Prince Albert is at the bottom of the phenomenal Swartberg Pass, built in the Victorian era – and the town is named for Victoria's husband. We checked into our very smart self-catering apartment at Koppie Cottage and discovered that we could sit outside at the back and so we braaied for the first time. Even the front entrance had some seating
We have to say we were SO impressed with Koppie Cottage, it is one of the very best self catering places we have ever stayed at anywhere, including overseas. Our landlady has such a good sense of style, it is very comfortable and spacious and she had not forgotten to supply everything we could want while overnighting. And the price was very reasonable
The bed and linen were great, we could sit and relax on the
sofa,
or in the outside area at the back, where we found the
braai. And we were not disturbed at all
The small, functional kitchen and a table large enough for
laptops and work
Lovely antique furniture mixed with modern, and much
appreciated, mosquito nets
Yes we do have mosquitoes in here in the summer, but no malaria
this far South
A small but perfectly arranged bathroom
The spacious outside area; we had brought our own wood and
good boerewors from Calitzdorp
We did go and investigate the local restaurants and shops
for a while
but decided that, after the long day's travelling, we
preferred a night in, relaxing
The town of Prince Albert is charming, neat and clean
and so many of the buildings have been preserved and
restored to an excellent standard
Friends had recommended this restaurant as being very good,
and said that the Chef had been charming!
His menu is tempting, especially the Karoo lamb, which is
fed on the scrub bush in the Karoo which adds to the flavour
How do people get their geraniums to look so good and
abundant?
In our neck of the woods they are lanky with few flowers,
perhaps they don't like sea air
An easy braai of boerewors and two salads and some very good
wine, then an early night with our books
Out of our great accommodation in Prince Albert by 9.30 am
and we had a little more time to explore this lovely town
A quiet residential street
The gap in the hills behind is where the road leads to the Swartberg
Pass
It was Monday morning, when things are open. We visited two
antique shops, one deli and took lots of photographs,
then visited Gay's Cheese
shop before we left for Graaff-Reinet, which is 3½ hours away
This is the historic church
A Nash and a bike - A derelict late 1940s Nash car outside
an antique shop with a man passing by on a bicycle
and, tucked under the pepper tree, there is an old cart
Now, that wheel is hand-made craftsmanship
A "barn treasure" ripe for restoration
John loves old cars, so we had to go in and ask about it
It's a 1946/7 Nash Ambassador Streamline. A prestige vehicle
when new
It needs an upholsterer and a paint job. We're not informed
about the state of the engine
Oh hell, exactly the wingback armchair we have been looking
for,
in such good condition, but not an inch of space in the car
to transport it back home
and a Kerkorrel - a small church organ from the Edwardian era. And lots of great antiques and bygones
Wow, an impressive preservation of the totally correct old
Art Deco cinema. The venue can be used as a theatre, cinema, gallery, seminar
venue and, in the future, a film school. The list of possibilities for this
establishment is endless. “The Showroom” boasts state-of-the-art theatre and
cinema equipment, making it suitable to facilitate and attract some of the
countries top performers
Some of the buildings are even older
and these have been preserved as well
A feature of the town is the famous Swartberg Hotel; a bit
pricy for our budget, but it did look lovely
We went exploring to see the shop and the restaurant
It was Monday and the sign for the famous Sunday lunch was
still on show
Had we arrived in Prince Albert in time, we would have gone
for this; amazing value
Dinner in the Victoria Room does sound tempting too; well,
next time
The day's specials
Dappled shade under the Latte roofs (long poles of similar
width, often pine, reeds or bamboo)
Some other well preserved houses in Prince Albert
and in the back streets too
This was once a hotel
We explored a couple of other antique shops. prices are high
but the quality is good. "When it was once your job, you can't resist a
look", says Lynne, who worked for Phillips Auctioneers and an antique
gallery for several years in London
Lovely things,
and great signs
We had seen the sign for the dairy, so headed there and at
the entrance found this old cart. John's grandparents, with his mother as a
baby, travelled from Nieu Bethesda to Graaff-Reinet in one of these, when the
roads were more primitive
Gay's Guernsey Dairy is a feature of the town
They make several different cheeses and here are some drying
on a rack
The prices are not bad and you can have a tasting before you
buy
So we did. You get a very generous tasting of most of the
cheeses from marvellous Clive. We bought four cheeses including two hard
cheeses, their feta and mozzarella and could have bought more if we had not
been constrained by space in our cold boxes
The shop also has great things to buy, like fresh eggs and
preserves
and, hanging from the ceiling, there are drying hams and
sausages
Time to head off for the drive to Graaff-Reinet
This is Prince Albert's main road. We headed down it thinking we were going the right way, NO! we found out when we saw the road signs further out of town it was the wrong road, so we had to come back into town. This goes to Oudtshoorn and the coast, an easier route to get to Prince Albert if you don't want to take the Swartberg Pass. They were in the middle of a two hour power cut (yes they have them too in the Karoo, probably more than we have in Cape Town) so we had no Wi-Fi facility to dial up Drive or Google maps on our phones. The petrol station attendant put us on the right track and using our rather old map book (who said we wouldn’t need them again?) we headed out of town towards our destination, Graaff-Reinet. We would like to come back to Prince Albert one day; it’s a great place
Click here to see our drive through the Karoo to Graaff-Reinet
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