Our Favourite Small Towns

by Sandra Mallinson, 12 June 2009

The email was brief, with a subject line which read: "Which is your favourite small South African town?”

It gets pretty busy in our office, so I wasn't expecting too many replies from my Go2Africa colleagues. I should have known better, after all, I was asking travellers about their passion, of course they'd have a lot to say.

Within a couple of hours my inbox was straining and I had a list of 25 places: from well-known attractions to Karoo dorpies so obscure, they even had Google stumped.

I finally whittled the shortlist down to a handful of firm favourites, by which stage all I wanted to do was book off a couple of weeks and head out on a road trip.

Olives, Wine and Great Little Shops

Competition was rife for the Cape Winelands top spot, but one name kept popping up: Riebeek Kasteel.

This down-to-earth town lies less than an hour's drive out of Cape Town, in a wide Swartland valley carpeted in vineyards, wheat fields and olive groves. I have friends who went there for a romantic weekend and ended up buying a house, it really is that beautiful!

Wander around galleries and bric-a-brac shops, and try some of the local restaurants - I highly recommend Bar Bar Black Sheep (BBBS). You can also go hiking, visit the surrounding wineries, sample Allesverloren's famous port and buy just about anything made out of olives.

In the evenings locals gather for drinks at the cosy Traveller's Rest pub. A word of warning, don't get stuck at the bar with the owner if you have a rubber arm, he'll have you merrily staggering out of there a good few hours later.

Fishermen's Cottages and Fresh Sea Air

Arniston may only be about 2 hours drive from Cape Town, but it feels worlds away. This is one of those places where time really does seem to slow right down, probably because your most pressing engagements for the day are a stroll along the beach and a leisurely lunch.

If you get the urge to explore further, it's well worth hiring a mountain bike and cycling between the white-washed stone cottages and along the rugged Whale Coast. There are also numerous coastal caves and some great wreck dives.

And as for lunch, well the best spot we've found is "Tannie Se Kombuis” in the neighbouring fishing village of Kassiesbaai. You can be pretty sure that anything served up in Tannie Betsie's kitchen ('kombuis' in Afrikaans) was swimming around in the ocean only that morning.

If this sounds like your kind of place, you should also consider our favourite West Coast spot: Paternoster.

Historic Cape Dutch Town in The Karoo

Graaff-Reinet is one of the country's oldest towns. Established as a frontier settlement in the vast and barren Karoo, this town has many fine examples of Cape Dutch architecture and the largest collection of national monuments in South Africa, around 220 in fact.

The word Karoo comes from the Hottentot for "thirstland", a name which quickly gains meaning as you wander broad streets under a cloudless Karoo sky. When the heat becomes too intense, escape to a shaded coffee shop courtyard for some home baked goodies and wonderful small town hospitality.

Graaff-Reinet may feel like the middle of nowhere, but the surrounding scenery is undeniably spectacular. This pretty Eastern Cape town lies within the Camdeboo National Park, a short drive from the cliffs and columns of the Valley of Desolation (well worth a visit, particularly in the soft light of early evening).

For something completely different, take a trip to the Owl House in the nearby village of Nieu Bethesda. This intriguing world of colourful glass, mythical beasts and concrete owls with beer bottle eyes, was created by Helen Martins in the 1940s, as a unique way of bringing light and colour into her life.

It would be a shame to go to the Karoo and not try a plate of tender, herby Karoo lamb. There are plenty of excellent restaurants in Graaf-Reinet, worth singling out is Andries Stockenstrom Guest House (a member of the "Good Cooks and their Country Houses" collection).

A Small Town With a Big Personality

Quite a few of the suggestions were towns along Route 62. Also known as the Mountain Route, this beautiful drive meanders from the winelands of the Western Cape into the wide open spaces of the Karoo, over some of the country's most impressive mountain passes.

Montagu with its hot springs, and the quaint Peter Rabbit hamlet of Greyton, both received multiple nominations but in the end I settled for somewhere which, although slightly off the route, is certainly worth the detour.

When Route 62 becomes lined with long-legged feather dusters, you're probably reaching Oudsthoorn, the world's ostrich capital. From there a dust road leads further inland, over the heart-stopping switchbacks of the Swartberg Pass, to the tiny town of Prince Albert.

Don't make the mistake of a brief stop-over; Prince Albert deserves a good couple of days. It's a pretty little place with craft shops, cafes, restaurants and art galleries, but what makes Prince Albert one of our favourites is the people who live there.

On the main road is the SoetKaroo Wine Estate, home of Herman and Susan Perold, where you'll be welcomed into their living room to taste Herman's traditional dessert wine. Afterwards, stroll past the Albert's Mil to Gay Gurnseys dairy, and try her award-winning cheeses.

In fact it seems this village has always attracted interesting characters. You can even go on an evening ghost walk, and hear the stories of some of the past inhabitants who may no longer be living, but still prefer to hang around. I can't really say I blame them.

Have We Left Out Your Favourite?

And this is just the beginning, We'll let you in on a few more of our favourites in a future newsletter. To add your suggestions, scroll down to our "Readers' Comments".

Readers' Comments:

Do you agree with our choices? Tell us a bit about your favourite small South African towns. Let us know.

Article © Copyright 2009 Go2Africa.

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