Darling

A little town 30 minutes from Table View that got its name from a Lieutenant Governor named Charles Henry Darling. The town is at its best winter through to spring: dewdrop mornings and hills of lush green dotted with yellow flowers. Summer? A sunbaked brown basin etched by a somewhat dreary main street. With the arrival of Evita Bezuidenhout and other Cape glitterati, Darling has been inching towards artist colony status, but for the moment her traditional village atmosphere still prevails. The houses are solid Victorian, few residents bother with burglar bars, business closes for lunch and there are a couple of roads that are still all dusty dirt.

Things To Do
  • The Darling Museum reflects the town’s early beginnings and includes a collection of old butter-making equipment, local art and Victorian relics. It is also home to the information office. Have your fill and head to the Hildebrand Monument, 5km from town; it marks the southernmost battle of the Anglo-Boer War.
     
  • The countryside around Darling has a number of private wildflower reserves that are little more than open tracts of farmland out of season. Weather permitting, the Wild Flower Society hosts an annual show in the third week of September.
     
  • Darling’s wine route has come along nicely in recent years, with five cellars offering tastings. 
     
  • Pieter Dirk Uys and his many alter egos are prolific as ever. If either is performing, be sure to catch a dinner-theatre show at Evita se Perron. Housed in the old railway station, this theatre-restaurant-museum is a playful shrine to all that’s good and not so good about South African culture. You won’t be disappointed.
     
  • The village offers a generous handful of restaurants-cum-coffee shops. Measured on atmosphere, Evita se Perron is one of our favourites. And the food isn’t half bad either – we tucked into a substantial cheeseburger called… Die Burger, of course.  
     
  • Yzerfontein is only 15km from Darling and has a long attractive beach and whale-sightings in season.
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