To-do List this Weekend
Tours
Cherry fever is running high. Gear up for some fun. Get re
gems can only be found in the Eastern Free State
Constantia Cherry Farm
Constantia Farm Picnic
For the first time, Constantia is offering
a guided farm tour as part of this year’s
Cherry Festival. Explore the cherry orchards, check out the sorting process
in the packing shed and leave this fun
and informative tour with a free punnet of cherries. Their delicious range
of cherry products - all available at the
farm stall on the R26 - are sure to taste
even better with members of the Higgo
family on site to explain the organic
origins. In addition to staples such as
cherry liqueur, cherry ice cream topping and 100% natural pressed cherry
juice, Gwynet is expanding into the
popular cream liquor market with a
unique blend of cherries, cream and
alcohol guaranteed to be a sure-fire
winner. As she says: “Go red before
you go to bed!”
November in cherry country can be a
scorcher, so what better way to cool
down and quench your thirst than
with a homemade cherry lemonade or
cherry sorbet?
Sounds good? This this year, for the
first time, a luscious farm picnic is
available as part of a special day tour
to Constantia Farm.
Your host, Gwynet Higgo, will be there
to welcome you, offering cool refreshments at the end of your long journey,
and to guide you through a breath-taking world of cherry flavours.
A packed picnic brimming with delicious delicacies may be enjoyed in
the welcoming shady surrounds of the
cherry orchards. On the return journey,
for those whose taste buds have been
enlivened by this cherry-licious experience there will be a short 15-minute
stop at the Constantia farm stall.
This tour is an absolute must for any
foodie!
Tour Package
Tour tickets
A Computicket office has been
set up at the Tourist Information Centre and it is from here
that your tour will depart (all
tours leave from here). The office is located about 500m from
the showgrounds, on the corner
of McCabe and Lang Streets.
When you leave the showgrounds, cross the railway tracks
into Van Andel Street. Walk in
a southerly direction until you
see the old sandstone building
that used to be a school. The
tours and ticket office is situated
there. If you do get lost, call 051
933 6486 for more directions.
6
• Duration: Three-and-a-half hours. One hour fifteen minutes travel
ling in each direction. One-hour
tour of farm.
• Walk through the orchard
• Tour of the packing shed
• See fruit products being processed
• Free punnet of cherries
• Light refreshment
Transport from Tourist Information
Centre in local taxi
Cost R170.00
Departure times
Thursday: 08:35 • 14:35
Friday:
08:35 • 10:35 • 12:35
15:00
Saturday: 08:35 • 09:35 • 11:35
12:35 • 14:35
Tour Package
• Duration: Four hours. One hour fifteen minutes travelling in each direction. Two hours on the farm
• Picnic in the orchards
• Picnic hamper
• 15 minute stop at farm stall
Transport from Tourist Information
Centre in local taxi
Cost R200.00
Departure times
Thursday: 11:00 • 15:00
Friday: 11:00 • 15:00
Saturday: 11:00 • 15:00
eady for a tour in a local taxi and visit places that will take your breath away. These
Loskop Cherry Farm
Ben Nevis Cherry Farm
McKinley Chocolates
The friendly, warm welcome from “Oom
Cassie” at Loskop Farm has made this
one of the most popular tours available on the Cherry Festival circuit. The
majestic surroundings, where unusual
rock formations lend a timeless quality to the vastness of the countryside,
are always worth a visit. Take a guided
tour of the packing and sorting sheds,
or indulge in some of the many cherrybased products made on the premises. Products from other freshly picked
fruit from the farm are also on offer, as
well as a refreshing 100% natural juice
made from cherry pulp. Nectar of the
Gods, indeed!
This farm has been badly affected by
adverse climatic conditions. So there
will be no cherry picking in the orchard
this year. This is the worst crop that Loskop has had in a decade.
Ben Nevis is not only the second oldest cherry farm in South Africa, but
in 1996, became the only farm in the
area with its own licensed cellar. While
some aficionados may have already
sampled these unique alcoholic cherry
beverages at food markets and cheese
and wine festivals in other parts of the
country, a visit to this farm is a must for
most Ficksburg festival-goers. Besides
a walk through the orchards and an informative tour of the packing shed, a
relaxing time can be had in the shady
tea garden. Those with an agricultural
bent will be interested in the various varieties, such as Bing and Royal Dawn,
and the fact that it takes a young cherry tree at least seven years to mature.
Of special interest, too, is an ancient
cherry tree still standing on the farm one of the original 50 planted just after the Depression era in 1935. After
sampling the products at the farm shop
(and quite possibly on the 45km return
trip!) visitors are sure to have nothing
but sweet memories of this farm tour.
Calling all chocoholics — and anyone
else who enjoys chocolates! You will
feel as if you have died and gone to
chocolate heaven if you visit the home
factory where the deliciously decadent
McKinley Chocolates are made.
That these chocolates measure up to
the best in the world is incontestable,
with the McKinley Chocolates stand
being unanimously voted as the best
in the cooking and cuisine category at
Decorex 2014. The choccies were also
recently exhibited at the international
Hospitality and Food Show in Bangkok and will be on display at a show in
Dubai in the very near future.
When you visit the McKinley’s factory,
you will be met by Shanka and, after
you have cooled down with some refreshments, she will tell you all about
your addiction of choice — and McKinley Chocolates in particular — and encourage you to taste some of the devilishly tasty delights that are handmade
here.
Tour Package
• Duration: Three hours total. One hour travelling in each direction. - One-hour tour of farm.
• Walk through the orchard
• Tour of the packing shed
• See fruit products being processed
• No punnet of cherries
• No cherry picking
• Light refreshment
Transport from Tourist Information
Centre in local taxi
Cost R170.00
Departure times
Thursday: 08:45 • 14:30
Friday:
08:45 • 10:45 • 12:45
15:00
Saturday: 08:45 • 09:45 • 11:15
12:15 • 14:15
Tour Package
Tour Package
• Duration: Three hours total. One hour travelling in each direction. One-hour tour of farm.
• Tour of the orchards
• Tour of the packing shed
• Opportunity to taste cherry products
• No cherry picking in orchard
• Given a punnet of cherries
• Given a light refreshment
Transport from Tourist Information
Centre in local taxi
Cost R170.00
Departure times
Thursday: 08:30 • 14:30
Friday:
09:00 • 11:00 • 13:00
15:00
Saturday: 08:00 • 09:30 • 11:00
12:30 • 14:00
• Duration: 45 minutes
• Introduction to chocolates and our
range
• Samples of ganache , toffee chocolates and different chocolate
percentages.
• Chocolate tasting
• Light refreshment
Walk from showgrounds
— Walk from the showgrounds and
across the railway line and then turn
right. Pass Brand Street and on the
following corner you will find us.
4 Erwee Street
Cost R75.00
Starting Times
Thursday: 09:00 • 11:00 • 14:00 •
16:00
Friday:
09:00 • 11:00 • 14:00 •
16:00
Saturday: 09:00 • 10:00 • 11:00
12:00 • 14:00 • 15:00 •
16:00
7
Tours
To-do List this Weekend
Daskop Game Tour
Tempelhof Game Farm
Eco-adventure tours have become a
buzzword lately and, just in case you
thought there was nothing more than
cherry-picking to do on Ficksburg
farms, a Daskop farmer is offering
game drives for the brave at heart.
Barry Baars, whose private game reserve boasts more than 13 species
of antelope, will be your host as you
climb on board an all-terrain vehicle
(ATV) in search of a glimpse of some
600 animals. For the kiddies, there is
a tame black Springbok and a newly
hatched brood of baby ostriches to
view at close quarters. Don’t forget to
bring hats, sunscreen and your cameras. The majestic mountains and
breathtakingly beautiful panoramic
views make this a well-worthwhile outing for the whole family.
A tour of the Tempelhof Game Farm
will be a sure-fire hit with the kids.
Although it is a game farm, the tour
doesn’t enter the area where the game
is kept, but concentrates on the animals around the farmhouse.
The idea is to get up close and personal with these animals and, for an additional fee of R50 for adults and R30
for children, you can feed the lion cubs
and even have your photograph taken
with them.
Animals that can be seen up close are
the lion cubs, lynx, wild dogs, monkeys, baboons, emus and, of course,
all the animals that you would normally
see on a farm.
Your host, Ansie Stoffberg, will entertain you on the farm for an hour.
The round-trip will take about two
hours. Be sure to take water, sunscreen and a hat!
Kids under the age of three years old
are free of charge. Ts and Cs apply.
Tour Package
• Duration: Two-and-a-half hours.
Travelling time 30 minutes in each
direction and one-and-a-half hours
on the farm
• Light refreshment
• Game drive
Tour Package
• Duration: Two hours.
Travelling time 30 minutes in each
direction and one hour
on the farm
• Light refreshment
• Animal petting of certain animals.
• Lion cub feeding extra
Transport from Tourist Information
Centre in local taxi
Cost R130.00
Departure times
Thursday: 09:30 • 15:00
Friday:
09:30 • 15:00
Saturday: 09:30 • 15:00
Transport from Tourist Information
Centre in local taxi
Cost Adults
R105.00
Children R85.00
Departure times
Thursday: 10:00 • 16:00
Friday:
10:00 • 16:00
Saturday: 10:00 • 16:00
Please be at the departure point of your tour 20 minutes before the tour leaves.
8
9