Exploring the Hills at Over the Rainbow Festival

Last weekend was the over the rainbow festival in Botrivier and apparently it was a BIG party on the Saturday! Mr John and I, however, only made it through on the Sunday and it was a PERFECT day! Mother nature’s been kind to us over the past 2 weekends, especially since half the planet is being blown apart by hurricane Irma!

The canola fields were out in full bloom and Mr John and I were keen for an afternoon of wine tasting and back road exploring in Botrivier.

Photo’s by my hubby: Team Team Photography

What is Over The Rainbow Festival?

The Over the Rainbow festival is when small town Botrivier opens its doors and welcomes visitors to explore their various wine farms. I’d visited Botrivier a few times, but never popped into more than 1 farm on a day. This time, we visited a number of farms, but started the day collecting our wine glass at the village tourism office.

I LOVE the little small town decor that comes along with these events, it always feels so festive and sincere.

Stop 1: Beaumont Wines

I have played a few wedding gigs at Beaumont and the farmer’s wife made a ravioli I’ll never forget. I was keen to visit again and see if there was some tasty food.

Unfortunately, it was the first stop so we weren’t ready to eat just yet. I was, however, warmly greeted by the wine tasting lady – in fact, one of the only few for the whole day! So I was able to have a taste and enjoy what they had on offer.

Stop 2: Wildekrans

I was really excited the visit Wildekrans because I always see quite a bit of activity about them on Twitter. They were stationed closest to the town of Botrivier and found it easily. They had put in a lot of effort of decor, food stalls and a separate wine tasting areas. But I was a little disappointed when I arrived because there was no one to greet us.

Now, I don’t think I’m the Queen of England, but it’s an uncomfortable feeling when you haven’t been somewhere before and you just have to aimless wander around and scope thing out for yourself. I find it a bit embarrassing to be honest!

Well, eventually I just went to the wine last and said, “Hello! May I please taste some wines?” And she was a REALLY lovely lady and did a great job in telling about Wildekrans. So, I have to say the staff are very nice, but I think someone just to direct and say, “Are you here to eat? Are you here to drink? Are you just popping in or spending the day?” may have been helpful.

Stop 3: Ludette Wines

After Wildekrans we decided to go back to Beaumont and travel along the Old Simon Van Der Stell road. I’d never been along here and it was fascinating to think about old settlers moving along the trail.

Along the way was Luddite wines, something I’d not heard of but BOY am I glad I found it! They had delicious wines and the most incredible views! Also, a LOT of dogs!

Stop 4: Gabrielskloof

Gabrielskloof is literally the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s where you can go to have guaranteed views, excellent food and tasty wine. They also have a little deli to buy treats for the road and lawn for the kids to enjoy. But my favourite part of their black pools. Again, I did a few weddings here but I never, NEVER saw turtles! But on this day a turtle popped out! NO KIDDING! HA!

Mzanzi Platters at Gabrielskloof

On this occasion we sat at the back of the tasting room for the last of the day’s sun and tucked into the new Mzanzi platters! Tapas with a South African twist.

The menu includes: Picked fish in a soft taco with avo, coriander & salsa (R70), Prawn Tempura (3) with curry aioli (R50), Chicken satay (R40), Bobotie vetkoek (R45) WHICH WAS DIVINE! (I don’t eat sea food so didn’t have any of those options.) Koring risotto, butternut and Parmesan (R4), mussels in a curry broth (R55) and orange and almond cake (R35). The vetkoek really was exceptional.

They also have the coolest deli with things I could have bought and eaten right then and there! But I was stuffed already 🙂

So you can pop in and pick your own treats, have a proper sit down lunch or a wine tasting with snacks, SO much on offer and it’s a really lovely venue with great service. It is a modern wine farm so don’t expect old Dutch gables or anything like that, but it’s big enough for families and the food is always amazing.

Last Stop: The Mandatory “I’ve been to Botrivier” Canola Field Shot

Unfortunately, Tails of a Mermaid and Campsbay girl beat me to the canola field shots! But considering I use this yellow in my theme, I feel it’s fair game 😉