Giant cacti at Obesa

I have always had a love for cacti and succulents.  Perhaps because there are so many different species, because they often surprise you with the most beautiful little flowers or because they don't need much looking after or water.  But nothing I knew about succulents could prepare me for what I encountered at the Obesa Cactus Nursery in Graaff-Reinet.  We were in town for a long weekend and had a couple of hours on our hands to explore, so when the receptionist at the guesthouse we were staying recommended Obesa I knew we were in for a prickly experience.    

Coming around the corner it's hard to miss Obesa.  The succulents are all over... the yard... the building... the fence... along the pavement...  It's really hard to miss.  So is the sign on the gate stating that American visitors aren't welcome.  Clearly the owner isn't a Donald Trump fan.  So if you're a Yank looking to stop by, just don't say much.  

Obesa was started in 1970 as a hobby garden, grew up and then went into overdrive.  Today it boasts over 7 000 species of plants, raises 35 000 odd plants every year, and stocks well over 2 million.  Definitely not quite just a hobby anymore.  Chatting to owner Johan he was telling me that most of their succulents are exported with the majority going to Europe.  Obesa is basically made up of two sections.  Firstly there is the garden and then the nursery.

It was in the garden where we kicked off our visit.  Johan pointed us in the general direction and from there we followed the paths and signs.  It's in this garden where cactii growing up to around 8 meters high will take your breath away.  Definitely not your typical succulent garden at home.  I didn't know where to point my camera.  Problem is showing the scale of these plants, some of which is up to 45 years old already.  I did try a couple of times to get Miggie to stand by them for scale but she was a bit careful for those big thorns reaching out at her.

The nursery itself is huge and if you're a succulent lover then you better come with you wallet well stocked otherwise don't even go there.  With us it was a case of "I want one of those, and one of those, one of those and definitely one of those..."  And anything you need to know, just ask Johan.  He does come across as very direct and not everybody likes that, but the man knows his succulents.  That is for sure.

Graaff-Reinet has so many treasures to discover ranging from the Valley of Desolation to the many museums in town, but do open up an hour or so in your itinerary and pop by Obesa.  It's perhaps not everybody's thing, but if you like to garden, it will be worth it.

Graaff-Reinet - a gem discovered

Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo Heartland is often referred to as the Gem of the Karoo.  Spending a long weekend in the town just again proved to me that this gem isn't one buried deep under ground somewhere but rather has been unearthed and is mesmerizing those that get to visit it.  Located in a horseshoe created by the Sundays River and totally surrounded by the Camdeboo National Park, Graaff-Reinet is situated about three hours north of Port Elizabeth and the perfect long weekend destination or at least a must stop for those on their way from the interior to the coast.

Coming in from the south you pass through typical Karoo Heartland landscape on your way to Graaff-Reinet.  Wide open spaces, mountains in the distance, windpompe, Angora goats in the fields - big sky country at its best.  Arriving in Graaff-Reinet you immediately know you are in something bigger than a one horse town where the horse is dead.  There are more shops than most Karoo towns, more people, more cars and there definitely isn't a tumbleweed blowing down main road on a Saturday afternoon.  In fact, you know you are in Graaff-Reinet when you get to the top of the main drag and find yourself facing the very impressive Groot Kerk, completed in 1887 and designed based on the Salisbury Cathedral in England.

If I'm going to a place I like to know what I'm going to do but also keep enough time aside to explore and discover the things not included in my plans.  This trip was no different.  Arriving early Friday afternoon we headed straight to Camdeboo Cottages where we were booked in for the weekend, unpacked our stuff and kicked off our shoes.  If it was up to the KidZ we would have stayed right there for the whole afternoon for them to watch tv (Chaos Boy) and hit the swimming pool (Miggie).  Unfortunately for them, we had other ideas.  Having planned a walk through town for Saturday and a visit to the Camdeboo National Park on Sunday, I browsed through the Graaff-Reinet visitor guide to see what we could still do on the Friday and came up with the Obesa Cactus Garden. 

I've been to Graaff-Reinet a few times but have never had the chance to visit Obesa.  Word has reached my ears of how big the cacti are but seeing truly is believing.  Owner Johan popped his head around the corner when we arrived, probably to make sure we didn't speak in an American accent - referencing a sign at the gate making it clear he doesn't support Donald Trump - and pointed us towards the path through the garden.  Obesa is nothing like my little cactus garden at home.  They have over 7000 species of plants in the garden and nursery, raise about 35 000 plants every year and stock well over 2 million.  Seriously impressive.  Even more impressive is the size of some of the cacti along the path through the garden.  The garden was started in 1970 with some of the cacti literally dwarfing us as we walked past. No kidding.   

Saturday morning after a quick breakfast it was time to put on the walking shoes and explore Graaff-Reinet's historic heart on foot.  The best spot to park your car is right in front of the tourism office where you can grab a map of the town along with any additional information you think you may need.  The tourism office is located inside the Old Library Museum which Chaos Boy really enjoyed as they have a very good collection of fossils on display.  In addition to a number of museums and Groot Kerk, other historic attractions worth visiting include a number of other churches, the Drostdy Hotel, Victoria Hall - the town's City Hall - and the angel statue War Memorial.  In actual fact, Graaff-Reinet has more than 220 heritage buildings, more than any other town in South Africa.  Best of all, most of them are all within walking distance from each other. 

Our first stop though was at the antique shop next to the tourism office.  Not to browse or buy antiques but rather to see what is said to be the oldest cake in South Africa. Yes, you heard me right.  The oldest cake in the country.  The cake was baked in 1902 (making it only four years younger than the oldest cake in the world) for a 50th wedding anniversary and is on display on a mantelpiece along with some original photos.  The KidZ weren't really impressed and just wanted to know if you can still eat it, before wandering away again. 

Graaff-Reinet has as much as seven museums (could be six, could be eight, but I counted seven on the Graaff-Reinet Tourism website) and we decided that to keep the KidZ's whining to a minimum, we would only go to another one of them.  The obvious choice was Reinet House.  Reinet House is the quintessential Graaff-Reinet museum and is located inside the old Dutch Reformed Church parsonage built in 1812.  The museum houses a variety of period furniture and kitchen utensils, a doll collection, medical and dental collection, haberdashery and clothing collection, wagon and transport collection as well as a blacksmith collection.  In the backyard there's also a working watermill... Ok, so it wasn't working when we were there as they are busy restoring the machinery.  But you know what I mean.

Another very interesting feature at Reinet House is the old Black Acorn grape vine in the backyard.  Planted in 1870 by Charles Murray, it is said to be the oldest living grape vine in South Africa.  A few years ago the vine got a bad case of fungal rot and a big part of it had to be cut away, but it survived and still persists. 

Saturday afternoon we decided to compromise with the KidZ and spent some time around the tv, pool and braai area at Camdeboo Cottages.  Just to make sure everybody stayed happy and long faces are kept to a minimum.  

Sunday morning it was time to hit the outdoors and enjoy nature.  The weather was perfect, the sun out but not too warm and we headed out on the R63 past the Nqweba Dam to the Camdeboo National Park's game viewing area.

Although the game viewing isn't anywhere close on par to Addo, it's still a great opportunity to spend a morning game viewing.  The alternative is to book an evening game drive with oom Buks Marais at Karoopark Guesthouse.  We opted for the self drive option though.

The park has about 19 km of gravel roads and consts of typical Karoo plains.  Other than Cape Buffalo ( x ) , which we unfortunately didn't get to see, the park is also home to eland ✓, black wildebeest ( ✓ ), gemsbok ( ✓ ), red hartebeest ( ✓ ), blesbok ( ✓ ) and springbok ( ✓ ).  We also got to spot some Cape mountain zebra ( ✓ ) but even though we were in the park the same time as some friends we didn't get to see the caracal (rooikat) ( x ) they did.  The park also boasts a healthy bird list of over 240 bird species.  Unfortunately the dam level is quite low at the moment so you don't get very close to the animals on the water's edge while the bird hide was also not that busy on the day.  With birds that was.

The highlight (and must do) of any visit to Graaff-Reinet is the Valley of Desolation.  The best times to be there is early morning or late afternoon around sunset, and we opted for the latter of the two.  We made sure we arrived nice and early the afternoon to allow some time to do the 1,5 km Crag Lizard Trail which allows for stunning views of the rock formations, the valley and Karoo plains beyond.

The Valley of Desolation itself truly is one of the iconic Eastern Cape attractions.  The basic explanation of what the Valley of Desolation is is that it consist of dolerite pillars rising up to 120 meters from the valley below.  The rock formations were formed by volcanic and erosive forces over a period of 200 million years and stand stark against the background of the Karoo plains.  

This time of year though the sun sets behind the mountain and isn't quite as spectacular as in summer, so after watching it from an alternative view point we headed back down towards town, just in time to see the horizon set ablize as we hit the bottom of the mountain.  The perfect end to the perfect long weekend in Graaff-Reinet.  Till next time Gem of the Karoo.  

We spent the three nights we were in Graaff-Reinet at Camdeboo Cottages and I really feel we hit the jackpot with this spot.  Camdeboo Cottages offer both a Bed and Breakfast as well as a Self Catering option with accommodation offered either in their historic cottages or en-suite bedrooms.  It's also located very close to the centre of town with a few restaurants right around the corner and the closest supermarket only a few blocks away.

We stayed on one of their nine 19th century Karoo style self-catering cottages with more than enough space for us and the KidZ.  The cottages have fully equipped kitchens so we did our own thing food-wise, Chaos Boy could watching TV while Miggie and I tried to play cricket on the cobblestone courtyard behind the cottages.  That didn't work out very well, but it does offer safe parking under carports and behind a locked gate.

As I've mentioned, Camdeboo Cottages also offer breakfast as well as dinner, but we opted to braai every evening at one of the braai spots next to the swimming pool.  Literally 25 meters from our cottage.  We sommer ate right there next to the pool and I just had to smile every time another guest heading to dinner walked past and sniffed the air.  Nothing like the smell of braaivleis.   Although Miggie did try out the swimming pool the weather was a tad chilly but it would be a great spot to cool down on one of those hot summer days in the Karoo.

Next time we visit Graaff-Reinet as a family I know where we'll be booking again.   

Ganora Fossil Museum

When I grew up I wanted to be an archaeologist.  Somebody like Indiana Jones who discover lost cities and artifacts, dig up dinosaurs and made remarkable finds that would wow the world.  That dream kinda shattered when I found it it wasn't all quite as adventurous and glamorous.  Instead I went into tourism although the interest for archaeology is still there.  This interest truly got fed when I spent a night at Ganora Guestfarm out Nieu-Bethesda recently. 

 

In prehistoric times the Karoo was a huge inland swamp (and not a sea as some people claim) and 253 million years ago, during the Permian Period, the area around the present day Nieu-Bethesda was covered by big meandering rivers which flowed in a northerly direction.  The floodplains around these rivers teemed with prehistoric animals which died along the banks of the rivers, was covered with mud and got preserved as fossils.  This period was 50 million years before the first dinosaurs so the fossils in the Karoo pre-dates things like the famous T-Rex, Triceratops and Brachiosaurus.  One of the best places to go and see and learn about these fossils is Ganora Guestfarm and there is no better person to show you around than owner JP Steynberg.

When the Steybergs bought the farm in the 1990's they had no idea it contained a treasure trove of fossils and San (Bushmen) artifacts.  This they only discovered on a picnic in a riverbed on the farm a few months later.  That was the start of it and the rest, as they say, is history.  In 1998 they registered their private museum and today has one of the biggest private fossil and artifact collections in South Africa.  JP showed me around the museum and I literally didn't know where to look.  The collection truly is magnificent.  The fossils in the exhibit are on average about 280 million years old and comes from a time when mammal-like-reptiles roamed the earth.  As I said, from a pre-dinosaur time.  The collection also includes small models to give an indication of what these animals looked like, fossilised leaves from the Glossopteris trees and the Compasia dela Harpi fish fossil  of which they have the only complete example of in the world.  JP's passion for and knowledge of fossils comes through as soon as he starts talking and I was immediately sorry that I wouldn't have time to go out onto the farm with him to see fossils in their "natural" environment.

 

Next JP took me into the next room where the Bushman artifacts are on display.  Like the fossil museum this part of the museum is a registered museum as well and they keep careful record of where the artifacts were found and have cataloged them according to the law.  JP pointed out tools to grind seed and grain, arrow heads used to hunt and sharpened rock used to cut.  Also of interest is the ostrich egg shell beads.  Most of these came from caves and areas used as "workshops" on the farm and surrounding areas.  Again I cursed the fact that I had no extra time to go on a tour of the farm as I would have loved to see some of the rock paintings and natural shelters the San would have lived in.

 

It does mean that I have an excuse to return to Ganora for a weekend and give myself enough time to see all of it for myself.  Something I will seriously make work of.

Port Elizabeth's Hop on Beer Route Tour

The Western Cape has it's various winelands where one can take daily tours to taste wines and learn more about how they are made.  Port Elizabeth does have it's share of wine lovers, but the closest wines they can taste at source are in Plettenberg Bay so they usually end up having wine tasting events with Western Cape wines.  But how about beer?  Craft beer in particular.  This is probably what Tony Neveling of Gecko Tours here in the Bay was thinking when he came up with the idea of a craft beer route in the city.  More exactly, the Hop On Beer Route tour.

 

I joined a few journo's, photographers and tourism peeps for the launch of the tour and although I'm not a big beer drinker, had a fab time tasting what is being brewed right here in Port Elizabeth.  The tour starts in the parking area at Bridge Street Brewery where we left our cars and hopped onto a bus that was to shuttle us around to the three breweries that we were going to be visiting.

 

Out first stop was at the BeerYard in Richmond Hill.  The BeerYard has become one of the city's most popular gathering places for lovers of beer, where they may not always know your name (hope you get the Cheers reference) but you can write it on the walls with pleasure.  The venue is extremely laid back with the pool in the backyard even stating that bikini's are optional.  Ok, so it's probably not that laidback, but I'm sure that pool gets thoroughly used in summer.  At this stage BeerYard produces two of their own beers, namely Car Park John and Two Rand Man, with a new micro brewery being built next door that will allow them to expand on their offering.  They do offer what is probably the biggest variety of craft beers in the city so you will be truly spoilt for choice when visiting for a cold one.  We didn't just have a cold one, but rather four cold ones, tasting their own two brews as well as another beer and a cider.  Then it was time to head back to the bus and move on to brewery number two.

 

Our second stop was at an extraordinary brewery which I hadn't heard of before.  Dockside Brewery in the lower Baakens Valley is a true artisans brewery producing extreme, exotic and extraordinary beers for a small but extraordinary niche market.  Notice how I have used the work extraordinary three times (four time now) in this paragraph.  It is because that is what Dockside Brewery is.  

I had never heard of Dockside Brewery before the tour, but I won't forget it any time soon.  They are located just behind the Herald in the Baakens Valley and have been producing beer for just over a year now.  Their beers are very unique and not to everybody's taste, but those who appreciate a proper craft beer will really enjoy it.  Personally I prefer ciders or a pilsner, but tasting their beers was an experience.  They don't compromise on quality, make sure they don't skimp on the ingredients and take much more time to produce a lot less beer than most other breweries.  Most other breweries produce ales in 11 days.  At Dockside they take between 42 and 56 days.  The other unique ingredient they use is spring water from the Elands River Valley.  So no municipal water going into their beers.  Another thing to note is that Dockside don't produce their craft beer in kegs as draft.  Their beer gets bottled and thus also allowing them to be sold directly to the public through the shop on the premises.

Except for getting to taste not just four (as planned) but all five of their beers, we also got to try beer bread baked with beer from Dockside Brewery.  They found the very first beer they produced not really to anybody's liking and decided to bake beer bread with it.  The beer bread turned out to be a winner and the decision was made to continue brewing that beer specifically for bread.  Now Dockside doesn't only sell beer, but also beer bread kits which we tried at home and was very impressed with the result.  Tour guide Tony couldn't keep up cutting the bread as the group was tucking in.

 

The last stop on the tour, eight (or was it nine) beer tasters and some beer bread later, was back at Bridge Street Brewery where we left our cars earlier.  In the few years since opening, Bridge Street has become an iconic spot where one gets to not just have excellent craft beer, but also scrumptious food.  We started off with a tour led by master brewer Lex Mitchell himself before we got to make ourselves comfortable in the tasting room.

 

At Bridge Street we got to taste all four of their own craft brews; three beers and a cider.  Amongst them the Celtic Cross Pilsner, my favorite beer.  These were accompanied by their lip smacking, hot out the oven pizzas.  The beer tour includes a meal so it wasn't a case of trying to impress us but rather to show us exactly what people on the tour would experience.  This would also be the end of the tour, but most people would probably opt to spend the rest of the afternoon or evening here at Bridge Street or perhaps head back to BeerYard.  Just make sure you keep to the limit or have a dedicated driver on hand if you are going to enjoy a few too many.  All in all the Hop on Beer Route tour was a huge hit with everybody present and I am sure as word gets out it will become a very popular tour not just with visitors but also for corporate and end of year groups.  Cheers.

 

Disclosure: I got to go on the Hop on Beer Route Tour as guest of Gecko Tours and Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism.  I received no further remuneration, wasn't asked to write a positive post and keep full editorial control.

Cruising Cape Town's Waterfront canals with City Sightseeing

Just over a month ago I attended World Travel Market Africa at the CTICC in Cape Town.  One of the exhibitors was City Sightseeing Tours and they offered all delegates a free canal cruise on presentation of our delegate badges.  There are canals linking the V&A Waterfront with the Cape Town International Convention Centre and it is on these that City Sightseeing has started regular cruises to link the two areas as well as hotels like the One and Only, City Lodge and the Westin in front of the CTICC.

I decided to slip out for lunch on the first day of the exhibition and head down to the V&A Waterfront making use of the boat.  The boats depart from both the CTICC and the Waterfront sides every 20 minutes so I didn't have to wait long.  Both spots are also stops on the Hop on - Hop off bus tours so could be combined with their tours of Cape Town.  The cruise gives one a very different view of the Waterfront and it's surroundings than what you get from the road.  Luxury apartments flanked the canals just about all the way and I kept wondering what it must be like living here... or what you have to earn to afford it.  There is commentary available but as I wasn't on the bus tour I didn't have ear phones.  Not that it was an issue.  I made sure I sat right in front and was chatting with the skippers all the way and they answered all the questions I had.  As I mentioned the drop-off spot is at the One and Only Hotel and from there its a quick walk to the craft market and the rest of what the V&A Waterfront has to offer.  Wish I had time to do the Hop on - Hop off tour while in town as well, but that will have to wait till another time. 

 

Disclosure: I went on the canal cruise as a delegate attending the World Travel Market Africa exhibition and received no remuneration, wasn't asked to write a positive post and keep full editorial control.

Standing on top of Africa's highest building

I got to say "I'm on top of the world". Well sort of.  At least I can say I was on top of the tallest building in Africa.  Exploring Johannesburg on the City Sightseeing tour I was quite keen to visit the Carlton Centre in downtown Jozi.  Time allowed it and I hopped off along with a couple of my fellow travelers to head up, up, up.

The great part of being on the City Sightseer tour is that they have a guide permanently based at the Carlton Centre who takes you through the shopping centre and up to the top.  Entrance tickets are only R15 per person and the trip up the express elevator to the 50th floor literally takes seconds.  Once at the top the guide took us around showing us the 360 degree view down, and I mean literally down, onto Joburg.  The Carlton Centre is the tallest building in Africa (I think I've said that already) and once the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.  It stands 223m high and was built between 1967 and 1974.  The view is absolutely magnificent and the guide comes in very handy as he points out all the interesting landmarks as you move around the viewing windows.  A great perk of the open bus tour.  He also makes sure that you get back down and to the bus stop before the next bus comes by.  I have to be honest.  If I didn't go on the tour I probably would never have had the opportunity to do this so just another great reason to get your ticket for a City Sightseeing Joburg tour when you are in the City of Gold.

 

Disclosure: I was in Johannesburg as a guest of the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa as one of the judges of the Lilizela Tourism Awards. 

My tour with City Sightseeing Joburg was organized by Gauteng Tourism. 

Exploring Jozi with the City Sightseeing open top bus

My visits to Johannesburg have always been ones of in and out, with very little sightseeing connected with it.  Wham, bang, thank you ma'am.  This means that I always look at the Joburg travel bloggers' blogs with longing wanting to see the places they write about.  A two day trip to Johannesburg meant that I had some time on my hands to explore and a couple of calls later I had a reference number in my hand to join City Sightseeing Joburg for a tour of the city.  City Sightseeing Joburg offers tours in their red open top buses along a set route and at scheduled times.  This would allow me the freedom to get off and explore along the way, knowing what time the next bus came by to hop back on.  The starting points for the tours are the Gauteng Park Station and Gold Reef City while there are a total of 12 stops along the way where you can get off and visit an attractions or go for a bit of a walk. 

I was on the red eye flight from Port Elizabeth to Jozi and as soon as I got my car I headed over to Gold Reef City in the hope that I would be in time to catch the first bus of the day.  Pulling into the parking lot on the hotel and casino side I spotted the red bus and seeing that I had 5 minutes before departure I headed straight to it.  Eugene, the driver, met me with the biggest smile of the day.  During the day I landed on his bus another two times and he had that smile every time I saw him.  He printed out my ticket, gave me a brochure showing the route and, more importantly, the time table and offered me a pair of earphones to listen to the on board commentary.  This all while asking me where I was from and giving me some advise on what I just had to see during the day and some timing tips.  The Commentary by the way is done in 16, yes your heard right, 16 languages.  When it was time to get going I took a seat upstairs, popped the earphones in my ears and made use of the on-board wifi to tweet my first picture of the day.  The first of many to come.  The commentary is very informative but not overwhelming.  They tell you everything you need to know and what you see along the way without giving you information overload.

It was impossible to get off at every stop but I knew what I wanted to do.  My first stop was at the Apartheid Museum where Gauteng Tourism had organized entrance for me along with permission to take photos inside the museum.  One can probably spend half a day in the museum, but two hours later I was outside waiting for the next bus while checking all the photos I took.  I will do a photo blogpost about my visit to the museum shortly.  My next stop was in the mining district where I took a walk around to look for a couple of Geocaches I new was in the area.  Too many muggles around meant I came up empty handed and I nearly missed the next bus when I saw it driving towards the busstop which was a good 400 meters from me.  A flat out run and a waving arm caught the driver's attention and he waited for me at the stop. 

 

I gave Newtown and the Wits University Origins Centre (this one I'll definitively visit some time in the future) a miss and got off at Constitution Hill where entrance was also organized for me.  Unfortunately the lady at reception didn't know I was coming and to quote her, "If I don't know you're coming then it wasn't organized."  Not the friendliest reception.  She eventually agreed to find out who knew about my visit but 30 minutes later when I went to ask her if she had found anything out yet her answer was, "What did you want again?"  I immediately walked out and boarded the next bus.  Very sad that I didn't get to see what I am told is a very special place, but it also meant I would now have time for a visit to the Carlton Centre.  The Carlton Centre is the tallest building in Africa and the passengers who got off was met by a guide from City Sightseeing and we were taken to the observation deck at the top of the building.  The view from up here is literally a bird's eye view and I will write about it in another post as well. 

 

Unfortunately for me the hotel I was staying at wasn't at Gold Reef City so I had to head back towards my car so that I could go and check in before getting ready for the Lilizela Awards I was in town for.  I was very happy with what I got to see and learn, but I will have to come back to visit Newtown and Maboneng at some stage as these two areas are now at the top of my "Joburg to do list".  After this day I can say with conviction that City Sightseeing Joburg is the best way to explore Johannesburg without any worries of getting lost, getting all the info you need and feeling safe and secure.

 

Disclosure: I was in Johannesburg as a guest of the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa as one of the judges of the Lilizela Tourism Awards.  My tour with City Sightseeing Joburg and visit to the Apartheid Museum was organized by Gauteng Tourism. 

Regyne - the biggest commercial protea farm in the world

The Tsitsikamma is more than just indigenous forests, rugged coastlines and adrenalin filled adventure activities.  I'm going to lie if I say I didn't know it, but its always great to spread the word.  Our Sho't Left in the Tsitsikamma and Eersterivier area included a visit to Regyne, the biggest commercial protea farm in the world.  Tours of the farm is organised by Oudebosch Farm Stall who does a tour and lunch as well as a tour and afternoon tea and cake option for groups. 

Joining us on the tour were fellow travel bloggers Dawn Jorgensen of The Incidental Tourist, Di Brown of The Roaming Giraffe and Linda Markovina of Moving Sushi.  We were met by Hanli Viljoen who took us on a tour of the farm and its facilities.  Regyne's protea fields cover 80 hectares and they produce flowers primarily for the export market.  Proteas are cut, sorted and trucked straight to the airport for export.  Hanli started off by showing us their sorting shed and cold room.  Because it was weekend there were no staff on site, but she explained the process they followed.  Most of the proteas were shipped out the day before but there were still an impressive variety of flowers in the cold room for us to see.  From here we moved onto the protea nursery where Hanli spends most of her day.  It was unbelievable that the proteas are actually grown from seed and how the seedlings are handled before going into a field.  We also visited one of the fields where they grow King Proteas, South Africa's national flower.  Seeing them grow like that makes me want some in my own garden.  I didn't think the KidZ would be very interested in the farm, but they actually paid very close attention and I think enjoyed it and learned as much as we did.

Disclosure: We visited Regyne Protea Farm as guests of Oudebosch Farm Stall.  I received no further remuneration, wasn't asked to write a positive post and keep full editorial control.

Feeding Koi at the Barrydale "water front"

Barrydale on Route 62 in the Klein Karoo is a pretty little town known for the beautiful surrounding mountains offering various walks, the Tradouw Pass, quint gardens, interesting shops and farm stalls, restaurants popular with passing tour groups and the very famous Ronnie's SEX Shop down the road.  Everything but an ocean.  So I was very intrigued when I saw a Geocache description refer to a spot as the Barrydale "water front".  One or two turns off the main road and we discovered The Blue Cow restaurant situated on the edge of a farm and... you guessed it... a farm dam.  The best seats are on the deck overlooking the farm and the owner quickly brought Erenei and I two slices of bread to feed the koi fish that live in the dam while she chatted away to us.  True country hospitality.

Cape Town big wheel

The Wheel of Excellence (or just Waterfront Big Wheel as most people refer to it) at the V&A Waterfront has become a favorite activity for visitors in Cape Town to do.  The surrounding view of the Waterfront and city from the top is stunning.  My last visit to Cape Town was a brief one and there wasn't time for a trip, but I did snap this pic of it on a walk through the Waterfront before heading to dinner.

Mohair yarn strands

The Hinterveld Mohair Mill Tour in Uitenhage is not your normal run of the mill (excuse the pun) tour, but visitors go there expecting one thing and leaving with a whole different impression.  The factory is also heaven for photographers with so many interesting objects and angles like this one of all the colourful mohair yarn strands going into the weaving machine, turning it into exquisite blankets.

Wilgewandel - something for the whole family

 

In all the years working as a tourist guide I drove past Wilgewandel near the Cango Caves countless times and never stopped.  It wasn't that I didn't want to, but there was just never time on a busy itinerary.  I often just referred to it as the place with the camel rides.  That was until a visit to the Cango Caves with the family while on holiday.  Drama Princess really wanted to ride a camel and the nagging started when we passed Wilgewandel on our way to the caves already.  Leaving the caves the tone of nagging became more consistent and there was no way I could drive past without having a major meltdown on the back seat.  And   that I stopped is quite evident in the fact that Drama Princess is sitting on the first camel in the top picture. Camel ride ticked off her very young bucket list.

 

What I did find out from my visit was that Wilgewandel is so much more than just the camel ride place between Oudtshoorn and the Cango Caves.  They have a host activities suitable for both big and small and all at very reasonable rates.  When we arrived I was afraid what the stop may end up costing me but I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to sacrifice an arm and a leg for the KidZ's pleasure.  The one thing I tried myself was the little paddle boats where you use your arms and not your legs to propel yourself.  Even the Damselfly ventured onto the water for this one.

Chaos Boy wasn't interested in the camel ride and rather preferred to do the foofy slide across the dam.  I was kinda worried that he may end up in the dam but then I remembered that he is half monkey anyway.  The foofy slide is just one of many other activities that the kids can do while their parents sit down for a bite to eat or something to drink.  There are also go-carts, an obstacle course, donkey cart rides and, for the littlies, a touch farm where you can feed bunnies and other farm animals. 

After the KidZ had their fill of activities we sat down to have our fill of hamburgers on the outside veranda overlooking the dam.  I would show you what our yummy burgers looked like but I was so focused on it that I forgot to take a pic.  It was good, to say the least. Very good.  As for Wilgewandel, I now get it.  Its a great family attractions and well worth the stop if you have kids or if you don't, just stop for the burgers.

Boardwalk Fountain Spectacular

In December 2012 when the Boardwalk Complex opened the new Boardwalk Hotel and Convention Centre, it also launched the Fountain Spectacular on the Boardwalk Lake.  People streamed to the Boardwalk to see the fountains with its lights and music.  On weekend evenings there were so many people that they stood about four or five deep around the lake to see the performance.  For that reason I decided to wait a little bit to go and a little bit became a long bit.  Needless to see most of Port Elizabeth probably got to see the Spectacular before I got there, but better late than never.  I popped by with a film crew from the SABC 1 travel show Vaya Mzansi and actually couldn't believe my eyes.  Its an amazing show which really can not be missed by anybody visiting (or living in) Port Elizabeth.  Sunday to Thursday there is one show every evening but on Fridays and Saturday they do three.  Each show is about 20 minutes long and, sorry to repeat myself, cannot be missed.

On two wheels amongst the vinyards - Segway tour at Spier

Visits to wine farms are normally associated with wine tasting, good food and historic buildings so wizzing around Spier Wine Estate on two wheels is something of a change.  I'm not referring to riding a mountain bike though as the two wheels in this case are next to each other and not in front of each other.  I've done the Segway tours in Storms River Village on two previous occasions with Tsitsikamma Segway Tours and absolutely loved it so grabbed the opportunity to do it at Spier with both hands (although I did let go with one hand every now and then to snap a picture). 

Spier offers two options to choose from.  The shorter 1 hour tour that covers the Protea Garden, some of the farm's environmental responsibility projects and a quick view of the vineyards while the 2 hour tour allows for a longer tour of the vineyards before ending off with a wine tasting.  Our little group went on the shorter tour as we had a lunch reservation at Mojo's and made the most of every minute we were out there.  

Segways are easy to use and it doesn't take that long to learn how to ride them.  The instruction session is thorough and especially the safety issue gets emphasised.  The guide, who makes sure you implement everything you learned while out there, rides in the front and stops the group every time there is something to show.  The problem is that once you get going on the Segway you don't really want to stop. Its that much fun.  But safety is paramount and the equipment is expensive so you better listen.  The route does give you the opportunity to do some uninterrupted gliding as well giving you an all round Segway experience.

The Segway tour is a must do if you get the opportunity.  An easy way to cover a lot of ground in a sort period of time AND its environmentally friendly.  Plus I really really want one.  I'll have to settle for going on segway tours when I get the opportunity though. 

Disclosure: I went on the Spier Seaway Tour as guest of the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa during a fully hosted blogger tour.   I received no additional remuneration to write this post and all views expressed are my own.