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The Citizen
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Unleash your inner oyster in Knysna
July festival is not for weightwatchers. There are a million good reasons, most of them packed in shells and tasting delightfully of the sea, for visiting the Knysna Oyster Festival (KOF) next month, but wanting to lose weight is not one of them. Oysters themselves are not fattening and are packed with nutrients but, serve them fried and smothered in a bacon and blue cheese sauce, you can almost hear the calorie-counter going berserk. And that's just for starters. A two-day media visit last week to preview the 42nd annual festival, from 4-13 July, began fairly virtuously; oysters in the half shell accompanied only by lemon, black pepper, peri-peri sauce and a glass of Leopard's Leap bubbly at Sirocco. It was, so to say, a shucking good time. Things went south that evening when we decamped to Wildside Beach, a shack-style diner on the rocks at Buffels Bay – included, along with Sedgefield and Reenendal, in the Knysna municipal district – for sundowners and dinner. Sunset was accompanied by a full moon almost as spectacular as dinner of creamy mussels, garlic-butter prawns, deepfried hake and panko-crumbed calamari. Nothing slimming about that… what followed was a Weight Watchers' nightmare. Tammy Coby, one of the Knysna Oyster Festival organisers, placed three mini-puddings in front of us and told us to score each out of 10. Picture: Jim Freeman ALSO READ: Bin huggers are just plane rude Chocolate dreams and dessert wars This, she said, was the premise of Dessert War Fair. Promising this would be the sweetest happening of the festival – it takes place on 9 July, tickets from Quicket – 'where talented chefs and bakers showcase their most scrumptious creations' in a contest to find the most epic dessert, Tammy offered another tempting morsel. She introduced us to one of last year's winners. Kirsten Walters is the owner and founder of Ile de Chocolat ('Island of Chocolate') and is a Swisstrained chocolatier with her manufacturing studio at the five-star Pezula Hotel and a retail outlet at Thesen Harbour Town. She is not affiliated to nearby Ile de Pain ('Island of Bread'), the renowned artisanal bakery where we had breakfast the next morning. 'I am a trained pastry chef who indulged her passion by studying at the International School of Chocolate Art in Zurich, where I finished as valedictorian in 2006. 'South Africans at the time did not have much of a chocolate culture – they basically knew Beacon, Nestlé and Cadbury – and I wanted to introduce them to the 'proper' stuff only the wealthy had encountered through international travel. 'I had the mad idea of producing chocolate on site in a retail environment where people could watch the process and it was Brian Coppin who was building his flagship Food Lover's Market in Tyger Valley (Cape Town) who gave me the break. He said 'we're opening in a week, can you be ready?' We were literally an island of chocolate in the middle of this huge, magnificent store,' said Walters. Apart from giving the business ( its name, it was the proverbial springboard to success. Picture: Jim Freeman 'We were in seven stores around the country within a year but business came to a screeching halt two-and-a-half years later when I gave birth to twins,' she said. The Walters family moved to the Garden Route three years ago for a life that was less hectic, but just as sweet. 'Our speciality, my pride and joy, is truffles. I love developing new fillings and have about 50 flavours. 'There are your traditional hazelnut, almond and creamy chocolate fillings before going fruity with raspberry and mango. We do a whole alcohol range; Kirschwasser with a maraschino cherry is the most popular but I also do whisky, Van der Hum and Amarula. 'More extreme flavours include rosemary and pear, chili and I've even dabbled with curry on occasion.' The KOF caters to gourmands as well as gourmets. Picture: Jim Freeman From forest runs to fine wines There's a carbo-loading pasta evening on 4 July, the night before the Knysna Forest Marathon, that's not restricted to runners; a burger and beer extravaganza on 5 July; and a 'pizza-eating showdown not for the faint-hearted' on 9 July. For those on a liquid diet, Stella Artois is one of the sponsors and there will be several beery hotspots around the KOF, notably at Wildside Beach in Buffels which does not have a liquor licence. If you don't like beer with your fish and chips, the restaurant doesn't charge corkage. The Knysna Fine Wine Festival takes place at Simola Hotel on 4 and 5 July, and several estates will be serving their best vintages at the oyster cooking and shucking championships on 8 July. As the organisers say, 'Come hungry, come happy – and come out of your shell!' The forest marathon might be the festival's signature sporting event, but there's also the Knysna Cycle Tour on 12-13 July. Physicality is as physicality does… there's live music and (of course) dancing throughout the 10-day event. There are also adventure offerings, including guided and self-guided canoeing and hiking. For the latter, visit the Pledge Nature Reserve in the centre of town for a gentle uphill stroll that will reward hikers with wonderful views of the Knysna Heads and lagoon. Petrol-heads can wander around the Eden Classic Car and Motorcycle Show at Sedgefield's Scarab Arts and Crafts Village on 9 July. Picture: Jim Freeman NOW READ: Ford powers leopard conservation efforts
The Citizen
17-06-2025
- The Citizen
Country Routes: Take me home
Enjoy personal touches wherever you go. Some people enjoy staying in hotel chains, finding in them a reassuring security as they gad about the fleshpots of the world. Me, I hate it regardless whether it's a Holiday Inn or a Hilton. There's a similarity between them whether you're in Berlin or Wuhu (Hilton), London or Tblisi (Holiday Inn) that completely ignores the spirit and context of the city in they are located… with the exception of the hotel in China which featured spicy fried bullfrog on the buffet. Give me a hotel or a guesthouse with an identity; it doesn't have to boast 97 channels on a giant flat screen TV in the room or even a Nespresso machine, just give me some quirky individuality. ALSO READ: Hermanus really rocks Discovering Cape Country Routes It's one of the reasons I've become enchanted with the properties and activities falling under the umbrella of Cape Country Routes in my travels throughout the Western and Eastern Cape over the past five years. The love affair began, appropriately, at the Montagu Country Hotel before moving on to the Karoo Art Hotel in Barrydale. Subsequently I've visited game reserves (Samara, Rogge Cloof, Sibuya and Wildehondekloof in Graaff-Reinet, Sutherland, Kenton-on-Sea and Oudtshoorn respectively); beachfront hotels and guesthouses in Arniston, Agulhas, Knysna, Hermanus and Jeffreys Bay (during which I met my lovely lady Rose-Mariè). I've had dinner with owners at Eendracht Hotel and Apartments in Stellenbosch, Val du Charron wine estate in Wellington and the De Hoop Collection in the nature reserve of the same name outside Bredasdorp. I've even been to sea with Cape Country Routes-aligned operators in Knysna and Gansbaai. Picture: Jim Freeman/Supplied It was with the latter, Marine Dynamics, that I began a recent roadtrip with Haval's behemoth new H7 SUV (sports utility vehicle) to cover some old ground and visit a new CCR property in Hermanus. Wilfred Chivell and Marine Dynamics are synonymous with marine conservation and eco-tourism in the Overberg and beyond for the past 25 years, during which the company has conducted boat-based whale watching and shark-diving tours. The Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT), founded by Chivell two decades ago, has been at the forefront of African penguin conservation but has also undertaken dedicated studies on Great White sharks to track their movements and understand population dynamics. The trust has also been deeply involved in marine pollution mitigation. From Gansbaai it was a short trip back to the newest addition to the CCR stable, the four-star graded Hermanus Boutique Guest House, situated across the road from Fick's tidal pool. Cape Country Routes is an association of independent owner-operated and managed accommodation and activity establishments – more than 20 hotels, lodges and guest houses – located on the scenic and historic route in the Western and Eastern Cape. All are carefully selected for their character, charm and romance. Picture: Jim Freeman/Supplied A home away from home This individuality is what draws to the group; not only are they all different, they offer accommodation and activities to suit all tastes and budgets. 'Our owners are Willem and Estie Steyn from Johannesburg,' recounts Hermanus Boutique Guest House general manager Mariane Maree, adding that they purchased the property about 20 years ago. 'They closed the place in 2015, and renovated it from floor to ceiling, opening it up to natural light and brightening the interior. At the same time, they doubled the number of rooms by building another eight around the swimming pool behind the main building. 'Three years later, we shut up shop again to build a sea-facing penthouse and honeymoon suite as an annex,' The total number of rooms currently is 19. 'Our aim here is to be a home away from home. Guest house is an awkward word because some people think it means you're staying in their home. However, once you become a hotel, you start attracting a different type of clientele. Even though we have 19 rooms, we still strive for that personal touch.' Hermanus Boutique Guest House. Picture: Jim Freeman/Supplied That personal touch, says William Stephens, owner of The De Hoop Collection and a past chairman of CCR, is what membership is all about. 'When a prospective member approaches us, we ensure their specific offering – whether it is a property or an activity – is not duplicated within that area. 'The intention is to have a linear route structure for travellers.' Cape Country Routes, he says, was the brainchild of Gert Lubbe, owner of the art-deco Montagu Country Hotel till his death in 2020. The torch was carried forward by his partner at the hotel, P-J Basson. Lubbe also conceptualised the 'Route 62' tourism initiative that followed the R62 from Ashton, through Montagu to Barrydale, Ladismith, Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn. This is one of the most attractive and interesting roadtrip routes in the Western Cape. 'Once you had an accommodation property in a town, there was a requirement that you help create or support ancillary tourist activities – again, not in competition with one another, and also on the basis of being owner-run,' says Stephens. 'Why am I a member?' he asks. 'One of the most important is that, individually, the costs of marketing and participating in trade shows such as Indaba are prohibitively expensive. 'If I had to do an international roadshow on my own, I probably wouldn't get much change out of R300 000. 'Those costs are now shared… as is the time we are required to be away from our businesses. 'Because we are not competing with one another, there's a lot of cross-referencing of products. It's an extremely positive dynamic.' Picture: Jim Freeman/Supplied NOW READ: UK trip great if planned well
