Citrusdal – The gateway to the Cederberg

August 21, 2020September 15, 2022 Hitekani Mbatsana

The pandemic and lockdown brought travelling to a halt. When the gates were finally opened, I was excited but nervous at the same time. I knew a trip, which was badly needed, would have to be to a small town or out in the sticks to allay my anxieties. Citrusdal, the gateway to the Cederberg, was the perfect place for this. Although it’s only about 2 hours from Cape Town. It has hiking, rooibos tea farms, spring water baths, spring flowers and lovely views of the landscape. On top of that, it’s tranquil enough to just rest and relax.

Cedarkloof Botanical Retreat

The Cedarkloof Botanical Retreat is part of a working farm in Citrusdal. It’s a tranquil place in a valley at the foot of the Cederberg. Parts of it still wild with rock formations, fynbos, shrubs and flowers. Their vision centres around restoration, tranquillity and growth; which is perfect because it is what we needed for our weekend getaway.

The self-catering cottages overlook the valley with mountains in the distance. Each cottage has an indoor fireplace and a jacuzzi with spring water for which the area is known.

Our main aim this time around was to de-stress in a beautiful setting. So, we mainly just took it all in. August is right in the middle of the flower season and cottage was surrounded by herbs, shrubs and spring flowers. There were butterflies, pretty birds and a gorgeous view. Perfection.

Activities

There are plenty of walking trails in the area and the retreat has a 5km circular route within the property. We did a late afternoon walk to catch the sunset over Citrusdal. The walk itself wasn’t too strenuous but there are some parts that require a bit of scrambling over rocks. To be honest, I didn’t make it to the top, but in my defence, I came to rest and that’s the mode my brain was set on. We took head lamps for the walk down, trust me, no one wants to scramble in the dark. Although, it wasn’t too dark on the way down.

Sandveld Huisie

Almost every small town I’ve visited has a second hand store that sells “repurposes” items. In these shops, old cups become wind chimes, kettles become pot plants. Sometimes it works but sometimes, it really doesn’t. I’ve come across these shabby-chic stores in Cullinan, Greyton, and the Sandveld Huisie and have loved them.

The Sandveld Huisie has to be, hands down, the shabby-chicest small town shop I’ve visited. Off a side street and next to the local museum, this small shop of wonder also doubles as the local tourism office. Inside, there so many community driven crafts and suggestions for places to visit. You really get the sense of the importance of community. Juandre and Jolanda share their small town with so much passion and infectious energy, you walk away excited to experience it.

Sevilla Rock Art Trail

Technically, this art trail is about 30km after Clanwillam over pakhuis pass. But if you are in the area and have the time then take a drive through the pass. We had a lovely clear day, so we could see the lovely rock formations and views that that always stop to see when travelling through the Cederberg.

The Sevilla rock art trail is a 5km walk along the Brannewyn River. It’s a relatively easy walk following painted footprints. This is a tour you can do on your own with an information map or you can organise a guide. We opted to do a self tour but I think a guided tour will provide very interesting contextual information. You need a permit to enter. It was R40 from the traveller’s rest farm stall and restaurant, next door the trail entry.

There are nine rock painting sites on the route. They are each numbered an easy to find. I found it very fascinating. I enjoyed looking and identifying the various paints. This included: people, elephants, hand prints, and large story scenes. Unfortunately, I misplaced my information pamphlet but below are some of the rock paintings we saw along the way.

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For now, I’m still looking for great places to travel to that will allow for social distancing. If you, have any ideas or recommendations please let me know in the comments.