Blog - The Habit Guest House

Covid-19 Projects

2020-06-01T00:00:00+02:00

First, we want to say thank you

Two months after lockdown struck the tourism industry in South Africa, we at The Habit Guest House are extremely grateful that our staff are still working and able to provide for their families.
With an essential services certificate from the onset of the Covid-19 lockdown, we could continue providing accommodation to essential workers for whom business travel was unavoidable. In that regard we say thank you to every essential services provider who trusted and chose us to provide them with safe accommodation in Worcester. Your booking was a lifeline that kept us going in those first few weeks.
With the extension of the Level 5 lockdown in April, we were compelled to launch a project that could further sustain our own team members along with about two dozen entrepreneurs from across the Breede River Valley. And so, the Pure Boland Produce Box was born. It is a home delivery of local food products normally available at the Pure Boland Market, another of our owner Tharina Marais’ small business ventures. The weekly deliveries have been well received and we are sincerely grateful for your overwhelming support.
Our thanks will be incomplete without acknowledging the regulars who had supported and built our guest house and market through the years. You had essentially contributed to the strong base from which we could weather this storm, and for this we can only say thank you. We trust that we will get through this together, more appreciative of the people and things that make life worthwhile. We know the challenges continue, but so does our fighting spirit.

Essential Services Accommodation

The Habit Guest House has been a provider of essential services accommodation in Worcester since the beginning of South Africa’s Covid-19 lockdown. We want to assure all essential travellers that we prioritise your safety as much as your comfort, and we gladly supply the following safety information for your peace of mind:

We received an essential services permit at the beginning of Lockdown Level 5.
All our staff immediately adhered to government-implemented protocols.
All staff wear facemasks while at work and do hand sanitizing at regular intervals.
Warm water, soap and hand sanitizers are available throughout the premises.
All rooms and self-catering units are deep cleaned before and after the arrival of each new guest.
All rooms are equipped with a bottle of surface disinfectant while guests are staying.
All rooms are equipped with coffee and tea facilities, a microwave oven, beverages in the mini fridge, DStv and Wi-Fi to minimize the need for visiting communal spaces.
Surfaces in shared spaces like the reception area and hallways are regularly disinfected.
The premises have been decluttered to minimize exposed surfaces.
High-risk areas such as the kitchen, swimming pool and honesty bar have been closed.
Food delivery can be arranged to each guest’s room.
We provide accommodation for essential staff working in Worcester as well as the neighbouring towns of Rawsonville, De Doorns, Touws River, Robertson and the rural areas of the Breede River Valley.
Since the announcement of Level 4 lockdown, we provide Worcester accommodation on short notice when essential travellers haven’t reached their destination by the start of the nightly curfew. This is, of course, if we aren’t already fully occupied.

Despite the strict hygiene protocol and practices in place, we keep your comfort at the heart of our business. The privacy and tranquility of our luxury en-suite rooms and self-catering units – conveniently located in the heart of Worcester’s CBD – means that The Habit provides accommodation that is perfect for essential workers in need of a good night’s sleep.
We are equipped and ready to continue serving you through all levels of South Africa’s Covid-19 lockdown and promise to uphold all safety measures through Level 3, Level 2 and Level 1. As one of Worcester’s best-known establishments in guesthouse and hotel accommodation, we look forward to welcoming you so you can continue working without worry.

Pure Boland Produce Box

In a bid to ensure a continued income stream, about two dozen local entrepreneurs joined forces to deliver a selection of locally produced food products to buyers’ residences. These small-business owners, taking their cue from founders Pieter and Tharina Marais, are all exhibitors at the Pure Boland Market who would normally sell their products at the monthly farmer’s market.
The produce boxes were launched after the extension of South Africa’s lockdown Level 5 in April, when local entrepreneurs realized that they would have to be creative in order to sustain themselves and their dependants. Considering that the market was established over a decade ago as a platform for a collective of local producers, it seemed only natural that the lockdown plan would once again be a joint effort.
The result was a prepacked box filled with locally produced food products, delivered every Friday to customers’ homes. The contents of the box vary from week to week, but include a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, meat products, home-cooked preserves, rusks, coffee, cheese and other home-made treats from the Breede River Valley. The idea is to replace or supplement at least one trip to the supermarket while also supporting a group of local small businesses.
The Pure Boland Produce Box has been so well received that it is likely to provide an e-commerce income stream for years to come. Since launching the box 8 weeks ago we also had a lot of enquiries from neighbouring towns and the Cape Peninsula area and we've started to deliver in these areas as well.
To view box contents, place orders and make the required pre-payments, visit the Pure Boland Market Facebook page once a week.

Oxtail, lentil and sweet potato soup

2020-04-06T00:00:00+02:00

Ingredients:
2 medium Onions finely chopped
1kg Oxtail
Salt & pepper to taste (we love to use some whole black pepper as well)
1 large Sweet potato grated (with the skin)
500gr Brown Lentils

In the pressure cooker:
Saute onions in some olive oil.
Add the oxtail and brown the meat.
Add salt and pepper to taste. (We love to use a lot of ground black pepper and even add some whole black pepper as well).
Fill your pressure cooker about one third with water. Close the lid and steam till the oxtail is soft.
When the Oxtail is soft, add the grated sweet potato and a packet of brown lentils.
Half fill your pot with water, close the lid and steam for another 15 minutes.
Cook without the lid until you get a soup thickness.
You can also add more water and/or salt & pepper to taste.

Serve with a delicious home made bread.

You can bake this very quick and easy beer bread that my mother used to bake for us when I was a little girl.
Growing up on a farm this was a real treat - delicious straight from the oven, with some real home made butter.

Quick-and-easy Beer Bread
500gr self-raising flower
1/2 tsp salt
340ml beer
Mix it all together
Add the dough to your greased bread pan
Bake in a pre-heated oven, 180degrees, 45 minutes to an hour.

Birthplace of the artist ‘known only by his absence’

2020-02-19T00:00:00+02:00

The artist ‘known only by his absence’

Worcester was the birthplace of South Africa’s first “township” artist. The house in which he was born, still stands.

Dumile Feni was born in Withuis, Zwelethemba in 1942 and died in exile in New York in 1991. He has been described in art circles as an enigma: Despite his relative success in overseas exhibitions, his high esteem among peers and his position as one of South Africa’s most important artists, biographical information and access to his work were extremely limited for a long time. After all, only 19 of his drawings had been acquired by local art institutions before he left the country in 1968, according to art historian Bruce Campbell-Smith.

It took years for his daughter and researchers to recover scattered pieces from across the globe. A recent City Press article puts the number of recovered works at about 400 while one Feni expert estimates sales from his estate to total more than R60 million to date.

Despite the label of “township” artist, experts say it is important to note that Feni, as “the master of turbulent imagery”, never softened his distinctive expressionistic style to make it more palatable to a Western market. His best-known works include exquisite sculptures and highly charged monochromatic drawings.

He died in poverty.

The poet who helped bring Sarah Baartman home

Worcester-born literary icon Diana Ferrus is widely credited for the role she played in the return of Sarah Baartman’s remains to South Africa.

Ferrus, who matriculated from Esselenpark High School, wrote a poem called “I’ve come to take you home” while studying in Utrecht, the Netherlands in 1998. She later recalled in an interview that she had longed for home one evening when her heart suddenly went out to Baartman. “I thought, ‘Oh, god, she died of heartbreak, she longed for her country.”

The poem had such an emotional impact that it spurred decisionmakers into action, fighting for the French government’s release of Baartman’s remains. They were finally returned and buried in the Eastern Cape in 2002.

Ferrus was requested to write a poem for Worcester’s bicentenary. The monument to be revealed in the Garden of Remembrance next week, will be engraved with this poem. The stone for the monument was specially selected from the quarry that supplied Worcester the stone for its very first foundations.

The era of the Catholic nuns

Newcomers in Worcester are often surprised to learn that hundreds of current residents came into the world in a maternity clinic run by Roman Catholic nuns. This clinic was situated on the corner of Church and Fairbairn Streets, where The Pines lifestyle clinic is situated today.

The nuns resided a few street blocks away, however, in a nunnery on the premises where The Habit Guest House is today. According to Kritzinger the buildings at 6 Porter Street were part of the larger Catholic church complex at the former entrance to the town (around 1875). It explains how a guest house in the town centre can have enough space for ten bedrooms with full en-suite bathrooms, three self-catering units, a large garden plus secure parking.

The maternity clinic ceased its operations in the late 1970s and Worcester’s last Catholic priest – a Belgian with a keen interest in art photography of the town’s Cape Dutch homes – passed on in the early 2000s.

People who made an impression

Many individuals who have had a lasting effect in their fields, were rooted in Worcester. The Breede Valley municipal council decided last year to bestow honourary “Freedom of the Town” titles on nine former residents.

Dumile Feni (posthumous).
Diana Ferrus.
David Kramer, South African singer, songwriter, playwright and director, most notable for his musicals about the Cape Coloured communities and for his early opposition to apartheid.
Cecyl Esau, an activist with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. Esau previously worked for the ANC after spending 1987-91 in prison on Robben Island for his involvement with Umkhonto we Sizwe.
Prof. Raymond Parsons, a professor at the NWU School of Business & Governance and a Special Policy Advisor to Business Unity South Africa (BUSA). In 2004 former President Thabo Mbeki appointed Parsons to the Board of Directors of the SA Reserve Bank. He was reappointed in 2008. He was also a director of the SA Mint.
Justice Thembile Lewis Skweyiya (posthumous), former Constitutional Court Judge who also acted as Deputy Chief Justice.
Ayesha (Bibi) Dawood (posthumous), a hugely influential struggle activist who was one of the accused in the infamous Treason Trials of 1956. She was forced into exile before returning to her birthplace of Worcester, where she died in 2014.
Dr Danny Titus, academic, former commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission and a director of the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV).
Prof. JM Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.

Another Afrikaans literary master, C. Louis Leipoldt was born here and so was the late Thabile Mtwazi, former commander of Nelson Mandela’s bodyguards in Cape Town.

The story of the mass grave for horses

When the museum at Kleinplasie was built in 1980, multiple horse skeletons were unearthed on the site. The reason? Kleinplasie had been a British remount camp during the South African (Anglo-Boer) War at the start of the 20th century. Injured and sickly horses had been brought there to recover (some would inevitably die). New horses, mainly from India, were also conditioned for war by training them to leap over trenches, to keep going amid heavy gunfire, and the like.

It was unfortunately not the only war with which Worcester had ties. There is evidence that an Italian Prisoner of War camp was set up at Kleinplasie during World War II. These men were used as labourers to build Du Toitskloof Pass, after which some were placed to surrounding farms where remnants of their presence remain.

The magic of Fairy Glen

Just to end off on a lighter note: The name Fairy Glen crops up several times in and around Worcester, and it has to do with a rare flower. One of Worcester’s best-kept secrets according to Kritzinger is a wall of red disa underneath an overhanging waterfall, somewhere in the mountains above Brandwacht. It is apparently this magical sight that inspired the inclusion of the mythical fairy in local place names.

* Worcester will celebrate its 200 years of existence next week from 24 February to 1 March. Click here for the full programme.

** Additional sources:
johansborman.co.za, quoting Bruce Campbell-Smith
city-press.news24.com
uwc.ac.za
dianaferrus.blogspot.com
wikipedia.org
berkleycentre.georgetown.edu
nwu.ac.za
concourt.org.za
thepresidency.gov.za

Join Worcester as it celebrates two centuries

2020-02-19T00:00:00+02:00

Monday to Friday
• Time Travel with Bridging Ages at 10:00 at the Worcester Museum. It will entail historical role play depicting important events in the history of the town. Themes will be the 1913 Natives Land Act (Monday), the Founding of HTS Drostdy (Tuesday), the Opening of the Rail Connection with Worcester (Wednesday), the Day before the final abolishment of slavery (Thursday) and Founding of the town of Worcester (Friday).
• Spekboom giveaway from 08:00 to 10:00 at Total Express Market, 17 High Street; BP, 107 High Street; and Shell 138 High Street.
• Spekboom giveaway from 10:00 to 14:00 at Church Square.

Monday to Saturday
• Exhibition of old Worcester postcards and post from 09:30 to 16:00 (Monday to Friday) and from 09:00 to 12:30 (Saturday) at the Waterloo Library.
• After-dark laser light on Brandwacht Mountains.

Monday, 24 February
• Open day sessions at Worcester’s care institutions. 09:00 at Association for Persons with Disabilities (APD) and National Institute for the Deaf (NID, first session); 13:00 at NID (second session) and 14:00 at Innovation for the Blind.
• Mayoral Honourary Citizenship Gala at 18:00 in Worcester’s Town Hall. For more information, phone

Tuesday, 25 February
• Schools parade from Queen’s Square to Church Square, and aerial photo, from 09:00 to 11:00.
• Worcester Children’s Dream Tree with more than 1000 Grade 9 learners expressing their future hopes for Worcester. 09:00 to 10:00 at the Garden of Remembrance, Church Square.
• Eat Art Around the World food festival and beer garden at 17:30 at Hugo Naudé Art Centre.
• Dialogue and Koinonia evening with Worcester Hope and Reconciliation Process. 18:30 in the Worcester Town Hall.

Wednesday, 26 February
• Full day programme (09:00 to 16:00) at Worcester Museum, with open-air museum activities, grape treading, donkey cart and tractor rides, the opening of the new play park at 12:00 and a performance by the Worcester Community Orchestra at 15:00.
• Sips for Sight wine event and six-course dinner as fundraiser for Innovation for the Blind. 18:00 at Blindiana Barista. For more information, phone 083 234 9669.

Thursday, 27 February
• Worcester Bicentennial Golf Day at Worcester Golf Club. For more information, phone 063 658 9400.
• Karoo Gardens guided tour at 09:00.
• NID Red vs Blue 5km run at 18:00 at NID campus. For more information, phone 023 342 5555.
• Crisp White Summer Celebration of the new harvest. 18:30 at Leipzig Winery and Country Manor. For more information, phone 082 955 8906.

Friday, 28 February
• Worcester Golden Games for seniors from 08:00 at Boland Park Stadium.
• CW200 Blitz Chess Challenge from 13:30 at the Waterloo Library. For more information, phone 083 442 3230.

Saturday, 29 February
• Air show by Silver Falcons at 11:00, viewable from CBD.
• Unveiling of the official Festival Monument at 12:00 at the Garden of Remembrance, Church Square.
• Worcester free Bicentennial Music Festival from 14:00 at Church Square.

Sunday, 1 March
• AFRIMAT Lions Tour de Worcester from 06:00 at Kleinplasie. For more information, phone 082 413 8935.
• Free gospel show from 13:00 on Church Square.
• Thanksgiving and Praise & Worship event at 18:00 on Church Square.

For more detail, visit the Worcester 200 Facebook page.

Your entire Valentine’s weekend sorted

2020-02-05T00:00:00+02:00

Google no more – your perfect Valentine’s weekend is already plotted, and it comes with Spouse on the House luxury accommodation. The Habit Guest House is letting you treat your partner to a two-night stay while paying only for yourself. To help you make the most of your weekend, we put together this nifty itinerary: Friday and Sunday lunch and everything in between, just a short scenic drive away, in the Breede River Valley.

*Please note that this is a suggested itinerary of favourite attractions and not a travel package. Bookings and arrangements need to be made with each destination individually.

Friday

Lunch at Blindiana Barista. It’s fresh and funky, the food is beautiful and it’s all for a good cause: It was founded to help sustain Innovation for the Blind, one of Worcester’s famous charities for the disabled.

On the special menu is roasted baby beetroot, feta and roquette salad with raspberry vinaigrette and parmesan shavings. Then follows a seafood main of prawns, hake, calamari and scallop, and a fresh strawberry tartlet with blueberry compote and ice cream as dessert. Make your reservation at blindiana@feedem.co.za or phone 023 342 1130.

An afternoon by The Habit’s pool. Check in at The Habit. Your luxury accommodation in one of Worcester’s graceful architectural heritage buildings will include top-notch service throughout the weekend. Enjoy a lazy poolside afternoon in our stunning garden while sharing a complimentary bottle of bubbly with your loved one. Do your online booking here, send email to info@thehabit.co.za or phone us on 023 342 3538.

Dinner at De Wet Cellar. Their special events are always something to remember, and this time it’s a four-course Valentine’s dinner. An appetizer of smoked salmon or caprese croute will be followed by a starter of mushroom gnocchi and a mouthwatering main of red wine braised leg of lamb. And the (very romantic!) grand finale, coffee and chocolate fondue to share.

As De Wet has partnered with a local tour operator, enquire about safe transport back to The Habit while you do your dinner reservation. For bookings, send email to anzel@dewetcellar.co.za or phone 023 341 2710.

Saturday

Breakfast included at The Habit. Get out of bed worry-free, because we have your first meal of the day covered.

Riverside picnic and rafting. A bit of fresh air and sunlight are a must in our valley. Pack a picnic basket and enjoy a day on the banks of the Breede River. The friendly operators at Rivierplaas, with its stretched-out lawns and tranquility, will supply all the equipment you’ll need for a laid-back rafting trip on the water. Canoes, lifejackets and dry buckets are covered but remember to bring your own sunscreen. To book, send email to info@rivierplaas.co.za or phone 084 710 0139.

Dinner at The Hussar Grill. The Hussar Grill is a legendary brand most famous for its carefully selected and matured beef, its venison and its wine selection. The menu boasts steak classics such as Fillet Béarnaise, Chateaubriand and Fillet Moutarde but also a selection of dishes for the companion who doesn’t love red meat.

A window seat in Worcester’s Hussar grill room will afford you a quality dining experience with a beautiful view of the historic Church Square and “Moederkerk” and the far-off mountainy sunset. Reserve a table at 023 004 1341 or send email to worcester@hussargrill.com.

Sunday

Breakfast at our table. We do lazy Sundays at The Habit, allowing for late breakfast and late checkout. Feel free to pack up at a leisurely pace and linger around the breakfast table.

Lunch at Ou Meul. Find the time for one last stop at Ou Meul Bakery. Co-located with Du Toitskloof Winery in the Breedekloof, it is just off the N1 as you enter Du Toitskloof on your way back to the city. It focuses on fresh bakes but has full breakfast and lunch offerings. If you love coffee, the bonus is its collab with Bootlegger Coffee Company, and the outdoor seating is simply great. For more information, send email to dutoitskloof@oumeul.co.za or phone 023 004 0226.

Getting around

Introducing Woeber. Please don’t drink and drive; Woeber (like Uber but with a W) can get you to and from your destination safely. Phone 071 194 8756.

Family Fun day out - Worcester, Western Cape

2020-01-28T00:00:00+02:00

Pure Boland is back from its break

The first Pure Boland Market of 2020 will be happening this weekend (Saturday, February 1.)

As the Breede Valley’s oldest community market, it still attracts hundreds of visitors each month thanks to its quality, variety and vibrancy.

Quality is guaranteed as each product is presented by a small business owner with a passion for their craft. Exhibitors were furthermore carefully selected to create a one-stop shop-local experience. Add plenty of seating and lively music to the mix, and the shopping trip doubles up as a wonderfully laidback social event.

To enjoy at the market:
• A selection of breakfast or brunch options like traditional roosterkoek and croissants.
• Varying lunches, from burgers to curries depending on the season.
• Ready-to-eat gourmet salads.
• A dazzling array of decadent sweet treats.
• Craft beer, local wine, cocktails and soft drinks depending on the season.
• Freshly roasted coffee served by a trained barista.

To take home:
• Seasonal fresh produce straight from surrounding farms.
• Fresh-cut flowers grown by local producers.
• Authentic Italian home-made pasta.
• A variety of home-made preserves.
• Artisanal breads from stone-ground flour and baked in a fire oven.
• A variety of meat cuts, biltong and droëwors.
• Locally produced dried fruits.
• A wide variety of hand-made and other unique gifts.

Find the Pure Boland Market at the iconic Groenstoor in Brandwacht outside Worcester. It was founded in 2009 and is held on the first Saturday of every month (except January) from 09:00 to 14:00.

For more info contact Tharina Marais via email at tharina@realevents.co.za or via phone 0823018561.

Boland Market's FACEBOOK PAGE

The Ultimate Breede Valley bucket list

2020-01-24T00:00:00+02:00

Thirty experiences you must have before 2020 is done.

You don’t really know the Breede Valley unless you’ve done these: All the experiences we would like to cram into a year, and which really should be on your bucket list too.

Please check every establishment’s website before you hit the road, as many of them are open on appointment only.

Go camping at Dwarsberg Trout Hideaway
Hidden away in the Stettynskloof valley, Dwarsberg feels deep in the mountains yet is situated conveniently close. The green campsites are secluded and neatly kept for comfort but give you all the natural splendour of the mountainous Cape.

Take a hike, swim in a river
At the end of the Limietberg Nature Reserve’s Krom River Hiking Trail is a magnificent waterfall and rockpool for swimming. The hike (starting on the Worcester side of the Du Toitskloof tunnel) is fairly easy, there and back takes about five hours and the per-person cost is only R50 for the required CapeNature permit.

Taste the work of a wine-making superstar
Christiaan Groenewald has been named Diner’s Club Winemaker of the Year – twice! If you want to taste the very best of the Breede River Valley, make an appointment to go to the Eagle’s Cliff tasting room and bistro.

Visit the beautiful Six Dogs distillery
Gin-making is both a science and an art, and a Six Dogs experience lets you marvel at both. And there’s the prospect of tasting their legendary Karoo, Blue and Pinotage Stained gins …

Drive up to Klipbokkop and Mountain Brewing Company
Loadshed Lager, Cape Kraken, Madala’s Gold – true icons on the local craft beer scene. A drive up to the brewery is not only for the award-winning beers but also for the view from the famous 4x4 hotspot.

Decorate a cake with PJ Lombard
A tutorial by the Breede Valley’s own cake master is an absolute treat as party entertainment. Decorate your cake, eat it and go impress the world with your newly acquired skills.

Make your own pasta at Picardi Place
Get whisked away to the winelands countryside for a Wanna-be-Italiano cooking course. Make fettuccini from scratch, cook from the garden and sit down for a hearty long-table meal – just like the Italians do.

Feel hot spring water – as nature made it
Is there a local who doesn’t know the words “Goudini Spa”? But isn’t it time you also feel the water? Incredible to think that it flows from the earth at between 27 and 39 °C.

Have a slow autumn drive through the Hex River Valley
Those vibrant summer greens turning yellow, orange and red must have been photographed a million times. But a photograph can’t let you appreciate the majesty of the Hex River mountain range (and Matroosberg peak!) as backdrop, and the friendly-feeling climate, all at once.

See the Slanghoek Valley after a few days’ rain
There is no place in the Breede Valley with higher annual rainfall and a rainy-day drive there is winter at its best. Waterfalls in the distance, a typical winelands landscape in the foreground, cloud cover, a steady drizzle … need we say more?

Eat pizza at Fowler’s Grill
There’s more to the menu, of course, but the pizza is what comes up in local conversation. It’s also Worcester’s only restaurant for a laidback summery street-side dinner, which explains why it’s so often fully booked.

Drink coffee at Café Hugo
“Freshly roasted” doesn’t get fresher than this: Worcester’s only roaster does a fresh batch (almost) every day. The coffee is complemented by a lovely al fresco experience under the oak, the everyday bustle of people walking by and a warm welcome by owners who pour their hearts into their business.

Have a street café sandwich at Daly Bread
The bread is divine, the sandwiches are divine, the ambience is, well, you get the picture. The quality and flavour of the artisanal breads are perhaps only eclipsed by the French-inspired street café feel.

Take your kids to the Karoo National Botanical Garden
You haven’t really experienced the gardens unless through the eyes of an inquisitive little mind. Their wonderment at countless little things along the pathways is guaranteed to surprise you! Your little ones will also adore a proper picnic on the lawn.

Go off-road on a mountain bike
If you’re not an avid rider already, get yourself and your bike to Nuy on the Hill. A 30 km circular route, suitable for the family, can be ridden in both directions and at the end of the ride both you and your bike can get cleaned up (yay, there are showers!).

Taste the wines of the Breedekloof Makers
Winemakers in Breedekloof reserve some special attention for Chenin Blanc each year. Wines from this cultivar are easy-drinking crowd pleasers and in the hands of the Breedekloof Makers they just get better. Make it your mission to taste at least five of the exceptional Chenins produced last year.

Do a wine pairing at Overhex Winery
You’re saying wine goes well with what? Okay, we know that in wine country wine goes with everything, but you might as well refine those pairing skills to get even more from each bottle. The pairings at Overhex include gourmet popcorn, chocolate and sweets and might just offer that one you haven’t done before.

Spend a morning at Pure Boland Market
It’s the Breede Valley’s best known, biggest and oldest community market; a hearty get-together of traders and patrons. The monthly shopping trip doubles up as a morning social – a recipe that has kept the market going for 11 years straight.

Do a (really fun) fun run
You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to fun runs but if you need to be selective, keep an eye on the National Institute for the Deaf’s annual calendar. These creative minds put an interesting spin on running, particularly with their Dusk & Dawn Trail Run through the Karoo botanical gardens and the Red vs Blue men vs women face-off.

Walk the Worcester Heritage Route
If you think there’s nothing interesting about a slow walk in town, you’re mistaken. The remnants of different historic eras are beautifully preserved in some pockets of Worcester. Grab a heritage map from the local tourism office and spend a Saturday morning brushing up on your general knowledge.

See Hugo Naudé’s art with your own eyes
A picture or a print is just not the same as an original painting. And right on their doorstep, locals are privy to a permanent exhibition of work by a pioneer in South African art. Hugo Naudé House – designed by him too – in Russell Street also has works by Jean Welz on display.
Have lunch with a spectacular view from above
Tourists flock to Nuy on the Hill and then happily fork out the Google review stars. The food is as tasty as the view is spectacular. Word on the street is to try the burgers and wood-fired pizzas while tapas that compare to these will be hard to find elsewhere in the valley.

Or do lunch with a view from below
Equally regarded by travellers who eat there, is Opstal’s restaurant in the Slanghoek valley. Although the landscape is something to behold, it’s the elegant dishes by in-house chef PJ Lombard that inspire the rave reviews. To be fair: The superb wines and service also have something to do with it.

Try river rafting at least once
Some form of water sport is almost mandatory if a river runs through your valley. The team at Bonamanzi Adventures – out towards Scherpenheuwel on the Villiersdorp road – is fully geared to get you onto the water.

Let your hair down at a Q Square evening event
It’s a collab between restaurants and stalls – a mini festival of sorts - that repeats a few times
a year. Keep an eye on social media for your chance to enjoy friendly chatter under the oak, hearty food and live music!

Have beer and lunch at Saggy Stone
“Mountain pub” sound interesting? Saggy Stone is hugely popular for its beers, generous portions and happy crowd. It’s more or less in the vicinity of Kliplapa and at its busiest on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Book a spa treatment with Hennelie du Toit
Kick the enjoyment of a spa treatment up a gear by booking it on a quiet and scenic Brandwacht farm.

Make a stop at Bosjes
Of course the chapel will be on any must-see list for the Breede Valley. Take a stroll through the landscaped gardens, take lots of pictures and sit down for a drink in the tea garden. Oh, and take along your kids because in terms of play space it’s among the best!

Find out what the Ou Stokery hype is about
Now here’s a business that went all out to create a hip and happening vibe. Craft gin, craft beer and cocktails, live music evenings and rock star food. And another thumbs-up for welcoming young parents with small children.

Read a book at Die Eike Restaurant
Timing is everything but if you get it right, it’s bliss. There’s a magical time in the morning when the cooing of Cape turtle doves is the only sound in the oak tree canopy. Read a book or just sit there with coffee – this is easy access to a rare moment of peace.

* To reserve accommodation in the Breede Valley, click here.