PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Plettenberg Bay is definitely the place to be this Easter with a jam-packed programme that is set to tickle the fancy of even the most discerning visitor.
Visitors and residents can look forward to anything from sporting activities to work off those Easter egg calories to top-notch food and entertainment.
One of the biggest events over the Easter weekend is the Hi-Tec Garden Route Walking Festival, which takes place along the Garden Route, especially Plettenberg Bay where a large majority of the walks are set to take place.
This is South Africa’s first walking festival, taking place for the second time, and includes more than 52 different walks.
It is designed as an opportunity for visitors and locals to get off the beaten track with anything from easy to adventurous hikes.
The festal is set to take place from April 14 to 17, with mostly free events. The only charges will be for walks where permits or professional guides are required.
Organisers say that the walks were designed for “everyone”. The hikes range from slow saunters along the beach at the end of the way to brisk walks up some of the region’s highest peaks. Apart from traditional walks there are also the more quirky hikes, including a fancy dress, masked walk, poetry and yoga walks. There will also be something for the more “risky” at heart like the Naked in Nature walk where participants will be able to strip down and enjoy nature “au naturel”.
• Plett has an array of walks in store: some of the highlights include the Neusgate circular route – a strenuous 7km walk through coastal fynbos in the Robberg corridor area.
• The Naked in Nature walk takes place in the Harkerville area halfway between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay.
• For the children, an Inner Magic Children’s Walk will start at the whale tale parking lot above Lookout Beach.
• For those with a love for indigenous vegetation, the Plett Botanical Walk at Broome Farm is a good choice.
• Organisers have also put together a Mindfulness and Meditation Walk in Harkerville and the Yoga Walk at Kranshoek.
• For the more arty walkers there will be the Sketching Nature Art Walk: participants will first make their own charcoal at the Kranshoek picnic site, whereafter they will set off on the coastal circular hiking trail and stop at various places to sketch nature.
• Other walks include the Fancy Dress Walk & Sundowners, Guided Game Walk at Giraffe View Safari Camp, Interactive Forest Walk, Robberg Peninsula Point Walk, Leermansdrift Farm Hike and Buffels River Walk.
* A full programme is available on www.walkingfestival.co.za.
For those who want to kick back and “chill” over the Easter weekend, the second annual Plett Chillout is set to do the trick. The event – which will feature entertainmentby several popular DJs – will be held at the Kwanokuthula Stadium on Saturday, April 15. Among the DJs that will feature are Joocy and Duncan along with DJ Epic and DJ China.
Leading up to the Easter celebrations and in the swing of the school holidays, the town will also be home to the first Plett Truck and Vine Festival.
Hosting the event – which will centre on gourmet food truck grub and top notch wine – is Reford Lane Wines in the heart of the Plettenberg Bay Winelands.
Spokesperson for the new event Patty Butterworth said festival is scheduled for April 9, and will celebrate the changing of the seasons with “an epic wine and food truck festival”.
“Aimed at the entire family, this festival is set to become a premier annual event, the first of its kind in Plett’s ever-growing wine and bubbly region,” Butterworth said.
She added that Redford Lane Wines would be pulling out all the stops with a programme that includes ”live music on a floating stage, picnic baskets filled with delectable treats, gourmet food trucks and as much wine and craft beer as you can shake a stick at”.
“There will be plenty of activities to keep the children entertained so that parents and grandparents can kick back, relax and have a ‘grape’ time,” she quipped.
For the golfers there will also be exciting prospects, with the SA Senior Open being hosted in Plett this year. The event will have the biggest prize purse, of R500 000, since 1997.
ARTICLE: YOLANDé STANDER, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD CORRESPONDENT
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