Mzanzitravel Magazine Issue 10

Discover
the San hunter-gatherers had lived in the area, to be joined by the Khoekhoe
herders some 2,000 years ago.
A number of forestry stations can be visited in the area, as well as the Millwood
ghost gold mining town – or what’s left of it. The Knysna Forest is also home to the
elusive Knysna elephants, with the most recent spotting of one having occurred
in 2016.
The Tsitsikamma section constitutes the eastern part of the park and includes the
beautiful Tsitsikamma Forest, the quaint hamlet of Storms River with its shrine to
Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, and the breathtakingly beautiful Storms River
Mouth. The name Tsitsikamma is derived from Khoisan, meaning “place of much
water”. The rugged coastline of this area includes a wonderland of inter-tidal
and marine life and has a long history of marine and forest utilisation one which
people living in the area have relied on for thousands of years. Along the coast
are many cultural heritage sites ranging from erstwhile Khoisan-inhabited caves,
shell middens and rock art to more recent cultural historic sites such as the ruins of
small fisher settlements, remnants of the past forestry industries and grave sites.
Fiona Cameron-Brown/Destination McGregor
There is an absolute abundance of activities to be enjoyed in the park, with more
than 20 hiking trails or walking routes, including the world-famous Otter Trail,
spread throughout the park. Other activities include forest excursions, nature
walks, canopy tours, bird-watching, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking, river
tubing, snorkelling and scuba diving, boat cruises and more. The towns of the
area offer excellent restaurants, pubs and many quaint little shops and boutiques.
A variety of accommodation is offered throughout the park, ranging from old
foresters’ homes, to tree-top chalets, coastal and mountain chalets, forest huts,
log cabins, and camping sites. Excellent B&B establishments are also found in all
the towns of the area.
For more information, call SANParks central reservations at +27 (0)12
428 9111 or mobile +27 (0)82 233 9111; the Wilderness Section on +27
(0)44 877 0046; the Knysna Lakes Section on +27 (0)44 302 5600; the
Tsitsikamma Section on +27 (0)42 281 1607; the Nature’s Valley Section
(part of Tsitsikamma) on +27 (0)44 531 6700; or visit their website at
www.sanparks.org/parks/garden_route/tourism/general.php
McGregor… quaint jewel of the
Langeberg Valley
A visit to McGregor is a conscious decision: you can’t just drive through it and
suddenly stop for a coffee and look around. About two or so hours’ drive from
Cape Town, and located half way along the Road to Nowhere, McGregor is the
best-preserved Victorian village in the Western Cape, if not South Africa.
In a not-so-sleepy hollow, McGregor was established in 1861, and is flanked on the
north and south by the Langeberg and Riviersonderend mountains, respectively.
Originally known as Lady Grey, after a governor of the Cape of Good Hope, the
village was re-named McGregor in 1904, after much-loved minister, Andrew
McGregor, who had worked in the district for forty years.
Robertson is the closest town, and it is only from there, that you get to McGregor.
Here you will find an eclectic group of people, from artisan bakers, goldsmiths and
cooks, to garagiste and boutique wineries, all of which produce award-winning
wines. Creativity abounds among the folk who live in the village, with intellectuals,
authors, poets and artists, with art galleries and working studios dotted around
the village. One of the best-known, is Millstone Pottery, home to renowned potter
Paul de Jong, who with his wife, Nina Shand, run regular workshops on various
aspects of ceramics and pottery.
For those whose interests don’t lie in wine and the arts, but in the more physical
and active, there are two nature reserves that offer great walks and hikes. The
Kleinberg Reserve is an area to the west of the village, and which the local
Heritage Society works hard to protect. The society also curates a museum full of
fascinating artefacts and facts about the village and its social and natural history.
Just outside the village is Cape Nature’s Vrolijkheid Reserve which has one of
the country’s few braille trails. Not far from Vrolijkheid is Eeseltjiesrus Donkey
Sanctuary, which is exactly that – a sanctuary for neglected and abused donkeys.
Between Thursday and Sunday, visitors can meet, and even adopt, a donkey, or
just have a bite in the little restaurant that overlooks a tranquil dam.
Speaking of food, McGregor is not entirely spoilt for choice when it comes to
eateries. A word to the wise: ask a local who will give you tips about what is
open when, like Bemind Winery, on a Monday, for traditional vetkoek, and because
things change – often! Over the weekends, Café Tebaldi’s is the gateway to
Temenos, the well-known retreat located in the village’s most beautiful gardens,
which offers a light lunch or an evening a la carte menu on a Friday or Saturday.
For a special dinner and fine country cuisine, head to Lady Grey Restaurant at
Lord’s Guest Lodge, after you’ve had one of the best toasties in the world at How
Bazaar. The new kid on the block, la Pizza Pazza, does fabulous focaccia and,
of course traditional Italian pizza, and is situated adjacent to Grape De-Vine a
boutique wine shop bar. Both of these establishments open on to a courtyard
where you will find both fellow travellers and locals, where you can live the old
saying, “arrive as strangers, leave as friends”.
McGregor is an increasingly popular destination for mountain bikers, having twice
been a spectator point for the Cape Epic, and having three times been included
in the route. It’s also home to the three-day Ride2Nowhere (http://ride2nowhere.
co.za), which emerged from the Epic, and which is now in its seventh year. This, in
turn, has spawned two other events, the Run2Nowhere (http://run2nowhere.co.za/
raceinfo/), which started as an informal trail run, which from 2018, has a dedicated
42 |ISSUE 10|www.mzanzitravel.co.za | MZANZITRAVEL