There’s still one day to go for this year’s Riebeek Valley Olive Festival, happening in the twin Swartland towns of Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West, just an hour and half drive from Cape Town on the N7 and R46 (maps).
No less than 21 local establishments - from olive and wine farms to restaurants and B&Bs - are participating, opening their doors not just to an olive- and olive oil-hungry public, but also to a bevy of producers of homemade jams, honeys, dried fruits and other edible goodies. There’s plenty to see and do - how about a gyrocopter …
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One of the Western Cape’s most famous backpackers’, The Farm outside of Ceres, has a work-stay programme for those who want to get to know South Africa from the ground up.
The deal is: work 5 hours a day for two weeks on the farm (minimum - you’ll be known as a “Whoofer”) and get benefits in the form of free activities, camaraderie and credit in the University of Life.
Book your stay at The Farm.Click here for related Swartland pieces.
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(An SA Blog Beta post from Your Correspondent)
Part 4/6: Tulbagh Wine Tasting
The Swartland region has the best value-for-money wines in the Western Cape, in Your Correspondent’s opinion, and sampling as much of it as possible is naturally an essential part of any visit.
As mentioned in Part 1 of this adventure, if you drive to Tulbagh via Riebeek-Kasteel, you can start with the excellent wines at Allesverloren and the Riebeek Kelder.
Once you’ve hit Tulbagh, these are the top must-tastes. Most are open 6 or 7 days a week, and keep normal business hours, but it never hurts to call ahead.
Shiraz is …
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(An SA Blog Beta post from Your Correspondent)
This post is an extension of the Tulbagh 6-Part Serial Adventure! (3/6).
Restaurant Review: Reader’s
12 Church St., Tulbagh
+27 (0) 23 230-0087
readers@iafrica.com
Closed Tuesdays. Reservations essential.
This splendid establishment comprises two small, elegant dining rooms in a long, whitewashed, thatch-roofed house; a few friendly cats; a sprightly, rubicund proprietor-cum-chef-cum-server in Carol Collins; and a delightful, creative menu which changes daily.
Visitors are greeted with a glass of sherry before being seated. This welcoming custom is one that other establishments should consider adopting!
I and my lovely assistant began by sharing a courgette (zucchini) and Camembert soup, which …
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(An SA Blog Beta post from Your Correspondent)
Part 2/6: Where to Stay
Every lane in Tulbagh that you turn into, it seems, has a pretty sign rocking in the breeze which advertises a place to stay. But while the number of beds in the valley is high - very high - the variety of accomodation is limited to B&B and self-catering. There are no backpackers’ in Tulbagh, and only one hotel. More on the hotel in a moment.
Actually, I can’t contain my enthusiasm for the hotel, so it gets to go first. It’s called the Tulbagh Hotel. No surprise there. The surprise is that, in addition to its seven well-appointed rooms and pleasant situation on the town’s main road, the hotel is home to a working Irish pub, complete with a half-dozen beers on tap and an uncountable number of bottled imports, more than 100 single malt whiskeys, cases of local and international wines, and real Chesterfields, set in front of wide deep hearths, that you can doze off in after having your pint.
This pub, called the Shamrock & Thistle, while not the 8th wonder of the world, is somewhere near it - say 11th or 12th. There’s nothing like it for thousands of kilometers in any direction. If you don’t stay at the Tulbagh Hotel, at the very least drop by the Shamrock for a glass of the best. (Note: the pub keeps strict pub hours, opening from 7pm to 11pm only.)
To book a room or make a reservation for a pub supper, phone +27 (0) 23 230 0071.
Meanwhile, traditionally the first place to investigate sleeping options in Tulbagh is quaint Church Street.
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Part 6/6: Tarzan Fabriekswinkel, Home of the Ultimate Boot in the Swartland
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Tarzan Fabriekswinkel, Tulbagh
Photo by SouthAfricaBlog.com.
Here at the BootsnAll.com Travel Network, we’re deeply concerned with matters leather, rubber, steel and engineered arch support. In short, we like good boots. We always check for double stitching and waxed laces, and we only test drive new footwear in our thick, gray hiking socks.
Now, SA Blog brings the …
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(An SA Blog Beta post from Your Correspondent)
Part 5/6: Outdoor Fun
The splendor of the Swartland is held not just in its harvests of wheat and (extra splendid) grapes; it’s also got a big dome of African sky, and plenty to explore underneath it on foot.
The most decadent day outing from your base in Tulbagh is to the Klondyke Cherry Farm, about 50 kms to the west, via the fruit-producing town of Ceres. The farm is situated some way up the Swaarmoed Pass, which means, technically, that you’ve moved out of the Swartland and into the Kouebokkeveld - a region …
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(An SA Blog Beta post from Your Correspondent)
This post is an extension of the Tulbagh 6-Part Serial Adventure! (3/6).
Restaurant Review: Plum
10 Church St., Tulbagh
+27 (0) 23 230-8005
Breakfast and Lunch only.
Of all the things I expected to eat in Tulbagh, two large pork frankfurters were rather low on the list. But, having arrived at Plum after a morning of wine-tasting (see tomorrow’s Tulbagh blog), I was in need of ballast, and the word “frankfurter” stood out somehow. My lovely assistant also leaned toward heavy rather than light, ordering the chicken schnitzel.
The schnitzel was decent, .5 out of 1, but …
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(An SA Blog Beta post from Your Correspondent)
Part 3/6: Dining in Tulbagh
One of the best reasons to visit Tulbagh is that it’s something of a gastronome’s paradise. On Church St. alone, there are a half-dozen establishments catering to refined tastes.
Pub suppers at the Shamrock & Thistle on Main Road have already been mentioned (in Part 2 of this Adventure); and some of Tulbagh’s wine estates also have good restaurants (for instance, Rijks).
There is, however, a hierarchy to follow, and for the best breakfast, lunch and dinner, SA Blog recommends Paddagang, Plum and Reader’s, in that order. All are found …
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(An SA Blog Beta Post from Your Correspondent)
The hamlet of Tulbagh offers perhaps the best motoring weekend away from Cape Town. It has peace for the world-weary; adventure for the energetic; fantastic dining for gastronomes; the best value-for-money wines in the Western Cape; and (of signal interest to BootsnAll readers) its own home-grown boot factory. You simply can’t go wrong, visiting Tulbagh, as SA Blog will demonstrate over the next several days.
The area can be quite hot in summer and quite cold in winter, so check the week’s weather forecast when booking.
Part 1/6: Getting There
The town’s name rhymes with Bach, as in J.S. It’s situated in the heart of the Swartland, one of SA’s main wheat-growing regions, about 2 hours’ drive from Cape Town.
Many roads lead to Tulbagh, but they all could be better marked. The word “Tulbagh” only begins to appear on signs once you’re near Ceres, Wolseley, Hermon or Malmesbury, so aim for these towns first.
Leaving Cape Town, you have two options:
(1) The N1 to Wellington, which in turn offers the R44 to Hermon, or alternately the R303 to Wolseley and Ceres, the latter traversing one of the most beautiful mountain passes in SA, Bain’s Kloof - budget an extra hour for the convoluted Bain’s Kloof road, two if you pack a picnic.
(2) My favourite route, the N7 to Malmesbury, which leads to the R46 and Riebeek-Kasteel, thence to the R44 and Hermon, and thence to Tulbagh, over the extremely tame Nuwekloof Pass.
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