Adventuring in the Overberg
Posted on 07. Sep, 2010 by Marina in People & Places
All Capetonians above the age of four year can relate to the delight of setting off on a road trip into any of the various and beautiful landscapes of the Western Cape.
Whether chasing wildflowers up and along the West Cost, discovering a new favourite spot in the leafy winelands to taste some of the world’s finest, pounding warm beaches and plunging their chilly waters or getting wonderfully lost on ancient mountain trails -exploring South Africa is awesome.
Country towns and villages throughout Mzanzi are fast becoming foodie destinations – delightful kroegs for cream-topped coffees, rambling farmstalls for hearty breakfasts and elegant, privately owned restaurants for memorable meals (with a mandatory take-away coffee from Wimpy, so bad but so good).
Located in the heart of the picturesque Overberg, Napier is a seriously underrated mini-break destination. The road to Napier takes you on a delightful journey through bird’s eye checkered barley and wheat fields, past flocks of blue cranes to the bottom of the Soetmuisberg.
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On the one hand, Napier is your typical 1800′s South African rural small town – complete with century old buildings, a towering Dutch reformed church and a heap of old world charm. But it definitely shouldn’t be written off as just another afrikaans dorp – with its narrow streets, quaint architecture, many restaurants, galleries and intriguing shops, it might just steal your heart.
At present the town has a population of about 3,000 people. They grow a lot of strawberries, have an annual sweet potato festival and host the renowned annual Voet Van Afrika Marathon. They also produce awesome wine, and have what is rumoured to be South Africa’s only vertical sundial, built by Danie du Toit in 1965. Cool. More on that here.
Napier is perfect for a stopover on the way to Arniston, L’Agulhas, De Hoop, Bredasdorp, Hermanus, Caledon (or Cape Town) – and if you head there, we suggest checking out The Good Food Café.
David & Erica Spilhaus took the reins of this dainty blue and white roadside café earlier this year, and are passionate about providing locals and visitors with delicious and innovative meals. With over 20 years experience in the kitchen – including 6 years managing five star establishments in the Bush and on a private Island resort off the coast of Mozambique – it’s safe to say that David knows a thing or two about food and entertaining.
His menu of homemade delights uses fresh local and seasonal ingredients, and is complimented by wines from the Overberg region. Specialities include marinated rump steak served with rocket leaves, homemade onion marmalade and fresh ciabata bread or Mini Bunny Chow served with lamb curry & sambals.
The Good Food Café is open 6 days a week for breakfast, served 09h00 until 11h30 and lunch (coffee and cake are served from 12h00 until 15h00) and every Friday and Saturday night for dinner.
Check out their website for more information. Thumbs up (as we dream of road tripping nowhere slowly).
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