Going nowhere slowly

Just west of Patensie, travellers through the Gamtoos Valley will find the Padlangs farm stall.  It's a favourite with both visitors and the locals and I really have to do a post on it one day, but that day is not today.  Outside the farm stall visitors would find the remnants of transport methods used in the valley in the past.  Parts of an ox wagon and an old bakkie (a Chev perhaps?)

 

I placed a couple of Geocaches in the valley on one of my visits and the bakkie is one of my cache locations.  Finding the cache is a good excuse to stop and stopping is a good excuse to go for a meal or something cold on a hot day at the farm stall.  Across the road from the bakkie you can see the citrus trees that the valley is so famous for and a couple of the trailers used to transport the citrus to the co-ops.

Patensie Plaasbasaar - the epitome of church bazaars

Most people have been to their local church or school bazaar where the old tannies man tables with vetkoek, curry and rice and pancakes and kids run around while their parents buy food and chat to their neighbours who they never get to see due to the 6 foot wall separating their homes.  Last weekend I got to go to the Patensie Plaasbasaar, the NG Kerk Gamtoosvallei-Oos annual bazaar and I have to be honest here.  It was the mother of all church bazaars and makes our little city church bazaars look like a Micky Mouse tea party. 

 

The Gamtoos Valley is a major citrus and vegetable growing area and is often referred to as the food basket of the Eastern Cape.  Knowing that the first question people asked me when I came back was if there was fruit and vegetables on sale. Seriously?  Is the sea wet?  There was lots of fruit and particularly vegetables on sale.  So much so and at such low prices that people bought wheel barrows full with the farm workers assisting going flat out all day, wheeling people's purchases to their cars (or bakkies as is the case in most of the people from the valley who came).  And making some seriously good tips along the way.  

 

Coming into the Endulini Citrus packhouse where the bazaar was held the first thing you saw was the tea garden and all its cakes, and tarts, and cakes and... did I mention tarts?

 

  

 

I don't just mean any cakes and tarts, but cakes and tarts that would make most bakeries and coffee shops green with envy.  Green I say. Lime green with some frog in a blender green thrown in for good measure.  These cakes weren't just thrown together, they were made with exceptional skill and effort by people living in a farming community.  For the sake of the tea garden the cakes were cut up and in plates already, selling at R15 a piece.  The only problem was deciding which one to choose.  Not quite a piece of cake.    

 

One of my favourite things at the bazaar was watching these ladies making rooterkoek.  Roosterkoek, for those who don't know it, is bread rolls made over the coals and normally prepared along with a braai.  The roosterkoek table was where I bought my lunch of warm roosterkoek with farm butter melting and running over my fingers, topped off with whole fig jam and cheese.

It truly was a treat watching these experts at work.  They were churning out dozens of roosterkoek and as fast as they were making them, people were buying them.  During the auction later on they stopped making roosterkoek because they thought people were done buying and suddenly found themselves out of stock.  Didn't take long for the next batch to be rolled, cut and made though.

 

Other tables at the bazaar was heavily laden with all kinds of traditional bazaar goods. 

Bottled onions, bottled beetroot, jams, lemon syrup...

 ... breads, cakes, rusks, koeksisters...

 





 ... pancakes (and what is a church bazaar without pancakes?), jaffles, salamis, cheeses and biltong.

The most popular part of the bazaar was their farm breakfast which was served all day, buffet style.  Bacon, mince, sausage, patties, baked beans, egg, breads with farm butter, jams and cheese served with juice, all for just R40.  This was well topped off with a dessert from the pudding table selling at R10 and R15 per container. Baked puddings, jellies, instant puddings, more baked puddings and custard.  Like Oom Oubaas of 7de Laan on television would say.  "I had to stop myself before I chewed my lips off." 

 

 

 

 

 

 During the day the stage was used for a proper farmers auction with sheep, goats and chickens, kudu hunts, wire cars and several other items up for grabs.  I couldn't really compete with some of the farmers' wallets but did enjoy the banter going on between some of the guys on the floor.  The auction was followed by a boere-orkes. Uhm, ja.  Not sure how to translate that into English.  Its a traditional Afrikaner band led by a concertina player.  Not really something that is popular with the younger crowd these days, but still very special to hear live. 

Outside the kids did the standard jumping castle thing with a sweets and kiddies table nearby to keep them all sugared up.  One of the local farmers did tractor rides into the orchards which clearly was supported more by the city kids than the farm kids who get to ride on tractors whenever they want. 

 

I wouldn't have know of the bazaar if it wasn't for Nichola Uys of Nikalandershoek.  Nichola is the driving force behind the Gamtoos Tourism Association and invited us out to the valley for the weekend.  While we were there we stayed in her cottage on the citrus farm Nikalandershoek.  The cottage is self catering and the ideal spot to base yourself to explore the valley or just chill away from the city rush.  Breakfast at Tolbos in town, lunch at Padlangs just outside of Patensie and late afternoon strolls through the orchards with outings to the Baviaanskloof, Kouga Dam, Queen Victoria profile and Hankey in between.  Truly a plattelandse experience with a good farming flavour in the mix.  Next year we'll definitively be returning for the Plaasbasaar with heaps of our friends in tow.  They didn't want to believe me before hand that its going to be a great experience and now they have to wait a year for the next one.

The KidZ at Ronnie's Sex Shop

The KidZ were absolutely amazed with what they saw at Ronnie's Sex Shop on Route 62 outside Barrydale and were snapping away pictures with their cameras the whole time we were there.  They even went to Ronnie himself to get pictures with him.  I finally got the two of them to stop bouncing off the walls long enough for a picture in front of the famous bar before they went off again.

Ronnie and his Sex Shop

I have passed Ronnie's Sex Shop on Route 62 close to Barrydale so often but *sticks head in a hole* have never pulled over for a look.  Yes, shame on me.  But if you don't know what Ronnie's Sex Shop is, don't think it was a case of wanting to stop there to have a look at kinky toys and lingerie.  Because that's not what Ronnie's Sex Shop is about.  So what is it about?  Let me tell you the story in a nutshell.  Some years ago a guy called Ronnie decided to fix up an old building next to the popular Route 62 to turn it into a farm stall and sell fresh fruit, produce and perhaps a couple of odd souvenirs to passing motorists . Nearing completion Ronnie painted the name Ronnie's Shop on the wall, but a couple of his friends decided to pull a prank on good ol' Ronnie. They added the word SEX next to the name and thus changing it to Ronnie's Sex Shop. Ronnie was shocked and angry, but as he had more urgent work to do he never got around to changing the name again. Passers by would stop and ask after the name and an interest in it started before he was even open.   One night over a braai and a couple of drinks one of his friends suggested that he drop the whole farm stall idea and just open a pub. The rest, as they say, is history.

My eyes popped open when I walked in because the decor in the pub at Ronnie's is somewhat... uhm... well, different.  The walls are covered in graffiti and messages, business cards and money from all over the world while the ceiling isn't visible because of all the shirts and bras (yes, yes, there is lingerie contrary to what I said earlier) hanging from it.  All pieces "donated" and signed by visitors.

In the room next to the bar there is just about no space left on the walls because of all the messages.  Its enough to make one's eyes cross and head spin.  But Ronnie's isn't just a pub.  There is a little restaurant, called Roadkill, as well where you can grap a pizza or hamburger while enjoying a drink from the pub.

 

The highlight for me wasn't just finally seeing what Ronnie's was about, but actually meeting the man himself.  Ronnie even agreed to pose for a picture when I asked him.  And again with Chaos Boy and later again with Drama Princess.  The two of them was just fascinated with him.

So next time you drive through the Klein Karoo down Route 67, make sure you you pull over and say hi to Ronnie and his Sex Shop.

Check out Avril's post about Ronnie's on Mom's Meanderings for some more pictures

Straw People at Affie Plaas

Anybody who has driven along the R60 between Swellendam and Worcester cannot in good faith claim that they haven't seen the family of straw people next to the road just outside Robertson.  I put it like that cause there is just no way that you can miss the 3 meter high Mr and Mrs Straw with their kids next to the road.  So what are they doing there?  They're a gimmick to draw attention to the Affie Plaas farm stall.

Affie Plaas is a very popular spot along the road and here you will find anything from home made eats to handmade craft and wines.  This is a wine producing region after all.  There is fresh bread, farm butter, pies, milk tarts, goat's milk fudge and many other yummy things on sale.  Unfortunately they don't allow visitors to take photos inside the shop (which you are reminded of by signs on the shelves every two steps) so I can't really show you any of these goodies. 

Patensie Citrus Festival 2012

There is just something special to small town festivals which you don't get in the cities and the Patensie Citrus Festival has that something special.  This past weekend the third annual Citrus Festival took place in the Gamtoos Vally west of Port Elizabeth.  The Gamtoos Valley is very much a farming area and produce both fruit and vegetables with potatoes and oranges being two of the major produce from the valley.  In actual fact the valley is often referred to as the food basket of the Eastern Cape.  The festival took place and and around one of the storage sheds in the town and gets organised by Gamtoos Tourism to generate funds to market the valley and create awareness for more visitors to come and experience one of the most beautiful areas in this part of the Eastern Cape.  Festivities started on the Friday evening already with a dance where well known country music star Lance James performed.

Our first stop when we got to the festival and one of the main reasons we went was the fresh produce stall.  Produce so fresh it comes straight from the farms.  Plus we paid less than half what we would have paid for the same stuff in the city.  Rather than trolleys there were farm workers who loaded your purchase onto wheelbarrows and pushed it to the car for you.  Real farm hospitality.

Because the area is one of South Africa's top export citrus producers, citrus is at the core of the festival.  The local Patensie Citrus group had one of the best stalls of the day selling jams, marmalade's and even a cookbook.  Another citrus related highlight was a farm tour on a tractor and trailer with farmer Danie Malan during which visitors were allowed to go in amongst the citrus trees and pick their own naartjies.

Entertainment and exhibits there were more than enough of with Dillon Lerm kicking off the on stage entertainment which went on all afternoon and well into the evening.  Outside there were tractor and farming exhibits, an old car and vintage tractor exhibit, a funfair and even a haunted house for the kids to go and scream in.  Well scream, laugh and giggle.   



Except for the on stage entertainment the stalls at any festival is at the core of things and without good stalls people don't return to these festivals.  And good stalls the Citrus Festival had.  The Gamtoos Tourism food stall were churning our pancakes, breakfast rolls and burgers while the roosterkoek stall on the other side of the isle just couldn't keep up with the demand.  Fresh orange juice squeezed and poured immediately was tops.  You just don't get that in the city much.  Outside another popular stall was the Pomegranate stall where the sold fresh pomegranate juice, something I've never had before.

Oh and cakes.  Did I mention the cakes?  The local church ladies had a table where they sold the most divine lemon tarts, cup cakes, carrot cakes and quiche.  What's a small town festival without the local tannies' cakes?  And in this case nice "hold in the hand bite size" cakes.

The Citrus Festival may not be as big as the more established Kirkwood Wildlife Festival but I kinda like it that way.  I do have a feeling though that in a couple of years this festival is going to be very popular.

Donkey cart rides at Kloof Padstal

As you drive into the town of Montagu from the Cogmans Kloof side, the first building on the left is the Kloof Farm Stall.  After our arrival in town we stopped by there to have a look and saw a brochure on the wall advertising donkey cart rides starting at the farm stall.  Unfortunately the driver was ill that day and they cart weren't going.  We returned the next day and still nothing.  We started preparing the kidz for the disappointment of not being able to go while we were in town, but decided to return again the next day.  It was third time lucky. *Phew*

The ride took us through town and past some of the historic landmarks like Joubert House and the Dutch Reformed Church.  Although the driver isn't a tour guide, he still told us all about what we were seeing plus its always nive chatting to locals.  Every now and then the donkeys, named Whiskey and Soda, stopped and had to be encouraged to get going again.  Makes you understand where the saying "As stubborn as a donkey" comes from.

The second part of the trip took us along a dirt road and we crossed a stream a couple of times.  The next day on my way back from the shop I passed Whiskey and Soda along the road and decided to go ahead to one of those river crossings and wait for them.  A trip like this really makes you take in the scenery so much more than you do driving in a car and is the ideal way to really explore a small town better.

Montagu Village Market

Fresh cherries (the fruity kind, not the two legged ones).  Organic vegetables.  Home made jam.  Grain fed farm eggs.  Olives and olive oil.  Homemade bread and rusks.  Paintings.  Antique tools.  Vintage bric-a-brac.  Intricate wireworks.  Hand crafted jewellery.  These are just some of the items you will find on sale at the weekly Village Market in Montagu.  Every Saturday morning stall holders start to set up their stalls quite early and by the time the market opens at 8am (08:30am in winter) they are ready for both locals and visitors alike.

Walking through the market you don't really know where to look or to start.  And if you aren't quick then you may just be disappointed, specially if you are looking at the fresh produce and food.  Point is, don't do what we did by passing the fresh cherries with the intention to come back later.  Not 15 minutes after I took this picture the cherries were sold out. 

Our highlight of the market was the breakfast stall.  They do a breakfast roll on a seed bun and if you take a full house it consist of mushroom, bacon, egg and cheese.  It comes in a tin plate and you can have a tin mug of coffee with it.  Oh man, lip smacking.  Seating are at wooden benches and logs and from there I watched the ladies working behind the stall motor between preparing the food and dishing up.  They were by far the busiest stall there as most people had breakfast in between their shopping (or just browsing if your wallet is a bit empty). 

Montagu Dried Fruit

I love summer fruits (well, any fruit actually) like peaches, plums and apricots.  That was one of the many reasons I looked forward to spending the first part of our summer holiday in the Klein Karoo town of Montagu.  The area has a rich soil and amazing micro climate and along with the fact that there is an abundance of water makes it ideal to farm summer fruits.

On our first day in Montagu I discovered the Montagu Dried Fruit Factory Shop.  Let me not start about my love for dried fruit.  Nom nom nom...  Montagu Dried Fruit and Nuts was established in 1991 and as one of Africa’s largest wholesalers of dried fruit and nuts and currently markets 35% of all dried tree fruit in South Africa.  The shop has an amazing range of dried fruit (and nuts) and we probably returned another three or four times while we were in town. 

Except for the dried fruit, they also sell fresh apricots and peaches.  The apricots sold for... wait for it... you won't believe this... R2 per kilogram.  Drama Princess filled up a couple of bags for us and we had to keep reminding the kidz not to over indulge as we didn't want any tummy problems.

The factory is situated right behind the shop, but visitors aren't allowed inside the factory itself.  We did go on a tractor tour (which I will post about shortly) during which was saw the peaches being dried in the sun.  I posted a picture of peach pips yesterday and a couple of people asked what it's used for.  Somebody in town told me that Montagu Dried Fruit is the only place in South Africa that "produces" the pips like this.  They break them to get the moisture out and then they also get dried in the sun.  Its then sold to people who put them in the gardens, specially in garden paths and drive ways.  All the roads in Montagu Caravan Park where we stayed is covered in peach pips.  I wish I could get my hands on some.

Roadside pineapples

Farm stalls isn't too rare a sight on South African roads and if you want to buy fresh fruit then these farm stalls are the place to get them from.  Locals selling fresh fruit from the side of the road is a lesser common sight, but often seen in areas where fruit are gown.  The Eastern Cape around the town of Bathurst is ideal for Pineapple growing and I found this roadside pineapple stall just outside of Grahamstown.