CLANWILLIAM & CEDERBERG

Originally called Jan Dissels Valley, Clanwilliam (215km from Cape Town) is positively vibey compared to many country towns, with a surprisingly active cultural life and several good restaurants. It could also be the only South African town with a jail instead of a Dutch Reformed church at the top end of main street – got a feeling Clanwilliam’s original town planner didn’t think much of humanity. The jail now functions as an active information office, processing a swelling intake of foreign tourists who use this fetching tree-lined town as a springboard to the surrounding Cederberg and beyond.

Things To Do
  • Most people head to the Cederberg to walk. With a CapeNature permit (tel 021-659 3500) the possibilities are huge. The most popular day hikes are concentrated in the southern Cederberg around Algeria, the Maltese Cross and the Wolfberg Cracks. Walking aside, the dirt roads are good mountain bike fodder. Hiker or biker, Peter Slingsby’s, Cederberg – The Map, is your indispensable reference to the area. You can get it at Exclusive Books.
     
  • The Cederberg has a rich heritage of San rock paintings that you should try view before they’re all but obliterated by modern artists such as “A. Arendse 2007”. A number of the getaways that follow have sites on their property – these are generally only open to guests. The Sevilla Trail offers the best general public access; permits are available from Travellers Rest (tel 027-482 1824).
     
  • Clanwilliam is a good base to explore the dusty roads and craggy landscape of the northern Cederberg, which incorporates the Bidouw Valley and Wupperthal. The Bidouw Valley is a favourite spring-flower hangout, but the season apparently lasts longer at the Ramskop Nature Reserve outside Clanwilliam.
     
  • Question humanity’s place in the universe as it is dragged back and forth behind a 200hp engine on the Clanwilliam Dam (tel 027-482 8000). Accommodation, in the form of a caravan park and chalets, is also available.
     
  • With several arty shops, a few good restaurants by night and pleasant coffee shops by day, Clanwilliam has become somewhat of a cultural centre. Reinholds (tel 027-482 1090) is by far the best dinner spot in town, offering solid country fare, good service and reasonable prices. For breakfast, walk across the road to the all-you-can-eat buffet at Clanwilliam Hotel (tel 027-482 1101). Back across the street, Nancy’s Tea Room (tel 027-482 2661) has a pretty garden and is good for casual day fare. During flower season, the Khoisan Kitchen (tel 027-482 1824) can be found over the Pakhuis Pass. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Traditional homemade fare, like waterblommetjie bredie and oxtail stew, is on the menu.
     
  • Pay a tribute to Louis Leipoldt by visiting his grave on the Pakhuis Pass.