I know I have been super absent on the blog and I always say this but running a blog and being a full time student while on the side doing freelance writing gigs is NOT  an easy job. Between studying for finals and keeping up to date with the whole Fees Must Fall movement, I decided that I needed a break from the city and ventured into the sweltering hot winelands of Stellenbosch. I mentioned that I wanted to introduce more local Cape Town exploring posts on the blog because between December and January you will always see Cape Town packed with tourists both locally and internationally.I am a city girl by heart, of course it’s in my blog name but every now and then I need to break away from the city and explore the greater Cape. Sunday I rounded up a few of my favourite people and headed out to Stellenbosch where we came across Polkadraai Farm. Not too far from home, Polkadraai is situated just 30 minutes from Cape Town and is very easy to spot because you see this giant strawberry as you approach from the main road. If you do venture out to stellies, I suggest going early as parking can be quite tricky, the juicy strawberries might be all gone and round about 12 the place had attracted quite a crowd.

Let me start off by saying that I regret buying the R45 bucket and wish I had purchased the box instead as the strawberries were the best I have ever had. Each strawberry to me tasted differently and I especially loved the huge juicy ones. Before venturing into the fields, we were told that the redder the strawberry, the sweeter they are so I knew exactly what I was looking for. When going to the farm you have the option of purchasing:

 Junior Picker – R35

The Harvester – R45

The Professional – R140

The Ultimate Picker – R190

When going to the farm and you have your kids with you and they’re not so keen on strawberry picking (which I highly doubt) , there are other activities on the farm to keep them occupied such as tractor rides, pony rides,  mini golf, face painting, a playground or they can grab a bite to eat at the food court that is on the farm. At Polkadraai they also have their very own food and wine shop that sells estate wines, nuts, biltong, dry fruits, jams, preserves and other lekker things that you can enjoy while have a picnic on the lawn.

One thing that I didn’t like about visiting Polkadraai Farm is how unfriendly the ground staff was. I thought that I was the only one that had experienced this but my brother in-law had pointed it out and I read quite a few people mentioning it on Tripadvisor and other rating sites. Nonetheless I didn’t let rude and unfriendly staff ruin my experience.

If you would like to visit Polkadraai farm, definitely do make your way to the Stellenbosch winelands as it the perfect Sunday morning drive out to explore the Western Cape. Entry is free but you do however need to have a container that you purchase at the Zetlers Food & Wine Shop as priced above to be able to enter the strawberry fields. The farm is open from September to February, 9am to 4pm with the exception of Christmas Day.  An easy directions guide can be found on their website if you need a bit of help locating the farm. Would I return? Absolutely!

Thanks Suvarna for the awesome pic.

Ps definitely wear super comfy shoes and slather on some sunscreen because Stellenbosch was HAAAAAAAAT.