Delightful Darling

Darling © Kalimera

Known to some as the per­fect week­end get­away and to oth­ers as an artistic refuge, 75 kilo­metres from the heart of Cape Town lies the sleepy town of Darling. As Cape Town has expan­ded, more and more city folk have chosen to leave behind sub­urban liv­ing and build a new life in one of the Western Cape's outly­ing vil­lages. Darling was one of the first such towns and remains one of the favour­ites for its thriv­ing local com­munity and attract­ive nat­ural surrounds.

In less than an hour's drive you can remove your­self from all the cos­mo­pol­itan bustle of the city to a tran­quil­lity and old-world charm that will steal your heart.

The vil­lage lies amongst wheat fields and vine­yards and invites the vis­itor with its warmth and friend­li­ness to kick off your shoes and relax; to have a good meal at one of the res­taur­ants or the bis­tro and drink some of the well-known wines that make the Darling wine route.

There is no doubt that Darling has an artist’s heart; many artists and crafters have moved their base to this town over the past few years to get inspir­a­tion in the coun­try atmo­sphere. The enter­tainer Pieter Dirk Uys, a house­hold name in South Africa, has made his home here and it is quite an exper­i­ence to attend his dinner-theatre in the Old Darling sta­tion renamed Evita se Perron. He offers excel­lent ‘boerekos’ (farmer's food) while you are enter­tained by his often socially con­scious comic tales.

Yzerfontein © g-hat (Flickr)

Darling is only 23 kilo­metres from the coastal town of Yzerfontein, per­fect for people who have to be near a beach when on hol­i­day. The nat­ural sur­rounds also hold huge attrac­tion with their great vari­ety of flora and fam­ous wild flowers that draw many each year when the spring flowers go into full bloom. Taking a slow walk through the town gives you time to appre­ci­ate the local his­tory of the town. The museum can give you a good his­tor­ical sense of the town, espe­cially with regard to the dairy industry, which once again thrives in the 21^st cen­tury due to the town hav­ing its own suc­cess­ful creamery.

No hol­i­day is com­plete without a little local shop­ping, so browse through the antique shops that have some beau­ti­ful items on offer. Rustic yel­low wood and Oregon pine fur­niture is offer, as well as jew­ellery, writ­ing instru­ments and other treas­ures from the past. You will also see works on dis­play by well-known artist Jenni Jewels. The Monthly Market held on the first Saturday of each month will give the vis­itor a good idea of typ­ical South African coun­try life.

Darling is really the hub of the West coast, with all the basic amen­it­ies for every­day life — banks, super­mar­kets, ATMs, schools, churches and med­ical facil­it­ies such as doc­tors, a phar­macy and a clinic. Darling is a great blend­ing of old and new; the town suc­ceeds in pre­serving its old-world charm while mak­ing use of up to date amen­it­ies and the vis­itor who wants to stay for a few days is assured of real coun­try style accom­mod­a­tion at reas­on­able prices.

Useful Links:
More des­tin­a­tion info at:
Darling Accommodation
Darling Information
Voorkamerfest Darling (Annual Festival)
Darling Wild Flower Show
Evita Se Perron (Official Site)