Paarl is a farming town about 50 kilometres from Cape Town along
the N1 highway.
(the name is derived from the word Pearl and is pronounced pearil )
It is situated at the base of a small mountain range which runs
for miles in a northerly direction.
This range looks like a fold in the ground
that was pushed up when the land moved.
On top of it are a number of extremely large granite rocks .
There is one exceptionally large one which is known as Paarl rock.
One has to drive about 10 kilometres along a very bad gravel
road up the side of the mountain face to reach the rock
which is in the middle of a nature reserve.
From the parking area just below the rock one has to walk up a
steep pathway to reach it. The rock towers about 70 metres above you,
The one side of the rock slopes upwards and one can climb up to
the top. Chains have been installed to assist the older folk
(like me) to get to the top.
When I was younger it was no sweat to get to the top but
today I am just not fit enough (maybe just lazy too) .
The view from the top is spectacular and you have an all round
view towards Cape Town where one can see Table Mountain in the
distance and then down into Paarl and across to the Stellenbosch mountains,
Proteas are in flower now and the slopes of the hills were
covered with them. The sugar bush varieties were full of red flowers.
One of the smaller bush varieties is exceptionally pretty, The whole
bush turns a yellowish lime green as as they tend to
grow in clumps , they brighten up the otherwise darker
green foliage found on the hillside.
The Paarl Valley with the Berg River flowing through it
Looking down into the Paarl valley between Paarl rock and
the Hottentots Holland Mountains one has a spectacular view.
The mountains on the far side of the valley were a greyish
blue in the sunlight with the higher parts being devoid of foliage.
(Very rocky with many cliff faces. When it rains
and gets really cold they are covered with snow)
Lower down the slopes turned to dark
green where the foliage was growing.
The N1 highway bypasses Paarl and makes its way east to Worcester
which is on the other side of the Hottentots Holland mountains.
From where I was standing I could see the road winding its way up
to the Huguenot tunnel which enters the mountain about
halfway up the side of the mountain.
Below me the lower slopes of Paarl rock are covered in vineyards
which are mostly bare at the moment with all
their leaves having fallen off for winter.
When you turn off the N1 you drive into the main road which
is lined with hundreds of oak trees. The oak trees are all
very old and have formed a canopy over the road so that it
feels as if you are driving through a tunnel.
On either side of the road there are many Old Cape Dutch houses
all with zinc roofs. Cape Dutch normally have thatch roofs
but not in Paarl. It might be a bit wet for them there.
About four hundred metres to the east of the main road
is the Berg river. It meanders through Paarl and
eventually enters the sea at Velddrift on the west coast.
Looking down from the rock it looked like
a large snake making its way through the town.
Paarl is a well known for its wines and it is the home of KWV.
A wine co operative which is famous for its red wines such as Roodeberg.
Wines that are made and sold by this Coop are normally
exported. Only farmers who are members of the Co-op are
allowed quotas of wine which they have to purchase.
If the public want to get hold of KWV wines that must know
a farmer who is prepared to part with some of his stocks.
I have managed to get hold of a few bottles
of this “nectar of the gods “ on odd occasions.
Paarl's business area is about three kilomtres up the main
road and there you will find shopping centres, banks and cinemas.
I drove past a cinema called the Protea Theatre which took
me back to the days of my childhood when we went to the
local bughouse as we called them then.
It must have been built about 50 years ago.
There are a number of old churches in Paarl.
The biggest one that I saw driving through was
the Lutheran church with its tall steeple and clock.
It reminded me of the churches I saw in Europe,
just on a much smaller scale.
There are some very larney restaurants in Paarl and
on some of the surrounding wine farms.
Places like the Lanzarac are famous.
As you need to earn dollars to eat there (R10.00 to $1.00)
I gave them a miss.
The whole Paarl valley is exceptionaly beautiful
and you need a couple of hours to explore it.
When you visit Cape Town make the time.
