Agter Paarl - Lisa Templeton

Trips on A tankful
Under the Pearl
With heavenly vistas and divine food and wine, the Agter-Paarl area
offers a grand day out
W
By Lisa Templeton
ell, this is a good position
to be in…
We are sitting on the stoep
of a Cape Dutch Manor house
with sweeping views of farmland stretching
into the blue, an autumn chill in the air and,
before us, cups of rich, dark and creamy hot
chocolate and a dense, moist brownie. My
nine-year-old can’t believe her luck at being
in a restaurant devoted to chocolate.
We are visiting DV Artisan Chocolate
(dvchocolate.com) at Spice Route (spiceroute.
co.za) on the Suid-Agter-Paarl Road. Here,
the De Villiers family, who pride themselves
on being one of the very few bean-to-bar
micro chocolatiers globally, lovingly create
earthy dark chocolate from beans imported
To Wellington
R44
N1
To Cape
Town
R101
Spice Route
Fairview
To Worcester
N1
R45
To Stellenbosch
R303
To Franschhoek
Distance from
Cape Town
60 km
Fast facts
Named in 1657 for
its vast, extraordinary
granite rock face
gleaming like a pearl
in the sun after the rain,
Paarl is SA’s third oldest
town and boasts its
longest main road at
11.5 km. This winegrowing town came
to the world’s attention
in 1990 when Nelson
Mandela walked to
freedom from the
Victor Verster Prison.
may 2015 21
trips on A tankful
Insider’s
Guide
Endless views from
the Taalmonument
Watch the goat
antics in the tower
at Fairview
Fairview charms with its goats’ tower, a classic Disney-esque structure
built for the altitude-loving goats. There are always a few of them
tripping up its steps or lounging in the shade of its penthouse
Beer lovers will
enjoy a visit to
Cape Brewing Co
from the cocoa capitals of the world. We’ve
just finished a tasting, trying each bean and
the distinctive chocolate bar it creates.
Spice Route is an exciting farm to visit. Here
you’ll find Cape Brewing Co (where fine beers
are crafted by talented, renowned brewmaster
Wolfgang Koedel), wine tasting, biltong tasting,
a pizzeria and the glass­blowers at Red Hot
Glass, who make extra­ordinarily delicate and
pretty blown glass pieces that catch the light
in their airy shop.
After watching the glass blowers work in the
classic Venetian style under the blasting heat
of their workshop, we head into the sunshine
for Fairview (fairview.co.za), the farm next door.
Where
to stay
Under Oaks
Enjoy gorgeous
views and delicious
pizza. Rooms start
at R540 ppspn.
021 869 8535
underoaks.co.za
Belair
Country House
Beautiful views,
roses in your room
and big breakfasts
await on this former
stud farm. From
R500 B&B for two
people sharing.
021 863 1504
belair.co.za
Photography: lisa templeton, courtesy images
DV Artisan Chocolate
offers delicious tastings
Say ‘cheese’
A big hit with children and tourists, Fairview
charms all visitors with its goats’ tower, a classic
Disney-esque structure built for the altitude-loving
goats. There are always a few of them tripping
up and down its steps or lounging in the shade
of its penthouse.
Fairview produces delicious wines as well as
fabulous cheeses, and by now we are hungry.
Turning our backs on the tempting Goatshed
Restaurant with its casual-chic vibe and light
lunches, we instead head to the delicatessen
to grab yummy cheeses, artisanal bread
and fig preserve, because we’ve set our
sights on ‘higher’ things.
We’ll be taking a trip up the mountain
behind us for a look at the Taalmonument
(taalmuseum.co.za), sending its distinctive
spire elegantly into the blue sky above. It
claims to be the only monument to a living
language in existence, honouring Afrikaans
with its roots in Europe, Africa and Asia.
Today it offers a picnic site, coffee shop
and some stellar views all the way to Cape
Town’s Table Mountain.
But that’s not where we are lunching. Back
in the car, we take the short trip to the Paarl
Mountain Nature Reserve (paarlonline.com).
Here we wind our way up to a leafy picnic
site to eat in the shade before venturing out
for bigger sights. On the dirt road, my old
Mercedes inches up to the top of the biggest
of the three very distinctive round granite
humps that come together to make up the
Paarl Mountain.
After such a fabulous day, all that remains is
a cup of coffee on the terrace of the fabulous
five-star Grande Roche Hotel (granderoche.com)
and a gentle cruise back on the N1, Table
Mountain bringing us home.
‘The AgterPaarl area
offers superb
views – all the
way to Table
Mountain –
and excellent
food and wine.
Some 20%
of SA’s wines
are created
in Paarl and
it was here
where Pinotage
reds were first
created in the
1920s. Today,
the annual
Nederberg
Auction
attracts wine
connoisseurs
from around
the world.’
photography: GALLO/GETTYIMAGES/thinkstock
View glass-blowing
at Red Hot Glass
Ivan Le Kay
I&F Elegant
Country Tours
may 2015 23