Destination Clanwilliam — for dazzling wildflowers, rooibos and more

Rooibos tea is a key industry in Clanwilliam – it’s where it all began. Abigail Holland proudly holds abook that tells the history of rooibos. (Photo:

By Liz Clarke

6 Nov 2023

Far off the beaten track, its annual wildflower display alone is worth a visit, with rooibos and national monuments adding to the town’s allure. But arrive well before load shedding sets in if you plan to eat out.

Wildflowers, rooibos tea, the veldskoen and the ghosts of freemasons make an odd mixture, but then the Western Cape town of Clanwilliam on the road to Namibia is anything but ordinary. Apart from being one of the 10 oldest hamlets in South Africa, dating back to the 1600s, it is also so far off the beaten track that things such as charming little coffee shops and eateries are few and far between. People survive here in a pretty tough climate.

In fact, Clanwilliam probably wouldn’t be on anyone’s bucket list if it were not that nature has chosen this tiny town as the showcase for some of the most dazzling and rare wildflowers on the planet, and a stepping stone for a wilderness hike like no other.

It’s a two to three-hour drive from Cape Town, heading northwest. Those who don’t like steep passes should opt for the route through Tulbagh and Porterville, where the dramatic contrast of yellow canola, clear blue winter sky, wisps of snow on the Tulbagh mountains and roadside wildflowers performing their north-facing dance are perfect scene-setters for what is to come.

You’ve got it: a turn-of-the-century Masonic lodge in the middle of bloody nowhere. On a stage are the remnants of those secret meetings, velvet ball-and-claw Victorian settees, Freemason memorabilia. Ghosts everywhere!

The flowers bloom in winter and the local Dutch Reformed Church puts on a week-long festival at the end of August to celebrate what has become a major annual tourist event. It’s worth booking months in advance to enjoy this spectacular showpiece. This year, the extended rainy season meant that flowers were still doing their thing in October.

If you reach Clanwilliam around sunset, head for your overnight spot because when it’s load shedding you might as well be in a black hole – generators are not the norm. Ours, for R500 a night per person, was in a secure cluster of self-catering cottages in the centre of the village, and had every facility you’d need.

On our first night, a four-hour blackout meant stumbling around in the dark to find a place to eat.

“Go to the petrol station,” one darkened figure suggested, only for us to find it was a seedy nocturnal haunt, where sex and drugs seemed the only things for sale.

It was raining and bitterly cold, so back to the room it was for cheese, biscuits, a glass of wine and an apple.

The next day, it was as though the heavens were saying sorry. Warm, gentle sunshine, banks of flowers at the Ramskop Wildflower Garden overlooking Clanwilliam Dam – and no load shedding. Hallelujah!

Ramskop Wildflower Garden just outside Clanwilliam. (Photo: Liz Clarke)

Wildflower seed ‘take-aways’

It was great to see how diligently the seeds of the plants are collected at the end of the floral season to be scattered and promulgated for the next year. Even better, visitors can buy a packet of assorted wildflower seeds to take home for sowing and planting.

For dinner that night we chose Peter’s Place, mainly because it was around the corner and, even after a glass of wine or two, we could find our way back in blackout darkness.

Peter’s Place is in a vintage home dating back over a century. With its pockets of candlelight, old pictures and old books, stepping in there is like burrowing through the pages of a yellowed-with-age manuscript that echoes the voices of men in black suits wearing aprons and wielding hammers. You’ve got it: a turn-of-the-century Masonic lodge in the middle of bloody nowhere. On a stage are the remnants of those secret meetings, velvet ball-and-claw Victorian settees, Freemason memorabilia. Ghosts everywhere! And really good comfort food.

Memorabilia of a time long past at Peter’s Place. (Photo: Liz Clarke)

Even if you are not mad about rooibos, the nearby rooibos factory is worth a visit. Originally started as a cottage industry, it has grown over the years to supply rooibos tea globally. It has a market share of up to 95% in the local market and nearly 60% internationally.

The rooibos story began in the Cederberg area of the Western Cape, when local inhabitants discovered that the fine, needle-like leaves of the Aspalathus linearis plant made a tasty, aromatic tea.

The rooibos shop is alive with the aroma and history of rooibos. If you thought there was only one kind of rooibos, come here and you’ll find dozens of different brews and flavours. I left with five varieties and haven’t tried them yet. But I will – before my next visit!

Rooibos tea is a key industry in Clanwilliam – it’s where it all began. Abigail Holland proudly holds a book that tells the history of rooibos. (Photo: Liz Clarke)

More about Clanwilliam

The town rests at the foot of the Cederberg mountain range. Historical walks through the town centre take in seven national monuments that include the original farmhouse of Jan Dissels Valleij – the town was initially his namesake before it became Clanwilliam in 1814 – the old jail building, now a museum, and an 1820 Settlers house.

The Clanwilliam cedar, after which the Cederberg mountain range is named, is very much part of the village’s history. This magnificent tree with its durable wood and particular fragrance is now on the brink of extinction, owing largely to global warming and the increase in the frequency of fires in the area – few saplings ever reach seed-bearing maturity.

There’s an initiative to restore the cedar in the Cederberg Wilderness Area, which was recently proclaimed a World Heritage Site. It lies within the Cape Floristic Region and borders the Pakhuis Pass to the north at Clanwilliam. The reserve includes more than 71,000ha of mountainous terrain that is popular with hikers, mountaineers and those seeking a true “wilderness” experience. DM168

Liz Clarke is a freelance journalist.

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Wildflower seed ‘take-aways’

More about Clanwilliam