Robertson/Montagu

We had the privilege of visiting the McGregor/Montagu/Robertson area again during August.

This time I was more careful with the choice of accommodation and found a jewel called Good Hope Farm.  It is a working farm with loads of different animals.  They have ponies, donkeys, sheep, lambs, turkeys, pigs, chickens to name a few.  They are also pet friendly by prior arrangement.  Jessie just had an ear op, she could not only join us but they also babysat her while we went on a tractor ride on a nearby farm!

Cottage:  Good Hope Farm

Good Hope Farm

We arrived after dark on Friday and I was surprised to see the gorgeous view when I woke up on Saturday.  Our cottage overlooked a dam with an abundance of bird life.

We booked a tractor ride on the nearby Protea farm and I was almost sad to leave our lovely accommodation.

The trip to the tractor ride took us passed orchards full of blossoms.  Boland at its best!

The tractor ride take you up the Langeberge overlooking Robertson.  Dress up warm though, it is freezing!!  You also see the whole of the Koo valley and Keisie.  The mountain is covered in our national flower, Proteas.

Look at the heart!  Protea

Robertson

Keisie

Koo valley

On top of the mountain you can enjoy a "soetetjie" (Muscadel) and dried fruit.  There are also "a eat as many as you like" supply of apples and pears on the tractor.  We were joined by two labradors who hiked up the long way but then took a lift down on the tractor.

Afterwards we enjoyed an amazing meal.  There were homemade breads, jams and potjiekos.  The best was the dessert and "moerkoffie" made over an open fire.

Moerkoffie

The kids ran around enjoying the open space and collected pine cones.

We did a few picture taking stops on our way back.

On the Sunday we stopped at a few winefarms, the best stop was my favourite cheese shop just outside of Swellendam.  They even sell Nastergal konfyt!
In South Africa Solanum nigrum is known as “nastergal” in Afrikaans, nightshade in English and Umsobo in Zulu.  It is actually a vegetable and family of the potato and tomato.
The purple berries are hand- picked between January and April.
Cooked with sugar the end result is a beautiful runny jam.
“Nastergal” is a delicatessen jam and not commonly available in the market. Usually “nastergal” is found at farm stalls or hand selected shops.
“Nastergal” can for example be enjoyed with scrumptious scones, as a topping on cheesecake, ice-cream or with homemade bread or on toast.

I cannot wait to visit this beautiful area again.

Between Swellendam and George we passed fields of bright yellow canola.  It was a lovely sight and off course we stopped for a few pics!

Canola next to N2

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.

Mossel Bay to Witsand

We decided to go for a drive one Saturday when the weather turned out much better than expected.

We took the N2 to Heidelberg in search of Canola, a crop with plants that produce pods from which seeds are harvested and crushed to create canola oil. These plants also produce small, yellow flowers, which offers an awesome yellow display.

Our first stop was for pancakes at Oppiplaas padstal outside Albertinia. The African Grey parrot greeted us most graciously. I must admit, I thought R7 each for pancakes wrapped in paper was a bit expensive..

There was a beautiful field of Canola across the road.

Our next stop was Riversdale. This little town is for many a mere quick last stop for coffee or petrol before arriving at George or Mossel Bay. It is however a lovely little town with many interesting stops. We unfortunately went there on a Saturday, when most businesses close at 1 O' clock. We therefore only managed to explore the Old Jail.

There was ever only one person executed at this Jail. He was a Gilbert Hay and was hanged in 1899 after confessing for the murder on his mother. He killed her with a hammer after she refused to give him money for alcohol.

His handwritten confession can be seen in the jail next to the place of execution. The gallows was transported from Swellendam to Riversdale.

Nelius van Vuuren from NTL Wooden products built a replica of the gallows and it can be seen in the jail today.

The cells have been converted into little shops. There are mostly antiques on sale.

The coffee shop serves lovely coffee and milktart.

We had a light lunch at Maxi's. Now, I must admit, I try to avoid franchises when travelling, but the staff at this Maxi's are just so friendly that I end up having a meal there every time I pass through Riversdale.

We wanted to buy some products at the shop downstairs, but they were closed. The manager at Maxi's offered us his purchases!

We next traveled to to Heidelberg where we paid a visit to Delish. They had several specials on wine and ML (Muching Lady) spent all her cash!

I bought bread and cheese. I only tried the cheese when home, and Boy! Am I sorry! The cheese is delicious! The bread is out of this world, really, really tasty.

From Heidelberg we took a turn towards the sea to Witsand. There were plenty fields of Canola. We always take hotwater and coffee with us, and stopped at the tables on the beach on Witsand for coffee.

On the way back, the sun was setting behind us. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.