Activities in South Africa - Holiday Homes South Africa

Tulbagh - Horse Trails with Horse About

2012-05-02T09:18:08Z

At Horse About Trails you can saddle up and unwind while you explore the scenic Tulbagh Valley countryside on the back of a well trained horse.

With Horse About nature trails you take a step back in time as you ride through vineyards and wheat fields to reach the contour paths at the foothills of the majestic Witzenberg Mountains.

On the way you enjoy the panoramic views of the valley and surrounding mountains.

Horse About offer various trail options which can include local wine tastings or sample award winning olive oils, or simply join us for a leisurely meander amongst fynbos, vineyards and orchards while admiring the panoramic views of the Tulbagh Valley.

The trail rides and out rides can be tailored to suit everyone, from supervised pony rides for the little ones to half day and full day trails. Tulbagh boasts a wide array of accommodation, from camping and cottages on working farms to luxurious hotels in the historic village.

Every trail ride includes instruction, a helmet and an english saddle.

The Vineyard trail, a one hour scenic ride, is enjoyed by all levels of rider, but particularly suitable for the beginner as well as the not-so-fit rider.

The two to three hour Witzenberg Trail is for the more experienced rider who is fit enough to be comfortable in the saddle for a few hours and confident at a trot and canter.

Something special!

Experience Horse About's spectacular Sunrise, Sunset and Moonlight trail rides.

If you are celebrating a special event, let them arrange a delicious picnic or pack a bottle of champagne to complete a magical day.

*A minimum of 2 riders are required

The longer rides and treks are suitable for the experienced rider, comfortable at trot and canter.

All rides by appointment only.

What to wear?

For your comfort we recommend you wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, ideally with a flat heel.

What to bring?

Sunblock
Small water bottle
Insect repellant - particularly for the evening rides.

Contact Horse About for further enquiries and bookings

Stellenbosch - Picnic at Warwick Wine Estate

2011-10-20T15:06:29Z

Warwick Wine Estate in Stellenbosch has a most beautiful picnic area that is open virtually every day of the year. Their picnic hampers cater for the most fastidious food lover and yet work "for everyone". They also prepare special vegetarian picnic hampers and special hampers just for kids.

Go on, spoil someone and spend a day out at Warwick Wine Estate, enjoy some wine tasting or go on the "Big Five Wine Safari" where you will be transported to the "top of the hill" so to speak in a real 4X4 journey that is definitely not for the faint hearted.

Warwick Wine Estate can tailor an event for groups so this is perhaps an ideal venue for a Corporate day out with a difference.

The Warwick Wine Estate tasting and cellar tours (by arrangement) are open from 10:00 to 17:00

Directions to Warwick Wine Estate

From Cape Town.

On the N1 towards Paarl.

Take exit 47 (R44 Stellenbosch/Klapmuts/Wellington). Turn right onto the R44. Go straight through the four way stop and 4km further on you will see the entrance to Warwick on your right.

On the N2 towards Somerset West.

Take exit 33 (R310 Macassar/Baden Powell Drive. Turn left at the intersection. Proceed for 13km and then at the stop sign turn right, go for 5km and at the traffic lights bear left onto the R44 (Wellington). Go for 12km and then turn left into Warwick Estate.

Contact Details for Warwick Wine Estate

Tel: 021 8844410 Bookings: 021 884 3144 Fax: 021 8844025 Email: info@warwickwine.com
or visit@warwickwine.com

Heritage Day - Tree Planting at Backsberg Wine Estate

2011-09-16T03:44:27Z

Arbor Day at Backsberg Wine Estate is to celebrated on Heritage Day. So if you had no time during Arbor Week (1st to 7th September) to plant a tree then Backsberg should be where you're at on 24th September.

So the plan is, you pitch up at Backberg (better book first) at 08:00, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee then head for the tree planting site. Your tree will be there so all you have to do is dig your hole, put in the tree and a few bits of this and that , fill up the hole and you will have helped reduce the carbon load of planet earth.

Wander back down to the Backsberg restaurant, grab a boerewors roll, a glass of your favourite and watch the Froggies thrash New Zealand on the big screen at 10:30. Can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday Morning.

Cost is R35 for Wine Club members and R100 for non members. Kids can have their faces painted and do a few other things for R15.

Directions to Backsberg

I presume you bring your own spade! The tree of the Year in South Africa in 2011 is the Jacket Plum or Doppruim. It's also known as the Indaba Tree - Appropriate for SA

Hermanus – Old Harbour Museum – De Wet’s Huis Photo Museum

2011-09-13T03:34:18Z

Hermanus Old Harbour Museum is a collection of several locations that have been restored by local interest groups over the years.

In the Fisherman's Square and facing East towards Voelklip is the De Wet’s Huis Photo Museum. The building was originally the Dutch Reformed Church Sunday school building and it was dismantled piece by piece, numbered, and transported to its present site in 1983. The reconstruction was completed in 1987.

Today De Wet’s Huis Photo Museum houses a collection of very old photographs of Hermanus going back to 1875. Many of the characters of the formative days of Hermanus are among those photographed, as well as many buildings that sadly are no longer here.

The photos cover the old harbour as far back as 1875, Transport ( including hard rim wheeled buses that travelled from Hermanus to Bot Rivier), Old Hermanus, Fashion, Bathing, Tea gardens, Hotels, Fishing and other pastimes.

Getting There

De Wet’s Huis Photo Museum is in Fishermans Square, alongside the Whale House and a few meters from the craft stalls, at the corner of Main Road and Harbour Road.

Namaqualand - Two young ladies discover the flowers in Spring

2011-09-12T08:58:15Z

The Wild Flower Display in Namaqualand in Spring evokes as many emotions as there are people who see this marvel of nature.

Here is the story of two young ladies who toured Namaqualand and the West Coast in 2011.

Samantha and I met in our first year of bachelor of science at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2004. That is when this adventure actually began. First year biology was very general. We studied plant, animal and environmental science,

a brief variety before our human biology and genetics majors started. I will never forget learning, during a lecture on global warming, that if you don’t go see the Namaqualand daisies soon, you might never get to see them. Global warming is going to affect this precious ecosystem. It was there and then that I made a mental note to travel to our west coast before it’s too late.

June this year, I started to plan. I wasn’t certain as to who I was taking with me but as I started talking to my friends, Sam jumped at the opportunity. Her friend had had a vision of Sam, lying happy and smiling in a field of daisies, in a church service. Sam was so excited. This trip had been in our destiny all along. We decided to take my 2 dogs with for the ride. That decision shaped our trip because I now had to hunt pet-friendly accommodation which narrowed down the long list of holiday spots in the Kalahari and down the west coast. I browsed websites on Google and decided on a B&B in Kakamas (Palmhof Chalets) and a guest house in Paternoster. A night in Kakamas on the way to and from Johannesburg would break the long drive and three nights at the Baywatch Villa in Paternoster is exactly what two city slickers need on a holiday. The sea. We both have huge love for the ocean. Once the accommodation was decided on, the rest was easy. We would drive along the N14 for about 10 hours to Kakamas, stay the night, then wake up, drive for 2 hours to Springbok, then down the west coast for 6 hours on the N7 until we reached Paternoster. Stay there for the weekend. Then drive back all the way up again, back to Springbok and finally back to Kakamas where we spend our last night before the long drive back to Johannesburg. Simple! Right? There was one factor we didn’t take into consideration. The daisies.

Both Sam and I have never been to this side of the world before, even though we have both travelled extensively. For whatever reason, this area is not a common holiday spot for us or anyone we know in Johannesburg. We only realized how strange that is once we started to enter the area of Namakwa. There was even a sign designating the entrance. Not that we needed it because almost immediately we were awestruck. Amazed. Entranced. As we posted on Facebook: there are no words or no amount of pictures that can truly explain or capture the magnitude of the beauty that is Namakwa Land. Springbok is, without a doubt, the daisy capital. Not even an hour outside the town, does the flora start to explode with colour. Everywhere! Along the roads, up the hills, growing out of what looks like nothing. Sand instead of soil. But there the flowers are in all their glory. We couldn’t help but pull over and spend long moments capturing them. Using our digital cameras and our Blackberrys. We obviously had to post our pics on the net. We were, after all, on a maiden journey. In our mid-twenties, most of our friends and relatives haven’t been to this part of the world. The response we’ve had on Facebook has been incredible. Everyone can’t believe the extent of the flowers and beauty. From Springbok we took the N7 and headed south towards Paternoster. We decided that we weren’t going to rush the trip because we were here for the flowers. So we hit slow motion on our remotes. We stopped at almost every area that took our breath away and took more photos. This is when we realized that most of Namakwa has to be done on foot. You can drive for hours and even if you drive slowly, there is nothing that compares to when you pull over and walk into the natural wonder land. The diversity of species and the tiny flowers are only evident on foot. Our favourites being the Sunflax, Rain Daisy, Oxalis purpurea, Gazania krebsiana and Giant Aloe tree species. When we return to this area again, we will take the hiking tour led by professional guides in the Namaqua National Park. Before we knew it, the day had escaped us and we still had over 500kms to get to Paternoster. We drove in silence watching the semi-desert succulent Karoo biome of the Namakwa area transform into the fynbos biome of the Cape Peninsula. We witnessed our first sunset. The west coast has unbelievably beautiful sunsets. Over mountains, over sea, from your front porch. The drive was worth this beauty. We arrived at our cottage in Paternoster at 21h00 on Friday night. We were tired and hungry but alive with the day’s experience. One of the most incredible days of my life, I posted on Facebook.

We have spent the last two days exploring the friendly little towns around here. Yesterday, we went to St Helena Bay and bought art and snoek in a local market. We’ve been running on the beach and lazing around today, Sunday, because tomorrow we make our way up the coast again. We’re seeing the daisies all over again. Just before Springbok, we’re going to stop at the Goegab Nature Reserve which is apparently where the flowers are the best. We will probably be tired after driving for over six hours but we have to. It is, after all, believed to be the richest bulb flora of any region in the world. Worth the drive. And the flowers are extensive this year. We were told by a friendly local in Springbok that this year the flowers are the best they’ve had in years because of the early winter rains, to which I turned to Sam and said: ‘Destiny indeed’. We followed our hearts to the West Coast.

We might just leave them here.

Tanya Calvey.

Hermanus - Old Harbour Museum - Whale House

2011-09-12T08:19:43Z

Hermanus Old Harbour Museum is a collection of several locations that have been restored by local interest groups over the years.

In the Fisherman's Square and facing Walker Bay is the Whale House. The Whale House is a stunning well presented display of all things Cetacean, which includes Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises.

Included in the collection is the suspended skeleton of a young female Southern Right Whale that washed up onto the rock at Onrus rivier in 2003.

The skeleton was recovered and treated and apart from one or two pieces what you see is 1005 real whale bones.

The graphic illustrations together with good lighting and modern touchscreens makes it easy for young and old to understand these beautiful graceful creatures that grace the coast of Walker Bay.

Entrance fees are R20 for adults and less than R10 for children and that allows you access to the Old Harbour Museum across the street and the De Wet's Huis Photographic Museum.

There are also two Whale Shows every day at 10:00 and 15:00. the shows are conducted by Noel Ashton.

For more on the Old Harbour Museum

Getting There

You will find the Whale House next door to the permanent craft stalls in Fisherman's Village at the corner of Main Road and Harbour Road

Hermanus - Walk The Bay Hiking Trail

2011-09-08T13:54:18Z

Walk The Bay is a unique three day hiking trail organised by Walker Bay Adventures. The Hike starts in Gansbaai and you walk around seven kilometers to the strandlopers caves at De Kelders in Gansbaai. These caves were inhabited thousands of years ago by "strandlopers" who lived off the sea's rich harvest.
You overnight at a luxury 4 star guest house in Gansbaai

and then early on the second day you set off on a 16km beach walk through the Walker Bay nature and marine reserve. If your timing is right (from July to November) you will see Southern Right Whales, dolphins, seals and other marine life in an undisturbed habitat. You will also be in a flora rich sand dune eco-system with myriad specimens of fynbos, small mammals and birdlife.
After an overnight stay at the Walker Bay Adventures own guest house you then tackle the last 7km walk from Grotto Beach in the East to the New Harbour in the West. You'll see Piet se Bos, Roman's Rock, Kwaaiwater, Gearing's Point and many other interesting places on the walk. Your Hiking guides are very knowledgeable and you are assured of enjoying one of the most unique hiking trails anywhere in Southern Africa.
For booking and a quote on this and other fabulous tour programs call Walker Bay Adventures.
Other Hikes you may be interested in:-
Hiking at Salmonsdam Hiking at Boesmanskloof Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens

Hermanus - Whale Watchers for Boat Based Whale Watching

2011-09-06T03:25:28Z

Whale Watchers is the newest boat based whale watching tour operator in Hermanus. Their bright green and orange boat is ideal for small groups and photographers. Boat Based whale watching gives you a rare opportunity to get up really close to the giant Southern Right Whales that frequent the Walker Bay from around June to November each year.

The shareholders of Whale Watchers are a group of proudly South African persons with a previously disadvantaged background, who accepted the challenge to excel in this whale-watching venture.

They are committed to not only contribute to the tourist industry but also to protect the environment and play our part in community upliftment projects.

The skipper and guides are registered SATOUR guides coming from the local community. They have excellent knowledge of the area, local sea conditions and weather patterns.

To find Whale Watchers see directions. As you enter the new harbour you will pass Lusitana Fishing on your right and then you will see a big orange building which houses Whale Watchers.

Hermanus - Outdoor Adventure Activities

2011-08-25T12:01:12Z

Hermanus and the surrounding areas of the Overberg, the Overstrand and the Cape Whale Coast are the ideal place for virtually all types of outdoor adventure activities. This is possible because of the combination of Mountain, Sea and Rolling Hills together with the most ideal weather conditions. Here is a list of the various activites together with links to either articles on our site about it or a direct link to vendors.

Scenic Quad Biking.

Hiking at Salmonsdam.

Hiking at Fernkloof Nature Reserve.

Hiking in Harold Porter National Botanical Garden.

Open Ocean Kayaking in Hermanus.

Boating.

Shark Diving.

Betty's Bay - Chocolatier at Work - By Appointment

2011-08-25T07:22:33Z

You can watch a Chocolatier at work in his sweet smelling home chocolate factory in Betty's Bay on the Cape Whale Coast. One time restauranteer Belgian born Gaspard Bossut turned to making quality chocolate products in 2001. In a long process of trial and error and much research this gifted chef now creates a range of unique designer chocolates including Chilli, Hawaiian vocanic salt, Biltong, Ginger, Orange Peel and others too numerous to recall.

The Chocolates are sold mainly in the Overberg area and some is exported to New York. You can spend an hour watching Gaspard at work and you can buy his chocolates directly from him. The kitchen is really compact so not more than 4 people can be accommodated in relative comfort. Phone ahead and make an appointment.

You can buy your chocolates and pay by credit card.

Gaspard Bossut can be contacted on 028-272 nine four two one or 082-394-one zero one six.

Email: gaspard@gaboli.co.za

Some other things to see and do on the Cape Whale Coast include Whale Watching Quad Biking Wine tasting at Bouchard Finlayson Hamilton Russell Iona Wines Raka Wines Golf in Hermanus Golf at Arabella Hiking at Salmonsdam Beer and Wine Tasting at Birkenhead Brewery Danger Point Lighthouse