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
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