Come to the Cape either in autumn before the winter storms arrive in full force, or in early spring
13 September 2023 - 05:00
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It’s best not to say it too loudly in case the travel agents hear you, but high summer in the Cape has limited appeal to those who know. It usually announces itself when you must swerve to avoid an airborne wheelie bin on Kloof Street. From about November the Cape Doctor starts to blow and come the height of the season in December and January, it’s usually hot and howling.
Overseas tourists with their delicate skin are to be seen returning to their hotels looking somehow cold and yet savagely sunburnt after a day on the mountain. The wind nags all night long, and at home you have the option of roasting in your house or allowing the wind to whip the picture frames off your walls. As it drags on, the wind picks relentlessly at your sanity.
Then, February arrives. The wind may have subsided, but the heat is intense, and the schools are back, Europeans tired of their winter arrive en masse, it’s the Coal Conference, the mining indaba, the state of the nation address and the budget speech. Cape Town is impassable and impossible; hot, crowded and the traffic is a mess.
Those in the know — and I am one of them - will tell you that the best time to come to the Cape is either in autumn (“secret season”, April is best) once the wind and the heat has subsided but before the winter storms arrive in full force, or in early spring — August and September.
The weather is still highly changeable and it’s certainly not going to be warm, but in August Cape Town’s oaks are in a frenzy of new growth, and up the west coast the wildflowers are in bloom.
The Cederberg, a three-hour drive from the Cape Town central business district, took a battering this winter with a series of intense storms causing flooding throughout the region. The rain damaged roads and bridges, but also gave life to a wildflower season locals say has been the best in decades.
Taking a weekend away, we packed a borrowed blue Ford Everest lightly and pointed it north on the N7, turning off after Clanwilliam and following the R364 through the Rocklands moonscape beloved of boulderers and climbers, down the De Pakhuys pass and into the valley.
There is plenty of accommodation hereabouts, ranging in exclusivity from Bushman’s Kloof down to camping and glamping, though in our experience the Africamps at De Pakhuys never quite delivers on what looks like a nice family holiday on the website. The beautiful farm has its own camping and chalet accommodation which seems to be much better than the slickly presented corporate interloper — you just need to book in advance to get ahead of the climbers.
The best spot in the area (aside from Bushman’s Kloof) is probably Alpha Excelsior, a pretty farmstead with a relaxed bar/restaurant called the Henhouse that serves excellent coffee, gourmet toasted sandwiches and pizzas. Accommodation in the old farmhouse is relaxed and homely.
In search of more adventure the following day, we drove the short distance to the Sevilla bushman’s rock art trail, where a newly built restaurant and padstal had narrowly missed being overwhelmed by the flooding Brandewynrivier in the preceding weeks.
The Sevilla bushman’s rock art trail, which gives you a short and inspiring insight into the lives of SA’s first people. Picture: ALEXANDER PARKER
The fee is R100 per person and the trail takes about three hours. A couple of rough patches might not suit those who are unsteady on their feet but most people will find the hike unchallenging. It’s well worth the effort. The trail gives you a short and inspiring insight into the lives of SA’s first people, a glimpse of their livestock, song and ritual, their celebration of bounty and their fear of wild animals and sickness.
Moving on, we thought we’d seen the flowers until we crested the top of the pass above the Biedouw valley. The yellow carpet that lay in the floor of the valley below took some time to register.
Elmarie Jansen, who runs the Biedouw Vallei Wegbreek in the valley, says the flowers are the best she’s seen in a decade. The farm is pretty in its own right, “more proteas than daisies”, she says, and is crisscrossed with 4x4 trails of varying difficulty. Even the access road is probably not passable with an ordinary car.
We embarked on a tight trail with some axle-twisters in the Ford to find the Biedouw Waterfall and took a cold and brief dip in the pools. We refrained from taking the 23m plunge from the highest point into the pool, but those possessed of more derring-do are welcome to. The farm’s accommodation is comfortable and basic, which is matched by the price, but for 4x4 enthusiasts this is a great spot to test your vehicle’s mettle and discuss it at the braai afterwards.
Thinking our adventures all but over we ventured on to Wupperthal to see the old Moravian mission station after it was ravaged by fire in 2020. Much has been rebuilt after a large donation by the Rupert Foundation, including Die Werf and Lekkerbekkie restaurant. Floods, however, have washed away bridges, and crossing the river outside the town required the use of the low-range gearbox and some courage.
And so, we went to see some flowers, and instead had quite an adventure. “I’m not sure I could live anywhere else,” Jansen says. At this time of year, it’s not hard to see why.
Bakkie with a boot that doesn’t drive like one
Ford’s new Everest is the first “bakkie with a boot” to really crack the code. They’ve managed to engineer out the innate problems with cars like this — that they are essentially commercial vehicles with ladder frame underpinnings repurposed for leisure use. Historically, the Everest — and its competitors such as the Toyota Fortuner and Isuzu MU-X — have therefore been compromised; tough as old boots and about as elegant to drive.
In the case of the Everest, the giveaway bouncy ride and vague steering are dealt with. This really is a well-balanced car, in fact, managing to get enough right to ask questions about far more expensive metal. With seven seats and a cavernous boot it does the family hard yards well, even managing to eat a child’s double bass without worrying.
It doesn’t scrimp on luxuries either, coming standard with a stereo, a giant touchscreen interface and electric seats, mirrors, windows and boot lid, automatic high beam, windscreen wipers and even collision avoidance automatic braking and a full stack of airbags.
On our Cederberg adventure the car showed talents that some might consider critical — it’s just completely supreme on a gravel road of any quality in this XLT Sport spec with big flubbery 18-inch rubber. I’d go so far as to say that not much gets close to it, and certainly not at this price. Then, it’s a proper 4x4, with a 10-speed automatic gearbox and a low-range box.
The only negative is fuel consumption, which is ascribable to the sheer size of the car, the relatively small two-litre 154kW diesel motor, the tyres and a difficult combination of urban life and some intense 4x4ing: the car returns an average of about 11l/100km.
That aside, the Everest proved itself as a proper adventure SUV that does day-to-day life well too.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
The secret to the Cederberg is all in the timing
Come to the Cape either in autumn before the winter storms arrive in full force, or in early spring
It’s best not to say it too loudly in case the travel agents hear you, but high summer in the Cape has limited appeal to those who know. It usually announces itself when you must swerve to avoid an airborne wheelie bin on Kloof Street. From about November the Cape Doctor starts to blow and come the height of the season in December and January, it’s usually hot and howling.
Overseas tourists with their delicate skin are to be seen returning to their hotels looking somehow cold and yet savagely sunburnt after a day on the mountain. The wind nags all night long, and at home you have the option of roasting in your house or allowing the wind to whip the picture frames off your walls. As it drags on, the wind picks relentlessly at your sanity.
Then, February arrives. The wind may have subsided, but the heat is intense, and the schools are back, Europeans tired of their winter arrive en masse, it’s the Coal Conference, the mining indaba, the state of the nation address and the budget speech. Cape Town is impassable and impossible; hot, crowded and the traffic is a mess.
Those in the know — and I am one of them - will tell you that the best time to come to the Cape is either in autumn (“secret season”, April is best) once the wind and the heat has subsided but before the winter storms arrive in full force, or in early spring — August and September.
The weather is still highly changeable and it’s certainly not going to be warm, but in August Cape Town’s oaks are in a frenzy of new growth, and up the west coast the wildflowers are in bloom.
The Cederberg, a three-hour drive from the Cape Town central business district, took a battering this winter with a series of intense storms causing flooding throughout the region. The rain damaged roads and bridges, but also gave life to a wildflower season locals say has been the best in decades.
Taking a weekend away, we packed a borrowed blue Ford Everest lightly and pointed it north on the N7, turning off after Clanwilliam and following the R364 through the Rocklands moonscape beloved of boulderers and climbers, down the De Pakhuys pass and into the valley.
There is plenty of accommodation hereabouts, ranging in exclusivity from Bushman’s Kloof down to camping and glamping, though in our experience the Africamps at De Pakhuys never quite delivers on what looks like a nice family holiday on the website. The beautiful farm has its own camping and chalet accommodation which seems to be much better than the slickly presented corporate interloper — you just need to book in advance to get ahead of the climbers.
The best spot in the area (aside from Bushman’s Kloof) is probably Alpha Excelsior, a pretty farmstead with a relaxed bar/restaurant called the Henhouse that serves excellent coffee, gourmet toasted sandwiches and pizzas. Accommodation in the old farmhouse is relaxed and homely.
In search of more adventure the following day, we drove the short distance to the Sevilla bushman’s rock art trail, where a newly built restaurant and padstal had narrowly missed being overwhelmed by the flooding Brandewynrivier in the preceding weeks.
The fee is R100 per person and the trail takes about three hours. A couple of rough patches might not suit those who are unsteady on their feet but most people will find the hike unchallenging. It’s well worth the effort. The trail gives you a short and inspiring insight into the lives of SA’s first people, a glimpse of their livestock, song and ritual, their celebration of bounty and their fear of wild animals and sickness.
Moving on, we thought we’d seen the flowers until we crested the top of the pass above the Biedouw valley. The yellow carpet that lay in the floor of the valley below took some time to register.
Elmarie Jansen, who runs the Biedouw Vallei Wegbreek in the valley, says the flowers are the best she’s seen in a decade. The farm is pretty in its own right, “more proteas than daisies”, she says, and is crisscrossed with 4x4 trails of varying difficulty. Even the access road is probably not passable with an ordinary car.
We embarked on a tight trail with some axle-twisters in the Ford to find the Biedouw Waterfall and took a cold and brief dip in the pools. We refrained from taking the 23m plunge from the highest point into the pool, but those possessed of more derring-do are welcome to. The farm’s accommodation is comfortable and basic, which is matched by the price, but for 4x4 enthusiasts this is a great spot to test your vehicle’s mettle and discuss it at the braai afterwards.
Thinking our adventures all but over we ventured on to Wupperthal to see the old Moravian mission station after it was ravaged by fire in 2020. Much has been rebuilt after a large donation by the Rupert Foundation, including Die Werf and Lekkerbekkie restaurant. Floods, however, have washed away bridges, and crossing the river outside the town required the use of the low-range gearbox and some courage.
And so, we went to see some flowers, and instead had quite an adventure. “I’m not sure I could live anywhere else,” Jansen says. At this time of year, it’s not hard to see why.
Bakkie with a boot that doesn’t drive like one
Ford’s new Everest is the first “bakkie with a boot” to really crack the code. They’ve managed to engineer out the innate problems with cars like this — that they are essentially commercial vehicles with ladder frame underpinnings repurposed for leisure use. Historically, the Everest — and its competitors such as the Toyota Fortuner and Isuzu MU-X — have therefore been compromised; tough as old boots and about as elegant to drive.
In the case of the Everest, the giveaway bouncy ride and vague steering are dealt with. This really is a well-balanced car, in fact, managing to get enough right to ask questions about far more expensive metal. With seven seats and a cavernous boot it does the family hard yards well, even managing to eat a child’s double bass without worrying.
It doesn’t scrimp on luxuries either, coming standard with a stereo, a giant touchscreen interface and electric seats, mirrors, windows and boot lid, automatic high beam, windscreen wipers and even collision avoidance automatic braking and a full stack of airbags.
On our Cederberg adventure the car showed talents that some might consider critical — it’s just completely supreme on a gravel road of any quality in this XLT Sport spec with big flubbery 18-inch rubber. I’d go so far as to say that not much gets close to it, and certainly not at this price. Then, it’s a proper 4x4, with a 10-speed automatic gearbox and a low-range box.
The only negative is fuel consumption, which is ascribable to the sheer size of the car, the relatively small two-litre 154kW diesel motor, the tyres and a difficult combination of urban life and some intense 4x4ing: the car returns an average of about 11l/100km.
That aside, the Everest proved itself as a proper adventure SUV that does day-to-day life well too.
• Parker is Business Day editor-in-chief
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