An old wind pump, a Karoo trade mark
And so we,
finally, have reached the end of the 2021 road. For much of it, we have been
stationary, waiting to be released from self-imposed quarantine bondage. And
then, the relief, as we reached October, of seeing other parts of our beautiful
country. A wonderful two week road trip, the last of whose experiences we
publish here. And the joy of visiting wine farms and seeing old friends, most
of whom we had not seen for two years or so. Some of the people we visited
might have expected to see these stories earlier. We’ve simply had to delay
them because there were so many stories to tell.
Now it’s
time to relax. Family celebrations and small, very small, parties with close
friends. We hope that you will all enjoy the celebrations in the traditions of
your families, and then we’ll all gird our loins in a week’s time and plunge
into a new year. Let us hope that it will bring us all good health, comfort and
the love of those who mean the most to us. Thank you for reading our stories,
MENU visits the Karoo and the Garden Route 25. Weltevrede
estate, Bonnievale
There are so many excellent wine farms in the beautiful
Hemel and Aarde valley, but one we always try to visit is Newton Johnson. Why?
Because they produce beautiful elegant wine, wine we love, wine we want to buy
and drink. And they happen to be a really friendly and welcoming lot! So, as we
were staying in the area and had some late afternoon time, we had to visit. Read on…
Our visit to Highlands Road in Elgin nearly didn't start, as
the road to the farm was being resurfaced by their neighbour. The recent heavy
rains - and Elgin is one of our wettest places in the Cape - our largest Dam is
there - had stopped the brick paving operation and made the road a quagmire.
Luckily we could phone the farm, and they came to get us in the farm bakkie, so
we could leave our car (which is not a 4x4) here. Read on…
Tasting and lunch at Oak Valley
As we were
in the area recently, we ,took up an invitation to taste the wines at Oak
Valley. We tasted the wines with lunch in the renamed Melting Pot restaurant,
which is a wonderful venue for outside and inside meals and tastings
They have a
new chef, John van Zyl, who has worked with the very successful Chef Liam
Tomlin as head chef at Thali. His style of cooking and offering is summed up
here: "The Melting Pot is a flavour packed, global food experience,
serving contemporary small plates made for sharing. John’s cooking style is
heavily influenced by his travels abroad, giving you a culinary trip around the
world in one sitting. The menu is small and vibrant comprising up to ten dishes
that change every two weeks or so, with options for everyone. Be bold and order
‘one of everything’ for the full experience". And, indeed, we were to be
delighted with what we ate. Read on…
Lunch at The View on Chart Farm
We had thought of going to Klondyke Cherry Farm in Ceres to pick cherries this year, but the huge rise in the petrol price was a major deterrent. Then we remembered that the same family also owns Chart Farm, a rose farm in Constantia and yes, they do sell the Klondyke cherries. So we decided to kill three birds with one stone, do an escape from home, get some cherries and have lunch at The View restaurant on the farm. Read on…
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