Once predominantly a farming area, Tulbagh is now a picturesque town popular with local and international visitors.
A beautiful bowl-shaped valley, with fertile farmlands watered by mountain streams from the Witzenberg, Winterhoek and Obiqua mountain ranges embracing it on three sides, Tulbagh is the perfect setting for a weekend escape or a peaceful rural lifestyle.
It’s far enough from Cape Town to feel away from it all, but at less than 90 minutes by car from town, a day trip is easy enough – especially if you can’t resist visiting for one of the annual festivals. The area's Christmas in Winter Festival (24 and 25 June) is especially appealing, with a dusting of snow on the mountain tops as a backdrop to the festivities, gluhwein, mince pies, sumptuous feasts and fun spilling over from historic Church Street to surrounding wine estates and the whole town for the weekend.
Church Street itself represents the essence of Tulbagh over the ages, with a series of original Cape Dutch houses – 32 national monuments – in one beautiful tree-lined street. These were painstakingly restored after a devastating earthquake in 1969. A stroll along the street, where you can visit the small museums and have lunch in one of the restaurants, is a must. Locals have re-established a community vegetable garden here too, which supplies several of the restaurants and residents with fresh organic produce.
Once a predominantly farming community, Tulbagh has reinvented itself in the last two decades to become a friendly, welcoming destination and a picturesque wedding location, with a number of B&Bs, hotels, and self-catering cottages in the village and on surrounding wine estates and farms attracting locals and international visitors all year round.
“Over the years I've seen changes and growth in the town,” says Carol Collins, who moved to Tulbagh 20 years ago. “When I arrived, businesses such as banks and shops all closed over lunch. The town has become more cosmopolitan over the years, but the original charm is still here. Winter snow is a huge attraction, as well as summer cherry-picking, harvest with students, flowers in spring, weddings and weekend getaways.”
Weekend visitors can relax over wine tastings, olive tastings and lazy lunches, enjoy a show at the Saronsberg Theatre, explore the pristine mountain scenery on horse-back, go mountain biking, or take long hikes in the Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area. But the main attraction for residents and visitors is the peace and tranquillity of Tulbagh, where everyday life is defined by nature, from the cycles of the seasons, to the baking-hot summer days and crisp cold winter nights.
I love the friendly people, the quality of life and the simple things: life-long friendships, fresh country air, the lifestyle of freedom and security.
-Carol Collins of Readers Restaurant.
Dine out:
- Olive Terrace at the Tulbagh Hotel
- Readers Restaurant in Tulbagh’s oldest building
- Things I love deli restaurant for lunch and teas
- Pizza Spot for wood-fired pizza
- Paddagang for hearty meals in a peaceful setting
- Waverley Hills for family friendly dining on an organic wine estate
Things to do:
- Horseriding in the fynbos with Horse About or Tulbagh Horse Trails
- Take in a show at little Saronsberg Theatre
- Walk down historic Church Street and visit the museums
- Zipline along 1.4km of slides in nearby Ceres
- Mountain biking on some superb trails
- Olive tasting at Oakhurst or Waverley Hills
Wine estates:
- Waverley Hills
- Twee Jonge Gezellen –Krone
- Saronsberg
- Manley Private Cellar
- Theuniskraal
- Rijk’s Private Cellar
- Drostdy Hof Wines
- Tulbagh Winery
- Montpellier
This article originally appeared in Neighbourhood, Sunday Times.
