Did you know that the town of Oudtshoorn once had the biggest Jewish (originating from Lithuania) community in South Africa?  About 100 immigrant families arrived in Oudsthoorn between 1881 and 1890, after fleeing persecution in their country, as the town held many business propositions due to the feather boom.

In Baron van Reede street, tucked away behind some trees and almost unseen, are a beautiful sandstone synagogue.

SWARTBERG CIRCLE ROUTE

Take your time and drive over the famous Swartberg Mountains, lying just to the North of Oudtshoorn,  to Prince Albert in the Groot Karoo while marvelling at all the different cliff formations and the Cango valley down below.  Return via the spectacular Meringspoort and De Rust. 

Allow a whole morning to complete this route. 

You can either have some morning tea or lunch in Prince Albert or you can pack a picnic basket and enjoy it at one of the spots in Meiringspoort.  Cape Nature provides clean bathroom facilities and running water at these shadey spots. 

VISIT A MUSEUM TO ESCAPE FROM THE SUN

When the harsh Karoo sun is getting at you there are a couple of museums that you can visit.  A very interesting one, yet quite unknown, is the homestead of CJ Langenhoven, one of the well-known sons of Oudtshoorn.  He was the composer of parts of our national anthem.

The Le Roux Townhouse in High Street is also interesting to visit to see what life was like in the early years of Oudtshoorn.

If you follow the link SANDSTEEN ROETE, OUDTSHOORN you can read more about all the interesting buildings in town.

GRUNDHEIM WINES

You can treat your taste buds and experience wine products, witblits and gin like never before.  

Grundheim is  famous for their hand crafted Naakte (an Afrikaans word meaning without clothes) Naartjie gin as well as their famous witblits with its beautifully designed Bull Terrier logo’s.  The witblits is par to a Bull Terrier = rough,  tough and loyal and will never disappoint you.

Located on the R62 just 20 minutes outside Oudtshoorn you will have the opportunity to meet the friendly team at Grundheim.   Be responsible when you visit the winery – nominate a driver to take you home!

BUFFELSDRIFT  GAME LODGE

Enjoy a bushveld experience with stargazing in the heart of the Klein Karoo without the fear of contracting malaria.    Here you can sleep in elegance with the Swartberg mountains as your backdrop and spoil your loved one with a game drive.  An experience not to be missed.

They offer excellent package deals and even has a volunteer programme if you are interested. 

NOSTALGIE EATERY

If you are an adventurous eater and never tasted ostrich before, this is the place to visit! 

This eatery is famous for traditional South African food.  At Nostalgie you can experience typical South African cuisine if you ant to. Escape the Karoo heat and enjoy your lunch under a lovely sausage tree in the front garden while observing the comings and goings of a small town.

Go hungry as the menu has a good variety and the portions are generous.

ZIPLINING

If you fancy some alternative adrenaline there is a new activity on the scene in Oudtshoorn – ziplining.  It is guaranteed to provide fun and get the adrenaline flowing.  Less than one kilometer from the entrance to the Cango Caves you will find these passionate guys who know what they are doing.  It is ideal to combine it with a visit to the famous Cango Caves

They are open daily between 09:00 and 16:00.   Allow yourself about 2 to 3 hours for an enjoyable experience.

ADMIRE SOME SANDSTONE CRAFTMANSHIP

Oudsthoorn is also famous for its sandstone buildings. 

Being the ostrich capital of South Africa there are some stately sandstone houses, known as ostrich palaces, dating back to the booming ostrich feather era, dotted around town. 

“At first encounter the Karoo may seem arid, desolate and unforgiving, but to those who know it, it is a land of secret beauty and infinite variety.”

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The little hamlet has its origin as far back as 1765 when land  was first allocated to Jacobus Scheepers.  Once a blooming farming community over the years it also fell victim to the economic trends and hardships and today it is a real rural community.  One beautiful feature of Twee Riviere is the Belfry Kitchen in the hoofstraat.  Make sure you pinch yourself, because you can soon forget that you are in the Langkloof.

When I visited the autumn colours were in all its glory!  It felt as if I was walking in in an English setting with the red brick buildings, autumn colours, the sheep grazing in the street next to a red letter box.   Peeking through the impressive gate pillars – it is private property so I did not want to trespass – I saw the beautiful campus gardens which comprise several hectares.  Schrijwershoek is a tree arboretum that has been arranged to emphasize the different colouring specimens and the tree collection varies in age between 14 to 22 years in age and is apparently an ongoing project.  I wish I was allowed to enter the grounds to have a look at the trees as it must have been dressed in full autumn colours.

Unlucky for us we did not do our homework properly and The Belfry Kitchen was closed.  It was their day off.  While we were clicking away one of the resident students came around the corner to investigate what we were doing at the restaurant as it was closed and we were peeking around – I think we triggered the security beams!  The Belfry Kitchen prides itself that they produce fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts, dairy products, poultry and meat for their own consumption and produces treats at a fraction of the price that you will pay elsewhere.  It was part of our planning to have lunch at the Belfry Kitchen, but today this was not going to happen for us as our planning sucked.   I think we will have to make a booking for Sunday lunch and make a road trip to the Belfry Kitchen.

The Belfry Kitchen also marks the site of Twee Riviere’s original post office which operated when the R62 was the main route to Port Elizabeth.  With the coming of the N2 small towns, like Twee Riviere, and many other, suffered a great deal.  Another demise of Twee Riviere was the establishing of the nearby Joubertina with a bigger school and church.

Until 1921 the post office was operated by the post master, storekeeper and school master, Denis Samson Schreiber. On Schreiber’s death in 1921 the responsibilities of the postal agency were initially assumed by the new shopkeeper, Mr Harold Strimling of Jewish Lithuanian decent, but the growing economy of Joubertina soon spelled the closure of businesses in Twee Riviere.   Despite this the postal agency carried on for another period of time until 1989 when it finally had to close its doors.  However, the day I visited I still experienced the old school post office atmosphere that I remember from childhood.

Once again, I must say if it was not for geocaching I would never ever have discovered this peaceful and tranquil placed tucked away on the R62.  Sometimes it is worthwhile to get off the highways and explore the backroads and discover and support establishments in rural communities like Twee Riviere.

Lastly, if you need to send a letter to Twee Riviere the postal code that you need to used is:  6411.

—oOo—

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The “garage” can be rated as one of the best visual farmstalls in South Africa, if not in the Southern hemisphere!  It is hard to miss it with all the colourful pumpkins in front of the store when you following the R60 between Worcester and Robertson.

The farm owner grows pumpkins in a wide array of forms and sizes, the one as beautiful and pleasing to the eye as the other when displayed under the tree in front of the shop.  Travellers are attracted by the colourful display and stop to take some pictures. You can take as many pictures as you like, the only requirement is that you make a donation to the local school to provide for the educational needs of the children.

Apart from a lot of pumpkins you can buy some typical South African farm fresh produce – Maketan jam, green figs and eye candy fresh purple figs, quinces, hanepoot grapes,  rusks and enamel ware for your road trip.

The “coffee shop” menu does not boast a wide variety, but my firm favourite is a pot of coffee and fresh roosterkoek enjoyed on the stoep while admiring the hundreds off pumpkins.   While sipping on my coffee I was wondering how many are on display.

You can also “like” the Travelbucket Facebook page to keep up to date with content and photos of interesting places that I visit.

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So, you think your general knowledge is good.  Come let’s play a game and see what your score is on South Africa – no cheating or Googling!  Shoot from the head/hip.

(Answers at the bottom of the page)

# Question 1:

We as the Rainbow Nation has a rich culture and history.  A country at the bottom tip of the African continent, but do you know how many languages we speak?

Hope you are off to a good start and got this one right …

# Questions 2:

America has Route 66, but we have our own Route 62 stretching from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.  Why is our Route 62 famous?

# Question 3:

My quiz journey now takes you to KwaZulu Natal where the famous Comrades marathon takes place between Pietermartizburg and Durban and thousands of runners participate each year.  Do you know why the first one took place in 1920?

# Question 4

We all know about the Big Five that you can see in our beautiful country, but can you tell which national park boast with the Big Seven?

#5 Question 5

Not many countries have more than one capital city.  We have three – can you name them?

# Question 6

You are familiar with the Grand Canyon in America and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia.  We also have a rare “green” canyon (which is the third largest in the world) in Mpumalanga.  Can you name it?

# Question 7

We are a “wild” bunch that lives down here in Africa.  Do you know where can you jump from a 216 meters high bridge, claiming that you have completed the highest bungy jump in the world?

# Question 8

As a nation we enjoy our unique South African food.  Can you name the healthy tea that only grows in the Cederberg Mountains of the Western Cape?

# Question 9

Nobody ever associate snow and a ski resort with sunny South Africa.  There are only three ski resorts in Africa – Lesotho, Morocco and South Africa.  Can you name the South African one?

# Question 10

Do you know what two Nobel Prize winners lived in the same street in SOWETO Johannesburg?

====ooOOoo====

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS:

1. 1. We speak a total of 11 languages.
   2. It is the longest wine route in the world stretching over 850 km.
   3. First run in 1920 in memory of all the soldiers who died during WWI.
   4. Addo National Park in the Eastern Cape
   5. Cape Town – the legislative capital; Bloemfontein – the judicial capital; Pretoria – Administrative capital
   6. The Blyde River Canyon situated on the Panoramic Route.
   7. Bloukrans Bridge just east of Plettenberg Bay
   8. Rooibos tea with its unique flavour
   9. Tiffendell in the Sourthern Drakensberg Mountains
   10. Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela both grew up in  Vilikazi Street

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Coordinates:                33°33’24.8″S      21°53’07.2″E

It was a nice and interesting Sunday morning breakfast run with the Garden Route BMW Motorcycle Club which ended at the Karooboom.  The wind was really huffing and puffing when we left George  along the Outeniqua pass where we had to hold on to the bikes.  As soon as we reached the Waboomskraal valley the wind subsided and it was just a beautiful Karoo day.

Today we followed the back roads via Kandelaarsrivier and De Hoop and so did the rain clouds.  As we pulled in at Karooboom the heavens opened on us – time to relax with a mug of  lekker boeretroos.  But soon after the downpour blue skies greeted us again = love the Klein Karoo!!

This is a no frills and fuss place with down to earth décor.  No fancy food on the menu.  The speciality at  Karooboom is pap en lap.  As no one in the group could vouch for it,  it was sort of  an  unanimous decision that all of us will give it a try.   What do you get when eating pap en lap?  Maize porridge served with tomato and onion relish, finely carved lieslap , a fried egg and home  baked bread and jam.  They also serve Sunday lunch and hosts a tripe evening  once a month.

Support Irene and Neil and find them on Facebook or visit their website at www.karooboom.co.za

Make your reservations for Sunday lunch at 044-0070034 or WhatsApp 079 620 1441

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