I ♥ Beaufort West Because ...

I ♥ Beaufort West

Hi, I’m Elsolique from Old House Guesthouse in Beaufort West.

Beaufort West IS BEST KNOWN FOR its unique Karoo hospitality.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the Chris Barnard Museum; Chris Barnard was the fam­ous heart sur­geon who per­formed the worlds first heart transplant.

THE BEST Karoo PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the Karoo National Park.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT our beau­ti­ful pear trees on the Main Road.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO be out­side in the fresh Karoo air.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO visit friends.

I THINK THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT IS in the winter, BECAUSE our sum­mers have extreme heat. Continued

The Cape Leopard Trust — small cats with big problems

Dr Quinton Martins, the man behind The Cape Leopard Trust, has seen only seven ad hoc sight­ings of wild leo­pards in the Cederberg where his research takes place in eight years. Even with col­lars, he sees but a few each year. The Cape Leopard is a vul­ner­able, isol­ated pop­u­la­tion that occurs at low dens­ity in the moun­tains of the Northern, Eastern and Western Cape. Due to the influ­ence of European set­tlers over the past 350 years, it has already been made extinct in many areas where it used to roam. As the trust head­lines in its adverts to raise aware­ness: Leopards of the Cape are small cats with BIG prob­lems ... Continued

I ♥ Greyton Because ...

I ♥ Greyton

Hi, I’m Gemma Downing from The Farmhouse in Greyton.

Greyton IS BEST KNOWN FOR its oak tree lined streets and mag­ni­fi­cent Riviersonderend Mountains.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN whilst bob­bing about in the Gobos River — so refreshing.

THE BEST still life PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN in the sur­round­ing moun­tains early in the morn­ing when the spider webs are drip­ping with dew. Its magical!

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS all over the vil­lage ... includ­ing the Saturday morn­ing mar­ket. Continued

Napier Photographs

Napier is a pretty town sur­roun­ded by fields of bar­ley and wheat and was named after the Governor of the Cape at the time; Sir George Napier.  Interesting shops and eat­er­ies line the streets of the town and if you are in town you must make sure you visit The Farm Stall which is loc­ated dir­ectly through the town.  The interior is a quirky col­lec­tion of enamel signs (unfor­tu­nately not for sale) and other mem­or­ab­ilia.  Other inter­est­ing objects hang on the walls out­side – it makes for inter­est­ing con­ver­sa­tion as you wait for your deli­cious meal to arrive!

As like most of the towns in this area, the Dutch Reformed Church is a migh­tily impress­ive build­ing – look out for its unusual archi­tec­ture and if you visit, admire the teak interior.  Napier hosts the Patatfees (Sweet Potato Festival) in June each year and the route of the Voet van Afrika Marathon goes through the town when it’s held in October.

I’ve been to Napier twice now and always enjoy­ing stop­ping – whether it’s for an overnight stay or just for lunch at The Farm Stall!

Continued

L'Agulhas Photographs

The rel­at­ively small vil­lage of L’Agulhas is situ­ated in the Cape Agulhas region of the Western Cape, a mere two hour drive from Cape Town and is fam­ously known as the place where the two oceans; the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet.  Discovered in the 15^th cen­tury by the Portuguese, Agulhas was ori­gin­ally known as Cabo das Agulhas (Cape of Needles) because no vari­ation between true north and mag­netic north was shown on compasses.

Many ships have ended their sea-going jour­ney on the jagged rock form­a­tions found along this coast­line; hence the con­struc­tion of the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse which was built in 1840 (the 3^rd to be built in South Africa).  The fam­ous red and white build­ing was restored in 1968 and after being declared unsafe is now a National Monument.  The light­house is open to vis­it­ors and has an inter­est­ing museum and a quaint cof­fee shop should you need light refreshment!

The area has many walk­ing and hik­ing trails; per­haps try a walk along the sandy beaches all the way to Struisbaai?

Continued

Elgin Open Gardens Photographs

We spent the night in Elgin on Saturday and on the way home used the oppor­tun­ity to pop into one of the open gar­dens.  For those who don’t know, gar­dens are opened to the pub­lic every year (this year over the week­ends of October 29^th and 30^th and November 5^th and 6^th) in the Elgin, Vyeboom and Bot River Districts.  The gar­dens range from coun­try gar­dens that are well estab­lished (some are over 50 years old) to smal­ler gar­dens in vil­lages that have been recently planted but most are no more than a sixty minute drive from Cape Town and are so worth vis­it­ing. Many gar­dens have plants for sale and also offer tea and light meals.  There are also art and sculp­ture events on in the dis­trict and some local wine cel­lars are offer­ing tastings.

There are five dif­fer­ent routes.  Route 1 incor­por­ates Grabouw and its environs, Route 2 is the Viljoenshoop Road, Route 3 cov­ers the Highlands and Valley Road while Route 4 involves Villersdorp Road and Vyeboom and finally Route 5 looks after Houw Hoek and Bot River.  The dif­fer­ent farms and prop­er­ties are loc­ated along the vari­ous routes so you just need to decide on your route of choice and fol­low the map!

We vis­ited Boesmansrug which was part of Route 4. The gar­dens incor­por­ated rose and herb gar­dens, a secret garden, gor­geous green pas­tures and majestic oaks.  Plants and tea were on sale and money went to the chosen char­ity which was Kirstenbosch Environmental Education. Although some of the gar­dens offer free entry, some charge an entry fee of between R5 to R20 (entry to Oak Valley is R50 but pre-booking is essen­tial) so make sure you have cash on you.

It really is a lovely day out – I wish we’d planned the day bet­ter and spent more time vis­it­ing more gar­dens.  Continued

I ♥ Wynberg Because ...

I ♥ Wynberg

Hi, I’m Shaun Lawrence from Palm House Luxury Guest House in Wynberg.

Wynberg IS BEST KNOWN FOR being the old­est area in the south­ern sub­urbs with its beau­ti­ful Chelsea cot­tages giv­ing you English charm in the middle of Africa.  Chelsea Village dates back to the 1700’s and has glor­i­ous ‘Englishy’ archi­tec­ture … think cute cot­tages and thatch rooves.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT Wynberg Park which is also known as Maynardville Park. The park is a much-loved out­door venue in Cape Town and is host to the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre, fam­ous for its annual Shakespeare-in-the-Park.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS in and around the Chelsea Village.  Why not sit on the park bench in the ori­ginal vil­lage square?! Continued

Arniston Photographs

This pic­tur­esque little fish­ing vil­lage on the shores of Marcus Bay is also known as Waenhuiskrans (‘wagon shel­ter cliff’).  The name comes from a large sea-cave, which although only vis­ible dur­ing low-tide resembles the struc­tures used by set­tlers to house their wag­ons and cattle.  The vil­lage itself got the name ‘Arniston’ from the Arniston ship which wrecked off the in 1815.  After cut­ting away three of its anchors the ves­sel ran ashore and broke up on the sharp rocks off the Arniston Reef.  Sadly, only six of the 378 pas­sen­gers sur­vived to tell the tale.

Arniston how­ever is a pretty vil­lage, with spark­ling blue water and gor­geous beaches, per­fect for laz­ing away sunny sum­mer days.  Artists and pho­to­graph­ers are attrac­ted to the sea­side loc­a­tion; the white-washed cot­tages, rolling sand dunes, steep cliffs and blue ocean make for pic­ture per­fect pho­to­graphs and paint­ings!  The cot­tages are Kassiebaai are more than 200 years old and are a National Monument.

De Hoop and De Mond Nature Reserves neigh­bour Arniston; a bird watcher and hikers delight.

Continued

Struisbaai Photographs

Although a bit windy on the day we vis­ited Struisbaai and not being dur­ing ‘sea­son’ just yet we could still get a vibe for this pretty sea­side town loc­ated in the Cape Agulhas region of the Western Cape.  Colourful fish­ing boats bobbed in the har­bour and chil­dren swam and boogie-boarded in the waves (don’t chil­dren ever feel the cold?!). A board­walk through part of the dunes makes for easy walk­ing and the views of the beaches are worth see­ing – whether it’s windy or not!

During the sum­mer months Struisbaai enjoys a healthy amount of vis­it­ors who come to the town to enjoy the water sports on offer.  It’s easy to launch a kayak or small boat from the beach while kite-surfing and board­ing are also pop­u­lar.  Struisbaai, like many of the coastal vil­lages in this region boasts quaint white-washed fishermen’s houses and newer houses must fol­low the design of the ori­ginal cot­tages.  If in the town make sure you visit the Anglican church which is now a National Monument. Continued

I ♥ Constantia Because ...

I ♥ Constantia

Hi, I’m Olga Backberg from Wild Peach Cottage in Constantia.

Constantia IS BEST KNOWN FOR its stun­ning nat­ural beauty and as the birth­place of the wine farm­ing industry in South Africa.
GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT Groot Constantia, the old­est and prob­ably the most fam­ous wine estate in South Africa, with sev­eral well-preserved ori­ginal build­ings rep­res­ent­ing some of the best examples of the Cape Dutch archi­tec­tural style, for which this area is renowned.
THE BEST pan­or­amic land­scape pic­tures  over­look­ing the Constantia Valley and False Bay CAN BE TAKEN FROM the slopes of the Table Mountain chain, when hik­ing on one of the many paths between Constantia Nek and Cecilia Forest (no need to be extremely fit to go on these hik­ing trails!).
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT world-renowned Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden, which is home to over 22,000 indi­gen­ous plants. Continued

Bredasdorp Photographs

We had the oppor­tun­ity to visit the town of Bredasdorp when we took part in the Voet van Afrika Marathon this past week­end.  The town is situ­ated in the Cape Agulhas region of the Western Cape and claims to be the first town or dorp to be estab­lished in South Africa.  Apart from being a big pro­du­cer of wheat and pro­tea flowers, Bredasdorp is also well known for hav­ing South Africa’s only Shipwreck Museum (which was sadly closed on this week­end).  The museum has an extens­ive col­lec­tion of arte­facts from ships wrecked along this coast­line … one can see can­nons, coins, chinaware and ship bells.  One of the rooms at the museum is a trib­ute to Audrey Blignaut, a South African author born in Bredasdorp.

The wheat fields that sur­round the town attract many dif­fer­ent birds; we were lucky enough to see 13 Blue Cranes in one field alone and although not avid birders ticked off our first ‘lifer’; a Cape Teal duck mer­rily pad­dling around a farm pond! Hueningberg Nature Reserve is a must if you enjoy the great out­doors – there are lots of walks avail­able.  Bredasdorp and the area around it is a won­der­ful place to visit and at just over two hours from Cape Town, it’s the per­fect dis­tance for a week­end get­away. Continued

I ♥ Rondebosch Because ...

I ♥ Rondebosch

Hi, I’m Vanessa Wium from Sandown Lodge in Rondebosch.

Rondebosch IS BEST KNOWN FOR its his­tory as the place where the first Dutch set­tlers where given land to farm along the banks of the Liesbeek River, where Cecil John Rhodes rebuilt the Groote Schuur Estate which today is the home of the State President and where Simon Van de Stel, the first Governor of the Cape Colony lived. The his­toric beauty of the Cape Dutch style homes and build­ings and tree lined streets adds to its old world charm. Rondebosch is also home to South Africa’s top rated uni­ver­sity, the University of Cape Town as well as a num­ber of the country’s top private and gov­ern­ment schools includ­ing Bishops, Rondebosch Boys, SACS, Westerford and Rustenberg Girls schools.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT Rhodes Memorial on the bot­tom slopes of Devils Peak while watch­ing the sun rise over Cape Town for spec­tac­u­lar views and his­toric nos­tal­gia. Continued

I ♥ Darling Because ...

I ♥ Darling

Hi, I’m Paul Martin from Aloe Cottage in Darling.

Darling IS BEST KNOWN FOR its won­der­fully diverse spring flowers, the Voorkamerfest Theatre and Arts Festival, Evita se Perron (the home of Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout), great wine farms, art gal­ler­ies, country-style res­taur­ants and bis­tros, the Duckitt orchid nurs­ery, the friendly small-town atmo­sphere and relaxed coun­try life.
GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT Evita se Perron where you can pose as "the most fam­ous white woman in South Africa" and take a humor­ous trip down South Africa's memory lane at Boerassic Park.
THE BEST spring flower PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the Tinie Versfeld Wildflower Reserve, Waylands Flower Reserve or at the orchid open days at Duckitt Nurseries on the first Saturday of the month from May to November.
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS CAN BE TAKEN while sip­ping wine at some of the local wine farms like Ormonde, Cloof, Darling Cellars, Groote Post and Tukulu. Continued

Stanford Photographs

Stanford is a quaint, sleepy vil­lage that is found on the other side of Hermanus in the Cape Overberg.  Sheltered by the Klein River Mountains it’s a peace­ful vil­lage that has a healthy mix of art gal­ler­ies, antique and second hand shops, res­taur­ants, side­walk cafes and pubs.  Originally a farm, de Kleine Riveirs Valey and the his­tor­ical build­ings on tree-lined streets are ref­er­ence to the English influ­ence on the vil­lage and why its now the third most his­tor­ic­ally import­ant vil­lage in the Western Cape.

If vis­it­ing Stanford a must see is the Birkenhead Brewery which is a boutique brew­ery open for beer tast­ing and lunches and the Stanford Walking Trail which meanders its way along the Klein River, through the town and offers walk­ers great bird­ing oppor­tun­it­ies, includ­ing sight­ing the endangered Blue Crane.

Stanford is a won­der­ful week­end venue; per­fect to take in the sights or just as per­fect to laze around the garden and do noth­ing! Continued

I ♥ Napier Because ...

I ♥ Napier

Hi, I’m Craigan Millar from The Suntouched Inn in Napier.

Napier IS BEST KNOWN FOR the little arty town on the way to Arniston!
GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the biggest sun­dial in South Africa, at the Napier Muncipal Building.
THE BEST scenery PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the top of the Grootberg.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO visit the beaches of Arniston or Struisbaai and enjoy the Elim Wine Route.
WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO visit JD Wine cel­lar and Napier Brewery.
I THINK THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT IS September, BECAUSE the fields are vibrant green and bright yel­low with grasses and can­ola, and June when the Patat Festival takes place. Continued