Cape Town - People are strange. Apparently there was a guest who complained there was no cellphone reception at High Season, despite this being prominently displayed on every page of the farm’s website.
Besides that, there is free wi-fi so it’s not as if you are cut off from the outside world. In fact, that’s even better because you can interact with it from a distance, and I can think of few things better than no one being able to phone me.
High Season Farm is in the Hemel en Aarde valley near Hermanus, and a more appropriate name could not be devised – it truly is heaven on earth.
The biblical theme is carried through with wine farms like Creation, La Vierge (blessed virgin) and Ataraxia (a state of serene calmness). High Season offers accommodation in luxury self-catering cottages, a description that plays fast and loose with the word “cottages”.
I stayed in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house which had every imaginable convenience, including a bottle of creamy milk in the fridge, a freezer full of ice trays, all the makings for tea and coffee (and biscuits), a fireplace inside and a built-in braai on the stoep, a fully equipped kitchen, towels and toiletries, television with DStv, and a pastoral view that kept me fully occupied until darkness fell and I retired with my book.
On the farm there are Nguni cattle which wander around grazing. You can walk among them but are warned to look out for the bull which is possessive of the cows that come home a lot later than you'd expect.
There are also chickens sitting outside your windows, fixing you with their beady eyes, and a row of ducks waddling around from one pond to another. There is a swimming pool on top of the small hill. No wonder people go there and stay for weeks at a time.
Self-catering is all well and good, and easy to do in these conditions. However, if you’re feeling lazy, there is an arrangement with The Eatery in Hermanus whereby the deli (there is a restaurant as well, which is incredibly reasonably priced and frequented by the locals who know what’s what) will pack you a picnic hamper according to your budget and occasion, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, and deliver it to your cottage.
Tullishe le Roux, who owns The Eatery, put together a crate for me containing delicious nibbles like spanakopita, divine salmon cakes, quiche, two kinds of salad, and a giant carrot muffin.
A choice of Whale Pod wines (the wallet-friendly range from Creation) can be included – sauvignon blanc, a rose blend of pinot noir, syrah, and Grenache, or syrah merlot.
To make you feel even more special, or if you are planning to take a picnic down to the beach, a bouquet of flowers from Flower Scene can be added. You’ll find this shop across from The Eatery in the Long Street Arcade.
After a restful night at High Season I was woken by nature’s alarm clock – roosters crowing at 5am. That they continue to crow throughout the day kind of spoils that picture, but it was useful because I had a 7am date with Walker Bay Adventures to go kayaking. It was a brisk and unseasonably cold morning for February, but luckily the ideal conditions for a paddle on the ocean.
No one else was mad enough to be up that early, so it was just Riaan Kloppers and me going out on that first trip of the day. I was stripped of my warm clothes and kitted out with a life jacket.
After the indemnity form was signed and the safety briefing delivered, we hopped on board the bright yellow kayak and headed out on to the open water.
If you’ve kayaked in Cape Town, you’re likely to be familiar with fairly flat and calm seas. In Walker Bay, which happens to be a marine sanctuary on account of the southern right whales which visit from June until November, there are some significant swells. It’s not a bit scary, though, and the paddling is relatively easy.
My arms weren’t sore at all the next day, and that’s not just because Kloppers did most of the work. I did my fair share, too, I swear.
During the paddle, the guide will tell you all about the marine life in the bay, including why and how the foam comes from the kelp, the history of the Birkenhead, and the baby seal colony.
We paddled out there and were lucky enough to spot a few. I was intrigued to learn they never go on to dry land but spend their time floating around in the water, even when they are sleeping.
During whale season it’s a given you’ll see these great beasts, but even at this time of the year you can still spot Bryde’s whales (Kloppers saw one but I missed it) as well as dolphins.
In nature there are never any guarantees, but a high probability. There are no currents this close to shore, so no danger of being swept out to sea.
Even if you don’t see anything but a seagull, it’s still a great way to spend a couple of hours, just bobbing about.
* Contact Walker Bay Adventures on 082 739 0159, email [email protected], and see www.walkerbayadventures.co.za for more information.
* High Season is on the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Road (turn left at the Engen as you are approaching Hermanus). Telephone 021 200 2514 or see www.highseasonfarm.co.za for more information. Contact The Eatery on 028 313 2970.
Weekend Argus