Traveller SPRING 2022

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Road trip 16 something I can appreciate. The weather here is very unpredictable and according to local legend, it once snowed on Christmas Day! Without the least ado, I see a familiar face, and I immediately feel like this is my kind of town. The owner of The Village Inn, Elbé, is an old acquaintance from my Stellenbosch days. She moved back home during lockdown and is now in charge of the restaurant here. She tells me that the town has about 85 permanent inhabitants – and more than 30 guesthouses. Weekends are always busy and in the week, it’s nice and quiet. The local tourism office is a jovial bunch, and there is usually something happening over the weekends: from a Garlic Festival to a Christmas in July and the famous Festival of Lights over New Years. Coincidentally, there is a festival on during our visit. We walk to the festival on a dirt road because everything in Nieu-Bethesda is within walking distance. We follow the culvert past the Owl House and as we past the first stall, Elbé stops dead in her tracks and points towards a cactus. “You should keep an eye out; they might flower tonight.” I don’t pay her much heed because who expects flowers in the Karoo? AT THE ENTRANCE OF TOWN, WE STOP AT TOT HIER TOE FARMSTALL AND BUY THE TASTIEST LAMB CHOPS. I SWEAR, I WOULD DRIVE ALL THE WAY BACK TO NIEU-BETHESDA JUST TO GET MY HANDS ON THOSE SKILDPADJIES AGAIN. At the Karoo Handmade Festival, local producers have their wares on display in the garden of a lovely old house. We sit under an umbrella and socialise with Elbé’s friends and talk about the locust plague and everyone agrees that the area is in for a lot of rain. Someone’s cellphone rings: Oom Boet’s bar is having a bring-and-braai, so we need to buy some meat. At least finding good-quality meat in the Karoo is easy. At the entrance of town, we stop at Tot Hier Toe Farmstall and buy the tastiest lamb chops. I swear, I would drive all the way back to Nieu-Bethesda just to get my hands on those skildpadjies again. At Oom Boet’s bar the locals aren’t used to strangers crashing their parties, and heads turn when we walk in. Oom Boet is a nice guy, but a woman sitting at one of the tables asks in a rather bad-tempered tone who I am. She’s satisfied when she learns that I’m married, and I’m not interested in her ex. Good thing I’m from a small town myself, so reactions like this don’t faze me. That night the rain falls on the tin roof of our Airbnb and the smell of rain and dust hangs in the air. I learn the meaning of the word ‘petrichor’ – the smell of the rain. The queen of the night The next morning, we head out at around 10:00. We drive through Graaff-Reinet again on our way to Steytlerville. On the other side of the Sundays River, the landscape looks a lot different from yesterday. There are large, white flowers as far as the eye can see. I call Elbé and ask he where they come from. She tells me it’s the queen of the night (Echinopsis spachiana). It’s what she was talking about yesterday when I didn’t want to listen. These cacti only flower under specific circumstance: it must be warm, and it must rain. They flower at night, and the white blooms only last until the next morning. This is because they lose too much water when they flower. It’s a special survival mechanism in this semidessert environment. I realise how unbelievably lucky I am to experience this. On the road the Steytlerville, we stop every now and then to take photos of the flowers, unaware that we’re on our way to meet another type of ‘queen of the night’. Steytlerville If you’ve never heard of the Karoo Theatrical Hotel, do yourself a favour and get a group of friends together and go. Here, where you might least expect it, in an art-deco style, semi-Mediterranean hotel, you can watch a real drag-show. When the sun sets, you grab a mask or hat, and just after sundowners on the stoep, it’s time for the big event. The Steytlerville Follies Production kicks off with Dame Leyla Lamborghini, accompanied by the show’s host and old pro Freddy Ferrari on the grand piano. The food is traditional Karoo fare: bobotie as a starter and lamb shank as the main; the dessert table includes malva pudding and milk tart, plus port and cheese. The performance is so eccentric and unusual that you can’t help but enjoy it. Even the khaki-clad men, dragged all the way from Qqeberha by their wives, can’t help but guffaw behind their theatre masks. What I expected from the Karoo was so far removed from what I experienced that I’ll have to go back to make up for lost time. Towards the end of the night, while sitting in the hall of the Karoo Theatrical Hotel and listening to Leyla Lamborghini’s rendition of Life is a Cabaret, amongst a bunch of strangers who feel like we could easily become friends, I suddenly feel so happy to be a South African. In this country, you often end up in a lekker place, especially when you least expect it. Photos: Konrad Raubenheimer. Additional images: Getty / Gallo Images AA Traveller | SPRING 2022
GOOD TO KNOW CLOCKWISE FROM THE TOP: The Valley of Desolation; as Karoothemed as a garden can get; a different kind of beauty; a fabulous show at the Karoo Theatrical Hotel. GRAAFF-REINET For the Camdeboo National Park, visit sanparks.org/ parks/camdeboo or book directly via 049 892 3453 or camdeboo@sanparks.org. NIEU-BETHESDA Visit nieubethesdatourism. co.za for information on festivals and accommodation. Tip: Try the Karoo lamb curry at the Village Inn. And they do the best fish and chips in the Karoo. KAROO THEATRICAL HOTEL The Steytlerville Follies is on every Saturday night. If you want to watch the show, you need to stay at the hotel, and they’re often fully booked a month in advance. Visit karroohotel.co.za for more information. 17
Page 1: traveller AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION OF
Page 4 and 5: 56 50 12 Contents 23 3 Gerda says
Page 6 and 7: The AA at your service ACCREDITED S
Page 8 and 9: 2022 AA ENTRY- LEVEL VEHICLE SAFETY
Page 10 and 11: Maruti Suzuki S-Presso’s safety p
Page 12 and 13: Road trip he Karoo 12 IT'S A VIBE
Page 14 and 15: Road trip The post office in Nieu-B
Page 18 and 19: 18 Witpoortjie Falls at Walter Sisu
Page 20 and 21: GROENKLOOF NATURE RESERVE If you li
Page 22 and 23: ON SALE NOW HIKING GUIDE NEW VIEW,
Page 24 and 25: Road tripI’ve recently discovered
Page 26 and 27: Road trip 26 Take the back roads be
Page 28: Road trip TOP FIVE THINGS TO DO 1.
Page 31 and 32: City art Did you know that Johannes
Page 33 and 34: City art Brenda Fassie Memorial His
Page 35 and 36: John o’Groats 8 Hiking Inverness
Page 37 and 38: THE IRISH WAY Ireland is home to tw
Page 39 and 40: Weekend getaway Sir Laurens van der
Page 41 and 42: orchids in a smaller, heated greenh
Page 43 and 44: Weekend getaway GOOD TO KNOW With O
Page 45 and 46: Science At around 4 mm in length, G
Page 47 and 48: Local entrepreneur By Kim Arendse A
Page 49 and 50: Local entrepreneur “I believe tha
Page 51 and 52: Recipes ASPARAGUS AND KLAPPERTJIE Q
Page 53 and 54: Fact Fioretto, which means “littl
Page 55 and 56: Recipes BOEBER DEEP-FRIED BABY MARR
Page 57 and 58: Photography tips & tricks 1. INCREA
Page 59 and 60: Photography tips & tricks TIP: Incr
Page 61 and 62: Books Super athletes and a must-rea
Page 63 and 64: Freestyle South Africa is know for
Page 65 and 66: Advice 10 bad driving habits Whethe
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ADDITIONAL SOURCES: aa.co.za; arriv
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Motoring HYUNDAI TUCSON The Hyundai
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Motoring VOLVO XC60 Thinking of buy
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Motoring The SUV segment’s grip o
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HYUNDAI STARIA Let’s start with t
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Puzzles Blockbusters CROSSWORD 100
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Quality Assured THE AA RECOMMENDS E
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Traveller SPRING 2022

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