Last December Chantelle and I slipped away for a weekend without the kids in the lovely little historic town of Tulbagh. However, as you might have noticed by now, I don’t normally enjoy hanging about in one place for very long, and so naturally we found ourselves spending more time out and about than staying at the actual guest house! Case in point – we first drove all the way to Ceres because we wanted to see if the Dennebos Resort from our childhood still exists, and with that done, then promptly decided to drive another 34km out to the middle of nowhere in order to pick some cherries.
Or rather more accurately, we paid a visit to the famous Klondyke Cherry Farm.
A popular tourist attraction in the area, Klondyke is a a working fruit farm in the Koue Bokkeveld on the outskirts of the Ceres valley.
In terms of crops, the farm has cherries, pears and apples counted among its numerous orchards, and also hosts a campsite and a couple of self-catering cottages.
The big drawcard is of course cherry picking season, during which Klondyke opens its gates to the public, charging them a small entrance fee so that they may grab some containers and head out into the cherry orchards to pick as many cherries as what their hearts desire.
This you then bring back for weighing and paying, after which you can then setup your picnic/portable braai and enjoy some quality time under the shade provided by the large grove of massive pine trees!
It would appear that this is a massively popular attraction, and despite the farm being literally out in the middle of nowhere, there is an almost constant stream of people entering the grounds! (Chantelle and I were amazed!)
I’m not a massive fan of cherries (Chantelle however is), but I have to say, it was rather fun hunting through all the trees trying to find the best looking fruit, and more importantly, trying to find the trees which haven’t yet been ravished by any other eager cherry pickers!
Mind you, it is pretty hot and sweaty work, so best remember to bring a hat and some sunscreen!
Definitely worth the trek if you have some bored kids on your hands and can maybe pull together a good group of friends for a day out under the trees!
Related Link: Klondyke Cherry Farm | Facebook