Travel
Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa
Slide Nr 1Visitors love vibrant, colourful, multicultural Cape Town, but after a few days in the buzzing city, a break is called for. Instead of following the crowds into the Cape Winelands or touring the East Coast with a caravan of tour buses, head to the West, where sleepy country town Darling awaits with attractions big and small. [Photo: Burgherspost Wine Estate]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 2The Journey – Public transport on the Cape is patchy, so driving to Darling is the best (or rather, the only) way to go. From Cape Town, drive along the scenic R27 West Coast Road, stopping off in seaside towns like Yzerfontein and Melkbosstrand, or taking breaks at Blue Flag beaches like Silwerstroomstrand. Not that you’ll need much of a break when the journey only takes an hour. [Photo: Yzerfontein, José Carlos Babo/Flickr]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 3The Digs – There are several charming bed and breakfast options in town, but for a real treat, check into one of the self-catering cottages at Burgherspost Wine Estate. In addition to the stunning views, walking trails and educational game drives, the estate also offers biodiversity tours, teaching visitors about the local fynbos vegetation. As you enjoy a glass of wine on your patio in the evening, you might just spot some of the local wildlife skipping past.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 4The Event – The annual Darling Wildflower Show, which celebrated its centenary in 2017, is the undisputed highlight of the year. Thousands of visitors flock here in mid-September when the surrounding countryside is covered in a dazzling blanket of colourful wild flowers. The venue of the actual show at the local golf club is the hub for horticulturalists exploring the best of Mother Nature’s blooming display all around. Due to the ongoing drought across the Cape, wild flowers have been less plentiful elsewhere, making Darling even more of an attraction. [Photo: Daniela Photography]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 5The People – Pieter-Dirk Uys was born in Cape Town, but he’s such a dominant character locally, his adopted home is happy to claim him as its own. Uys and his character Evita Bezuidenhout are the Barry Humphries and Dame Edna Everage of South Africa. In the Apartheid era, the country’s most famous comedian used his drag act to satirise the government. After a career spanning almost 50 years, he now mainly performs in his own venue, Evita se Perron, and continues to highlight social and political issues in his shows.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 6The Party – Tell anyone in Cape Town you’re going to Evita se Perron, and they’ll know where you’re headed. The town, the venue and its famous performer are practically synonymous, and no visit is complete without an evening here at the former Darling train station. After its conversion into a cabaret, restaurant, bar, museum, art gallery and shop, the venue was named with a nod to Uys’ drag alter ego; the “most famous white woman in South Africa”, Evita Bezuidenhout appears on stage regularly, so book a table for the dinner show in advance. Needless to say, some of the show’s political satire is lost on the uninitiated, but there’s still plenty of entertainment to be had for those less informed about South African politics and history.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 7The Lunch – Chicory Cheese Café is a cosy and friendly spot in a lovingly decorated heritage building a stone’s throw from the town centre. The menu offers a mouth-watering variety of healthy breakfast and lunch options (with a few sinful ones thrown in for good measure). There’s a remarkable range of kid’s items, which will delight the parents of picky little eaters. Vegetarians – who aren’t often spoiled for choice in this part of the world – will also be thrilled to find at least half the dishes are meat-free.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 8The Shop – In Darling, those with a taste for the finer things in life will find plenty to shop for. Between Darling Sweet, Darling Olives and the Darling Wine Shop, clearly none of the local businesses could resist using the town’s endearing name on their storefronts. All three shops feature local delicacies and offer free tastings. Thanks to the weak rand, overseas visitors will find it hard to resist accumulating excess luggage, so check shipping options before you splurge.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 9The Market – Every last Sunday of the month, Groote Post winery hosts a bustling country market. The winery, with its tasting room and popular restaurant, is worth a visit any day of the week, so the market is merely an extra attraction – particularly appealing for families. Of course there’s plenty of local arts, crafts and produce on sale, but with live music, rustic entertainment and guided horseback rides, there’s so much to do, you may have to return another time for a chance to focus on the winery itself.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 10The Place – The !Khwa ttu San Culture and Education Centre offers a rare glimpse into the way of life of the indigenous San people. The centre and its replica traditional San village were set up to foster an appreciation for – and the preservation of – a heritage at risk of elimination. Descendants of the indigenous hunter-gatherers who lived in this region share their knowledge, customs and traditions with visitors. Young San are trained and employed here, allowing them to both keep their culture alive and introduce others to it.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 11The Drive – For a breath of sea air, take a drive to sprawling West Coast National Park. Spot turtles, whales and sharks in the water or – in the privately owned Postberg Reserve on land – springbok, kudus and zebras. Unlike the spectacular scenery along the East Coast, this is fairly flat terrain, but the Langebaan Lagoon’s white dunes and green wetlands shine with their own natural beauty. [Photo: Langebaan Lagoon, Werner Bayer/Flickr]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 12The Dinner – Wind down your coastal sojourn with a seaside dinner at Die Strandloper restaurant. Located directly on the beach in the resort town of Langebaan, it’s the ultimate seafood destination. Take your time savouring the multi-course feast with your feet in the sand, fingers knuckle-deep in freshly grilled fish. If you’ve never had a “braai”, this is your chance to experience alfresco barbeque dining, South African-style. Be prepared to get to know your fellow diners – and to get your fingers dirty! [Photo: southafrica.to]
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 13The Walk – The Cape West Coast Biosphere Trails offer hiking and biking routes for every age and ability. The Darling Stagger hike and the Wheels of Time cycling trail – implemented by this nonprofit organisation to make the biosphere more accessible – both centre around Darling itself. You can do parts of the itinerary alone or book a full, guided trip with overnight stays.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 14The Flavour – Darling’s small cluster of friendly, quality wineries can all be visited in a day – and if you ditch the car, you can do a tasting in each of them. Follow the wine route from cellar door to cellar door, and finish off your day with a visit to the tasting room at Darling Brew. The local microbrewery was one of the first to bring the contemporary craft beer craze to South Africa.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 15The Sound – For a tiny country town, Darling offers some pretty great music events. Rocking the Daisies, one of South Africa’s biggest open-air festivals, takes place at Cloof Wine Estate on the first weekend of October each year. If you happen to be in town in April, you’re in for a multi-sensory treat, when the Darling Music Experience and the Taste of Darling – two previously separate festivals – join forces. The Voorkammerfest, a unique event that sees locals throwing open their homes to visitors and performers, was sadly cancelled in 2017, but keep an eye on the website for 2018 dates.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
Slide Nr 16The Kids – If you’re on a South African adventure that doesn’t include a visit to Kruger National Park, but you still want to see at least some of the country’s wild animals, a game drive through Buffelsfontein Game and Nature Reserve should help you tick a few off your list. The family-owned estate is home to 4 of the famous Big 5 (lion, buffalo, rhino and leopard – no elephants), as well as other mammals worth “shooting” (with cameras only, please), like cheetah, giraffe and zebra.
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Weekend Getaway Guide: Darling, South Africa.
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