Taylored Trips – The French Corner, before and beyond

Franschhoek or French Corner, directly translated, is a stone’s throw from Wellington, where we live. Getting there is part of the fun and if you go beyond, even better.

This is traditionally a wine area borne out of the first French Huguenots who settled here, bringing with them their knowledge of the vine. It evolved into being renowned for its superb array of restaurants, and then the prestigious and famed wine farms that adorn this valley started up restaurants of their own and so Franschhoek has become one of the top tourist attractions for foreign and local visitors.

It is a beautiful valley to say the least and is surrounded by majestic mountains on three sides with a scenic mountain pass going up behind the town with panoramic views looking down on the valley.

Approaching the town with the mountain pass in the background just under the name

But now the trend is evolving once again! Craft beer and artisanal breads and doughs are the new products on everyone’s lips, and I mean that quite literally. Not that they are going to take the place of what made Franschhoek famous, oh no, they are here to enhance the already massive tourist magnet that makes this valley buzz with excitement. Food, wine, beer, traditional bread all mixed together with a splash of picturesque farms with their corduroy lines of vines and towering Cape mountains. You couldn’t ask for more.

If you approach the area from Paarl, you drive through the quaint little settlement of Simondium and the first of the craft beer breweries beckons as well as a coffee shop.

A Canadian cum New Orleans deep south resident came here and started this brewery. Not really my style of beer but he’s a very cool dude and luckily we all have our different tastes and his will suit other people. The place is very pleasant and was just starting out when we were there last and like most of the small craft breweries, it’s a hand-on business. The Snobs Coffee shop next door looked interesting too.

Soul Barrel Brewing Co. - SimondiumSnobs Coffee – Simondium

Just after the Klapmuts turn-off and the beautifully appointed Vrede & Lust Wine Estate, where Paarlberg BMW launched the 1 Series BMW, you get Gerber & Co on the left. This used to be Kooperasie Stories but they have moved just a bit further down the road and we’ll get to them next.

Stop off at the conveniently located and brand-new Gerber & Co Farmstall for some classic old cars, super stylish clothing made from Namibian Marino wool, coffee and cake. You will love it.

Gerber & Co

As I said, Kooperasie Stories is next, also on the left, just after the bluegum trees and the fresh fruit and veg smous. They have been building, renovating and decorating this beautiful building for some time now and have recently moved in. These places are always a treat to stop off at because there is something for everyone even if you’re not into vintage goods. A light/lamp collection of note, old cars, antique furniture, wagons and rolls upon rolls of linen in almost any design and colour you can think of. This opening of their new premises is

timed perfectly as the old TV classic with the same name is back on SABC2 on a Tuesday night.

Kooperasie Stories

Opposite Kooperasie Stories is the elegant and historic Plaisir De Merle Wine Estate. Pull in if you feel like tasting wine in a building built in 1823, or check out the gabled, H-shaped manor house built in 1764. The farm itself dates back to 1693 and it is one of the largest wine estates in the Cape winelands. It also happens to be on the market at the moment, so if you have some small change in your back pocket, why not put in your bid but hurry, it is under offer at the moment.

Plaisir De Merle

About 1km further down the road towards Franschhoek, on the left again, is the Ou Meul Farmstall. This is a bakery, Bootleggers coffee shop, eatery and all the artisanal stuff you could wish for. Fill yourself up with all the lekker goodies. It’s a treat.

Ou Meul Farmstall and bakery

From this area one can see Simonsberg Mountain, although the depiction is best seen from the Language Monument in Paarl but as we are here now, I’ll cover the mountain as well as the Franschhoek Wine Tram you see in the picture.

If you use your imagination just a little bit, you can make out Simon van der Stel lying on his bed with a quilt, or blanket draped over him and his hands clasped on his chest.

The tram is a jump-on, jump-off service which takes you to selected wine farms along or close to the old railway line. The farms collect you from the line and you can do wine tasting

and/or eat at their restaurants. There is a schedule/timetable, so you know when to get back to the line to get to the next farm. It’s one of the “Must Do” things here.

Simonsberg Mountain and Franschhoek Wine Tram

A bit further along this road, which is the R45, as you drive through very pretty landscapes and countryside, past paddocks and vineyards with mountains all around you, you will see a sign to the Berg River Dam on the right. It is a short drive to the dam wall where there are lovely views of the dam and this fella chilling in the sun.

March 2017 during a severe droughtAugust 2020, 100% full

Back on the R45 again and heading towards town, you pass some very grand farms and then you see a new building. The Franschhoek Beer Co, and I suggest you pull in here and enjoy some of their golden nectar.

Franschhoek Beer Co

When you’re done here, just a bit further towards town, you will see yet another new building also on the right and I strongly suggest that you pull in here too. Hey Joe Brewing Company. Look at this place! Isn’t this just the place you want to chug a cold beer and have some pulled pork or seared paprika sausages made in this Ol’ Smokey Joe? Unfortunately,

they were closed due to Covid-19 but I’m gonna get myself there soon when they’re open again. They were selling beer at the off-sales though.

Hey Joe Brewing Company

Right in town there’s another brewery but we haven’t had the opportunity to visit there yet but watch this space.

There is an amazing church with a very impressive organ and some super cool wood trusses in Franschhoek, right in the middle of town. The church was built in 1847 and the current organ was replaced in 1923. The thatched roof, oak benches, teak pulpit, wood panelling

and roof trusses together with the traditional pipe organ makes this church very special and definitely worth a visit. Visitors are more than welcome.

Dutch Reformed Church – Franschhoek

We pulled in to Taki’s Place, one of the many restaurants on the main road and enjoyed a delicious prawn and rib basket. I chatted to Taki as he remembered his days in Wellington many years ago, when he asked me where we were from. He, and the rest of the town,

can’t wait for the return of the international tourists. There’s a cool party area out back as well.

Taki's Place – Franschhoek – Inside Outback

If you carry on through town and head up the mountain pass behind the town, stop at any of the stopping places along the way for those amazing views I spoke of earlier. Obviously the higher you go, the better the view but there are all kinds of different views from lower down as well.

View of the town and valley from the pass

The rest of the pass that follows on the other side of the mountain is quite spectacular and it needs to be driven nice and slow to enjoy the view and for your own safety. Likewise, there are many stopping places along the way where you can stop and enjoy the nature.

Franschhoek Pass

One particularly nice place to stop is at one of the hair-pin bends, there is a sign that reads Jan Joubert’s Gat Bridge. Walk to the outside of the corner and clamber down to the river to see the oldest stone bridge still in use in South Africa, built in 1823.

Jan Joubert's Gat Bridge

After the pass comes the Western Cape’s biggest dam, Theewaterskloof. What a pleasure to see this dam also full to capacity.

June 2017 during the droughtOctober 2020 after a good rainy winter

Note: It is the same gate in the two pictures

The day we were there in October coincided with Verine’s birthday so we celebrated her birthday with a lekker chocolate cake and some Jacobs coffee that we bought in Villiersdorp and enjoyed next to the dam.

Happy Birthday to you!

To be honest, there is so much more to see and to tell you about but it would fill a book so I suggest you get down there and find out for yourself.

Till next time, “Keep on Tripping!”

Cheers