Notes

Winter wonderland

06, August 2012

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swellendam snow

Swellendam's second large batch of snow for the year! And if the temperature is anything to go by, there is a fair amount under those clouds! OK so this is not Chamonix or even Tiffendell for that matter, but people, this is the Garden Route. To us, this is ski-tastic. I am excited to see all the flowers in bloom on the estate this Spring however...  

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Daytrip notes: Cape Agulhas

02, August 2012

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Cape Agulhas Lighthouse

Swellendam is an amazingly central place. It is a much under-publicised fact that we are always about an hour & a bit from anything that you could want. Really - try it. Brandy, Karoo, whales, wine, and so on... And of course, Swellendam is equally central to some impressive landmarks, and few are as significant as the very tip of our great continent. Cape Agulhas, the very most southerly point on the African continent, was given its name by the Portuguese explorer and navigator Bartholomeu Diaz, as he rounded the Cape for the first time in 1488. At Cabo L’Agulhas Diaz and subsequent...

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Thatch that

31, July 2012

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photo 2 lr

The Drostdy Museum is getting a new thatch roof. This hugely expensive operation is a fairly regular occurrence and one of the things you do as part of the ongoing upkeep with old buildings. Our main building, Park Villa, also had a thatch for the first 100 years of its existence but along the way in keeping up with the trends, the roof was replaced with corrugated iron, which became the norm.

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Big Yellow

31, July 2012

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The view from Old Gaol

Every August  the scenic town of Swellendam turns yellow, to celebrate all that is positive and healthy about life in South Africa.  This year the yellow fever will hit from 9 to 12 August. In preparation, the town undergoes a yellow transformation as businesses and some private homes do their bit by donning a bit of yellow. It's a sort of jaundice Christmas. Canola Carnival brings you face to face with a region where the fresh air motivates you, the warm sun energizes you and the natural beauty cheers you on. A region that challenges you to go further, higher and be stronger – in order...

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The Bunny gets it…

26, July 2012

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MG_8984-2

Earlier this year, when in Durban at Indaba and introducing the concept of the Republic of Swellendam to interested parties, we were again reminded how much we love spicy South African food. And when it comes to spice, Durban brings it. One of the many unusual dishes to found here at the bottom of Africa is this novel way of having some fresh bread and a strong curry. Bunny chows, a proudly South African meal, is a 1/4 or 1/2 loaf bread, hollowed out with curry in the center. Bunny chows are probably one of my all-time favourite ways to eat curry. The origins of Bunny Chow are not quite...

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Swellendam Saturday

22, July 2012

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photo 1

Some weekends are busier than others, even in Swellendam. This weekend is exceptional even by busy standards with some interesting things in and around town. Friday night was the SwellenGlam party in aid of the Swellendam Bursary Fund, and it was just great to see so much support from the community for this project. Mr Basil May was there, looking dapper; local drag queens were looking chilly in their skimpy outfits, several Swellendammers of recent European origin dressed 70's glam and it was altogether a loud, fun evening. Saturday saw the anniversary of the Swellendam Republic with a market...

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Remembering Ingrid Jonker

19, July 2012

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smoke_ochre

On 19 July 1965, Ingrid Jonker, a South African poet, committed suicide by walking into the sea. Jonker was 31 Years old. The advanced ideas inherent in Ingrid Jonker's poems have made her a recognized literary figure internationally, with her poems being studied, translated and published in many languages including English, German, French, Dutch, Polish, Hindi and Zulu. The collected works of Jonker, including several short stories and a play, were published in 1975 and re-issued in 1983 and 1994. Much of Jonker's early writing related to the episodes and trauma of her early life. Yet as a mature...

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Snow in Swellendam

13, July 2012

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532161_10150948637961947_1959496080_n

It is time for the yearly sprinkling of snow on the mountains above Swellendam. It may not be Winter Olympic standard but it is proof that we have 4 seasons in Swellendam and not just Hot or Cold. Nice pictures taken by the Swellendam TV crew and posted by Cathy van Eeden on Facebook.

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Nice weather for Spring

13, July 2012

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front

Recently I was enthralled with yet another Rite (Esa-Pekka Salonen: Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra). Fine as that is, Andrew Litton's new one with Bergen Orchestra is unmistakeably better. For one thing, it is coupled with Petrushka, one of the other GREAT Stravinsky works and Litton paces each of the tableaus with a much surer sense of the drama and poetry within. It's not simply that he takes faster tempos in Tableau One (for example), it's that he uses them to jam together the disparate materials in it, approximating the cinematic quick-cuts and grotesque contrasts that Stravinsky surely...

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Organic in Paradise

04, July 2012

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Greg in his restaurant

Suurbraak is a quaint village situated 19km east of Swellendam, also known by the ancient San as 'Xairu' meaning beautiful or paradise. One of the villages charms is its isolation, being situated off the Wine Route R62 and busy N2, but this is not without its pitfall as this limits the financial resources for its residents. For this reason there are many people working hard to put Suurbraak on the map, hoping to make Xairu a place to stay and enjoy the sights, rather than a passing place. Found at the foot of the Langeberg Mountains, the village has a lot to offer the discerning traveller, including...

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