The strangest thing to city folk visiting the Karoo is that the residents actually seem to like people, and not in the way that an insurance salesman sees a quick buck, but in the old fashioned, let’s swap stories kind of way. It’s weird and quite refreshing. If you feel like a bit of adventure, you can pop out to Prince Albert for lunch in one of the many authentic Karoo restaurants, or go on excursions to interesting places ....
Forget about supermarkets and fast food chains! The nearest town, Prince Albert, a little gem of Cape Dutch and Victorian architecture is a bonanza of authentic Karoo fare, from locally produced wines and organic honey to the famous Karoo lamb to fresh Guernsey milk and cheeses. Planning a menu has never been this much fun, with the fresh produce around, including a fig farm that supplies our larniest delicatessens! Chutneys, jams, home baked cookies and weird vegetables are on offer in colourful farm stalls and little home from home restaurants. Though not quite the oldest town in the Cape, Prince Albert celebrates its 260th anniversary in 2022. That’s a lot of history to soak up, dating back to old Zach’s original farm in 1762. Prince Albert is pretty famous for its gables and has 13 national monuments among the buildings in the town, among them, the Dutch Reformed Church, Hall and Parsonage, built in 1842.
Prince Albert and surrounds offers up an Abundance of interesting places, eccentric people and memorable visits.
With the migration of artistic people to the Karoo, lots of arty crafty industries have sprung up on the Prince Albert meander. There are also a wide range of interesting and varied excursions on offer. Choose from a tour to Bushman painting and Karoo fossil sites in the company of a paleontologist, hiking trails in the Bushman Valley, a walking lecture about the geology, botany, natural and cultural history or visit some of the art and craft galleries, olive and fig farms and wineries.
Named after an obvious hoarder, the Fransie Pienaar Museum is a fascinating collection of historical artifacts, antiques, fossils, paintings and even a functional Witblitz still at the back.
The Saturday morning market, next to the museum, is a weekly must do. On offer are various crafts but mostly good edible stuff, like Karoo dried fruit, homemade jams and preserves, pickles and relishes, cakes, bread, fresh fruit and organic vegetables. Decent coffee, pancakes, lunch and plenty of friendly people, who have the time to talk!
It’s not only the eccentric Prince Albert citizens who love their town! Prince Albert was named Western Cape Town of the Year 2012 and received a Bronze in the National competition. We’re not going to mention the two towns that beat Prince Albert in the National competition, because, in our opinion, Prince Albert is the only winner worth mentioning, and this is our website after all, so we can be as unfair as we like.