Cape Town - Winemaker and manager of the Strandveld Winery Conrad Vlok doesn’t understand how it’s possible to not know your neighbour.
In the Strandveld, neighbours sample wine together, they fish together and they celebrate the catch of the day on an open fire with a bottle of good wine.
Conrad’s friend, Dirk Human, who lives 5km down the road, sums it up perfectly, “When a newcomer moves to the area, we arrange a party so that he or she can meet everyone.”
The low-lying Strandveld is situated between Gansbaai, Cape Agulhas and Bredasdorp. Its soil is fertile, its koppies overflow with springs and it offers country living coupled with coastal wonder. It also has a remarkable history.
Since the 1400s ships have been wrecked along its treacherous coastline and legends about castaways, heroes, salvage missions and the odd ghost abound.
Nearby towns like Struisbaai, Cape Agulhas and Hermanus have modernised at an astonishing rate and over December are packed with visitors. Venture a few kilometres inland to the Strandveld and you’ll find quiet wine farms, walking trails, historic cottages and the Black Oystercatcher, a restaurant that prides itself on serving cuisine sourced within a 50km radius.
It’s a two-and-a-half hour drive from Cape Town. We arrive at Africa’s southernmost winery And it’s pitch dark outside. Conrad emerges from a cottage dating back to the 1800s with a torch and a warm welcome. Good company and a traditional farm dinner await.
“Fishing is big in these parts,” says Conrad with a knowing smile. Freshly caught mussel-cracker sizzles on the braai. Fishing is Conrad’s third love. His first is his wife Suzan and their two children, and his second is winemaking.
“We started making wine here in 2005. At the time it was a bit of a gamble, as no one had made wine in the Strandveld before,” says Conrad as he fills our glasses with delicious Shiraz Rosé.
Local conditions proved perfect for winemaking – fertile soil, a cool climate and a hefty ocean breeze. From humble beginnings, Conrad has gone on to win a Veritas Double Gold medal, as well as a Gold medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition for his 2010 Strandveld Sauvignon Blanc. Both his Sauvignon Blanc and his 2009 Strandveld Adamastor received 5-star ratings in Platter’s South African Wine Guide.
Suzan presents a spread of venison pie, freshly baked bread, lamb chops, broccoli in white sauce, followed by flambéed pancakes.
“Here in the Overberg we have the best lamb chops ,” says Conrad. He and Suzan have lived on the farm for 10 years and they still think it is heaven.
The conversation turns to shipwrecks. “Tomorrow I’ll take you to the top of a koppie – you’ll be able to see where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet,” Conrad says. There’s a three-day shipwreck trail that passes close to his farm. Hikers can see the remnants of ships like the Mishu Maru 38, a fishing trawler that sank near Cape Agulhas, Africa’s southernmost point.
As the fire flickers, Suzan urges Conrad to tell us about his award-winning Rhône blend, the Strandveld Navigator.
“We named this wine after Prince Henry the Navigator – patron of early Portuguese exploration. Like the handful of winemakers in the Strandveld, he was one of the first to explore the secrets around here,” he notes.
In the morning we wake up to Overberg bliss: chickens clucking, morning light on a cellar and dirt roads waiting to be explored. Conrad leads the run to Pofadder Bos, his Sauvignon Blanc vineyard.
Trailed by three adoring dogs, we jog past a herd of lowing cows and make our way through fields of fynbos.
There’s a generous display of proteas. At the top of the koppie we are greeted by a view of farmlands, marshlands and coastline.
Dirk opened the Black Oystercatcher, a family-run restaurant that celebrates homegrown food and local culture, in 2008.
He’s introducing hippos to the area and building landing-strips for small airplanes.
He loves the Strandveld and fondly recalls childhood camping holidays next to a nearby dam. Today, the dam hosts five hippos, a species that Dirk reintroduced to the area after a 150-year absence.
The restaurant is where the farm’s stables used to be. Dirk and his wife, Sandra, turned it into a space of bucolic luxury.
The restaurant is the ideal spot for lunch or a special occasion.
During December, Dirk hosts a number of events like a Sauvignon Blanc Festival and an oyster festival.
Their most popular event is the Traditional Food and Music Day on December 29. “We serve boerekos and Oom Manie and his band entertain the crowd,” Dirk explains.
Oom Manie is 82 years old and his choice of drink is vodka and water. Another favourite event in the area is a braai that takes place on Dirk’s landing strip every year on Heritage Day.
Besides food and wine, the Strandveld is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. It is home to an astonishing variety of birds and from the Black Oystercatcher, kilometres of hiking and biking trails start.
Dirk tells us about the historic paraffin route that passes through his farm. During the 1800s, lighthouse keepers used to traverse this route with boxes of paraffin to keep the lamps burning.
That evening, huddled around a log fire crackling in our cottage, I read a Strandveld coffee-table book, about the Arniston, the ship that was wrecked along the coast in 1815 while making its way to England. Only six out of 378 people survived.
I continue reading about hidden treasures, onboard slave revolts, murders fuelled by jealousy, drunken sailors and missions gone wrong.
The Strandveld – with its wholesome foods, its shipwreck trails and its wines – could become a popular tourist spot.
Conrad knows it, but I get the sense that he wishes he could keep it a secret for just a little while longer.
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Weekend Argus