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7 things to do in Darling out of flower season

30/4/2013

10 Comments

 
Evita se Perron, Darling, West Coast
The West Coast village of Darling, just over an hour’s drive from Cape Town, is a well-loved weekend destination, particularly during the Darling Wildflower Show in September each year. But Darling has much more to offer than just wild flowers. Here are 7 things to do all year round.

1. Take in a show at Evita se Perron, the brainchild and home of satirist Pieter Dirk Uys and his alter ego, Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout. From the old Darling station platform Evita, the ‘most famous white woman in South Africa’, keeps a beady eye on the progress of democracy and doesn’t pull her punches. ­Go early to have lunch and soak in the atmosphere of the cabaret venue, Boere kitsch and all. Or just book a seat for the show and let Evita entertain you in her unique style.  Shows run most weekends of the year.  
 
We went to An Audience with Pieter-Dirk Eish and it was fabulous. He’s so relaxed yet on the button with his humour. Audience members chose from numbered boxes containing various ‘costumes’ and he had to play the relevant person. A clever trick to make each show different and keep it fresh, but I was pleased one of the choices was Evita herself. It just wouldn’t be right to have a show here without her.
Evita se Perron, Darling, West Coast
Pink rules at Evita se Perron
2. Visit the Darling museum in Pastorie Street. What I love is that it’s not just a random display of items reflecting the lifestyle of the village since it was established in 1853. Instead, the hall-like interior of the 19th century Town Hall in which it is housed is divided up into ‘rooms’, each crammed with intriguing pieces. In one, a woman is preparing food in a kitchen complete with hearth and ingenious gadgets to make her life easier; another depicts a child’s nursery complete with crib and old-fashioned toys. Here a gentleman’s dressing room, there a parlour with chairs drawn up to the fireplace, as if the occupants have just left. 

A separate section of the museum has churns, paddles and moulds that tell the story of the early butter-making industry in Darling. Alongside, an agricultural hall portrays the history of farming in the area, with steam engines, tractors and an enormous wooden threshing machine, now painted an unseemly pink. 

Museum staff are well-informed, so this is the place to ask about Hildegonda Duckitt, author of The Diary of a Cape Housekeeper and various cookbooks, or anything else you want to know about the area. You can pick up tourism brochures too.
Darling Museum, Darling, West Coast
Darling Museum's kitchen display
Darling Museum, Darling, West Coast
Ready to play - Darling Museum's nursery display
3. Go wine-tasting at Groote Post. The enthusiasm of the bubbly ladies manning the tasting cellar is huge; they just can’t wait to share their lovely wines with you. And, as a way of thanking you for driving out of your way on gravel roads to get there, they don’t even charge for tasting. My personal favourites? The Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2012, the scented Riesling (great with a dessert or curry) and the luscious Merlot 2011. A honeymoon couple shared our tasting and told us they'd had Groote Post Merlot 2010 on their first date, three bottles of it during an entire night of nattering.

Take the R307 out of Darling towards Cape Town and turn right at the Darling Hills Road. After 7km turn left to the Groote Post Cellar.

There’s also a restaurant at Groote Post, but we thought it was expensive - R500 for two, with wine but no dessert (in 2013) - and the food and service unspectacular.
Picture
Groote Post's wine cellar and tasting room
Picture
Inside the tasting room at Groote Post
4. Or go wine-tasting at Ormonde, a gracious homestead set among vineyards at the edge of Darling village. Ormonde produces three labels: the value-for-money Alexanderfontein range, Ondine, and Ormonde. Tasting hours: week days 9am–4pm; Sat 9am–3pm. You’ll find Ormonde in Mt Pleasant Street.
Picture
Ormonde
5. If beer is more your speed than wine, visit the Darling Brew tasting room at 5 Main Road, Darling. This craft beer prides itself on its ‘slow beer’ philosophy, to reflect its slow fermentation and, well, yes, a kind of lifestyle appeal that mass-produced beer doesn’t really offer. Sit at the bar or relax at tables outside while you have your tasters before deciding which you like best. Choose from Darling Brew Slow Beer, Bone Crusher, Native Ale, Black Mist, Silver Back and Desert Dragon. 

If the beer starts going to your head, you can order a light meal to soak it up.
Darling Brew beer, Darling, West Coast
6. Take your bicycles along with you and go on a slow ride around the dorp to see some of its pretty homes and gardens. Or, if you’re lazy, just take a drive up and down some of the roads; you’ll find the back streets much more attractive than the main road.
Darling, West Coast
Darling is awash with pretty homes and gardens
7. Whatever you do, don't forget to eat at The Marmalade Cat on the main road, opposite the Engen fuel station. It’s a trendy little eatery that’s a must for breakfast, lunch or tea. We enjoyed a freshly made quiche and salad, and a steak roll with mustard sauce (much less expensive than a similar item on Groote Post’s menu and twice as nice). The lemon meringue pie was so delicious we went back the next day for more. And we’re already plotting a return trip, that’s how much we enjoyed it.
Marmalade Cat, restaurant, Darling, West Coast
The Marmelade Cat - coffee shop and gift shop rolled into one
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Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
Things to do in Darling out of flower season, Cape West Coast #SouthAfrica #travel
Things to do in Darling out of flower season, Cape West Coast #SouthAfrica #westcoast
10 Comments
Karen van Tonder link
6/5/2013 04:25:25 am

25 May is Footloose in Darling and I can't wait!

Reply
Roxanne
15/5/2013 09:17:45 am

Indeed, Karen. Readers who want more info can see http://www.footlooseindarling.co.za

Reply
Shaun Mc Laughlin link
6/5/2013 09:08:53 am

Dear Roxanne
Your review regarding Darling refers. Whilst we're delighted that you enjoyed your time and visit to our village, your comment regarding your visit to Hilda's Kitchen cannot go unnoticed. You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion but your comment that the meal cost R500 for 2 is misleading and yet another example of the shoddy writing that proliferates amongst travel blogs. Your meal came to R351. Drinks (a large water, a coffee and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc - which incidentally is sold at cellar price) comes to R108 and then you left a R41 tip. This paints a completely different picture. We're sorry you didn't enjoy your steak roll. It's an item that we've not been allowed to take off the menu as it's so popular. It's also been featured last year by the Sunday Times as one of their best meals and was commended for its selling price. It's really disappointing when all the effort we put into the restaurant is so glibly denigrated but sadly seems to happen from time to time from writers who misinterpret the reality. In closing I think it's important to note that we have no axe to grind at all with Marmalade Cat (our family owns both restaurants) but would only like to set the facts straight.

Reply
Roxanne
8/5/2013 10:30:57 am

Thanks for your feedback, Shaun. Our reality is that the meal experience cost us R500, and was less than spectacular despite the restaurant's popularity or any awards it may have won.

Reply
Shaun Mc Laughlin link
10/5/2013 02:26:24 am

Spectacular. There's that word again. It's a restaurant on a wine farm. Not the Taj Mahal or Sun City even. Although we could arrange for the 76 resident Eland to repeatedly bolt over the surrounding fence. Perhaps a giant water feature or a daily fireworks display. Perhaps I should consider the waitresses ripping their tops off on presentation of the bill.
What I find less than spectacular is that all you've done is repeat your flawed logic and repeat the s word.
It reaffirms my opinion that generally travel bloggers are the bane of honest restaurateurs and the scourge of society.
Over and out.
Shaun

Reply
ruth
15/10/2015 09:03:42 am

Dear Roxanne Thank you so much We were going to eat there but the bill sounds ridiculous for steak rolls and a few drinks We are so grateful for travel blogs and trip advisor reviews Holiday makers are soft targets for being ripped off!

Reply
Roxanne link
15/10/2015 11:00:34 am

I have my uses, Ruth! You may have had a lovely experience and chosen cheaper options, but I can only report on my own experience and hope it helps others in some way.

Roxanne
10/5/2013 07:53:37 am

You're obviously deeply annoyed, even though you earlier admitted I'm entitled to my opinion. I can't retract, but I can refuse to lash out with facetious comments and rude generalisations.
You object to the expression 'not spectacular' so let me rather use the term I was trying hard to avoid: disappointing.

Reply
pete bosman
12/5/2013 09:52:17 am

Insightful read, Roxanne, many thanks. Will now duck back down below the parapet – Restaurant Reality versus Review und al ...

Reply
hilton myers
12/10/2016 04:57:05 pm

Reading all the criticism about the restaraunt did the writer at the time boice their opinion anout how costly or how bad the food was. Writing in a blog or sending a letter of complaint after the event is purely not advantageous to a restaurant owner

Reply

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    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
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