Soekershof Walkabout: Get Away for the Day

There are no easy categories in which to place Soekershof, on the R60 between Robertson and Ashton, at the fringe of the Klein Karoo region of the Western Cape - unless, that is, you use adjectives instead of nouns. How about unique, fantastic, and soul-restoring for a start?

Stunning Succulent

Among other things, Soekershof is:

A 100,000 square meter patch of the Klaas Voogds section of the Langeberg mountains, which makes it a splendid picnic spot.
A series of labyrinths and huge garden mazes made of walls of shrubs, which one can wander through all day.
A site of legends, wonderfully told by proprietors Herman van Bon and Yvonne de Wit, who relate the history of the region, introduce “living legend” wire art craftsman Messina Mussindo (Joey), and tell a great “James Bond” story.
A garden featuring over 2400 succulents.
A place for moonlit walkabouts and philosophical musings.
A Fair Trade-certified destination (meaning a visit has positive economic spinoffs for the local community).
A threat to the national security of the United States of America.

(The last point is true! A US defense satellite picked up one of Soekershof’s huge garden mazes in 2003, and mistook it for an anti-aircraft installation, sparking a bit of a scramble.)

Soekershof Hosts

Soekershof is so difficult to pin down, in fact, that the best advice SA Blog can give is - visit! Entrance is just R40 per person, the drive is just 2 hours from Cape Town, along a very pleasant route (Route 60, to be exact, either coming down from Worcester or up from Swellendam), there are plenty of places to stay in the area (including the many B&B’s of nearby Montagu), and the regaining of a sense of childlike wonder is practically guaranteed. For testimonials, visit Soekerhof’s “Love Letters”.