PORTERVILLE

Porterville is named after a popular Cape Colony Attorney-General few of us have heard of, and if it weren’t for the Olifants River mountains, famous for their rock formations, vast tracts of wild wilderness area and San paintings, the town would be a lost-in-time sort of place. As it is, Porterville (140km from Cape Town) is a sleepy hollow, with not much going on – which is why we like it. After covering the urban attractions, which you can do in a couple of minutes, shoot straight up the impressive Dasklip Pass, to the pleasures waiting above.

Things To Do
  • Dasklip Pass is a precipitous fynbos-lined road (now tar most of the way) winding up the Groot Winterhoek and your passage to the getaways that follow.
     
  • The Groot Winterhoek is one of few national wilderness areas. It is a dramatic planet-Jupiter landscape with scope for serious hiking, which the able-bodied can arrange through CapeNature (tel 021-659 3500).
     
  • The rough dirt roads leading into Groot Winterhoek are good for mountain biking. Beaverlac Farm (tel 022-931 2945) accepts day visitors and has two challenging trails and several deep rock pools for a post-ride dunk.
     
  • For a taste of local plonk, Porterville Wine Cellar (tel 022-931 2170) sells wines from the region and offers free tasting during the week and on Saturday from 9am–11am.
     
  • Facing the main street (naturally called ‘Voortrekker’), Koppikoffi (tel 022-931 3877) is your best bet for a pleasant meal and an opportunity to collapse on a cool stoep and watch Porterville crawl by.