An unforgettable South African adventure

“I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills,” these were unforgettable words quoted from the start of, Out of Africa, a book by author, Karen Blixen, and the inspiration for a 1985 movie by the same name.

King Protea blossom, the national flower of South Africa

And when I spotted the sign for a shop named, Out of Africa, I had a flashback to watching this epic romantic drama on the big screen that starred Meryl Streep in the lead role opposite Robert Redford, and recalled the dramatic way Meryl Streep quoted this opening line from the 1937 autobiographical book.

For my sister and I, a holiday was not complete without some souvenirs so while in Cape Town, my nephew Andrew, dropped his mother and I off at the Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre to do our shopping.

Designed with shops and kiosks with merchandise and restaurants in international brands, it was a spacious mall just like the modern malls in other cities of the world.

With the larger-than-life-size figure of
Nelson Mandela at Out of Africa, in
Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre, Cape Town

Needless to say, I did not hesitate to browse around in Out of Africa – I later discovered another outlet at the airport – and after choosing my choice of best buys, I could not resist capturing a photograph memento with the larger-than-life-size figure of Nelson Mandela, displayed at its entrance.

The inspirational former president of South Africa (1994 to 1999) – the first black head of state elected in the first fully representative democratic election – was an anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist, who had passed away in 2013.

For more souvenir shopping in Cape Town, we also visited the African Trading Port where they stocked both small and larger pieces of local art and décor pieces.

I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the colourful and exciting Bay Harbour Market, a large space filled with souvenir and handicraft stalls and a wide range of interesting and exotic food.

More souvenirs from the African Trading Port

It was such a cool experience that I had to agree with their mission statement which reads like this:

“Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay is a celebration of the vibrancy, spirit and diversity of creativity and culture that make South Africa such a unique country.

It provides a uniquely social shopping and eating experience in an atmosphere which is friendly, vibrant and entertaining – and above all, distinctly South African!”

After our visit to the Cape of Good Hope, our road trip took us to our next stop on the Western Cape, for a stay in a charming cottage named Lamet on Marine Avenue near Palmietrivier.

A cottage named Lamet on Marine Avenue

Situated on the rocky coast, our cottage commanded a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean where restless waves smashed against the rocks, sending up clouds of spray in a non-stop sequence.

Inside the cottage, we pulled back the floor-length curtains for the glass-walled window for a wide view of the ocean from the sitting room.

And I could just sit down (it was too chilly outside!) to watch the wonderful way in which the water crashed onto the rocks over and over again…

From here one of our excursions was to Betty’s Bay for Cape Nature to visit Stony Point Seabird Breeding Colony, one of the largest successful breeding colonies of African Penguin in the world.

Watching waves crashing on the rocks through this window!

We walked around the colony on a boardwalk to observe these flightless birds as they went about their activities in the comfort and security of their natural habitat.

Besides penguin, the outer rocks of this colony were the breeding ground for three species of cormorant – Crowned cormorant, Cape cormorant and Bank cormorant.

I was particularly interested in the cormorant because I remembered a traditional fishing method in Japan and China where cormorants were trained to help the fishermen to fish in rivers.

African Penguins at Stony Point Seabird Breeding Colony

Then I read from an information plaque that this Nature Reserve was situated on the site of the old Waaygat Whaling Station.

And when I spotted the remnants of some machinery and structures that were used in this long-defunct industry, my over-active imagination flew to action scenes from Moby Dick, and documentaries where whales were harvested and processed for their meat and blubber…

I must confess that I felt rather reluctant to leave Lamet and its magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean, but our road trip must continue.

A site with a wealth of whaling history!

Our drive brought us inland to Fonteinskloof, a beautiful farm set in a wide valley with a private cottage for our accommodation.

Situated at the foot of the Langeberg mountains, adjacent to the Marloth Nature Reserve, the farm was 10km from Swellendam and about 250km from Cape Town.

The line, “I had a farm in Africa…” in the voice of Meryl Streep echoed in my mind as we drove into the sprawling game farm with paddocks filled with not just cows and sheep but antelope, deer, wildebeest or gnu, and zebra!

View of the valley from Langeberg Mountain

Besides getting acquainted with the residents in the game farm, our farm-stay included a side trip to the Protea Farm in Koo Valley to join the Montagu Tractor Trip, a legendary tractor excursion up the Langeberg Mountain.

As its name describes, this experience was led by a tractor that pulled a trailer loaded with visitors on a meandering trail up the mountain to an altitude of 1500m above sea level.

“All aboard!” called the tractor driver.

While my sister and her son’s family rode up front in seats arranged close to the driver, I opted for a seat at the back of the trailer for a better view of the trail ahead.

Our tractor and trailer ride on Langeberg Mountain

While the sun beat down and the chilly wind whipped around us, we trundled along the trail in a bouncy ride and made a brief stop at a natural spring where we were invited to have a taste of the cool spring water.

At our destination on the summit, we were invited to explore a mountain hut that was furnished as a welcome shelter for mountain climbers.

In the garden, a light snack was served along with a sip of their local wine.

On the return journey, our unforgettable tractor trip continued with a Potjiekos experience to savour a traditional South African lunch.

Baby Vivienne on Langeberg Mountain

The word, potjiekos literally translated as “small pot food” is a South African tradition of preparing food outdoors.

This cooking was traditionally done in a round, cast-iron, three-legged pot, called the potjie, derived from the Dutch oven that was brought to South Africa in the 17^th century.

In Afrikaans, preparing the Potjiekos was considered “building the potjie” and this was normally prepared in layers of ingredients and never stirred once the lid was put on the pot.

The first layer (at the bottom) was usually meat – poultry, pork, game meat or sea food – or any ingredient that needed to be cooked longer.

A generous serving of the Potjiekos lunch

The next layer would be vegetables and then the starch ingredient before topping off with the sauce and the pot was left to cook for two to three hours.

It was interesting to learn that unlike cooking a stew, the potjie was never stirred during the cooking process. In the event, more sauce was needed, this would be poured down the sides on the inside of the potjie but never in the middle.

I was fascinated to learn about this layering of ingredients to create a dish because I was familiar with the Chinese cooking method of preparing traditional poon-choy or a banquet in a basin!

Award-winning wines from Van Loveren winery

This almost similar method of cooking just made me ponder about the connection between the Dutch-South African and Chinese traditions.

For our Potjiekos lunch, however, the food was not served layered in the pots.

Instead, two rows of small cast-iron pots were kept warm on traditional charcoal stoves that served individual dishes (the ingredients from each layer!) for visitors to help ourselves from a buffet.

Besides the main course, the lunch spread included a range of salads and dessert, along with soft drinks and a choice of wines.

We all agreed that it was so good to end our road trip adventure with a traditional meal of South African cuisine on the mountain.

The Out of Africa outlet in Cape Town Airport

On our return journey to Cape Town, we stopped at Van Loveren, South Africa’s foremost family-owned and operated winery, to buy a selection of wine.

Back in Cape Town again, our accommodation was a beachfront apartment on The Strand at False Bay, across the road from a sandy beach where we enjoyed a cool dip in the Atlantic Ocean.

On the final night, we celebrated our South African adventure with a choice meal at Ben’s on the Beach Grill, a popular restaurant located just a short walk away.

After dinner, we had a slow walk back to the apartment, bathed in a golden glow from the rays of the sun which was setting in the horizon in a fiery ball.

Thanks very much, Andrew, Val and Vivienne, and of course, Ruby, for my unforgettable South African adventure!
Note: That's the Atlantic Ocean behind us, at The Strand on False Bay, Cape Town

P.S. I trust you enjoyed your virtual travel to the Cape region as much as I did in reviewing photos and sharing my South African experience with you.