We picked strawberries in Hankey

I am way behind on my blogging.  Like in "get Dr Strange in here with the Time Stone and send me back 6 months so I can try to start and catch up" behind.  Life is getting in the way and life is made up of work, family, kids, sport, etc, etc, etc...  That plus having a teenager in the house that occupies my laptop all evening, which have now conked out for the third time in a year. The laptop, not the teenager.  Freekin hell, please remind me never to buy an Acer computer again.  That is if I ever have money to buy a laptop again with what Miggie's indoor cricket is costing me.  Anyhow... We picked strawberries in Hankey, in January, which is a good 4 and a half months ago already, but I would really like to share it with you. 

Madele' Ferreira has been growing strawberries outside Hankey in the Gamtoos Valley for over 20 years and for the last few years they have managed to produce strawberries commercially all year round.  With over 12 hectares covered in strawberries and supplying some of the biggest retail chains around, the Mooihoek strawberries have probably crossed your lips at one stage or another, but only from the shop to your table to your mouth.  Although they have had many requests from people to come and pick their own strawberries they have never been ready for the public to do so.  That was until Madele's daughter was looking to earn some extra money during the summer holiday and it was decided to allow the public to pick for a limited time only.  The response? Overwhelming and so much more than they ever imagined.

I headed out to Hankey with the family in tow and two teenagers who weren't very excited about the outing, mainly because they had no idea what they will get to do.  Yes, they knew we were going to pick strawberries, but I don't think they even knew how the fruit was grown and what you actually have to do. 

On arrival we bought our punnets at R30 each and received the simple instructions.  You can pick as many as you can fit onto the punnet without leaning it against your body.  Pick away!  And pick they did.  Them and many others who arrived on just this one morning.  Apparently, the farm workers could not understand why people would want to come and pay to pick strawberries in the summer sun when you can just buy them in the shop.  Nobody told them that these days it's all about experiences and not just looking at things anymore, but rather doing.

I sure hope they will open the field for picking at some stage again and perhaps on a more permanent basis as it will do wonders for tourism in the Gamtoos Valley.  For now, I can only stare at my pictures from the day and remember the taste of those sweet red strawberries, most not even making it home with us. 

Up(s) and down(s) and into the water at the InniKloof Waterfall hike

Everybody has their travel bucket lists.  I'm no different but because I would still like to do a lot of travelling I have divided mine into International, African, South African and Eastern Cape.  One of the things that has been on my Eastern Cape travel bucket list for a while now is doing the Innikloof Waterfall hike.  Innikloof is situated near the Gamtoos Valley town of Hankey and the hike is done once a month as a guided hike as it crosses private land and a conservation area.  The return walk is about 14 km long and well worth the effort, but don't kid yourself, it's not a walk in the park, like we found out. 

Innikloof was the location of the annual Port Elizabeth Geocaching camping weekend this year and the Saturday was set aside to do the Waterfall Hike.  We could not spend the weekend so rushed out from Port Elizabeth  early morning to join our fellow cachers and InniKloof owner John Wait on the hike.  The first kilometer is an easy stroll down the road to warm up those calves and then the climbing started.  To get to the kloof the waterfall is in you have to literally go over the mountain.  Not around it, not through it, not underneath it, but over it.  The climb from the start wasn't too bad as it was a gradual one and by the time we arrived huffing and puffing at the top we enjoyed fantastic views back the way we came.  After a short walk along the top of the mountain I realised that we had lost Chaos Boy.  He walked ahead of the group when we stopped to take a breather and seemingly took a wrong turnoff.  I seemed to be the only one really worried and after about a frantic 30 minutes the message came along that he had found his way back just in time to link up with the back markers.  Hope he learned his lesson.  

The view down towards where we were going was stunning.  You can see the river as well as a number of waterfalls and cascades below but this was also where the big challenge of the Waterfall Hike started.  Getting down the steep side of the mountain.  It is a descent of engaging one's diff lock, keeping the air brakes engaged and making sure you don't pick up speed too quickly.  Going down here you quickly realise that you will have to come back up and it won't be easy, but that was a hurdle to overcome later cause we started to hear the waterfall below us. 

Once down at the bottom it's like a different world.  The waterfall flows into the dark pool below and being hot and sweaty after the walk there is only one thing to do...

Clothes off, costume on and into the refreshing water.  Always refreshing to be able to swim in a mountain pool like this. 

The Damselfly chose not to swim, but did fill her bottle from the waterfall. 

Nice cold water for the journey back.

Before starting back though John took us a little further down the river to see the falls and cascades we noticed from the top.  Although the stream is a bit low due to the drought it was still a great sight.

A girl and her dog.  Well, actually John's dog but hey, a picture tells a 1000 words. 

Fellow Geocacher Spiesie enjoying the view

As we started our journey back up the mountain side we found the dried out feces containing a lot of bones and fur.  My guess is leopard with the Cape Leopard still found in these mountains.

Just in conclusion.  As I said at the start, the InnKloof Waterfall hike isn't an easy one and not one to just pitch up for in slops and with a towel around the neck.  It's also not just a stroll down to the stream and you need to at least be used to walking a longer distance than just over to the corner shop.  We had a number of non-regular hikers in the group and they all completed it so don't let me scare you off.  I just want anybody considering doing this to be aware of the difficulty.  The views from the top as well as the end destination makes it all absolutely worth it so keep an eye on the InniKloof Facebook Page for more information about their monthly escorted Waterfall Hikes.  Another good suggestion.  Don't just go out for the hike like we had to do, but rather spend the weekend either camping or in a self catering chalet in this beautiful spot outside Hankey.  You won't be sorry.

Disclosure: We went on the hike as part of the Geocaching group and paid our own way.  

The lonely house

I just loved this scene of a lonely house - close to being a ruin although at least it still has its roof - in the Gamtoos Valley.  It's located on a dirt track a few kilometers off the main road through the valley, so not something many people get to see but well worth the stop to photograph.

The Kouga Dam overflowing in all it's glory

This was my favorite photo from our visit to the Kouga Dam in the Gamtoos Valley to see it overflowing. I just slapped I with a bit of HDR to give it a bit of a more striking look. A dam like this overflowing is always a sight to behold.

Checking the Kouga Dam overflowing

A week or two three ago we spent the weekend at Tia Ghee Tented Camp in the Gamtoos Valley and heard that the Kouga Dam was still overflowing after good late winter and spring rains.  We immediately decided to take a drive up to the dam for a look and we definitely weren't disappointed.

 

From the tar road, very close to where it becomes dirt going into the Baviaanskloof, there is a dirt road turnoff to the left and about 7 or so kilometers later you arrive at the dam.  The low water bridge over the river was under water and the road on the one side of the cement bridge is totally washed away so we parked the car, took off our shoes and went a wading.

Just less than a kilometer's walk up the hill and we got to the lookout area at the top. What a sight!

The lookout area looks right down on the dam with views both upstream above the wall and downstream back to where the car was parked in the distance.

I really struggle to get Chaos Boy to pose for photos lately so was just too glad when he flashed me a smile for this one. *mxm* (which means tongue click for those who don't know) Teenagers!

With Drama Princess it's the total opposite.  She'll happily pose with a smile, do the natural thing and pretend to be looking at something or perform for the camera.

 

Walking back down through the tunnel on our way back to the car

One last pose as we made our way back through the river to the car.  Everybody was in agreement that taking the drive to the dam was a great idea, even if the KidZ complained all the way while walking up.  Coming back down they were all smiles.

 

Note - 3 November 2015 - At the time of posting this we just had a huge amount of rain dumped on us again over the last week so the dam is definitely still overflowing.  If you want to see this for yourself, do take a drive into the beautiful Gamtoos Valley this weekend.  Why not get away properly and book for the weekend at Tia Ghee?  You won't be sorry.

Going on an Adventure Drive in the Gamtoos Valley

Beautiful scenery, rolling hills covered in fynbos, citrus orchids, farmlands, white frothing streams, mountains on the horizon, forested valleys, interesting back roads, friendly people and countryside hospitality.  These are all things you will find in the Gamtoos Valley.  The best way to explore and get to know the Gamtoos Valley is to spend a weekend and see for yourself what this valley on the eastern doorstep of the Baviaanskloof has to offer.  One of the quick fire ways to do this is the annual Gamtoos Tourism Adventure Drive.  On Saturday morning we headed out to Loerie for our fourth Adventure Drive and we were joined by our friends Mr and Mrs Smith with their two littlies.  For the second year now the Adventure Drive started at Loerie Ruskamp and included the area around Loerie and Hankey.  We covered a distance of about 60 km with eight fun challenge stops along the way.

Our first stop for the day was in a wooded valley outside Hankey at InnieKloof.  The challenge were to throw naartjies into containers to see how many points we scored.  Each stop had a possible 100 points up for grabs and hitting that yellow crate in the middle would give you an automatic 50 points.  

The route is set out very nicely so it's very hard to get lost.  Unless you have a deaf and dumb navigator and you miss a turnoff. Luckily for us I'm not and we didn't.  The valley is so beautiful though that I really don't think anybody would mind getting lost around here.

Stop number two was at the Hankey Golf Club.  This 9 hole golf club apparently is one of the best local courses in this part of the Eastern Cape.  We didn't have time to go a driving so ended up chipping for points awarded closest to the hole.

Our next stop was just outside of town below Vergaderingskop.  This little koppie is where Sarah Baartman was buried in 2002 after her remains were repatriated from France.  Across the road they are busy building a big cultural centre which I really hope will become a worthy attraction in the valley.  The point was manned by the guys from SANCCOB in Cape St Francis and a steady hand was needed to get a high score over here.

The route then hit one of the back roads.  This is truly what the Adventure Drive is about. Discovering and exploring.  We didn't need an excuse to stop and enjoy the scenery though.  The next challenge was on hand.  I did grab the camera for a pic of the rolling hills with the Cockscomb Mountains in the distance before it was jukskei time.

Jukskei you ask?  Yes, jukskei.  Jukskei is a 270 year old Afrikaner folk sport and said to be the forerunner of American Horseshoe Pitching.  The sport is believed to have started around 1743 in the Cape and was developed by transport riders traveling with ox-wagons.  They used the wooden pins of the yokes - Skei in Afrikaans - of the oxen to throw at a stick that was planted into the ground.  The game was also played during the Great Trek and became an organized sport around 1939.  Let's just say I came close to hitting the stick a few times and only scored with the last throw.  Needless to say, I suck at Jukskei.

The next stop on the route brought us to Spekboom Lapa.  Last year we stopped here as well and we had to fish Smarties out of a bowl of flower with our mouths.  This year the challenege was a little less hardcore and... No, we didn't have to do break dancing. I'm just glad there are no photographic evidence of me trying to pop balloons between my legs.

From Spekboom Lapa we followed the road via Melon and along the Gamtoos River to the Gamtoos Ferry Hotel were another "traditional" sport was awaiting us.  A bit of egg and spoon racing.  Humpty Dumpty sat on a spoon...

The route took us back towards Loerie and up to the Loerie Dam.  Here it was time for... the one activity that comes up each and every year.  The obligatory and compulsory, Kududrolspoeg.  And for those who doesn't understand Afrikaans or who have never heard of it.  Spitting kudu dung pellets as far as you can.

I've gotten used to it over the years and stick those pellets in my mouth with no hesitation.  This year was the first time Drama Princess did it though and it was an Oscar winning performance.

Actually, she wasn't quite the only one in the running.  There were also great nominations for Chaos Boy, the Damselfly and Mrs Smith.

The last stop of the day was at the Koekepanne Farmstall on the road between Loerie and Hankey.  By now we were on a roll and could smell the end.  The activities got completed and we bundled back in the car for the last drive up the road to Loerie Ruskamp.

After the race everybody got together for lunch while the calculations were done to determine the finishing order.  All the points as well as the times were fed to the computer and then it was time to announce the winners.  One of the great things about the day is that everybody are winners and that each competitor gets something.  The names are called out in order of final scores and you then walk up to the prize table and choose your prize.  The Gamtoos Tourism members and other businesses in the valley comes on board in a big way and makes it worth everybody's while. I'm really hoping to see bigger numbers enter next year though.

We've already marked the date in our diaries for next year and be sure that we will be back to explore the valley a little bit more.

Gamtoos River boats

The Gamtoos River is a very popular fishing destination in the Eastern Cape.  A quick trip down to the Gamtoos Mouth had me spending some time on the river banks taking pictures of a couple of boats lying at anchor there.  The owner of this one live right across the road and came out to chat to us.  Turns out he doesn't use this particular boat for fishing.  He uses it to take his boerboel dog across the river to go and run in the dunes.

Visiting a cumcumber farm of all places

Visiting a cucumber farm probably isn't very high on anybody's list when you talk agritourism, but I'm always up for something new.  I  was in the Gamtoos Valley as part of a media tour recently and Gamtoos Tourism organized for us to visit Malan Cucumbers.  This isn't a technical post so I just want to tell you about the experience.  We were met by the farmer and his daughter who took us on a walk around the facilities situated just outside Patensie.  The first thing we got to see was the growing tunnels.  The cucumbers are grown in tunnels as they grow best in a hot environment and the tunnels don't just keep it warm but also protects the plants.  The cucumber plants themselves aren't grown in the earth but in bags with a special soil mix.  It's also amazing to hear how quickly the actual cucumber grows when the conditions are right, up to several centimeters a day.

Next up was a visit to the packhouse.  We arrived a bit late so most of the staff knocked off for the day already although a few were packing the last few vegies for the day in crates.  The cucumbers come straight out the tunnels into the packhouse to be sorted and packaged.  The cucumbers are then individually wrapped in plastic while the gherkins get packaged in punnets.  The labels of the different supermarkets that carry their products get put on right here on the farm already so the cold storage trucks deliver them directly to the shop and onto the shelves. 

 

Spending 30 minutes or so on a farm like this makes you appreciate what goes on behind the scenes and you realize how little you know about where the fruit and vegies in the supermarket comes from.  Gives you more appreciation of what you eat next time you have that humble green salad.       

Sweet juicy red strawberries at Mooihoek Farm

Sweet juicy red strawberries.... I don't need to use any more fancy words to get your mouth watering.  Actually, you just need to have a look at the pictures in this post and not read anything at all.

It's always great to get an exclusive behind the scenes look at something and in this case it was a tour around the Mooihoek Boerdery strawberry farm. Mooihoek is situated next to the Gamtoos River outside the town of Hankey in the Eastern Cape.  Back in 1998, farmers wife Madelé Ferreira planted 5 000 strawberry plants in her ailing rose garden.  This has grown and developed to a farm with over 500 000 plants and employing 90 workers that supplies strawberries to chain stores like Spar, Pick ‘n Pay and Shoprite / Checkers.  In 2012 Madelé was also named the Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year: Job Creator of the Year, a huge achievement for this Gamtoos Valley farmer although she was very modest about it when I asked her. 

We were met by Madelé as we arrived at the farm and taken on a tour around the fields.  Workers were busy picking strawberries and packaging them right there in the field to be shipped to a supermarket.  The first thing I wanted to know was if I could try a strawberry straight off the field and as no harmful pesticides are used I could do it.  "Just make sure you pick one on the shade side of the plant," was Madelé's advice.  You don't want to eat a warm strawberry.

After our walk through the fields we had a peek in the cold storeroom before heading to Madelé's boardroom where a jug of 100% strawberry juice and a some cut and chilled strawberries waited for us.  This is going to spoil dinner, but who cares.  I asked Madelé if they are open to the public to come and pick strawberries.  Unfortunately at this stage they aren't.  They produce strawberries all year around which means that they are always busy preparing and harvesting fields and until now there just hasn't been time to set up part of the farm for the public to visit.  Not yet.  So perhaps some time soon the Port Elizabeth folks would be able to go and pick their own strawberries less than an hour from home, just like you can do around George and Stellenbosch.  Ok, so where can I go and get some strawberries to satisfy this watering mouth of mine now?

Patensie panorama

The town of Patensie in the Gamtoos Valley is surrounded by beautiful scenery.  Rolling hills, distant mountains, citrus and vegetable farmland, valley thicket, guest farms and some of the friendliest people you will find anywhere.

Scenic views of Patensie and surrounds

A couple of weeks ago I spent a couple of days touring around the Eastern Cape with a group of journalists and one of our stops was in the Gamtoos Valley town of Patensie.  After a visit at the Malan Cucumber Farm we were taken up to their new cucumber tunnels on a koppie outside town and I snapped these pictures of the view.  The Gamtoos Valley truly is a very scenic and undiscovered area with most visitors just heading through to the Baviaanskloof.  For those who don't have the vehicle to go to deep into the Baviaans, its a great idea to just spend a few days in the valley to enjoy the mix of scenic, historic and agricultural attractions coupled with good ol' country hospitality.

 

The 2014 Gamtoos Tourism Adventure Drive - undignified fun

On Saturday we headed into the Gamtoos Valley for the annual Gamtoos Tourism Adventure Drive.  This year the event took place around the towns of Loerie and Hankey and it was a heck of a lot of fun, to say the least.  The Adventure Drive takes the form of a 60km round trip which gets completed by following directions given at the start of the race.  Along the way there are 9 stops with challenges that need to be completed.  At each challenge you get points awarded and along with the times a calculation is made to determine the winner of the day.  This year the event started and ended at Loerie Ruskamp between Loerie and Hankey and it turned out to be a great base with breakfast served before we got going and a lekker braai lunch while we waited for the prize giving.  At one of the stops we had this magnificent view (see pic above) over the valley down towards the coastline while other stops included InnieKloof, Milk House, Hankey Golf Club, Sarah Baartman's grave site, The Gamtoos Ferry Hotel, Spekboom Lapa,  Loerie Dam and the Koekepan Padstal.  I didn't take the camera along this year but my trusty new Samsung S4 mini did come in handy to snap a couple of pics along the way.

Retrieving smarties from a bowl of flour after first getting the small bowl out a bath full of water... all with my mouth.  The guys at Spekboom Lapa was evil giving us this to do.

 

 The Damselfly taking her turn after me

 

Neither of us looking too dignified afterwards



Talking of not being dignified.  How about taking a Kudu drol (dropping), putting it in your mouth and trying to spit it as far as you can.  Hence the "sport" of Kududrolspoeg or, translated, kudu dropping spit.  Not something most city folk can say that they have done.  Thanks to the team of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency from allowing us this pleasure.  Just a footnote, the dropping is actually dry and has absolutely no taste when you put it in your mouth....

Another unusual sport we got to do was Jukskei.  You throw objects that look like wooden cake rollers and see if you can hit the stick on the other side.  It looks very easy but it is slightly more tricky than we thought.

Another first for the Damselfly was casting with a fishing rod into the Gamtoos River.  At least she reached the river and didn't ricochet back into the tree like one of our friends did.  Some of the other activities included shooting with a kettie, throwing naartjies into bins for points and running around a garden picking oranges, lemons and grapefruit.  This was the third year we took part in the race and we will definitively be back again next year.