Sandrif, Cederberg Private Cellar’s holiday resort, is about three hours’ drive from Cape Town. Our chosen route, through Ceres and Prince Albert Hamlet, took a lot longer than that because we decided to make a day out of it and stop along the way. The combination of recent snowfalls, followed by rain and then sunny days led to flooded bridges, rushing rivers and mud…lots of mud.
Once we arrived, we lit the fireplace and finally took some time to switch off and unwind. The lack of cell phone reception in the area was very conducive to facilitating this process. What it’s not conducive to however, is informing members of your party arriving later, key information such as “the bridge is flooded” and “our unit is called Groothuis and it’s on the other side of the camp site…keep driving guys.” For this, there is a green public card phone; which, if you have a phone card, or time machine, is very handy. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have either. We have, however, noted this point for future trips.
There is a lot to do in the area around Sandrif, including hiking, swimming, wine tasting and visiting a local observatory. Alternatively, you can also do nothing in a beautiful setting. Although we went for walks, enjoyed a wine tasting, bought some wine and viewed the stars; we also did a lot of eating and a lot of nothing, lazing around and relaxing.
The Cederberg Wilderness area is also known for amazing rock formations. I remember looking for shapes in the clouds when I was young, so, I found myself finding interesting shapes in the rock formations along the way. I saw a combination of smurfs and Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. However, I was quickly informed that I was very much alone there. I blame their lack of imagination.
On the chilly Saturday evening we took a five-minute drive to the Cederberg Observatory. We weren’t too sure what to expect when we arrived but wrapped up in our warmest woollies, we were treated to a short slide show, followed by some viewing through a couple of telescopes. Personally, my highlight was Saturn through the telescope. The volunteer staff members were very knowledgeable and approachable, even kindly answering a question from a gentleman who wanted to know if there is only had one sun in our galaxy. (Even the wordpress spell check just asked:”Did you mean son?”) Hey, let’s not judge, I guess some of us enjoyed geography more than others. My theory is that there was a bit of a language barrier, lost in translation? Or you know how sometimes it’s so cold that your brain actually freezes… No?
Sandrif Holiday Resort, Cederberg
Sanddrif Holiday Resort offers a wide choice of accommodation, from more than 30 well-run camping facilities (with ablution facilities and electricity) with a safe playground for children, to 16 cosy and fully equipped self-catering chalets or cottages with views of the famous Wolfberg Cracks.
Tel 027-482-2825
[email protected]
http://cederbergwine.com/sanddrif/
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