Read on to find out more about Jonker''s journey of discovery of all the things to do in The Crags on the Garden Route...
In the past The Crags often played second fiddle to big brother (or sister) neighbours Tsitsikamma and Plettenberg Bay. It was just the section of the N2 you passed through after the toll gate but before you got to cross over the Keurbooms River - an area where nobody ever thought of stopping.
But that was then and this is now as The Crags has now become a fully fledged destination on its own - with so much on offer that''s just waiting to be discovered. These days The Crags offers everything from animal sanctuaries to adventure activities, farm stalls and wine estates.
Our journey started early morning on the western side of The Crags just outside Plettenberg Bay at Old Nick Village. Old Nick Village has become a landmark shopping destination on the Garden Route and the Damselfly took her time wandering through all the craft stores and galleries while the kids and I headed towards the back of the complex for a look at the working weaving museum. It’s amazing to see the 200 year old antique Hattersley looms still working and actually weaving items. Old Nick also has a restaurant but we decided to give that a miss and go for coffee at our next stop.
Thyme and Again Farmstall and Café is situated just east of the Keurbooms River and is hard to pass by once you’ve sampled their baked goods. It’s long been a favourite with locals who pop in for their fresh pies, tarts and breads and on this Saturday morning their popularity was evident by the fact that we grabbed the last empty table for coffee.
We decided to go and visit one of the iconic attractions in the area and took the road down to Keurbooms Beach followed by the short walk along the beach to Arch Rock. Unfortunately for us the walk was a lot shorter than it was supposed to be as the tide was coming in and Arch Rock is only reachable at low tide. Lesson learnt - we will just have to keep that activity for our next visit to the area!
A drive back up to the N2 brought us to the Plett Puzzle Park. Even thought I drive along the Garden Route often, I have never stopped at this spot. and so decided that today was the day. The Puzzle Park isn’t just fun, it’s also a workout for the brain. Visitors have a choice to do either a life size 3-D Maze, an exciting Forest Puzzle Walk through the indigenous forest or both.
The Damselfly opted to relax with a coffee while the kids headed into the 3-D Maze to see who could make it through first. I climbed up onto the jungle gym to get a high perch and tried to keep an eye (and camera lens) on their progress. Drama Princess emerged victorious followed by Chaos Boy who cheated a bit to save face. We then had some fun on the mini maze and ropes maze in the kiddies play area at the coffee shop.
By this time the sun was past its zenith and our tummies were grumbling so we decided to go and check out one of the vineyards in the area that makes up the newly established Plettenberg Bay Wine Route.
I have heard that Bramon Wine Estate’s restaurant has become quite a popular spot for lunch and what’s the use of being in the area and not having a look? Bramon was the first wine estate to be established in the area and pioneered the growing of vineyards in the Plett area back in 2000. Since then it’s been followed by a number of other vineyards which have led to the creation of the most eastern wine route in South Africa.
The weather was starting to turn cold but we opted to rather sit outside next to the vines than inside with the crackling fire. The reason was to enjoy the view of the Tsitsikamma Mountains and rolling hills beyond the vineyard along with our platter of mezze treats of meats, pates, organic salads and homemade breads.
Our plan had been to make a late afternoon visit to either the excellent Birds of Eden or Monkeyland but the rain clouds were on us and we decided to rather head back to Fairview House and get a fire going in the fireplace. (Read Jonker''s review of Fairview here)
I have been to both of these before and they are both really worth visiting, especially Birds of Eden which is the largest free flight aviary in the world. One doesn’t have to be a avid twitcher to come away from it amazed.
Other animal related attractions in the area include Lawnwood Snake Sanctuary, The Elephant Sanctuary, Tenikwa Animal Awareness Centre and the Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary. Unfortunately my wallet just couldn’t handle anything else for the weekend so the fireplace it was!
Sunday morning was cold and wet so after checking out we decided to just go for a drive down towards Nature’s Valley. Just a few kilometres down the road is Nature’s Way Farm Stall. Nature’s Way is located on a working dairy farm and we had camped right across the road over a Easter weekend a year or two ago, so we have spent some time here in the past already.
The farm stall sells the most delectable baked goods, locally made cheeses and fresh milk on tap. If you stop in the afternoon during milking time you can go for a look in the milk shed and the kids could even get a chance to give a hand. The last time we were here we even watched a cow give birth in the camp in front of the farm stall’s stoep. An experience the kids will probably never forget. From here we followed the Groot River Pass down into Nature’s Valley and out the other side with a stop at the top viewpoint to look back down the valley.
This was also the end of our Crags adventure, but what that doesn’t mean is it''s now a case of “been there and done that”. There are still so many things we want to see and do such as the kloofing challenge at AfriCanyon. Plus the different farm stalls will definitely see me again and again. One thing that was confirmed for me during this weekend was that The Crags has truly become a destination that has the ability to stand on its own and is an area to be reckoned with.
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Text and Images: Jonker Fourie