Greetings! My name is Fred and I lived on what we call ‘The Mountain’ for many years before going abroad for just on twenty years.
I’m very happy to be back and I invite you to share some of my impressions of the hardy old tourism spots and the many new visitor delights where you can eat, drink, play or sleep in the Magoebaskloof area.
My first impression is that, whilst many of my favourite places are thankfully still here, there is so much that is new.
Let me start with the Village of Haenertsburg. For a while the Village, established over 130 years ago, was beginning to show its age, but there is a new vibrancy about the Village and the five restaurants and coffee shops in a space of only 200 meters along Rissik Street make this a popular gathering place for locals, visitors from neighbouring towns and those from further afield. Added to these eating and drinking spots are new or refurbished curio, clothing and gift shops, a greatly improved Village Grocer and the trusty old bottle store. The later, incidentally, now offers a small variety of fresh and frozen foodstuffs.
I will take you to some of these places in future blogs but now let me simply add that it is not only the village that has come alive but, just across the R71, are two more restaurants with one of them offering a delicatessen, butchery and many home-made goodies and gifts.
But wait! I am not quite finished as it would be remiss of me to leave out the new restaurant and deli at the blueberry farm, the re-fashioned Pot ’n Plow and then, half way down the Magoebaskloof Pass, the Farmstall with excellent light meals and other tasty home-made treats.
Oh my! I nearly forgot the old favourites of Cheerio Gardens, the grand old lady of the mountain Magoebaskloof Hotel, and the Magoebaskloof Mountain Lodge which I remember as the Ruskamp. In addition, there is the comparatively new Zwakala Brewery where they serve good food at weekends and beers and lagers straight out of the barrel!
There must be few places in Limpopo Province where so much hearty eating and drinking can be enjoyed in such a small area.
The great thing is that these establishments draw visitors back time and again because you really can’t sample this huge array of food and drink in one day or even over one weekend!
There is much to explore so join me next time for more in-depth visits to some of these places.
This is, indeed, a special corner of southern Africa and ‘them’s my sentiments!’
Fred Bullock
ED: Thank you Airborn for the picture .
