Hello, Darling. We’ve come for tea. And cake. And toffees. Rusks, wine, history.
This West Coast hamlet has it all. It’s in the Cape Floral Region and is home to hundreds flowering plant species – do go in August or September for the flowers.
First up, remember this is a village. Park your car at your accommodation and put on your walking shoes. We stayed at Darling Lodge Guest House, a spruced up old house with a beautiful garden, nooks and crannies to explore.
Pat yourself on the back for lowering your carbon footprint and getting a little exercise on holiday.
And after exercise, what you need is food. There are several options to choose. Ciao Darling is all about the Italian – pizza, pasta, happiness, hospitality. And this place has got it in spades. From the black and white floor to the metal bar to the convivial host to the fabulous pizza, everything is splendid. Go for dinner and then roll down the road to your bed.
Get a good night’s rest, for tomorrow, it’s the Mystery Trail.
The trail sets off from the Darling Museum. The museum focuses entirely on the area’s history, which in the 19th-century was best known for its butter. Dawdle through – there’s loads to see and learn, from Victorian undergarments hanging on the line to a schoolroom, a kitchen with a hearth and ‘many ingenious gadgets intended to make the life of a Victorian housewife easier’. No, there are no dishwashers, vacuum cleaners or tumble driers.
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There are clothes and shoes, books and photographs, cameras and carriages. Everything, really, to reflect the lifestyle and growth of the village over the century and a half since its beginnings in 1853.
It was founded in 1978 by the Darling Women’s Agricultural Association as a butter museum. In 1989, it was moved to its present home in the old Town Hall, built in 1899, in Pastorie Street.
The Agricultural Hall tells the history of farming in the area, which grew significantly in 1800 with the arrival of William Duckitt from Surrey, England. His granddaughter, Hildegonda Duckitt, incidentally, was a cook and hostess of renown who wrote several cookery books and The Diary of a Cape Housekeeper, describing the activities on the farm for each month of the year.
It’s at the museum that you get your ticket and a map of the Mystery Tour – for only R35. This is a bargain. It is also here that you find the first clue. No, I am not telling you; you have to find it yourself. The idea is that you find the clue, solve the riddle, which points you to the next clue, and so on. Bring your GPS and a phone with a QR code scanner.
It takes about two hours and is the very best way to see a village and meet the locals going about their daily business.
Retail Therapy
It also takes you past Darling Sweet, so bring a backpack to stock up on toffees, caramels, rusks, ginger biscuits and soetkoekies. There’s loads to choose from – summer berry, salted liquorice, ginger and cardamom, rooibos chai latte, bird’s-eye chilli. But there’s also the old classic if these new-fangled tastes are not for you.
Save some space in your bag because you also meander past The Darling Wine Shop. Nevermind what the name says, it’s not just wine (although there is a lot of that from the top-notch regional wineries). There are also very tempting local whiskies and brandies, and even a gin or three.
Down the road is The Marmalade Cat for coffee and cake and shopping. Behind the restaurant is The Cat Walk, a large room with homeware for sale, and an adjacent room with fashion. Next door, there’s Heart of Darling, with all manner of interesting things on sale – unusual jewellery, chic clothes you won’t find in a shopping mall, accessories, an antique or two. You could spend a long time here. I did.
The Mystery Trail ends back at the museum for a little treat. But your Darling visit is not over.
Look At A Painting, Read A Book
Back on the main drag, turn left and find yourself at the old station. This is Evita Se Perron, home of Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout. It’s got a café and deli, a theatre and a fantastic collection of boere kitsch that is a museum in its own right. The art gallery displays paintings of Pieter-Dirk Uys in the style of the great masters – Da Vinci, Klimt, Chagall, Rembrandt, Kahlo, Picasso and so forth.
Go straight to Book League. This is a gem. Get all your stationery needs, but really, you’re here for the books. Old books, new books, classics, hard-to-find treasures, books you remember from your childhood and books on your new publications list. Again, you could spend a long time here.
Learn Our History
Back on the R27, the West Coast Highway, on the return trip to Cape Town, take the time to stop at !Khwa ttu. Don’t worry if you can’t pronounce it now; you’ll learn all the clicks when you’re there.
It’s a fascinating place, where the San tell their own story, and all of our stories, for the story of the San is the story of all humankind. The San are one of the last hunter-gather societies left on Earth, their language is dying, their culture is dying, their vast knowledge of the land, the fauna and flora is dying. !Khwa ttu is a repository of this astounding culture.
It’s also got a fine restaurant, serving many dishes using foraged ingredients. And you can stay there. There is the camping, but that is being phased out. Instead, the new Hilltop Suites are a luxury retreat, and the six eco-cabins stand ready to welcome guests.
And sadly, then it’s back home, my darling.
This article was written by Lorraine Kearney for Getaway’s October 2023 print edition. Find us on shelves for more!
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