Country Escapes
SA Country Life|January 2019

It’s not about the destination, but the journey. So make a pitstop at these markets and padstals for a memorable trip

Country Escapes

1 Western Cape

Elgin Railway Market Grabouw

When the Elgin Railway Market opened its doors in April 2017, the place was packed to the stylish, wrought-iron rooftops. Live music was pumping, long queues snaked around the food stalls, the bar was five people deep and Minister of Tourism Derek Hannekom’s opening address was all but drowned out. It coincided with day one of the Elgin Cool Wine & Country Food Festival and, appropriate to the moment, we arrived by Ceres Rail steam train. Coming up for a year down the line, this elegant Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday market has got its act running super smoothly, now with more than 40 stalls with food for all tastes – sushi, Thai, Dutch, including the popular Curry Pot, Fudge Kitchen and Ella’s Elgin Farm Foods; local wines, beers and ciders, plus the cleverly named artisinal L’Gin. Local crafters are well represented with leather work, jewellery, cotton clothing and for kids there’s an Art Box maker space as well as a climbing wall and Cape Segways guided tours. Aside from the contents, the appeal of the market is the steampunk meets art-deco architecture inside the old, converted apple warehouse. And the fact that you can book one of the Ceres Rail Company steam trains from Cape Town to take you there. – Nancy Richards

021 204 1158, info@elginrailwaymarket.co.za, www.elginrailwaymarket.co.za

2 Mpumalanga

BFM Caster bridge White River

Esta historia es de la edición January 2019 de SA Country Life.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición January 2019 de SA Country Life.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE SA COUNTRY LIFEVer todo
The Little Car That Could
SA Country Life

The Little Car That Could

The new Hyundai Atos is proof that budget-friendly vehicles can be fun

time-read
4 minutos  |
June 2020
SA Country Life

Cowboys Never Cry

GEORGE ROBEY rides the range outside Ficksburg with one of Africa’s great cowboys

time-read
5 minutos  |
June 2020
Family Stays
SA Country Life

Family Stays

Make some beautiful memories at one of these countryside getaways

time-read
6 minutos  |
June 2020
SA Country Life

Art from the Heart

Watching blacksmiths at the forge, painters at the easel, cabinet makers at the chisel, and wandering the woods with a famous calligrapher in small, bespoke gatherings is what the Prince Albert Open Studios project is all about

time-read
7 minutos  |
June 2020
Lighthouse Over Yonder
SA Country Life

Lighthouse Over Yonder

A shipwreck road trip from Bredasdorp to Danger Point is a fine way to spend a day drifting over the Agulhas plain

time-read
8 minutos  |
March 2020
Up and Away In The Amatolas
SA Country Life

Up and Away In The Amatolas

A burgeoning settlement of people enjoys the good life among the mountains, mists and forests of Hogsback

time-read
7 minutos  |
March 2020
The Salt Shepherd
SA Country Life

The Salt Shepherd

ALAN VAN GYSEN finds out how a farm boy the Vleesbaai skaaplande became as dedicated to big waves as he is to sheep

time-read
7 minutos  |
March 2020
Time Holds on Longer Here
SA Country Life

Time Holds on Longer Here

Do not blink as you take the R62 that runs through the Eastern Cape Langkloof, warns OBIE OBERHOLZER. You might miss the strip of tar to the tranquil village of Haarlem

time-read
9 minutos  |
March 2020
Place of Refuge
SA Country Life

Place of Refuge

People have been escaping to the remote Winterberg mountains in the Eastern Cape for hundreds of years, writes MARION WHITEHEAD

time-read
5 minutos  |
March 2020
The Place Of Roaring Water
SA Country Life

The Place Of Roaring Water

In Augrabies Falls National Park, cultural projects are creating a thunder akin to the mighty Orange as it plummets into its famous gorge

time-read
7 minutos  |
November 2019