Wednesday, July 1, 2015

McGregor


Somewhere in the town of Robertson there is a turnoff that reads McGregor.

Lemon Tree Cottage

McGregor



In late June I decide to take the turnoff to see what McGregor has to offer. We stayed at the Lemon Tree Cottage. A bottle of red wine awaited us on arrival. It is dog friendly, so Jess and Oubasie could come with as well.


McGregor


We arrived on a Saturday and learned a valuable lesson nr 1: Make sure of the location of the nearest off sales when booking accommodation. A few locals decided to enjoy their drinks next to our cottage in the loudest possible way. This went on till after midnight, after which they decided it would be a good idea to gather and chop wood.

I must admit, I did not feel very safe.

Sunrise over McGregor


Luckily morning came and we were met by a beautiful sunrise. This made m forget about the noisy and sleepless night I had.

Eseltjiesrus

Thabo at Eseltjiesrus



We decided to visit Eseltjierus as they are only open from Thursday to Sunday. This was really worth the visit. They take care of old and neglected donkeys.


Bella


They offer short walks and have a lovely restaurant on site. They are also dog friendly. I must recommend the restaurant, it was one of the best vegetarian meals I had in a while.



Eye-ore..at 37 he is allowed to snooze!

The evening I learned lesson nr 2: Make sure your accommodation is load-shed friendly. You do not want to be stuck without even being able to make coffee with a 1cm candle and no matches. There were 2 solar lamps in the cottage, but they were not charged.

You learn something on every trip!

Springfield estate

On Monday we decided to visit a few wine farms. I have a friend who often surprises me with a bottle Merlot from Van Loveren. I thus decided to pay them a visit. Wow..what a great winery!! They offer wine pairings..even have alcohol free ones for the little ones. My mum chose the cheese and wine pairing, I chose the nuts and wine pairing and BB had the chocolate and juice option.  This really was loads of fun as we tried to identify the flavours through our senses of sight, smell and taste.

Van Loveren..nut and wine pairing

Springfield estate

On our way back we stopped at Spaces for some highly recommended cheesecake.


McGregor house

We had a late afternoon walk through McGregor and paid a visit to some of the shops. The prices are definitely for the overseas market though.

We spent another night with load-shedding, but luckily we had our own lamp and kept hot water in a flask.

The next day we took the R62 as far as Swellendam where we joined the N2.

On our way we met a tame zebra at my favourite cheese shop. I would also recommend Bonfrutti for their milktart and friendly service.

Bonfrutti

Bonfrutti

Bonfrutti

Bonfrutti

Bonfrutti

Bonfrutti

Bonfrutti


Tame zebra just outside Swellendam


We had lunch in Heidelberg, but decided to skip the famous Blue crane but went to Aan de waterkant. The food here was lovely, but I do think coffee shop owners should not bring their dogs to work. One of the Yorkies lifted his leg against the table inside the restaurant. I find that a bit offensive.

Heidelberg

We also did a quick stop at Delish for ciabata and our last purchase of wine.

A lovely trip with Eseltjiesrus and Van Loveren definite highlights.

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