Durban’s sunny weather was perfect for some strawberry picking this past Saturday.
The annual Ballito Strawberry Festival once again drew in thousands of travellers, mostly locals, for a day of entertainment and lots of strawberries.
Young and old gathered at Cappeny Estates for what is known as one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most anticipated events on the calendar.
Yoliswa Gumede, the co-owner of Cappeny Estates, said she was surprised at how popular the strawberry field was in Durban.
“I did not wake up one day and decide that I wanted to grow strawberries. It was a result of many months of research and hard work. We realised that it was a small industry with a market to grow.
“With lots of work, this project has grown in leaps and bounds. We are very happy at the final result,” said Gumede.
While the strawberry festival happens once a year, Cappeny Estates does offer group tours by appointment only. Visit www.cappenyestates.com for more information.
Here are some highlights at this year’s event:
The Road Trip:
The trip from Durban to Cappeny Estates takes about 45 minutes, just the right amount of time for a mini-road trip.
We planned our road trip with lots of snacks and a selection of good music. Light banter and slightly lame jokes made it more worthwhile.
Expect lots of dusty roads, sugarcane plantations and palm trees!
People
The sold-out event gathered over 2500 people.
Food
There were lots of delicious food stalls around. From personalised bunny chows (some items were sold out by 12 pm), gourmet popcorns, strawberry inspired cakes to live cooking demos, foodies were kept well entertained.
Music:
Live music entertained guests throughout the day.
Strawberry pickings
The biggest highlight was the strawberry picking. It proved to be a very calming activity for parents and their children.
Gumede even showed some locals how to pick the best strawberries.