The Taal Monument is a recognisable feature in Paarl – part of the brief was that it should be visible from a distance. Here you can go on a free guided tour to find out more about the history of Afrikaans and the monument’s symbolism. “Tours are offered on request and take between 15 and 30 minutes,” marketing and communications manager Isabeau Botha says. There’s also a coffee shop, two play parks for children, monthly full-moon picnics during summer, stargazing picnics and concerts.www.taal monument.co.za

exploringexploringPaarl’s

heritagefor A weekend in the winelAnds, PAArl

mAy be ecliPsed by neArby frAnschhoek or stellenbosch but, After A night At cAscAde country mAnor, brAndy-And-

chocolAte tAsting And A good dose of history, we’re rAising A glAss to

the third-oldest town in sA.

Words: Kirsty WilKins (@kirsty_wilkins)

paarl’s mon

um

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Time TravelPaarl itself is much older, with a history dating back to the 1600s. Its past is reflected in some of the town’s buildings, including Strooidakkerk (the oldest NGK building still used as a church) and Het Gesticht (once a place of worship for slaves), both built in the early 1800s.

Paarl is also important in the history of Afrikaans: “The movement to establish Afrikaans as a written language started here, the first Afrikaans newspaper in the world, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, began in the town in 1876 and the first official Afrikaans school, the Gedenkschool der Hugenoten, was founded on the farm Kleinbosch, just outside Paarl, in 1882,” explains Isabeau Botha from the Taal Monument.

More recently, in 1990, former president Nelson Mandela walked free from what was then Victor Verster Prison, now Drakenstein Correctional Centre. A statue of Madiba, one arm raised in a salute, stands just outside, prison bars bending outwards at the base to represent freedom (see left).

On vaTs and vinOBut much of Paarl’s allure is its wine farms: Nederburg. Fairview (of cheese-tasting fame). Laborie. Spice Route. KWV, which – aside from producing wine and brandy – was founded in 1918 to up the quality of South African wine and create unity among farmers; its name in English stands for the Co-operative Winemakers’ Society of South Africa. Aside from a cellar tour, which includes the 80-year-old Cathedral Cellar with pictures etched on the front of the vats, you can pair wine with chocolate or biltong and nuts, liqueur and Lindt, brandy and chocolate, and fortified wine with mini cakes.

Four KWV brandies later, that deck chair and a three-course dinner at Cascade Country Manor was calling. Relaxing on the stoep outside my room, listening to the sound of water flowing nearby, it felt like I could spend far longer than a night here.

CasCade Country Manor owner Maike GoetzePlease tell me more about your olives… When we arrived here a decade ago, we found a well-established 90-year-old olive orchard (the trees can live more than 1 000 years). We only needed to prune them and, with a good crop the following year, we were able to produce our own extra-virgin olive oil. The two different cultivars, Frantoio and Leccino, make a perfect blend. We offer tastings on the terrace using South African and imported oil to help people recognise good-quality options.

So you also have weddings on the property? Cascade Manor hosts weddings for up to 100 guests. Most couples hold their ceremony at the waterfall, with the reception in the conservatory courtyard, which is covered with a Bedouin tent and lit with fairy lights.

What do you recommend in the area?• Discover the smaller family vineyards such as Mellasat, Mooi Bly

and Avondale. • My favourite spot is Paarl Mountain – there are well-kept walks and you

can abseil down Paarl Rock, with one of the best views of Table Mountain.• Go coffee-shop hopping along the main road, including Melissa’s, Kikka

and Tea under the Trees.• A la Carte restaurant at Drakenstein Correctional Centre – where

Nelson Mandela was released – is a cultural treat.• Butterfly World and Lion Park are a hit for families with children.

www.cascademanor.co.za

5

minutes with

…

O live trees line the bottom of the lawn, the Klein Drakenstein Mountains beyond them. Although the sky this morning had been grey, overcast – the rain in Cape Town threatening to pelt Paarl too – it’s cleared, the orange glow of the setting sun reflecting against the glass protecting Cascade Country Manor’s outdoor dining area. Wooden hearts decorate the top of the stairs leading to the terrace, whittled by a local woodcarver from two fallen Eucalyptus trees (casualties of a storm). Beyond the palm tree to my right, a dust path leads to a waterfall, giving the boutique hotel its name. It’s peaceful here. Relaxing.

The century-old manor, isolated at the end of a (partly gravel) back road slightly outside the town, was owned by the Duke of Bedford in the 1940s, who changed it into a neoclassical style – the terrace’s pillars, for example, give the building character – to mirror his home in England. When owners Maike and Volker Goetze arrived more than 10 years ago, they used the same architecture to extend the building, modernising the interior (the Duke of Bedford may have also have appreciated the heated indoor swimming pool and a full-body massage).

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