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Published: February 23rd 2011
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Barbara & John’s Newsletter on Route 62/Wine Route/Little Karoo
The last week or so has taken us through numerous mountain passes with some wonderful scenery. The weather during this time has varied from the hot to the too bloody hot (40 degrees+).
Our first stop was at Tulbagh, where we stayed in a spacious house, called Dreamcatcher. Tulbagh is small, charming and picturesque, sitting below the stunning Witsenberg mountain range. We had an evening meal at the Reader’s restaurant, outside, overlooking the local open cricket ground, as the sun was setting; a very nice way to end the day. I had antelope while Barbara had a bobotie; a Malay Dutch speciality. This was in Church St, which contains some very old and pretty thatched Dutch buildings dating from the 17th century.
We had a day driving through the area, including to the busy Ceres, which is more commercial, being the centre of a large agricultural valley, mainly growing apples and pears, but also potatoes and grapes. After going through the two passes of Mitchell and Gydo, which gave some tremendous mountain and fertile valley views, we also ventured down the Witsenberg valley road with its interesting mountains
and boulders backdrop. In Tulbagh we also visited just one cellar, Rijk’s, principally to try the Sauvignon Blanc, which was pretty good, as were the Chenin, Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wine, Bravado.
The route to our next stop at Montagu was generally average until we reached Burgers Pass, which was more spectacular with some wonderful mountain and valley scenery. Our first full day was to Genadendal and Greyton. It was a pleasant enough drive generally into the Overberg area but the initial part of the journey, soon after leaving Montagu, was fantastic, with some amazing colours of red, brown, orange pink and even green on peaks that were rugged and rocky. The historical centre of Genadendal, the oldest mission station in SA, was essentially closed; the locals are clearly a religious lot compared to their neighbours at Greytown who we subsequently discovered were open for business on a fine sunny Sunday afternoon. Greyton is very tourist orientated with lots of cafes and restaurants etc. It is a very affluent town compared to its neighbour, being clearly Boer orientated, with whitewashed walls and thatched roofs being prevalent. The views on our return to Montagu were again stunning and with
the different position of the sun now, some of the peaks were simply awesome, with so many varied colours and craggy outcrops it seemed like modern art, since it did not seem quite real; simply psychedelic. After this we headed for a late afternoon visit to the Avalon Spring Hotel for a soak in the hot springs. It was an excellent way to end the day, in the outside pools, which are set within the perimeter of a craggy orange coloured outcrop from which the spring water gushes at a constant 43 degrees.
The following day we headed for the self proclaimed gastronomic capital of the world, Franshhoek, one of the main wine growing areas in the region. The scenery on the southern part of the Pass leading into Franshhoek was interesting albeit not spectacular, but as soon as the summit was reached the views over Franshhoek valley and the surrounding mountains were magnificent. The vibrancy of the green fertile valley below surrounded on three sides by dramatic peaks was certainly a big Wow. We drove around the area generally for a while and spotted several wineries set amid plush surroundings. We then headed for the town centre, basically
one long road. It is a very swish town with lots of restaurants and cafes as well as expensive shops. We chose to eat at the Haut Cabriere Cellar for lunch, just outside of town, set within the mountainside. I had a four course tasting menu with accompanying wines, which was excellent, finishing off with the best cheese platter I think I have ever had, incorporating so many fruits, including crystallised figs and melon. Barbara thankfully had an alcohol free lunch. A visit to their cellars afterwards left Barbara to drive home again
The following day saw us heading for Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of the world, where our main interest was a trip to Prince Albert, via the Swartberg Pass. At the start to the gravel pass there was a sign saying it was closed, but we ignored it. There were a few other vehicles about which encouraged us to continue. We only travelled at an average of 15 kph, because of the quality of the road, but it was wider than some of the passes we travelled on in Oz and NZ. The scenes over the valley below were excellent. These though became a bit average once
we passed the summit of the pass. The scenes on the track, on the Prince Albert side of the mountain, were somewhat more dramatic with some fabulously red and brown coloured mountain peaks with craggy outcrops not dissimilar to the stunning views through the pass from Robertson to Montagu. The scenery just before reaching the base of the mountain range was tremendous, being a series of dramatic coloured canyons wending their way towards Prince Albert; simply sensational. We reached Prince Albert soon after midday; it is a gentle, sleepy town dating back to the mid nineteenth century. The pace of life appears very unhurried. It has a relaxed ambience, although locals seem a bit concerned by the recent influx of city dwellers, seeking a retreat, and their attempts to change buildings in order to accommodate their city indulgencies; sounds familiar. The return journey to Oudtshoorn was via the Meiringspoort Pass. This is a generally a faster tarred road. Much of the route is interesting but not dramatic until the Pass. It then becomes as dramatic as the end part of the Swartberg Pass. The stunning red/brown mountains were jaw droppingly dramatic and colourful. The finale was a stop at the
visitor centre, which gave access to a short path leading to a waterfall with a 60 metre drop. Thanks to last night’s thunderstorm the water flow was impressive, as was the general scene.
Our final day in the Little Karoo started at the famous Highgate Ostrich Farm. The guided tour was excellent; it was informative and highly amusing. Our guide was young and enthusiastic with lots of interesting details about the life and mating habits of Ostriches. He seems to have a natural talent of good communication and an understanding and flair with handling the birds. He gave a good appreciation of the history of the farm and briefly explained the economic advantages associated with ostriches, including the use of their feathers (which re-grow after plucking), skin for leather, as food, as good reproducers, as well as the uses their many infertile eggs can be put to. Barbara then fed a few by hand before we drove off to the second part of the tour to see one of the farms oldest females, at 37 years of age, brooding on six eggs. She allowed us to hold the eggs, as well as stand on them. This was fascinating, albeit
I wondered whether we were completely safe, given her 140 kilos of weight and her powerful and dangerous gouging feet. The next phase of the tour took us to the riding pen. We had a thorough explanation of the anatomy of the Ostrich, by our guide, as he exposed the bird’s features in almost forensic detail. It was fascinating, not only the details but also the compliance of the bird as it was manhandled. After this our guide invited us to sit on and then ride an Ostrich; regrettfully we declined the latter. We were then given a demonstration of how to ride Ostriches at pace; they can run at up to 70kph. Three of the farm hands had a race, in an enclosure which was about a hundred yards long. It was over in about 5 seconds. This whole part of this section of the tour was exhilarating and lots of fun. The tour finished back at the reception with a look at a skeleton of an ostrich as well as examples of what oddities had been found in the stomachs of a number of them, including some spark plugs; no wonder they are so fast.
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