A night at Oasis Shanti Backpackers, Oudtshoorn

We decided to go to the Port Festival in Calitzdorp rather late and all the available accommodation there was full, so we spent the night in the closest accommodation we could find which was in Oudtshoorn.  It turned out to be a very reasonable backpackers. Both of us stayed in a few of these in our youthful trips around Europe and we are delighted to report that they have improved immensely.  You no longer have to take your own sheets!

A beautiful late afternoon scene over the Karoo on the road to Oudtshoorn, which is only about 47 kilometers from Calitzdorp

Oasis Shanti backpackers is in a large old house in what obviously was once a very prosperous neighbourhood but now is a little run down, most of the Ostrich money having left Oudtshoorn  several decades ago

The side view

and the large car park

Seating under the tree by the swimming pool for better weather

Our spacious and clean bedroom had an electric blanket and heating and all linen was provided bar towels, which we took with us

A simple but adequate private bathroom and there were lots more communal showers and loos down the hall

The dining room

Seats and table on the verandah

One of the guests was braaiing and the others were watching the Rugby in the rec room. 

There is a huge and well fitted kitchen. The price for our double room with ensuite was R325 a night in winter. Not bad for somewhere to lay our heads and leave early the next morning. And the staff were very helpful. Oh, and it had the most comfortable mattress we slept on all week!

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©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Chocolate and Port pairing tasting at Boplaas, Calitzdorp

Boplaas tasting room entrance in the sunshine

The tasting room was very busy doing tastings and making sales and there was a Festival special to tempt you – a white blend called Fees Gees at R25 a bottle.

And of course some of the award winning dessert wines and Ports

The selection of five ports and five wines and the brownies to be paired with them, plus two very unusual savoury filled macaroons. One was a chicken liver flavour and the other a blue cheese. The blue cheese went well with both the wine and the port but the sweet brownies, and they were delicious, did fight a little with the dry wines.

Chef Francois Ferreira took us through the tasting and made us laugh a lot.

We loved his humour. “When I first drank this I was young and beautiful.... now I am just ‘and’” ! The bottles in front of him are what we tasted with the brownies and macaroons.

Francois with Eric Laubuschagne, who made the brownies and macaroons. His company Yummi is in Stellenbosch and he really knows his stuff. They are completely wheat and gluten free, moist and full of the very best chocolate and other ingredients and flavours.

An excellent selection to taste of an afternoon

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©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Sunday morning drive from Oudtshoorn to Calitzdorp for breakfast at Handelshuis then via Groenekloof to Knysna

A typical Karoo road, the Romans could have built this, it is so straight

Wonderful morning light on the hills

We followed rainbows all day. This is De Ou Pastorie. Looks a bit like the Russian Steppes

Storm clouds coming in. Our car parked on the side of the road while John takes photographs

Another wonderful rainbow

The interior of Die Handelshuis café – we had several recommendations to have breakfast there

Lots of local charm and many fun signs

This one says it all

A nice arrangement!

The menu

Because of these Angels, Lynne kept calling this De Hemelshuis. Must have come from an old church.

John popped outside while we were waiting for breakfast to photograph the quiet Sunday streets

The local museum

The outside of Die Handelshuis

One of the many B and B’s

The lightest omelette in the world. Made by beating the whites till stiff and then folding in the rest of the egg. As fluffy as a soufflé

The  Full House breakfast for Lynne. Superbly fresh eggs and very good Boerewors.

They obviously have some strange customers

When men were men and beer was beer...

The owner with two of her regular locals

A wild flower blooming on the side of the road

We took the route less travelled down the Groenfontein road on our way back to Oudtshoorn and onwards to Knysna.  There are lots of art galleries down this road and Peter Bayly’s farm and others

Having a look at art and pottery on a Sunday morning. We know the owners, they also have a gallery at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock

A nice view through the trees of Peter and Yvonne Bayly's home farm

Some locals on the road next to an aloe covered Kloof

A farm nestled in the hills. Many of the houses and farms are painted cream and white and have green roofs.  It looks very traditional and fits into the landscape very well

Down the steep wandering road. The surface had just been graded so it was an easy trip of just over an hour with very beautiful scenery

Full dams, rolling hills and high mountains shrouded in cloud on a chilly and wet winter Sunday

Such a thrill to see this raptor so close up. It was resting on a post on the side of the road and flew off as John pointed the camera at it. We saw so many birds on our trip to Calitzdorp. Definitely a place to revisit.

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©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Boere Barok Secret Dinner at De Krans - Port Festival, Calitzdorp

We were invited by Boets Nel of De Krans to one of the Secret Dinners, which was to be held to on his farm on Saturday night at the Port Festival. The secret? Well, that was “What is for Dinner and Who is cooking it?” Tickets were R300 a person. Ours was entitled mystifyingly “Boere Barok” and it was prepared by Francois Ferreira , Toinette du Toit (Kokkedoor finalist) and Eric Labuschagne of Yummi did dessert. Francois Ferreira, who has a Culinary Academy in George, had trained up some local young people to be our servers and they performed their duties quietly, efficiently and with great grace and attention and we had a lovely evening

The rather nervous serving staff get ready for the guests to arrive. This was a first time for them all.

A clever idea for table mats was to use old copies of Food and Home

The ‘barman ‘ – De Krans Sales Manager opens all the bottles we are going to have paired with the 5 course menu

Our welcome drink was the lovely full sweet De Krans 2013 White Muscadel – great to keep the chill out as Calitzdorp gets very cold on winter nights

The menu is revealed. The theme was less local Boerekos and had a much more Mediterranean slant

The chefs in the kitchen

Stokbrood (bread baked on a stick) with a very garlicky bean paste and a sliver of caramelised onion. So not on our diet but the humus-like paste was very delicious

Chef Francois Ferreira explains the dinner and tells us about the staff he has trained

Host Boets Nel, owner of De Krans, with Francois

Eric Labuschagne, Toinette du Toit, Francois Ferreira and Boets Nel

Served with the starter was De Krans Cape Pink port, redolent with strawberries and the Calitzdorp Cellars dry Rosé

Thick pea and ham soup topped with a cappuccino like foam, served with chopped chorizo sausage to sprinkle. Served with Axe Hill Cape Ruby and the De Krans Chenin Blanc

The chopped chorizo

Boets Nel tells us about the de Krans wines. That is his daughter in the background

Roasted Brisket of beef served with spiced chick peas. Served with DuSwaRoo Cape Vintage and De Krans Tritonia

Very hot twice baked cauliflower and cheese soufflé served with Peter Bayly Cape White and Boplaas Chardonnay

“Textures of chocolate: A brownie, a macaroon, chocolate soil and  Served with Boplaas Cape Tawny and De Krans Tinta Mocha red wine

The chefs and the serving staff

Boets Nel with his wife and daughter

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©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014