Ceres — it's not just about the Fruit

Cherry pick­ing

Ceres, in the Western Cape, is named for the Roman god­dess of the har­vest and plenty. Living up to this name, the town has a repu­ta­tion as one of the best fruit grow­ing areas in South Africa, and accounts for a large amount of the pro­duc­tion of decidu­ous and other fruit in the Cape.

The fruit industry here so per­meates the every day life of the town that the fruit grow­ers have developed a tour through their factor­ies to allow a peek into what makes the fruit from this area bet­ter than most, as well as tours of the farms, where the pre­cious har­vest is grown and dried for local use and export. For an even more inter­act­ive (not to men­tion deli­cious) exper­i­ence, the Klondyke Cherry Farm just out­side town offers vis­it­ors the chance to pick and sample this sweet, tart fruit. For some­thing guar­an­teed to appeal to kids of all ages, an incon­gru­ous part­ner­ship, yet worth a visit none the less is the toy car col­lec­tion at Valley Funerals, which cur­rently bears the hon­our of being the largest privately owned col­lec­tion of this type in South Africa.

Within easy reach of the town are sev­eral eques­trian centres, which offer trails and other horse rid­ing exper­i­ences to every­one from chil­dren, to com­plete novices, and the more accom­plished rider. For the very adven­tur­ous, the town is also home to the Western Province Sport para­chute club, offer­ing sky diving train­ing and reg­u­lar jumps.

Ceres

Another attrac­tion syn­onym­ous with Ceres must be the winter snow­falls. This area is one of the few in the largely Mediterranean Cape where snow falls in the winter, and local tour­ists flock to the area in sea­son to inter­act with the magical winter won­der­land this cre­ates. If you are inter­ested in his­tory, then visit the Toll House monu­ment at Mitchell’s Pass, or the trans­port riders’ museum which chron­icles the town’s time as the main trans­port route for dia­monds to the Cape, and boasts an impress­ive col­lec­tion of vehicles from the period.

A bit fur­ther afield, but also of interest to cul­ture and his­tory buffs are sev­eral loc­a­tions where well pre­served rock paint­ings from the areas more prim­it­ive inhab­it­ants are on dis­play. Other options include the Matroosburg 4 x 4 truck drives, where vis­it­ors are treated to a unique trip up the Matroosburg in a 5 ton, all ter­rain truck or try a trip to Koelfontein Estate, Ceres’s only, but award– win­ning, wine estate, or the Kaap Agri Co-Op to sample local wines.

Golf lov­ers need not fret, as the Ceres Golf Club offers 4891m of well main­tained course, with a com­fort­able club house. Bird watch­ing, bik­ing, fish­ing, hik­ing and nature reserves are all on offer in the sur­round­ing coun­tryside and moun­tains, and the friendly local tour­ism office will be more than happy to advise on these options, as well as provide details of accom­mod­a­tion to suit almost every budget and taste.

For a small town, almost hid­den in the Cape Fold moun­tains, Ceres cer­tainly packs a large vari­ety of attrac­tions, and will almost cer­tainly have some­thing that will appeal to anyone.

Klondyke Cherry Farm: 023 312‑1521
Toy car col­lec­tion: 082 575‑3181
Western Cape Parachute Club: 021 462‑5666

Useful Links:
For more des­tin­a­tion inform­a­tion see:
Ceres Accommodation
Breede River Valley Accommodation
Breede River Valley Attractions