Imagine a place where you have stunning views of the mountain, where there is a perfumery, winery, ice creamery, bakery, mazes of flowers, food, luxury hotel, glass-green house cafe, coffee roastery, exotic spice plant greenhouse... Imagine a place so out of this world, that every description of it falls short to truly capture its essence. Imagine such a place that offers you entrance for a year for the low price of about $6 (USD). This place is halfway to heaven, or in fact, heaven is halfway to this place. There is simply too much to do at the Babylonstoren complex, in South Africa, in one single day. In fact, I took two days to see only half of what they have to offer.
So please come with me on this virtual journey as I take you to this place halfway to heaven. There is so much to see here, so buckle up...
The Views: Nestle Between Mountains
It does not matter where you go in the Western Cape, especially close to Cape Town, you will always be surrounded by mountains. The wine farms take advantage of this as they always build their tasting rooms so that they look out onto these spectacular mountain ranges.
This is also the case at Babylonstoren. Looking over the vineyards, you see the mountains in all their glory. They have inspired many poets, writers, painters, and philosophers to muse about their beauty. A very well known mountain in the area, it has a special place for many people who call this area home.
The (Classic) Architecture
We call them "Kaapse Geuwels" (Cape Gables). It is a classic architectural style that features around a vast area, especially on wine farms and older towns, like Stellenbosch and Paarl. If someone from the area sees it, they know they are home. Because most of the older wine farms, like this one, were built in a specific era in South African history, they all feature similar styles. The shape is classic viewed from the front paired with the off-white color and grass roof. Most old wine farms prominently feature these buildings. Some towns actually have laws against changing the front of one's home as soon as it is declared a heritage site.
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Friendly Farm Animals
As you walk close to the farmhouse, you meet these lovely farm animals. They are so used to people feeding and petting them, that they are just a joy to see! We walked freely amongst many chickens (and even turkeys, not the most common farm animal in South Africa!).
We also found this lovely donkey, and my girlfriend @urban.scout stole my camera for a moment; she captured these amazing photographs of the animals on the farm. Maybe I should give my camera to her more often!
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When you walk on the farm (which I discuss below), you have the unique opportunity to see their working bee hive as well. When you come close to the squared-off area, a low humming noise makes you attentive to the fact that there are many bees close by!
Here is a short video clip of the honey bees busy (buzzy) at work:
There are also some fish that swim in an upside-down fish pond, which makes for funny-looking fish!
Here is another short video:
At this stage, we craved some coffee!
The Many Delights to Drink and Eat
The farm roasts its own coffee beans. And they make some of the best espresso! I almost had to take another one, just because it was so nice. The coffee roasting smells delightful as you walk around the farm.
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All around the farm, you see these beautiful markers to indicate what the shop offers. The farms boast a tremendous amount of different shops and stores. From a butchery, creamery, perfumery, fresh produce section, and then the coffee roastery!
The fresh produce section offers some beautiful murals as well. The shop sells the many fresh produce from the farm, from milk, to mushrooms, to herbs. They grow almost everything on the farm and you can even pick some on your walk and meanderings through the many landscapes (which I show below).
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Many moons ago, I almost had the opportunity to work as a baker at this farm. They had a spot open for an artisanal baker, and a friend put in a good word for me. But sadly, nothing came of it. Maybe this was a good thing! But their breads are really tasty and I would buy some more if I could! (Especially the Rooibos (tea) and rye!)
Because they have their own creamery, they make their own ice cream with fresh produce from the farm. The *blood orange" ice cream was by far our favourite.
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There is also a very naughty ice cream. It is more a frozen wine than ice cream, but who is keeping score? It is a rose and rosé (wine) frozen ice cream. We bought more than two because it was just so good. Think Turkish delight with a twist!
We could also not walk past their bakery and not buy some croissants. I mean, my girlfriend and I are the croissant gang.
The Many Mazes and Pathways Leading to Heaven
The farm has an extremely elaborate set-up. There are rows upon rows upon rows of different produce and herbs and flowers.
Think of fruits, such as figs, lemons, oranges.
Think of different types of herbs, from thyme to rosemary.
Think of the most colourful indigenous flowers.
There are so many little pathways you can walk down. Many of them are laced with waterways that run down the corridors.
Wild animals occasionally visit, such as birds. If you are lucky enough, you might spot some of them, but they are so well hidden.
If you walk long enough, you will spot some gems. There are many water features, hidden pockets with chairs that you can sit in and enjoy some privacy, beautiful farm scenery with the mountain as background, and many archways covered with flowers (depending on the season). We unfortunately missed the flowering season, as they are apparently only blooming now, with many tiny white roses.
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The Spice Garden
A strange thing that they have there, besides all of the focus on growing indigenous plants, is what they call the "Spice House". It is a massive greenhouse structure in which they grow various sorts of gingers and peppers and spices from all around the world. It feels like a tropical garden as you walk into it. The difference in air temperature and humidity is immediately apparent. But it is really fascinating to see how the many spices you use on a daily basis grow. It really puts things in a different light.
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And then there is the most famous "chair"...
It has been shared on social media platforms maybe thousands of times. Many social media influencers flock to this chair to pose in. It has become the symbol of Babylonstoren. Of course, we made a detour to visit this famous chair, and from all that this place has to offer, this must have been the most disappointing. It is really funny how so many people flock to it because people share it online, but they miss the thousand other incredibly detailed things going on on the farm.
Doing Wine Things: Tasting Wine
At the very end of our journey, we tasted some wine. They are one of the more expensive wines in South Africa, but their wine-tasting menu was relatively cheap (in terms of what the actual wines cost). My girlfriend and I sat down after a long day of walking to enjoy a sip from the nectar of the gods.
They offered about 6 or 7 of their wine, from light whites to deep dark and heavy reds. They offered snack boards as well, but we declined the offer (as this is probably where they make their wine; it is very expensive!). But the wines were spectacular, which is not a surprise. The tasting room was extremely busy, with many tourists, and wine tasters, but we enjoyed this little rest between all of the walking.
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Saying Our Goodbyes to Heaven
In the end, we were tired but completely satisfied with out explorations. We still had many things to see and to do. But we could not, we were so tired and they almost wanted to close. Luckily, your entry is paid for the year, so you can visit as much as you'd like. We ended up buying a couple of things, from breads, to cider, to some of their delicious home-made jams.
They are already teasing us to visit again with the pamphlets they email on a monthly basis. The roses are in full bloom, but sadly we might miss this as I cannot go there now. But our hearts are yearning to go back, to walk between all of the flowers. Soon, very soon, we will be back!
Post Scriptum, or Farewell but not for always
For now, we said our goodbyes to this spectacular place. It is really like a playground for gardeners, nature appreciators, foodies, wine snobs, and coffee snobs. You can even make your own soap and perfume! The place is amazing and runs like a strange but well-oiled machine. I cannot believe that something like this exists in real life and in South Africa. (On a side note, in my favourite book, there is a farm that fits exactly this description. The author wrote the book in the early 1960s, so he imagined the farm purely for fictional purposes, making it "absurd" enough so that it was not linked to anything in reality. Little did he know that 60 years after he dreamt of something like that, it would materialise in our world...)
This place is for sure a must-visit for anyone who would appreciate all of these things in the same place. You can spend the whole day there and you will not be bored, and neither will you be able to do all of the activities!
As said, this is only a short while that I say goodbye, as I will return shortly! It is just too beautiful not to go there.
I hope that you enjoyed this rather lengthy exposition of this beautiful place. It is for sure an adventure!
If you ever come to this side of South Africa, be sure to visit this place.
For now, happy travelling and stay safe.
All of the photographs used in this post are my own, taken with my Nikon D300. (Some of the photographs were taken by my lovely girlfriend as well.) The writings in this post are also my own, and no one paid me to say anything. All of the opinions are my own.