The Cederberg region is exhibiting at the inaugural Destinations Expo to be held at the Convention Centre in Cape Town from Thursday 22nd  October to Sunday 25th October. We have a stunning stand with our classic mountain backdrop and we look forward to telling visitors all about what they can do and see in the Cederberg. Please come and visit us!

We are delighted to announce that Clanwilliam has won the Dorp van die Jaar competition sponsored by Kaap Rapport and Van Loveren wines. The judges said that they were particularly impressed with:

• Our community projects such as the Clanwilliam Living Landscape Project, Cederberg Heritage Trail and the Donkey Cart Excursions which both offering visitors an exciting experience and create jobs for local people
• Clanwilliam offers a friendly warm hospitality with a down to earth authentic experience
• Clanwilliam is adept at offering families and couples an affordable holiday in self-catering or B&Bs which is especially important in today’s economic climate

We invite everyone to come and help us celebrate with a Street Party on Saturday 14th Nov with live music, stalls and prizes to give away.

Clanwilliam in the northern Cederberg is one of the top three finalists in Kaap Rapport’s Dorp Van Die Jaar. We entertained the judges last week with an active visit including horse-riding to some rock art sites, donkey cart excursions in the mountains, a visit to one of our Rooibos tea farms, a demonstration of bouldering at De Pakhuys, enjoying a boat cruise on the Clanwilliam Dam ending in a braai by the side of the Dam and of course  sampling our wonderful restaurants.

Please help us to become Dorp Van die Jaar by voting by SMS. Kindly send your sms to 35714 as follows “KR Clanwilliam + Your Name”. The winner will be announced on the 11th October 2009. The winning town will have a festival of celebration with famous artists performing and Van Louveren wines sponsoring the event.

Cederberg Tourism attended the recent Getaway Show in Johannesburg and gave a Four Night Cederberg Getaway Prize. The prize winner was Trudie van Rensburg. Trudie and her husband have won a Four Night Getaway including 2 nights at Bushmanskloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat in the northern Cederberg, 2 nights at Ndedema Lodge in Clanwilliam, car rental from Cape Town and escorted tours. The Getaway Show was a great success with lots of people at our stand seeing our presentation of the area and sampling products such as our Rooibos tea and related Rooibos products.

Sunday 13th September saw the annual lantern festival take place in the streets of Clanwilliam. The University of Cape Town, together with Jazzart Dance Company presented the culmination of a week long arts programme involving the community of Clanwilliam. The procession was a spectacular performance of fire, dance, storytelling and screen puppets at the Cederberg Primer Skool. The project aims to return the lost heritage of the San stories to the local community.

Rooibos is currently one of South Africa’s biggest export products and approximately 7,000 tons of Rooibos is exported annually, about 60% of the total Rooibos sales.

The 26th August saw the end of the nine day Trail Guiding course for the guides of the Cederberg Heritage Route in the northern Cederberg. In all ten guides successfully completed the intensive course and received their accreditation which is a huge success. Once they have received their first aid course they will be the first official Trail Guides in the northern Cederberg. The Cederberg Heritage Route comprises 3, 4 or 5 night walking trails through pristine mountain fynbos in the Cederberg. Walkers are guided by members of the local community (who have now become accredited trail guides) and stay overnight at the picturesque mission villages of Heuningvlei, Brugkraal and Wupperthals as well as Clanwilliam. See the Cederberg Heritage Route website for more info…

The Clanwilliam Wild Flower Show opens this evening in the ‘Flower Church’. Best flowers are to be seen in Ramskop Nature Reserve, and also on the R364 from the Englishman’s Grave turnoff all the way to Wupperthal and also in the Bieudouw valley. The Old Cape Road along the Clanwilliam Dam over the Nieuwoudt Pass to Algeria is also looking good. The N7 between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam as well as the Markuskraal/Paleisheuwel road off the N7. The R364 over the Botterkloof pass towards Nieuwoudtville also has some beautiful flowers, as does Nieuwoudtville itself.

A new cookery book, A touch of Rooibos, has just been launched which focuses on using Rooibos in recipes. What makes this book unique is that 14 of South Africa’s top chefs, all of whom have a passion for local cuisine and local ingredients, have made contributions. The beauty of this compilation is the wide variety of recipes and styles making this collection perfect for both food connoisseurs as well as aspiring cooks.

A  touch of Rooibos offers a tantalising menu of 104 recipes. The book is available locally both in English and Afrikaans from selected book stores and from kalahari.net. For more information visit www.rooibosltd.co.za or call Rooibos on 027 482 2155.

There will be a guided rock art tour of Sevilla Trail and Salmaanslaagte on Thursday 20th August. The tour will start and finish at Yellow Aloe coffee shop & guesthouse on the corner of Main Road and Park Street, Clanwilliam. The tour will include a light lunch and costs R120 per person.

The tour will be given by Ian Forbes, a member of the Archeological Society in Cape Town and a fundi on the rock art of the Cederberg. It promises to be a great event.

You should come with plenty of water, snack, comfortable walking shoes as the terrain is uneven, hat and sunscreen. Please book with Cheryl at Yellow Aloe on 027 482 2018