, I pounce on a few beautiful mugs and teapots by another income generating project, this one run by a mother-daughter team and called Nellie (I obviously have a soft spot for projects), but these are not all that I buy.

I leave laden with hats by Gypsey Lin (who have some incredible locally made sandals worth hunting down), t-shirts by the design team, ebony and ivory and lucky friday, mugs by Nellie, ceramics, and an ingenious series of vinyl wall art words by plak it.

I've not even had time to sample any of the food, before we're in the car and heading back to Cape Town at a sedate pace, the car filled with happy talk whilst we compare notes on the various stalls. Money and time well spent.

As one of the event's visitors was heard to say: “I can't describe it better than as a 'reservoir of creativity'.

Lourensford Wine Estate lies 45 kms from Cape Town in Lourensford Road just past the Erinvale Golf Estate.

Event Dates:

CAPE TOWN:
Venue: Lourensford Estate
Times: Monday — 17h00 to 20h00, Tuesday to Saturday — 09h00 to 18h00

GAUTENG:
Venue: The Open Window School of Visual Communication, Irene, Pretoria
Times: Monday — 17h00 to 20h00, Tuesday to Saturday — 09h00 to 18h00

Useful Links

• Somerset West Attractions
• Somerset West Hotels
• Somerset West Accommodation
• Things to Do in Somerset West
• Western Cape Accommodation

Spring Holiday Time

Spring is sprung, summer is on the way, and school is out – the great outdoors is a feast of places and spaces awaiting exploration, and Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in which to do great things.

We've selected a series of great spots in which to have a wonderful time, most of them child-friendly, but not necessarily all — sometimes grown-ups just want to have fun on their own...

Perfect picnic spots

Kirstenbosch – arguably the most popular weekend picnic haunt in the city, you're probably better seeking out an alternative on a hot summer's weekend day if you want to beat the crowds, but still the most gorgeous spot imaginable. Spill out on lawns, benches, in the magical Dell or in the higher reaches of the gardens.

Location: Rhodes Drive, Newlands

Spring Holiday Time

Harold Porter – one of Cape Town's better kept secrets (mostly because it isn't in Cape Town), this botanical garden is located just outside Betty's Bay. The coastal drive along the R44 is as mesmerising as the incredible series of gardens, in amongst which you can picnic. Peace, serenity, gorgeous views and not many people are yours for the taking. Include Stony Point, just off Betty's Bay, to see penguins in action.

Location: cnr Clarence Drive and Broadwith Road, Betty's Bay

Imhoff Farm – a great space in which to eat, shop and be, Imhoff Farm has a series of restaurants and shops around a lot of green grassy areas perfect for a picnic. Time your picnic for the first Saturday of every month when there is a market in the Imhoff couryard, selling local foods and crafts.

Location: On the M65 between Fish Hoek and Kommetjie

Spring Holiday Time

Noordhoek Farm Village – another great village atmosphere at which to hang out, where restaurants include the Foodbarn bakery and deli, and The Toad in the Village. Whilst this isn't a 'bring your own' picnic idea, you can stock up on delicious items from the Foodbarn, and head down to Noordhoek beach for fun in the sun.

Location: Chapman's Peak Drive, Noordhoek

Schusterskraal, Scarborough – Parallel to Scarborough Beach, which lies in Schusters Kraal bay, just outside the rather eclectic village of roughly 400 houses or so, Schusterskraal is a little far for most folk, but worth it if you want a day away from the crowds. You even get to take your dogs along.

Location: Drive towards Scarborough Beach but take last road left to picnic site

Spring Holiday Time

Vergelegen – admittedly not a bring-your-own picnic venue, Vergelegen is a rather expensive picnic out with friends and family, but worth every cent. Phone ahead to book your picnic (there are limited numbers) and spend your time under a series of camphor trees in a forest of camphor trees; the setting is sublime.

Location: Vergelegen Wine Estate, Lourensford Road, Somerset West

Terrific towns within easy reach of Cape Town

Riebeek Kasteel – picture perfect little spot in the heart of the Swartland, amidst a series of olive groves, mountains, vineyards and charming country cottages, guest houses, quirky shops and restaurants. Great for a drive, lunch and lazy afternoon to mozy around the town.

How to get there: N7 to Malmesbury, then the R46 to Riebeek Kasteel

Spring Holiday Time

Grabouw – perfect weekend escape, Grabouw lies in the midst of apple and fruit growing country, surrounded by various farm stalls and country estates. The town rests in the Elgin Valley where there is so much to do that you'll need a weekend at the very least to do it any justice. Go for the surrounds and the weekend guest house escapes.

How to get there: Just on the other side of St Lowry's Pass, in the Overberg

Vermont – sleepy seaside village, except during school holidays, Vermont lies just a little closer to Cape Town than Hermanus, a wonderful weekend escape and perfect with children for the myriad tidal pools. Make sure you take in the Hermanuspietersfontein food market at the Hemel en Aarde Village in Onrus on Saturday mornings.

How to get there: Take the N2 to bot River, and then the R43 to Vermont

Spring Holiday Time

Philadelphia – great day's escape from Cape Town, Philadelphia has retained it's 'village in the middle of nowhere' atmosphere and remains picture-card perfect. The town is designed around a pretty NG church, is small, and lies in amongst farmland. Visit the quirky shops, the Pepper Tree Art Stable and Coffee Shop, or De Malle Meul for a wonderful lunch or tea.

How to get there: Take the N7, look out for the turn to the right

Captivating cafés at which to eat

Eight at Spier – a farm-to-table eating experience, Eight has been described as the 'Rolls Royce of ethical restaurants' – food is either grown at Spier or sourced from local farmers, is of the organic variety as much as possible, and tastes fabulous. It also doesn't break the budget. The décor is simple, uses recycled and ethical material as much as possible, and is also child-friendly, spilling out into the garden with tables under umbrellas.

Spring Holiday Time

Address: Take the R310 to Stellenbosch, Eight is on the Spier wine estate and open Tues – Sun for brunch, lunch and tea

Cape Farmhouse – this is an 'on the farm' feeling without having to travel that far from the city bowl. Cape Farmhouse lies surrounded by mountains, oak trees, fynbos and the calls of birds just a few kilometres south of Scarborough. The 250-year old farmhouse serves up delicious meals and teas, with play areas for children. It's a wonderful day's outing.

Address: Find it at the junction of M66 and M65, bottom of Redhill Road, Scarborough

Oude Molen Millstone Café – the perfect summer venue away from the madding crowds, find breads from wood fired ovens, great coffees, freshly squeezed juices, organic garden produce, home-made preserves and jams and a menu to match. The play area in and under the huge tree makes for a relaxing time for parents, whilst the garden is sublime.

Address: Alexandra Road, Oude Molen Eco Village, Pinelands

Spring Holiday Time

Deer Park Café – you head here to meet people and give your children space to run around. Lying in the heart of Vredehoek at one end of Rocklands park, the Deer Park Café has inside and outside seating, friendly staff and great food with some serious vegetarian options and a kiddie menu. Makes hanging out in the city bowl a pleasure.

Address: 2 Deer Park Avenue, Vredehoek

Octopus' Garden – St James is a wonderful space in which to be anyway, but add a fun restaurant like the Octopus' Garden and you have an assured successful outing. The décor is 'fantastically quirky' and fondly described as 'Alice in Wonderland crossed with Under the sea' with a rather eclectic mix of brightly painted rooms filled with knick knacks and a play area outside.

Address: Main Road St James, Old Post Office Building

Spring Holiday Time

Starlings Café – if 'doing lunch, brunch or tea' with the ladies (and trendy gents) of the southern suburbs in amongst the trees of a beautiful garden is your kind of thing, then Starlings is your hangout. Whilst not child-friendly, it is popular, the views of the skies amazing, and the food is excellent. Service is relaxed and friendly. It's a great space in which to catch up with a friend, or your older children.

Address: 94 Belvedere Road, Claremont

And just in case your itinerary needs something a little extra, here's a list of:

Tantalising tidal pools

• St James' tidal pool
• Miller's Point
• Glencairn tidal pool
• Sea Point swimming pool (not a tidal pool, it's true, but fun nonetheless)

Useful Links

Cape Town Attractions
Things to Do in Cape Town
Cape Town Accommodation
Western Cape Accommodation

Sabie Valley Coffee

Let me start by dispelling a few coffee myths: you shouldn't store ground coffee in the fridge but in an airtight container, decaf coffee is punted by the industry because it retails at a higher price not because it's healthier for you, instant coffee is usually chicory and Robusta coffee (cheaper to produce, inferior taste, higher in caffeine) not Arabica, and there is no money to be made in growing coffee crops in South Africa.

Today coffee crops cost more than any other agricultural crop in the country. South Africa used to grow lots of coffee during the '70s and '80s, but today, remarkably, the Sabie farm runs at a loss, something Tim freely admits. It is the roastery, the retail and distribution of coffee around the country to enthusiastic local coffee supporters that keep Sabie afloat.

All this, and more, I learn in a relatively short space of time from a remarkably personable Tim Buckland (no relation to famous mime artist, Andrew, I checked), the owner of Sabie Valley Coffee who does weekly coffee tours of his roastery in the Lowveld.

Sabie Valley Coffee roastery and coffee shop lie in a rather obscure looking building that doesn't exactly invite 'oohs' and 'ahs', particularly on an uncharacteristically misty day, the rain coming down enough to attract vast quantities of mud and drenched umbrellas to the front seat of the car, which my five-year old insists on using as his springboard to the back seat.

I'm a little disappointed by the façade of the building (spoilt by all those Cape Dutch wine farms back home), but decide this is definitely not enough to deter me from a dry interior and the chance to learn more about how coffee is roasted locally. Besides, there's that old adage – don't judge a book...

The coffee shop and roastery lie on the R536 between Hazyview and Sabie, but closer to the Hazyview side, just a little further, in fact, than the Windmill Wine Shop (if you're coming from Sabie and want to do wine and coffee together).

Sabie Valley is not the only coffee farm in South Africa. There are a few in KZN, but generally the industry in South Africa has all but gone under for various reasons – it's labour intensive, it's cheaper to import coffee, the coffee roasting industry is full of, to quote Time, scullduggery, and solely growing green coffee (the beans) that is then supplied to local merchants is not lucrative.

Sabie Valley is still flourishing because Tim and his wife Kim thought outside the box and decided to develop their own unique roasting technique (they had to as no-one in the roasting industry exactly invited them to come and learn how to do it), began to sell their own coffee brand, and opened a coffee shop that gives coffee tours on average once a week.

Despite not growing for anyone other than their own roastery, the Bucklands still produce a whopping 50 tons a year. The eight hectares of Sabie coffee plant only Arabica coffee beans, which they harvest between March and May, using only women to handpick the seeds.

As we move outside, the rain had abated enough to take in the beautiful veranda, tree-filled garden on the banks of the Sabie River, and the baby coffee bushes growing infront of us. We study the young Arabica bushes that take about two years to bear fruit, the seeds of which take roughly six to seven months to develop and once mature, are a healthy red and ready for harvest.

It takes 400–500 cherries to make a 250g bag of coffee. I swallow hard. No wonder we're importing coffee from South America and North Africa, even if some of it is organic and Fairtrade. I make a mental note to support local coffee instead.

By now the smell of coffee roasting is threatening to do me in if I can't either get closer to it, or drink it. Tim invites us all (the group is fairly big, about 20 of us) into his roastery. It's off to the side of the coffee shop, behind a glass door so that you can hear the sound of his roaster and smell the effects of roasting coffee beans. If you haven't already ordered a cuppa, you will after being exposed to the aroma.

Tim waxes lyrical. There is no doubt that he loves doing this. He speaks about the chemical reaction that occurs at 240 degrees where heat converts proteins contained in the coffee beans into aromatic oils. He talks about the different colours of the coffee that equates with different strengths of the drink, and he mentions how important it is to cool the beans quickly so that they retain their flavour.

He also forbids any of us, quite firmly, to stick how hands into the now warm beans as the beans in this form are unstable, and it is a processed food that can become contaminated. He uses a giant wooden paddle to cool the beans by shifting them gently around.

The roastery is not large. There is one operating roaster, the table onto which the beans are then placed, and then bags and bags of beans around us. The bags of raw beans last up to two years as the caffeine in them is not yet active, provided they aren't wet. The minute they are roasted they become perishable.

Tim spends quite some time on 100% Arabica coffee. He ventures that many supermarket chains do not sell Arabica, opting instead for cheaper, faster moving equivalents that are a blend of coffees, including Robusta.

I check my coffee on coming home and find that it is definitely 100% Arabica. Most of the coffees in my local are too. Perhaps this was something of the past and consumers have become more demanding?

Things get really interesting when he begins to talk about the different roasts and the fact that if you are sensitive to caffeine, as I am, you should buy an espresso roast and put it in your cafetiere, and that one should grind for one's method of making coffee. So if using an espresso machine, your beans will be ground until very fine.

He also advocates grinding your own beans as then you can drink coffee not only at its freshest, but nothing else has gone into the grind, like fillers. But I'm not sure that the Woolworths' of this world would get away with bulking up the coffees they sell as 100% Arabica.

The really interesting coffee tour now at an end, all questions asked, and much smelling of coffee beans later, we file through to find coffee and the most delicious chocolate cake known to man at our table places in the coffee shop.

How to Order:

Sabie coffee only roasts to order. Their medium roast, bushveld roast, dark roast and espresso are available at Lowveld Spars, private game lodges, restaurants, guest houses and coffee shops. But they also post to individuals nationally at competitive prices. You can order online: http://www.sabievalleycoffee.com/categories/Coffee-Roasts/

Where to Find Them:

You will find Sabie Coffee roughly 10 kilometres from Hazyview on the R536.
Telephone Sabie Valley Coffee on +27 (0)13 737‑8169 for further details

Useful Sabie Links:

Sabie Attractions
Things to Do in Sabie
Sabie Accommodation
Sabie Guest Houses
Sabie Events
Mpumalanga Hotels
Mpumalanga Accommodation

Casterbridge

White River is linked to Nelspruit by the R40. The two towns are so close (20 minutes' drive) that it is only time before they merge, incorporating the rather innocuous Rocky Drift that at the moment serves as a buffer between them.

The secret to travel, anywhere, is to do as the locals do – 'when in Rome' and all that. I realise more and more that it isn't about reading travel brochures – they'll send you where they want you to go – but following the trail of locals, as they'll lead you to spaces and places where spending your hard-earned dosh will feel that much more rewarding.

And so we ask around Nelspruit before leaving for White River. Locals unanimously agree that when in White River, Casterbridge is the place to be. When we finally get to White River it is heartening to see that, despite its being a week day, the Casterbridge Lifestyle Centre's parking lot is already obviously filling up.

Calling it a lifestyle centre is a little misleading though, as it brings to mind a mall of sorts, which it isn't. It gives the appearance at first of being on the grounds of an old farm. The buildings are all beautifully overhung with ivy and creepers, the gardens are reminiscent of those of the Palace of Versailles (in a far more diminutive way, of course) and there are enough trees dotted in and around the series of buildings to add to the feeling of being on a farm.

Casterbridge lies on a slight rise just outside of town. It began, I believe, as a motor museum, which is still there and really worth a visit. But today the centre is an assemblage of shops and restaurants, a couple of art galleries, antiques, a cinema, a pilates studio and spa, a boutique hotel and a series of offices one can use as one's base (bags the corner office, close to a tea shop!)

I find that my eyes kind of glaze over at most of the boutique style shops until I stumble upon Africa Joy. I've already got my camera poised for some shots of the eclectic mix of gifts, décor, jewellery and other nick nacks, all original, local and supporting either a community upliftment project or eco friendly in some way, when Marlize strolls in.

This is Marlize's shop. She and Dudu run things, but it is Marlize, whose background is in design and architecture, who has put it all together. She shows me her Fullcycle worm bin, which she keeps just outside the shop, and says that one of the reasons she chose this shop was because she could keep the worms there. I get the impression that she's intent on roping in everyone in the centre to recycling their organic waste, and am impressed at her ambition.

I'm really taken with her shop and this side of the centre. It is tucked way at the back, just opposite the entrance to the hotel and, admittedly, there must be many visitors who don't even venture down the corridors beyond the initial restaurants and tea rooms, nut and flower shops to this side of things. However, it is just beyond the motor museum, to which I am dragged, midway through my exploration, by my overly-eager son who wants to show me a couple of the cars.

It's a remarkably informal set-up – simply a series of, admittedly awesome, cars lined up down the two sides of a warehouse, and what seems to be a couple of offices above them. You can enter, stroll around, and leave, without any of the usual 'museum' formalities. It's fun.

Just across from Africa Joy is Rottcher Wineries Avalencia, orange wine for the tasting. I've heard a lot about wine made from oranges here in the Lowveld, and I'm quite keen to hear more about it. They are not the only orange winery in South Africa, but they are the oldest, and the shop also serves as their cellar where oranges are fermented to produce a sweet drink that is something like port, and which I find I don't enjoy, much to my dismay as the concept of drinking wine made from oranges rather tickles my fancy.

It does come served in the loveliest clay, stoppered flask made by the potter across the corridor from here, Antjie Newton, who creates mainly tableware in her high fired ovens in beautiful earthy colours.

Just down from Antjie Newton's studio is the White River Art Gallery, presently exhibiting a selection of prints by artists from The Artists' Press, called the Art of the Lithograph. Marlize has impressed upon me to visit.

I am entranced by Judith Mason's Pomegranate print, a seven-colour lithograph that I immediately want to own. I sit doing rough calculations as to whether or not the budget can possibly be stretched to accommodate a limited edition print, whilst my husband paces nervously behind me. I finally decide to simply enjoy the exhibition for its beauty and simplicity, rather than trying to own a piece of it.

The Artists' Press began in 1991 when Mark Attwood met David Koloane and Sandy Burnett. The group of artists began meeting at the Fordsburg Artists' Studios in Newtown, Johannesburg. Today, work editioned by the studio graces collections all over the world, including the Museum of Modern Art (NYC), the Smithsonian Institute, the SA National Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and numerous others, including individual's private collections.

The main thrust behind the Artist's Press is to introduce South African printmaking to global audiences, to give artists the chance to collaborate with master printers, to produce high quality original prints, and to introduce artists to print techniques, often a new medium for many of them.

My overall impression of the gallery is that it is unassuming and unpretentious, its walls allowing the art to speak for itself, the sun streaming in from high windows  not enough to distort one's appreciation of the art. On the other side of a concrete box room that acts as a room divider, an artist sits working in what can only be deemed a studio. But it gives visitors like me the chance to peek.

Just outside is an artfully placed children's play area with a swing and jungle gym. On the far side of the quadrangle, another restaurant. In keeping with Thomas Hardy's Mayor of Casterbridge (based on the town of Dorchester in Dorset), which is considered one of Hardy's best works, the Casterbridge Centre is easily the highlight of a visit to White River.

White River Links

• White River Attractions
• Things to Do in White River
• White River Hotels
• White River Accommodation
• Mpumalanga Accommodation

Le Pâtissier

Croissants, country ham, quiche Lorraine, pastries that include apple turnover, Belgian milk tart, chocolate eclair, Danish eight, apple frangipane, custard slice; Belgian breakfast with an assortment of cheeses, croissant or pain au chocolat, health bread sandwiches, artisan breads of every description, and coffee to die for...

Hazyview, when we get there, is busy. That it rests just outside the Kruger National Park is doubtless the reason, particularly as every second vehicle is some rendition of the safari jeep; the type with staggered rows of seating reminiscent of a mini-theatre on wheels – 'ta da, we're here to see wild life!'

As a town that centres around Kruger tourism one obviously needs to be aware of the little tourist traps, like Hazyview's Rondevous Centre, a fine spot to stop if you're intent on booking a safari or a tour of the Kruger, but the second-hand bookshop has prices that would make even Capetonians grumble, and the little clothing boutique is fine if you're shopping with gran.

But drive a little further along Main Road (with Nelspruit behind you) and you'll reach the corner of Sabie Road where rests Perry's Bridge Centre, a collection of shops, boutiques and restaurants that doesn't resemble a mall, which is refreshing. It also shies away from any chain stores, other than a Pappa's pizza pasteria, and even boasts a brewery.

The place is so obviously popular that parking your car in the tree-laden parking area is difficult. Children run helter skelter, there's a man chasing a pig (a pig!) that is obviously not his — given his rather patient and tedious manner it clearly belongs to his boss — and people are milling around under trees. Perhaps it is merely that I'm driving a huge car that isn't mine that entails finding at least two adjacent parking spaces in which to swing in order to park it at all that makes it appear busier than it is.

To one side is the popular Trading Post but we explore a little deeper into the centre and discover Le Pâtissier, Hazyview's Belgian Baker. It's worth holding out for. The place inside is teeming. It isn't hard to imagine why. One side of the shop is given over to the bakery, the shelves lined with various assortments of freshly baked artisan breads, cakes, pies and Danish pastries.

The woman behind the counter is happy to chat in-between serving customers, but my getting a word in is difficult as people are constantly buying – who can resist a Danish, huh?. Ilse turns out to be the other half of the Merchiers' team, the woman who nudged Gérard, her bored husband, from retirement back into the business of baking in a bid to get him out from under her feet. Now, she in turn, is enrolled in dishing out Danish.

Gérard hasn't had a chance before now to practise as a baker in South Africa. After training as a baker for many years, he ran a bakery in Brussels for 10 years, but on coming to South Africa he chose instead to run the local Spar in Hazyview. It was here that he met Ilse, originally from the Congo. On retirement he began toying with the idea of a bakery again. And what a good thing he did.

To one side of the shop is the working bakery, where a group of about three bakers is busy rolling and pummelling dough into various shapes and sizes. The bakery uses no chemicals, enhancers or preservatives. It also uses only the best and most local ingredients – butter, full-cream milk and sugar — and everything is baked on the premises. Watching them is a treat too, and they obviously enjoy what they do, which makes my enjoyment of the food that much greater – happy bakers=happy food.

Gérard is absent, but then I suppose that is excusable, given that he's been in the bakery since 2am (not the usual 4am start, his wife explains to me) and keeps a tight control over everything. He is apparently given to returning home at 11, so we've only just missed him. But I don't need to see him to realise his worth as a baker. The proof is in the pudding, literally, as, when we do order, his wares are so obviously some of the best in the country.

The bakery was originally a wine shop that used to serve cheese platters to go with wine tasting. Gérard began baking bread from home for the shop. Before long he was invited to come and bake on the premises, where he shared the wine shop. It took a while, Ilse tells me, before a journalist wrote a story in the Sunday Times, and they suddenly hit the big time.

Business just 'took off' and since then, they've taken over the wine shop, and when the shop next door became available, they occupied that space as well. It's now filled with chocolate, sweets, dried fruits and nuts and other foods you'd expect to find in a deli.

We nab a table on the verandah. It's a bit of a dicey choice as the clouds are threatening rain, but we manage to find a table under cover whilst listening to the table alongside us heatedly debate over which of the waterfalls around Sabie they have seen, and which were the best. My consensus, by halfway through the debate, is that they've seen so many waterfalls they can't remember half of them. Definitely time for a coffee.

I order a decaf whilst my son and other half order a hot chocolate and coffee a piece. Between us we share a chocolate éclair and a Danish that spoil all other Danish pastries (except for those at Olympia Bakery in Kalk Bay – I remain loyal) and stumble out of there, distinctly the better for the experience.

Whilst at Perry's Bridge, take time to stroll the grounds and visit the various curio shops, galleries and adventure booking office. Just behind Morse Nurseries is Perry's Bridge Reptile Park with quite an amazing collection of snakes, tortoises, frogs and even a huge crocodile. Try and make the snake handler's display as his mixture of stories and facts give one a new found respect for reptiles. And the silk shop that includes mopani worm silk, a rougher textured silk that is great for throws, rugs and shawls.

Hazyview Links

• Hazyview Accommodation
• Hazyview Hotels
• Hazyview Attractions
• Things to Do in Hazyview
• Mpumalanga Hotels
• Mpumalanga Accommodation

Kruger National Park

The Kruger National Park is undoubtedly THE place to be when it comes to seeing game in what should be their natural environment.  Even if during school holidays the number of people entering the park is questionable, traffic fairly congested, and the tendency of individuals to do silly things like feed hyenas and monkeys (now a constant pest in various rest camps) a sign that even in the Kruger, humans are encroaching on the freedom of the animals within. Despite this Kruger Park is a fantastic experience.

One of the world's largest game parks, Kruger has received a  myriad accolades for nature conservation and, more recently, has begun lowering fences that separate the park from neighbouring reserves, allowing the wildlife within even greater access to land and water, and increasing the chance to spot game.

But entering the park for the first time can be a little overwhelming. There are over nine entry points into the park and information on Kruger Park accommodation and the park in general is sometimes confusing.

We've put together a few tips and guidelines to help.

When at Kruger, what to remember:

• 50 km/hr speed limit — whilst the distances between camps might not sound a lot, the speed limit in the park is 50 km/hr on tar roads, so allow roughly 2.5 hours between camps for game viewing. Oh, and, stick to the limit, it's there for a reason...something to do with consideration for animals
• up with the birds – the general consensus is that getting out at dawn is almost guaranteed to reveal the best game, however, when we were there during winter, this was not the case; some of the best game spotting was during the mid-morning.
• dams, hides and picnic spots – you can break your drives by stopping at these, and some of them prove really great game viewing spots, particularly the dams and hides
• take your own – food (restaurants and shops provide only average and expensive meals), bath plugs, torches, insect repellent, sun block, hats and hiking boots
• take advantage of the night drives and guided walking trails – the night drives in particular need to be booked in advance and are well worth it. Each park has a different rate, so do your homework and book at those that charge a little less
• car hire at Skukuza – should your car break down, or if you are part of a tour
• petrol – the larger rest camps provide fuel
• remember to recycle – the park has prominent recycling bins at gates and rest camps

The difference between bush camps, rest camps, private camps,
and private lodges and camps

The rest camps and bush camps are fairly similar to look at, but are inherently different. The rest camps are – Skukuza, Balule, Pretoriuskop, Berg-en-Dal, Satara, Lower Sabie, Punda Maria, Shingwedzi, Olifants, Mopane, Tamboti, Orpen, Malelane, Maroela and Crocodile Bridge. At each of these are bungalows, camping and sometimes chalets, guest houses and tented camps, restaurants, shops and even the odd evening film.

The bush camps, sometimes referred to as bushveld camps, are quieter and more remote rest camps, also with their own toilets and kitchen facilities, but without shops or restaurants. There is no camping available, and thus the general rush of people that usually descend on the rest camps for lunch, are not allowed into the bush camps. These include Bateleur, Biyamiti, Shimuwini, Sirheni and Talamati. They're generally quieter and more remote.

Private camps are usually for groups of visitors and include Boulders, Malelane, Tsendze rustic campsite and Roodewal. These are usually booked up months in advance, for obvious reasons. Lovely if you've a slightly larger group (but look at them even if you a family)

Private lodges – until recently the policy of the Kruger was not to allow private lodge operators into the park. However, this has apparently changed, and a limited number of private lodges, other than those just outside the park, have been allowed to 'set up camp'. These include: Jock Safari Lodge, Pafuri, Imbali, Plains, Rhino Post, Camps Shawu, Camp Shonga and Hamiltons Tented Camp.

What to do other than drive around in your car
– guided walks and outdoor activities

Whilst undoubtedly a lot of fun is to be had driving slowly through the more remote parts of the park to spot game, this can get a little monotonous after a couple of days. There are other activities in which one can partake in the Kruger.

A series of guided wilderness walking trails that take a maximum of 8 people at a time, aged between 12 and 60, are available. They tend to be over a few days, are guided by armed rangers, and include accommodation and food. These include Bushman Trail, Metsimietsi Trail, Napi Trail, Olifants Trail, Sweni Trail and the Wolhuter Trail. On each of them one overnights at a bushveld camp and gets to experience the bush on foot.

Other outdoor things to do within Kruger include:

• mountain bike trails from Olifants Camp
• a 9 hole golf course at Skukuza
• 4X4 adventure trails (four one-day self-driven trails)
• sleepover hides – for the adventurous, these are at Sable Dam Hide near Phalaborwa Gate, and Shipandani Hide at Mopani

Tips for spotting the Big 5

There are those who firmly believe that spotting the Big 5 is simply luck of the draw. But there are a number of things you can do to bring you that much closer to them.

• Use the sightings boards – at the gates and rest camps there are boards that keep daily records of latest animal sightings. These can give you a good indication of the areas in which to drive if you haven't yet spotted a lion or leopard. The downside is that the boards are available to anyone to update, so you are not always sure that the information is valid
• rise with the birds – the best time to spot game is as the camp gates open in the morning as animals are more active
• hide out at waterholes – particularly at midday or sundown, waterholes are guaranteed to receive a visit at some stage of the day, as animals need water
• winter is best – the driest time of the year is best to spot game as they're more active and the bush is not as lush as it gets in summer
• go on night drives
• buy a copy of Andy and Lorrain Tinker's Kruger National Park Guide – awesome guidelines, hot spots, maps and photos

The Limpopo National Park

One can travel from Kruger straight into the Limpopo National Park via the gate at Giriyondo, which acts as a border post. You will need a 4X4 vehicle to do this journey as the road deteriorates after a couple of hours from Giriyondo Gate en route to Massingir Gate.

Together with the Kruger and Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, the Limpopo National Park forms the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.

The Limpopo National Park is well worth a visit. It is still in the initial stages of development and whilst there are not a lot of camps, there is an overlander site with space for 10 camper vans, 20 individual campsites, 13 chalets and a luxury tented camp. They are all self-catering.

Kruger National Park Links

• Kruger National Park
• Kruger Park Hotels
• Kruger Park Accommodation
• Mpumalanga Accommodation

Kaapse Hoop

We round the corner at the top of the plateau, having left Nelspruit behind and below us, and there suddenly in a clearing in amongst a series of rough sandstone rocks, Kaapsche Hoop makes its presence known.

The gorgeous little hamlet lies high enough above the towns of Nelspruit and Barberton to experience a completely different set of weather patterns. Residents will tell you that you can anticipate a difference of at least five degrees.

It's usually a lot cooler up on the mountain, in amidst numerous pine plantations with names like 'Berlin'. Often white blankets of mist swirl in and the wild horses that roam free in and around the town appear like unicorns in a world in which it is no longer bizarre to anticipate faeries; sightings of the endangered blue swallow simply adding to the mythical atmosphere.

There is something distinctly otherwordly about Kaapsche Hoop. It has elements of Pilgrim's Rest, but before all the fuss and bother turned the town into a tourist haven with bus loads of people coming and going. Kaapsche Hoop claims to have been the centre of the gold rush of the 1880s, after Bernard Chomse found gold in the bed of a stream on the plateau that perches between two valleys, each dominated by a river – the Crocodile and the Elands.

Photographs — Left: Tin Chapel / Right: Wild horse en route

The town, in fact, discovered gold even before Johannesburg and directly opposite the plateau, down in the valley that surrounds the town of Barberton, remains one of the richest veins of gold in the country – the Sheba Mine. Originally the town, because of a combination of unusual sandstone rock formations and swirling mists, was known as Duiwel's Kantoor but this changed with the discovery of gold when it became known as the 'hope of the cape' or Kaapse Hoop.

The town was a booming little mining town during the 1880s with close to 5 000 residents. Over the years as interest dwindled — gold ran out — the town slowly died away until it was virtually a ghost town with all of 16 people living there.

Connie and Trevor of Corner Cottage tell me how Trevor stumbled upon the town in the mid 1980s whilst he worked as an engineer at Ngodwana. He suffered a flat tyre whilst out here with his camera, and, in the mist followed the only telephone line he could see into the very house where he and Connie now live. The house was already 99 years old. The town was in dissarray, the Post Office boarded up, and the old hotel virtually the only commercial venture in town.

Photographs — Left: Street lamps / Right: Mining commissioner's house

Whilst awaiting rescue, Trevor was to take photos of the house. Years later, in 2003, he brought Connie out to the town to propose that they move here, for something about the village spoke to him. They were comparing his old photos with the same house whilst standing just outside, when the then owner came to invite them inside, something she later confessed she seldom did.

As with all stories like this one, it just so happened that the owner's husband had recently suffered a heart attack and they needed to sell, even though there was no for 'sale sign' on the door yet. Connie and Trevor expressed an interest in the house. The owners proposed that they sell their house to them, but that they remain on in the house for a further two years.

Connie and Trevor, when I meet them, have spent five years restoring the house carefully, maintaining it exactly as it was initially built. Trevor has lovingly hand made all the wooden panelling, restored doors, window sills and floors, without the temptation to make the tiny house with its pressingly low ceilings any larger. These days the nature of the town has changed enormously. It exists solely for tourism. People stop off here on the way to the Kruger National Park. And a lot of people have bought up homes and turned them into guest houses, restaurants and arts and crafts shops.

Photographs — Left: Two cats follow me ... / Right: Connie & Trevor

The couple are part of a Heritage committee the town has set up to try to conserve the old buildings. In a sense they're trying to protect the town from itself. They're considering registering as an Article 21 company to keep it unique. They're hoping to set up an eco committee and have collected a heap of historical photos of the town from two little old ladies who were raised in the town.

Up at the end of their road where the old Post Office has been completely restored and modernised into a guest house, is Komisaris Plein. The village has raised the money to build a wooden fence around the old, original Mining Commissioner's House (1884) that stands here. The wild horses were rubbing up against the doorways to scratch themselves and slowly the house was disintegrating.

Not everyone agrees with the fence. Inside the old building's clay walls are crumbling, and where they haven't, every inch is defaced with scratched graffitti. Just beyond the old building visitors can escape onto the plateau in amongst the aloes and the incredible rocks of the area. A walk starts from here.

Just opposite Komisaris Plein is the beautiful tin church, perfect for weddings in Mpumalanga – it's not as new as it looks. Many of the houses here conform to the old standard – houses on wooden stilts, made from sheets of tin. Street names have been established for the town and signs now grace the edge of each street. And the group want to provide eco information for those who come to walk the trails that start from the little hut in town, and they want to set up a picnic area.

Photographs — Left: Kommissaris Plein / Right: Anabelle's shop

On the black reef quartzite sandstone rocks to the east of town, behind Komisaris Plein, it's a little chilly. Nonetheless we enjoy our picnic, drink in the views of the surrounding plateau that seems not to end and imagine that a hike would be more than rewarding.

Two cats follow me through town. They're fluffy and friendly and turn up like bad pennies (or is that good) wherever I go.

To look out for when in Kaapsche Hoop:

• Koek 'n Pan (every one stops here to sample the pancakes, they have an ATM)
• the wild horses
• Kaapsehoop horse trails
• Salvador (great pizzas)
• over 200 different bird species
• Blue Swallow Natural Heritage Site
• hiking trails – to the east a walk through sandstone pillars, to the west through forest to a waterfall
• craft shops
• Komisaris Plein
• the derelict jail and magistrate's court at the top of the village
• tours of Adam's Calendar and Kaapsche Hoop (Enos Zulu 072 331 1197)
• the geology of the area, which is said to date between 2 600 million and 3 600 million years ago

Don't expect to find:

• a supermarket
• chain stores
• property agents
• anything open on a Monday

Kaapsche Hoop lies 14 km from Ngodwana and the N4, 28 km from Nelspruit, and rests on an escarpment overlooking the De Kaap Valley and the town of Barberton. Once there, you may never want to leave...

Useful Links

• Kaapsehoop Attractions
• Things to Do in Kaapsehoop
• Nelspruit Accommodation
• Nelspruit Hotels
• Mpumalanga Hotels

Tea at Nellies

I've got a confession to make. I've lived in Cape Town for nigh on six years and up until yesterday had still not had high tea at Nellies. This is a sacrilege. Even my friends, who recently came to stay from Durban, managed to make a detour to the Mount Nelson Hotel something of a priority, where after they waxed lyrical for at least an hour.  Nothing like feeling you don't know your home city to get one motivated. Nonetheless  it still took an irresistible special offer and an organised man to get me there.

Organised he can be, but he didn't get things off to a swinging start by interrupting my morning dressing ritual (usually a rather rushed and disorganised affair at the best of times that relies heavily on impromptu clothing combinations to feel 'right' for the day) with an 'oh, and the dress code is smart-casual'. This followed closely on the heels of 'I've got a surprise for you today, expect me at 12pm sharp'.

I don't do dress codes. They make my toenails curl and bring on an immediate attack of dig-in-heels. The type of response similar to when your dog absolutely refuses to cross the threshold to go and do his thing outside because it's too cold – that one.

Fortunately the Mount Nelson's dress code is virtually non-existent. You probably couldn't stroll out onto their veranda in your shorts and slip-slops (unless you were Brad Pitt and then he wouldn't stoop to mooching around in shorts, would he?), but actually just about anything goes.

The older generation, who in hindsight had obviously done tea here before, camped out just inside the lounge area as close to the cucumber sandwiches as possible (these are the first to go, should you be interested for when you give it a whirl) still wear pretty smartish clothing (I'm sure I caught a glimpse of a couple of cravats out of the corner of my eye) but the rest of us were casual, although no-one was sporting a pair of shorts. You can safely wear jeans, though.

Nonetheless, I didn't take into account that we would have a scorching summer's day in the middle of winter. I would much rather have been clad in a flowing summer skirt and cute little top number, rather than my thick corduroys and African spirit t-shirt from Mr Price, as funky as it is! Fortunately, I manage to ignore unessentials like my attire when it comes to enjoying the moment. It's something that happens to you once you're over 35, I believe.

My man, bless him, managed to find the special offer that combines a massage for two at the Librisa Spa with high tea. Bliss for two allows a couple to enjoy a 60 minute balancing massage for two using Africology massage balm, followed by Afternoon Tea for two in the hotel lounge. For just R1735.

What they don't tell you, is that because you booked for a Monday afternoon, you'll have the change room and sauna area to yourself after your incredible massage from which you will emerge five years younger and miraculously minus the worry lines with which you entered.

Then (in the changing area I mentioned) having ditched your white toweling robe with abandon, you will dart from the outside shower into the sauna, launch yourself into the heated outside plunge pool followed swiftly by a whirl in the steam room. All in the throws of thoroughly enjoying yourself.

Then you will smother yourself in Africology body lotion (www.africology-sa.com) because it has to be the most wonderful smelling stuff you've laid your hands on, ever, finally emerging a completely new person. All this for the price of a special massage. I can vouch for it.

Mount Nelson's high tea is something of an institution. The rich and famous hang out there, although I confess that no-one I'd seen of late on the big screen graced the veranda. There were a couple of ladies with rather loudly dyed dark hair, obviously resident at the hotel judging by the effusive greeting they received from the maitre d', an odd-looking gent who scoffed his petit fours discreetly down one end of the veranda, a couple of students, a few Americans and a group of Brits who looked as though they were on a tour of the hotel.

An interesting aside: the Mount Nelson was not always pale pink, and I must admit to being somewhat mystified as to why it is that colour at all. I suppose now that it has earned the nickname the 'Pink Palace' there's no going back, but originally the Mount Nelson was painted pale yellow and green. After that it had a short period drenched in ochre and oxblood red, probably totally inappropriate for WWI as shortly after it, in 1923, the Nellie went pale pink.

We could choose where to sit, inside or out, and since it was such a glorious day the veranda (it's the 'terrace' to you, darling) was the only logical choice. For those of you who want an idea of the indoor décor, I could not do better than a description by the hotel:

“the mood for afternoon tea is set by warm creams, taupe and duck-egg blue fabrics, unlined taffeta curtains diffusing Cape Town's brilliant sun, and high ceiling cornices highlighted in silver leaf and an oak floor.”

The variety of teas alone is worth footing the bill for high tea. From an incredible selection of loose leaf black, green, white, herbal and floral teas I chose the white tea, whilst my man had gunpowder with mint, a green tea. Tea is brought to us in collaboration with Nigiro, celebrated tea specialists, and John, our waitor, was thoroughly knowledgeable and could easily distinguish between non-fermented, lightly fermented and fermented teas, why these were so, and their effects on the tea drinker.

My Durban friends had already exclaimed in some detail over the Nigiro glass teapots in which the tea is served. I have been tasked with finding them one as they did not make it to the shop De Waterkant before boarding their flight (I think the tea room at Origin Coffee Roasting stocks them).

John warned that my tea would take a little longer to draw then most. The loose leaves are set in a little glass infuser within the pot that easily lifts out once your tea has unfurled and the flavour is released enough. I'm not a tea fundi and despite the warning, poured my first cup a little prematurely. Nonetheless, the tea was so different from any I have tasted before. I'm not sure that I was as fond of it as my man's though. His was wonderful.

The menus surreptitiously disappear around the time of ordering the first pot of tea with the understanding that you need but ask for them to order another  pot. But by this stage you are knee-deep in strawberry cream cake, mini éclairs, petit fours, spinach croissant quiche, tea loaves, mini cup cakes, various sandwiches, muffins, glazed onion and tomato tarts and scones with jam and whipped cream from the help-yourself buffet. And nothing else seems to matter.

Useful Links

• Mount Nelson Hotel
• Cape Town Hotels
• South Africa Hotels

Zip Zap Circus

I've never been to watch the Zip Zap Circus in Cape Town. I've known of its existence, especially since it moved into its 'tent' just behind Artscape. Who wouldn't. What a great space, all you see from the N1/N2 fly-over above Table Bay Boulevard is the dome to your left, the words Zip Zap emblazoned for all to view. It is a home and enviable advertising space all in one.

And let me tell you there is some serious circus magic at work within the dome's perimeters. On nearing the circus, the children (some of them a little older than the term 'child' will allow, but still young enough to be deemed youth) begin to weave their spell on visitors straight away.

Zebras juggle, boys on stilts make flamboyant announcements about your arrival at Zip Zap, in a heavily foreign accent, little girls, their hair in bunches, their eyes adorned with glitter make-up, stand ready to plonk a golden sticker on to your chest in a totally unaffected and happy way, whilst you fumble in your bag for the print-out that proves you've already bought a ticket via email, and the line that extends forever behind you makes unhappy noises at your inability to move, already!

The dome inside is dark, spotlights send streams of dust-laden brilliance cascading from on  high, the stage is already alive with a totally relaxed and uninhibited singer, who croons as if we've just walked into a French smoke-laden bistro, and right next to us there is a hot dog stand emitting the unmistakable stench of tomato sauce and mustard when applied to hot viennas. My five-year old doesn't know where to look there is so much happening.

Within all of this 'theatre' the southern suburbs mums and their progeny look distinctly out of place. This is another world. We're only briefly guests, whilst we pile in, wiggling our way along rows of plastic chairs, trying to find a spot where the stage is actually visible – not that this matters too much, as much of the 'action' takes place in a space somewhere halfway between the floor and the dome's ceiling.

This is the world of lively, inexhaustible fervour for the stage. This is where you see what children, their talent unleashed and honed, are capable of. And when the show begins, I'm blown away.

We're here to see The Caretaker, an original Zip Zap Circus School show, choreographed by Adele Blank, of the Free Flight Dance Company (anyone who has been involved in theatre or has their finger on the pulse of dance in South Africa knows who this fine choreographer is).

Just after my brother-in-law and sister push their way past us, send our brood to the very front right under the lip of the stage so that they will see everything, and chairs are swung this way and that to accommodate the growing crowd, I learn that Zip Zap shows have always been stupendous, but this is the first time that Adele Blank has been involved. I settle back in the knowledge that this time around, the audience is in for a surprise. If you've ever watched anything before by Adele, you'll know what I mean.

The show takes place principally on an enormous scaffolding, that allows the performers a storey or two of space in which to pose, dance and from which to jump. Add to this a couple of red ribbons, a swing or two, a couple of rather flexible looking poles and a mat or two, some juggling batons, and circus theatre comes to life.

The Caretaker has a rough story that goes something like: caretaker guy chases homeless trolley guy back and forth across stage; in-between chases are dance/circus numbers that not only entertain, they sweep the audience into a frenzy.

The first number to achieve this is the incredible 'red ribbon' number, where young Sabine van Rensburg monkey climbs two thick red ribbons that hang suspended from a pulley in the middle of the stage. From here she moves herself into enviable positions that usually involve the splits, and then winds herself up in knots from which she hurls herself down from, but still manages to remain in, the ribbons.

Heart-in-mouth is the only way to describe one's reaction, and yet, the young performer is so confident that there is no safety net beneath her, only a couple of 'strong' guys dancing below her that one hopes would get there in time if she fell, God forbid.

This piece seems to set the tone for the rest of the show. Two more performers, Portia Kewana and Andiswa Nkebendu, mesmerise as they clamber all over one another to a piece by Evanescence, whilst suspended from the ceiling on a swing. There are a couple of death-defying moments in here too. They're strong performers.

The show is filled with memorable scenes. There are gumboot dancers, a scene in which young unicyclists take to the stage, bounce up and down stairs and skip under skipping ropes to a rather appropriate Michael Jackson piece,  group scenes that involve ingenious choreography to co-ordinate everyone, and three little girls, Isobel Rossouw, Jemma Nelson and Jade Palmer, on a high swing who mime to a classic piece from Annie.

Another number that stood out for me in particular was homeless guy Siyabonga Swelindawo's pole number together with Sibusiso Mbula. Two rather rubbery looking poles were effortlessly scaled in various gravity-defying, rhythmic ways that included slides, slips, hand-overs, twists and jumps choreographed to perfection.

Arnold Mutlane took to the centre of the dome's ceiling in a trapese swing act that had all of us sitting with our heads back, mouths open. His finale twist and roll jump back onto his swing was incredible.

In-between all of this, mime artist José do Rego surreptitiously and repeatedly crosses the stage, carrying a chair or various musical instruments that finally make sense when he does his own thoroughly riotous number that involves the playing of various musical instruments. He is incredibly gifted, funny and authentic.

The last number involves the caretaker, Lizo James, and graceful Tamryn van Eyssen, also doing amazing stunts from suspended ropes. Tamryn, who has been with the Zip Zap for nineteen years, helps teach the children and runs the outreach programme for children in the townships, is on her way to the Centre National des Arts du Cirque in France, and the performance I watched was her last.

At the heart of all this 'theatre' is an incredible passion, confidence and feeling of camaraderie that one would be hard-pressed to find in any professional circus act. As Brent van Rensburg and Laurence Esteve, husband and wife team at the heart of Zip Zap, say: 'With a little bit of circus magic, anything is possible.”

The last performance of The Caretaker was on Mon 8 August. However, the cast are involved in a fundraising concert for local schools, should you want to still try to see the show:

Sat 3 Sept: 2.30pm for Imhoff Waldorf, Kommetjie, at their school

Photo Credits:

Photographs in this article courtesy of and © Irene McCullagh Photography

Useful Links:

Cape Town Attractions
Things to Do in Cape Town
Cape Town Hotels
Cape Town Accommodation

Lowveld Botanical Garden

Nelspruit's Lowveld Botanical Garden is where I not only lose, but find my hat. Having dropped it somewhere on the pathways through their incredible African rainforest where my mesmerised self lost track of both time, and my hair covering. I was to have it restored to me by one of the entrance attendants who carefully placed it to one side to wait for my return visit, which obviously I was then destined to make.

The Lowveld Botanical Garden lies amidst sprawling strip malls and the Tsogo Sun Casinos in the heart of the 'new' part of town that is given over principally to automobile show rooms. It's rather an obscure place for a slice of nature, and for this reason so necessary, and only fifteen minutes' drive from where we stayed in the suburb of West Acres.

For those who know of the garden's existence (because for a school holiday it was surprisingly empty), it's a little piece of paradise in amongst the hum of the city. Fortunately, the presence of roaring waterfalls puts paid to any traffic noise and one easily 'escapes', as it were, into the beauty of the garden.

The garden's proximity to Tsoga seems to have paid off. They're chiefly responsible for the incredible wooden walkways, visitors' centre, restaurant, and indigenous plant nursery in the form of a generous sponsorship, together with grants from Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

Now the Lowveld Botanical Society is looking for sponsors for a new children's section in the garden in which they plan a theme garden, a maze and play areas, an outdoor classroom and artwork to decorate the space.

The main entrance to the garden has been revamped since 2004. The Lowveld Botanical Garden is no longer the garden of people's youth. A modern thatched entrance opens onto a totally unique water feature – the first of its kind in the world – made from verdite, the oldest known rock in the world that occurs in the hills of Mpumalanga. The water feature has been donated to the garden by Little Barn Craft. Each tile of the rock has been hand-cut and carved – it's gorgeous. Little Barn Craft must be inundated with requests for similar – I know I'd love one.

Beyond the entrance, where there is also a restaurant that serves incredible carrot cake, the Lowveld Botanical Garden is something of a surprise. I'd read all the literature, which had prepared me for the two rivers that run through the reserve (the Crocodile and Nels Rivers), the size of the garden (which had me visualising lots of green lawn), and the suggestion of steep slopes on the Crocodile River. I'd even read the bit about the rainforest, but nothing prepared me for the reality thereof.

The simulated tropical African rainforest is an event in itself. Absolutely incredible, it graces the eastern bank of the Crocodile River, riddled with wooden walkways that allow one to walk in silence, in amongst the trees. Once a day, early in the morning, you might have to dodge a massive overhead stream of water that is the garden's answer to the rain that should fall over the forest below. If anything, it adds to the novelty of the space.

A rather impressive suspended metal bridge takes you across the Crocodile River away from the sweeping vistas of the waterfall — and the typical Lowveld type scenery that has one scouting around in amongst the krantz aloes in an attempt to sight the five-lined rainbow skink, often out sunning, but rather elusive nonetheless – to the rainforest.

Suddenly one is transported into another world completely. The aerial boardwalk, sponsored by Sappi, allows one access to sights and sounds to which one is not usually privy. Looking upwards one can quite clearly see plants growing on plants, known as epiphytes, of which the rainforest is full.

Tangled trees stand in amongst typical rainforest ferns, moss covered steps take over from the aerial boardwalk and lead you into little nooks and crannies where there are benches for minutes of contemplation, and burbling water in little ponds. The light in here in the late afternoons is indescribably beautiful and plays delightfully on the tips of large fronds and palms.

The garden has cleverly simulated the forest by planting pioneer trees as quick-growers to provide the initial protective canopy, allowing the true forest to emerge underneath. Growing rapidly, once the big slow-growing emergent layer trees have grown, these pioneers naturally die.

Below these layers are the understory layer, where little sunshine reaches and plants need larger leaves, and then the forest floor, where it is dark and damp and things decay fast, rich in bugs that make compost from fallen leaves and other debris in record time.

It is sobering when standing in one to realise that rain forests are cleared at 40 hectares per minute. It take about 1000 years for them to re-colonise devastated area. And that coffee, chocolate, cola nuts and yams all grow in Africa's rain forests. In fact, Africa is the home of coffee. Though more of it now grows in Brazil, coffee arabica bushes grow naturally in the forests north of here.

From the forest one emerges into the rest of the garden, which looks more in keeping with the 'garden' that I initially had in mind – cycads, aloes, ponds filled with water lillies, and indigenous trees — like the sausage and candelabra tree.

And there is a delightful Riverside Trail, which says it takes an hour to do, but which one can easily do faster. Winding through indigenous bush and riverine forest, the trail takes you along the banks of the Crocodile river, with many places to stop and simply drink in the view of water pools, flat rocks and little cascades, until you reach the falls of the Nels River at the far end of the garden.

The threat of Bilharzia puts paid to any thought of water play for children, but nonetheless, it is a wonderful walk to do, and probably necessitates a second visit, for the forest will already have taken up a great deal of your time.

And my hat. I return the following day alone, to collect it, obviously, but also for the chance to re-walk the boardwalks of the forest and to contemplate the destruction we wreak on rain forests elsewhere in the world. Once you've walked this forest you are left with only one question: can we afford to do so?

Address: Off White River Road, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga.
Telephone: +27 (0)13 752‑5531
Opening Hours: September to March: 08h00-18h00; April to August: 08h00-17h00

Useful Nelspruit Links:
Nelspruit Attractions
Things to Do in Nelspruit
Nelspruit Hotels
Nelspruit Accommodation
Mpumalanga Accommodation

Eshayamoya Train ride

When my friend Sarah contacted me recently inviting me to join her and a couple of others for a train ride in the beautiful countryside of the Southern Natal Midlands, I jumped at the opportunity. Although I had driven along a section of the route once previously, I was nevertheless looking forward to the trip knowing that I could never tire of scenery that is probably among the most picturesque to be viewed anywhere.

Beautiful mountains and rolling hills provided a breathtaking backdrop for the bright morning sunshine, uplifting my spirits with each passing second. The small farming community of Creighton was our destination and although the 135km drive from Pietermaritzburg was undoubtedly scenic – it was by no means plain sailing.

The narrow winding roads with their tight bends and steep gradients proved somewhat of a challenge requiring a good degree of concentration on my part. Potholes, too, were an ever present problem and one would be advised to be extra vigilant at all times when travelling along this route.

After passing through Richmond, we entered Ixopo and proceeded along the Donnybrook / Bulwer road before making our way to Creighton train station –the venue for our trip. The Eshayamoya is a superbly restored locomotive that was originally built in 1939 and supplied to South Africa by Germany just before the outbreak of World War Two.

It certainly looked like many of the trains I had seen in newsreels of that era, a hulking, seemingly indestructible steam-powered iron monster that commanded respect from both friend and foe alike. Soon we were being summoned to the platform to board the behemoth and take our seats on one of its many carriages. With a minimum of fuss we did just that and so began an unforgettable journey – the likes of which I had never before experienced.

Travelling onboard a machine from a bygone era such as the Eshayamoya is quite an experience in itself, but doing so through an unspoilt part of the African countryside is even more special – especially countryside as beautiful as that found between Creighton station and the nearby village of Riverside. During this time of the year the surrounding hillsides are a spectacular bright orange courtesy of the thousands of aloes which make their home there and to say I was impressed with the spectacle that unfolded before me would be an understatement.

Although these hardy plants were apparently not blooming as brightly as they had done in previous years due to unusually low rainfall levels in the area, they still made for an awesome sight and were without a doubt the attraction of the trip. A scheduled stop allowed me to disembark and take a closer look at the aloes which looked even more beautiful against the backdrop of the shimmering Ngogwaan River.

I was in my element and savouring every bit of the uplifting atmosphere but my moment of bliss was cut short as the conductor summoned us back to our carriages with what was now becoming a rather familiar cry of “all aboard.” And so we continued on our journey, passing by a number of small settlements characterised by their tiny mud houses and smiling inhabitants, some of whom didn’t seem as though they had a care in the world.

During our final stop, at the tiny village of Riverside, there was enough time to witness a most entertaining display of traditional Zulu dancing and to pay a quick visit to the rather spooky and foreboding ruins of the old Riverside hotel. On the return journey I was left to ponder the afternoon’s events and concluded the trip was well worth R180, even if that only secured us a place in the so called ‘cheap seats’.

My only criticism of this trip were the onboard snacks which could have been a lot more substantial than chocolate bars and potato chips. Nevertheless, we all had a great time and will no doubt be back next year for what will undoubtedly be another memorable outing.

Booking details:
Cell: +27 (0)83 273 8037 (Glynnis)

Useful Links

• Natal Midlands Attractions
• Natal Midlands Hotels
• Natal Midlands Accommodation
• KwaZulu Natal Accommodation

Twiggs in Harfield Village

Harfield Village has really established itself as a charming place to live in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town.  It has a unique ambience that combines the sleepy suburban feel of Rondebosch with the bohemian sensibilities of Observatory. The central artery that supports the heart of the Village is 2^nd Avenue. Filled with a selection of restaurants, it caters to all tastes and seems to be growing quickly.

New to the avenue is a shop that I noticed because of the array of colourful plants that spill from its doors. Twigs Nursery and Coffee Shop is an interesting little space filled with plants and flowers of all shapes and sizes. The selection includes plants, succulents, flowers herbs and vegetables like fresh chilies, tomatoes and basil.

The owner, a young guy in his twenties, was welcoming and friendly and took the time to show me around. I really love succulent cacti and hanging plants but I had no idea where to begin. He was more than happy to assist with all things gardening-related He showed me a wonderful selection of plants suitable for my needs as a basic gardener. The plants are supplied by San Michell, winner of plant grower of the year for two years running. San Michell also supports the Trees 4 Schools project, whose aim is to create awareness about the importance of trees for South Africa.

There is also a lovely selection of handmade gifts, garden accessories, home furnishings, jewellery, handmade cards and other arts and crafts which are sourced from local crafters and artists.

Anticipating all the gardening work I was going to do when I got home, I decided to first unwind with a cup of coffee. Twiggs also offers a variety of baked goods, carrot cake, cupcakes, ginger biscuits and even vegan brownies. There is also organic apple juice straight from the farm.

The shop has a bohemian air and the space would be great for a tea party (perhaps a mad hatter style tea party.) It really is the perfect setting.

Address:
2nd Avenues, Harfield Village, Cape Town

Harfield Village Links

• Harfield accommodation
• Harfield attractions
• Cape Town Accommodation

Day trips from Nelspruit

There is a lot more to Nelspruit, or Mbombela, than its proximity to the Kruger National Park alone. It is true that this qualifies as a major attraction for visitors. That it lies within an hour's drive of the huge national park is a tempting possibility for day trips into the park (and is no doubt the reason why everyone in Nelspruit drives around in an SUV). But there is a lot more to do and see within 80 kilometres of the popular Lowveld city, through which the Crocodile River meanders (and continues to wend its way through much of the surrounding countryside; one seems to cross it a myriad times).

You can now fly all the way into Nelpsruit, although generally it's a lot more expensive than flying to Johannesburg and hiring a car. The city has two airports, one an international airport and the other little more than a landing strip used for non-commercial flights. The weather is excellent all year round, if you're looking for an excuse to visit, even if it gets a little warmer than is comfortable in summer. But just about everything is equipped with air conditioning as a result.

Here follows a selection of things you can look forward to in and around the city:

Lunch and a hike at Kaapsche Hoop

The fairytale village of Kaapsche Hoop lies in the hills directly above Nelspruit, roughly 30 kilometres outside of town along Enos Mabuza Drive. Easy to reach from Nelspruit, it is often shrouded in mist and home to a great many wild horses (no-one knows just how many but on speaking to locals there are at least 150 of them). Extremely popular over weekends for lunches, brunches and teas, the former mining town that began its life just before the discovery of gold in Johannesburg, has converted itself into a perfect weekend getaway for Gautengers and Lowvelders alike. Most of all it is  popular amongst hikers for the trail that starts at the hut in the town and heads off into the Berlin plantation, part of the commercial forestry of the area. The hike is anything from two to five nights divided into several individual trails that can be combined together. Four huts provide overnight sleeping facilities.

The falls around Sabie

Sabie is a quaint forestry town that lies in the shadow of Spitskop and Mount Anderson, its main road lined with at least 20 restaurants that include the Smokey Train Diner in an abandoned railway coach. Along the south bank of the Sabie River lie a series of three waterfalls close to the town (there are a myriad more a little further afield, if you have the time but these are easiest if time is an issue) – Bridal Veil Falls, Lone Creek Waterfall and Horseshoe Falls. You can reach the fall via one of several sawmills in Sabie, along a rather pot-holed road (take the road past Merry Pebbles resort, it's well sign-posted). Day walks around Sabie include the Forest Falls Nature Walk, which takes one to the Forest Falls (the only waterfall that is wider than it is high), the Loerie Trail, the Secretary Bird Walk, which finishes at Mac Mac Pools, and the Misty Mountain Trails. (See Sabie Accommodation to stay in the town).

Day trip into Kruger

The Kruger National Park, if you have a Wild Card, is easy to do as a number of day trips, Nelspruit is so close. But it is easier done as a long weekend or a three to four day stay (Kruger Park accommodation during school holidays can be an issue, so if you have left it until the last minute, you can rest easy knowing you can do it as a number of day visits). Some people go to camp at Secunda for weeks at a time – the choice is yours. Best done outside of school holidays, the park is still one of the most spectacular in the world, and game is abundant. Spotting game depends very much on luck and your ability to take the time to try and find it, if you are going to self-drive. Nelspruit gives ideal access to the popular southern region of the Kruger, and the nearest gates are Malelane (south east), Numbi (south west) and the Kruger Gate (slightly north of Numbi and a longer journey as a result). The escape to the bush is a highlight of any trip to the Lowveld. If you are not keen on a self-drive experience there are numerous personalised tours from which to choose.

Heritage Walk in Barberton

Barberton, just 43 kilometres from Nelspruit along a really scenic drive, is the town tourism forgot. The local community has been reticent in coming forward about the town's incredible historical and geological relevance (the mountains around the town are the oldest in the world, dating back 3.5 billion years) but that will all soon change with the imminent release of both the Disney version of Jock of the Bushveld, and the film about Cockney Liz (legendary 'barmaid' who became known as Cockney Liz because of the accent in which she chose to sing, despite her obvious refinement and musical talent. There is a lot more to the story – coming soon). Both of these films will focus much deserved attention on the town, the origin of which was the 1880s gold rush (the Sheba Mine remains one of the richest working gold mines in the world). The Heritage Walk through the centre of town takes in all the relevant history, including South Africa's first stock exchange. Whilst it is a well sign-posted self-guided tour, try to do it with a local guide as you will learn so much more by doing so. (See Barberton accommodation to stay in the town itself).

Sudwala Caves

Whilst the tours of the popular cave tend to be over subscribed and the tour's content more than a little hackneyed, the trip to Sudwala Caves still draws tourists by the thousand and is well worth visiting, if only to see the the oldest known caves in the world, said to have formed 240 million years ago, and the numerous calcium structures that have been given names like the 'Lowveld Rocket', 'Samson's Pillar' and the 'Screaming Monster'. One-hour tours run during the day but what sounds even more worthwhile is the five-hour long Crystal Tour that happens once a month. Aimed at the more 'adventurous' amongst its visitors, it goes a lot deeper into the Mankelekele Mountains and includes a bit of crawling around, until one reaches the outskirts of the crystal chamber.

Interacting with Elephants – Hazyview

Both The Elephant Sanctuary and Elephant Whispers operate just outside Hazyview, roughly 70 kilometres from Nelspruit. Either of these offers you the chance to get up close to elephants and experience their intelligence and compassionate nature one-on-one. Some of the elephants have been rescued from planned culling, all are handled in a gentle and compassionate way, but remain in captivity. (See Hazyview accommodation if you want to stay in Hazyview itself).

Chimp Eden

The Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden is a 1000 hectare game reserve just outside of Nelspruit, home to a group of chimpanzees that have been misplaced from their natural habitats in Central Africa. Chimp Eden is a sanctuary for them. The reserve also raises awareness of the need for conservation and about chimps in Africa. Whilst some people stay in the reserve, there are also daily tours that are roughly an hour and a half long, three times a day. Feeding times are at 10am and 2pm.

Panorama and Highlands Routes

Both the Panaorama Route and the Highlands Meander are self-drive routes that take one through particularly scenic areas of Mpumalanga. Essentially they are tourist routes designed to take one via the highlights of the area. The Highlands Meander is  aimed at nature lovers and includes first-rate fly-fishing venues, the chance to spot some of the rarest birds, incredible rock climbing, and access to spectacular wild flowers. It includes the towns of Belfast, Dullstroom, Elands Valley, the Kwena Basin, Lydenburg, Machadodorp, Skurweberg and Waterval Boven and lies in the higher escarpment areas. The Panorama Route, by comparison, offers one the chance to take in the natural wonders of the eastern escarpment of Mpumalanga. It includes God's Window, Blyde River Canyon, Bourke's Luck Potholes, the Three Rondawels, Pilgrim's Rest, Sabie, Lydenburg, White River, Graskop, Ohrigstad, and Hazyview.

Nelspruit Links

• Nelspruit Accommodation
• Nelspruit Hotels
• Nelspruit Attractions
• Things to Do in Nelspruit
• Things to Do in Mpumalanga

Southern Cross Deli

When I first saw that the Palmyra Junction Shopping Centre in Claremont had opened, I was annoyed. “We don’t need any more malls,” I muttered as I drove past and in theory it’s true.

However, it turns out Palmyra Junction holds a hidden gem beneath its slick consumer veneer. The Southern Cross Seafood Deli is a special little place with a homely, welcoming feel and will delight avid sea food lovers.

Everybody seems to know about the Southern Cross already. It’s getting a reputation as the best little seafood shop in town and it’s rumoured that this is where a lot of chefs buy their seafood; the best kind of recommendation any food shop could ask for.

A little questioning revealed that the Southern Cross takes great care in buying fresh fish. They make sure that all the vessels they buy from are licensed and that they comply with the SASSI code to ensure that the best possible product is sold at the deli. In a country where the once abundant fish stocks have been heavily depleted by foreign trawlers this is a very important point.

The owner is a fisherman himself and takes delight in educating his patrons about the fish they are buying. He runs a tight ship and the staff are helpful and friendly – something which always adds to the experience.

There is a great seasonal selection of fish available (never been frozen) from the daily catch, like Cape salmon, kob, yellowtail, line fish, snoek and also fresh tuna available in summer. Frozen items include langoustines, clams, prawns, oysters, shell fish, and scallops.

Not only can you buy delicious fresh or frozen seafood but you can also enjoy a delicious meal at the deli. There is an array of choice from the sushi or cold tapas selection to skillfully prepared hot dishes (You can also order the more traditional fish and chips.)

I decided to try the Southern Cross deli for breakfast with some friends. The breakfast menu is served until 12 noon daily, which suits me perfectly on a lazy Saturday morning.  I ordered the pink lady, which is smoked salmon on rosti with a poached egg topped with horse radish mayo. My girlfriend ordered a very different meal; the prawn fooyong, which is a flat omelette with prawns, spring onion, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Others in our little Saturday morning breakfast club ordered the Junction breakfast comprising of fried eggs, bacon, sautéed mushrooms and grilled tomato.  This of course was enjoyed with a good cup of coffee all round.

The lunch menu has a great variety of light meals and more hearty winter warmers to choose from. There is a delicious selection of sandwiches like the Po’boy which is marinated hake cubes, crumbed deep fried and served on focaccia with mixed salad greens and topped with tartar sauce.

There’s also a prawn Caesar wrap with mixed salad leaves, tossed in Caesar dressing with anchovies parmesan shavings croutons topped with grilled prawns in a tortilla.

The cold tapas selection is appetizing and great to share as a starter. There are fresh mussels with tomato chilli and coriander or seared hake with roast tomatoes. The deli also serves a great hot tapas platter for R110, Which includes a combination of mussels, salt and pepper squid, and garlic prawns.

There is also a fantastic sushi menu with a surprising addition that I just have to try; eel sushi. You can order eel maki, California rolls or fashion sandwiches.

Claremont Links

• Claremont Attractions
• Things to Do in Claremont
• Claremont Hotels
• Claremont Accommodation
• Cape Town Accommodation

Crystal Pools Hike

It was to the sound of baboons barking that we got out of our car at what felt like just past dawn, but was actually already beyond our appointed meeting time. Needless to say, the other members of the party were late. The sound of baboons certainly did not appear to daunt any of the other hikers already setting off across the R44 towards the hut from where we were to get our permits for the day.

Crystal Pools hike is extremely popular. The 'gatekeepers', when we arrived finally at the start of the hike having taken in the view over Gordon's Bay and the mouth of the Steenbras River before our friends arrived, were already preparing to turn back the latecomers. And one hundred permits are issued a day.

I blanched at the idea of sharing a reserve with another ninety nine people – what were they thinking allowing so many people into a nature reserve? 'Is there more than one trail?' I asked, assuming people got 'lost' in the reserve on various path options, only to hear that there was but this one path that follows the gorge around the corner from the road and up. And that everyone before, and after us, would be coming along for the journey.

The result of letting so many people into the reserve on such a regular basis (to say that the hike is popular is putting too fine a point on it) means that as from 1 May 2011 the gorge was closed for at least a year for rehabilitation. And after that the City of Cape Town is probably only going to allow guided hikes to limited numbers of people.

The Steenbras River Gorge (it used to be known as the Kogelberg Nature Reserve and forms part of the greater Kogelberg Biosphere) is just outside Gordon's Bay – you literally cross the bridge over the Steenbras River and then park at the first opportunity. It's a gorgeous setting. The gorge itself is magnificent, the geological formations alone splendid. But add to this the river, the many pools and then finally, the incredible set of terraced pools right at the end beneath the waterfall, and you have a walk that has become very attractive to many. And all of this just 3 kilometres from the car park.

The problem with all this activity, other than the cigarette butts, and the odd chip packet, is that plants' regrowth is severely hindered. The environmental team at the City of Cape Town have realised that unless something quite radical is done, 100 year old trees will disappear and the rich diversity of the biosphere will deteriorate.

Absolutely. But why were so many people allowed in at a time in the first place?

It seems such a shame that the reserve has had to take such major steps to solve a situation that need never have arisen. Admittedly what has obviously occurred is that no-one was policing the hut on the way in and once the word was out, streams of people have been coming in to take advantage of the amazing hike and the pools.

The walk itself is quite simple. With a couple of five-year olds in tow, we managed it at a gentle pace (there are quite a few loose rocks and pebbles en route), give or take the odd group of youngsters who came charging past, raring to get to the pools before anyone else could take their favourite spot.

The hike is described as 'easy' and for the average person, can even be tackled in ordinary takkies and a swimming costume, particularly as the sole purpose of the hike is to cool off at the end. On our way out, we past the last two permit holders, each hugging a guitar, with little other than sandals on, which should give you an indication to the seriousness of the hike.

Nevertheless, on a hot day like the one on which we ventured up the gorge, you might want to make sure you take lots of water, as the guitar players were already asking about a water source and whether or not it was safe to drink, and they had another couple of kilometres to go before the pools (a later source indicated that the water is far from savoury).

The Steenbras River runs alongside the path for most of the hike. There are also more than a couple of places where you can stop and cool off well before the official Crystal pools. And the path is clearly marked with large yellow footprints and red-topped poles, even if the initial part of the hike is a bit of a scramble.

We knew we had arrived at the first terraced pool as the shouts and screams of excited swimmers reached us. We approached a rocky ledge overlooking the pool at more or less the same time as another party, one of whom had obviously been before. He indicated that there were at least another three pools above this one and advised the second as the access point was a little easier with children.

Actually it ended up being quite festive, joining a couple of groups of young people on the boulders under the trees on the side of the beautiful pool. We watched as a few scrambled up the sheer rock faces and then jeered one another on to jump from ever more precarious ledges. Having had a good time, many of them then proceeded up to another pool above ours. And there is apparently a fifth pool above the actual waterfall, which we could only just make out way above us in a crack in the rocks.

A beautiful hike. Just glad we managed to do it before the reserve is officially closed to the public. It might be that we were of the last people to manage the hike before it becomes a guided path to but a few.

Gordon's Bay Links

• Gordons Bay Attractions
• Gordons Bay Accommodation
• Cape Town Accommodation

When in Nelspruit ...

Nelspruit is fondly known as Nellies by those who live there, and Mbombela by all that is official, although you are still alright for signs on the highway – most of these still indicate Nelspruit, for those as distracted as I am.

There has been an official name change. Nelspruit, home of Radio Laeveld 100.5 fm, is called Mbombela. But since this happened only in 2009, and the city was still officially referred to as 'Nelspruit' for the World cup, and all road signs (as I already mentioned) still call the city Nelspruit, there is some obvious confusion.

The only people unconcerned are the many traffic officials who zoot around in smart cars emblazoned with Mbombela Traffic, which had the rather sobering effect of ensuring that I maintained the ridiculous speed limit of 70 km per hour on the N4 through the city, despite the double carriageway. I was in a borrowed car!

Nellies is a great place to stay. If you've lived in Johannesburg at all, it's kind of like living in Randburg all the time, with about twenty more shopping malls, all just around the corner from you.

If you haven't gone on at least one shopping expedition whilst in the city, then you haven't lived. There are malls everywhere – new malls, strip malls, industrial malls, big malls, small malls, car malls (with such a spread of new and second-hand cars it is small wonder that everyone drives an SUV of some description – there is Kruger to go to at the weekend, Darling); in short, Nelspruit is a wall-to-wall shopping metropolis.

Mozambicans know the city as a shopping destination, or they drive there for medical appointments. And all of the smaller towns in the Lowveld — like White River, Barberton, Waterval Boven, Kaapschehoop, Malelane and a myriad others — whilst all hosts of a local Spar at least (for some reason Spar has the monopoly on the Lowveld) — head into Nelspruit to really shop.

Photographs — Left: Paw paw plantations between Nelspruit and Barberton / Right: Sugar cane

So, it was with great enthusiasm that I decided, on about day two of suffering incredibly hot weather that is apparently the city's seasonal equivalent to winter, that my Cape Town winter clothing was totally unsuitable and that a plan would have to be made. A shopping expedition followed.

And what joy. There is nothing like shopping in a place where, not only can you choose a parking place from a whole lot of parking spaces, but the shops were almost empty, and selecting and trying on clothes felt like it must feel for the likes of Madonna when she informs the store ahead of time that she's coming in, and they close their doors to the rest of the plebians out there.

You would never think we were in the midst of a recession to sit and watch the main roads through Mbombela. Did I mention the Spur? If you want to make a quick killing, open a Spur in the Lowveld. Nelspruit is home to at least four of them. Driving through other towns in the Lowveld I was to count a fair number to add to my tally. Certainly there are more Spurs than there are independent restaurants.

Out doing a last-minute recce for bread on a Saturday evening, we left a certain strip mall, in a hurry to get home, only to be confronted by a queue of cars that went halfway round the block, waiting to enter the parking lot for an evening out at Spur.

Most of what there is to do in the city centres around shopping malls. The bulk of these are chain stores, but intermittently there is a little gem, like Stoep – books, art and coffee — at SonPark Boulevard Centre. The little shop is tucked away just past another gem, the independent movie house known as Boulevard Cinema (which not only specialises in local films and latest art movie releases but sometimes you can watch a movie and eat popcorn for less than you pay at places like Nu Metro).

Stoep is humming. It definitely qualifies as a trendy eatery, its walls donned with wonderful, must-buy-now local art (painted mostly by the chef, Hannah Steyn), price tags visible and affordable, a second-hand bookshop in an alcove, and a restaurant where coffee and cake are the order of the day. It is also a framing establishment and sells the odd nick nack, like home-made local biscuits and lovely rings, but none of it is tacky or vaguely in the region of 'tuisnywerheid' type fare.

Photographs — Left: Sunset over Nellies / Right: The ubiquitous "Soccer Ball" at a viewing point over Nellies on Enos Mabuza Drive

It's the establishment of three friends, Hannah Steyn, Elsabe Malan, and Annemarie van der Walt, who have simply thrown together each of their niches and tastes, and come up with Stoep. Annemarie, obviously run off her feet, still manages a friendly face at my odd enquiry, and kindly agrees to let me swop two books I've just finished reading, for one of hers. If we were staying, this is where I'd hang out, on a daily basis. It kind of feels like home. Wish I had bought the painting of the chair...

The other place we get to hang out for a few hours, is the local library. This is my idea. I'm a fan of the library system in the Western Cape. It functions well, there are great books, always new ones on the shelves and the system is computerised. It even sends you reminders via email that your books are due.

Nelspruit, I fast learn, is not as lucky. It apparently takes at least seven librarians to keep this library ticking over at any one time, which isn't too surprising given that they're still on an antiquated card system (you know, the card of book stuffed in pouch with your name on it system of your childhood, well, mine at any rate).

New books, well, there aren't many of them. And to join the library, temporarily, I have to part with a deposit of R290, R50 of which the library will keep for admin, and on the return of all four books (I'm used to taking at least seven) that I am allowed to borrow, they will return R240. I take the risk, and our family of three fight over which one of us gets to choose two books.

There is also much fumbling over writing my receipt. When I finally return it a couple of weeks later, together with the books, I need to point out their error, as they appear only too happy to short change themselves by R10(!).

What to do in Nelspruit when not shopping must wait for another story...

Nelspruit Links

• Nelspruit Hotels
• Nelspruit Accommodation
• Things to Do in Nelspruit
• Nelspruit Attractions

Shosholoza Meyl

Everyone has a fond memory of taking the train in their childhood – piling on with mom and dad, the luggage (ours were a series of rather dramatic, bright red suitcases that included a small, square one for my mother's cosmetics), egg and mayo sandwiches and the welcome delight of sleeping under crisp white sheets as the wheels chugged gently beneath you.

Remarkably, the inter-city train of our youth still exists, in the form of the Shosholoza Meyl, named such after the popular South African song about train workers. The word 'meyl' refers to a long distance by train. One would think I could have at least suspected that this rather obvious fact would probably be the train's biggest challenge.

The Shosholoza Meyl runs between Cape Town and Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, and Durban and Johannesburg – any variation on the theme will have you chasing all over the countryside, as the people next door to us on our return journey, who had spent the day before travelling from Durban to Johannesburg, and were now on their way back to Kimberley (the Cape Town to Johannesburg route travels via Kimberley; and a lot of other stations besides!).

And more remarkably, my romantic side that sometimes rather naively chooses to remain exhuberantly upbeat about anything (my sister, for instance, would never succumb to rail travel in South Africa, but then she used to work for Spoornet) recently abandoned all reason and booked a return ticket for my family of three from Cape Town to Johannesburg, and back again.

I didn't go in completely unprepared. I had done my homework. I read the articles and whinges by unhappy customers complaining about the delays. But hey, forewarned is forearmed, is it not? And it was a LOT cheaper than flying – R420 single per adult, and half that for a child under nine. And there was that memory of chugging wheels over train tracks to contend with. Besides, how bad could it be?

Photographs: Scenes from a train — leaving Cape Town

I should explain that I am not a happy air traveller. I suffer air sickness and usually walk around on the day of flying in a drug-induced coma, having swallowed an anti-airsickness tablet that leaves me completely out of it – I am also sensitive to drugs and usually need only half of what everyone else takes, but am too nervous to put this to the test when it comes to air travel. I also cannot abide airports, or delayed aeroplanes.

That said, having now experienced the Shosholoza Meyl, I LOVE airports, can't get enough of them, and would gladly suffer the delays experienced on Kulula and One Time, whilst sipping cappuccino at Fournos Bakery at OR Tambo.

The Shosholoza Meyl has a rather jaunty exterior. It is predominantly painted a bright purple, with an accompanying swathe of turquoise and yellow that lend it a youthful, and bold attitude. By contrast, we arrived more than slightly dishevelled on the platform, having had to push our way through a rather manic crowd attempting to make their way to the seater compartments of the train. This was just as well, as it turned out that the sleeper compartments, all four of them if you ignore the two for staff, were tacked on like an afterthought to the rest of the train – in other words, at the back (although this is reversed on the return journey).

Whilst the service runs a premier train (which alludes to semi-luxury and costs a lot more than our sleeper compartments), the economy sleeper train wasn't doing so well, so they reduced the number of sleeper compartments (each has six 4-person compartments and two 2-person coupés) and, it seems, added them to the sitter 'economy' trains; nine sitter compartments – each of which take 18 rows of 4 seats (I'll leave you to do the maths) and called it a tourist train.

This goes a long way to explaining the crush of people, with more luggage than is conceivable for individuals to take, particularly if they are occupying but one seat, that passed us. Up that end getting a window seat is obviously something of a bun fight. Down our end, we were shuffling up the aisles trying to find our berth. This done, we arranged all of our luggage overhead and settled in to enjoy the view. The train of my youth has not changed one iota. In fact I'm prepared to bet that, despite the change in upholstery, the train in which we journeyed is the same as the one I was in thirty years ago – the one with the table that folds down over the basin, you must remember?

The trip was worth it just for my five-year old's enjoyment. He loved the train. There was plenty of space to climb and walk around, mom had packed enough snacks and food to keep him happy, he had books and games to keep him amused, and on the way there, a little friend in the next compartment where he was eagerly adopted, which means we got to read and relax, making it heavenly. You don't fight for leg room on a train.

The downsides. Well, they are numerous. But it really depends on your capacity to ignore the niggles and enjoy it come what may, or if you find these more than you are prepared to deal with.

People smoke on the train. They're not supposed to, and if you're lucky, they'll find another part of the train in which to do it. But on our trip up to Johannesburg, a couple of women with what looked like at least five children, in one compartment, smoked, and made a noise until all hours of the morning. My stumbling across to complain resulted only in a huge spurt of deodorant sent my way intended, I'm assuming, to disguise the stench.

There is a lot of noise at night. This is because the train stops at stations and people get on and off. That is the function of a train, after all. But if you're a light sleeper, forget about getting any. Our coach on the return journey had some sort of machinery that wound itself up with a large groan every minute or so, which put paid to any sleep we might have got.

The bedding is rather amusing. It arrives in a leather pouch and is literally spilt out onto the bed ready-made layers and tucked in. It's clean, comfortable and lovely to lie in, but hopelessly inadequate if the heating doesn't work, which it didn't.

And you might want to take your own food. It is worth preparing meals ahead of time as the food is fine if hamburgers and chips, greasy toasted sandwiches and instant coffee are your thing, but vegetables and salads don't even get a look-in. Having said that, the dining car has the best windows and views, and the tea is cheap and cheerful.

Photographs — Coming in to Jo'burg

Whether or not you get good service depends very much on the manager of the train. On the way up we saw the 'manager' exactly once. She introduced herself and then disappeared. On the way back, he couldn't do enough, stopping off at intervals to take complaints squarely on the shoulders (did I mention that first calls for morning coffee are at 6.30am, when you've only just got off to sleep?), whilst explaining that most of them were largely beyond his control.

On the way up we were five hours late. On the way down, only an hour.

Would I do it again? Probably not. I loved the relaxation of riding on the train, the views from the train, and the fact that you have a compartment to yourselves. But it's a long time to spend on a journey – 26 hours on a good trip – and there are obviously serious issues with arriving anywhere on time.

Is the Shosholoza Meyl an alternative to air travel? No. But it does compare well with road travel in terms of comfort. And it's quite a lot safer.

Useful Links:

• Johannesburg Attractions
• Things to Do in Johannesburg
• Johannesburg Accommodation
• Gauteng Accommodation