!Khwa ttu: discovering San culture on the West Coast

Posted on 6 June 2012

Every time I drive on the West Coast road on my way to Langebaan, Saldanha, Port Owen or some other seaside, sleepy town I pass !Khwa ttu, flanked by flags and promising food, accommodation, wildlife and a host of activities. My eye is taken off the road for a couple of seconds in the hopes of spotting a zebra or an eland on an otherwise dull drive to or from Cape Town.

I didn’t know much about this ‘tourist attraction’ until one day on a discount site I came across a voucher for a tour and meal at the venue and decided to try it. I was pleasantly surprised! Expecting an overdone tourist spot, I was delivered with so much more than that.

The day started with a tour around the farm with local guides. We embarked on what was described as the Hunter Tour; a Gatherer Tour was also an option. After driving through the farm with my father silently contemplating how to embark with no one noticing to steel some wild mushrooms (don’t worry – he didn’t) we arrived at a drop off point. We then embarked on a short walk enhanced by explanations of the surrounding plants, animal tracks, ostrich eggs and various hunting techniques and tricks to arrive at a mock San village. Here the guides explained how the San tribes lived, the various roles of the men and women and they showed us the crafts and arrows they used to use. I went into the tour thinking that having grown up in South Africa I would mostly likely know everything they had to explain but there were some new titbits and interesting facts that I definitely learned.

We unfortunately didn’t see much game and what we did see was far away and few in number but our trip back to the centre was accompanied by the sounds of our guide singing in his mother tongue – a language punctuated by too many clicks that I could not even begin to try and speak it. We then visited a gallery and cultural centre which we wished we had stopped in before our tour as the history would have been beneficial to know on our tour. Stories related to Mantis, the God, and the Eland as well as interviews with ‘real’ San gave a vivid insight on how life was and how much it has changed. With a sense of sadness of a people forgotten and a lifestyle that will never be again we went to lunch.

Delicious chicken was served to those less adventurous while the Eland Bobotie was the highlight of my day. The wine list was printed onto a gigantic bottle while a simple chalkboard gave three options for mains. Simple, delicious food provided the perfect ending to this day.

Now when I drive past !Khwa ttu I will not look at the place as an interesting tourist stop on an otherwise dull journey but a place of history, of relevance and of dedication to a part of history that every South African should get the chance to pay homage to.

!Khwa ttu

!Khwa ttu is situated on Grootwater Farm along the R27 between Cape Town and Yzerfontein. Being only a half hour’s drive from Cape Town , !Khwa ttu is the perfect day trip for the family and can be enjoyed year round.

Their San Tour normally costs R250 per person while a meal from the restaurant ranges from R42 – R95.

There is a walk-in special until the end of July, where you can get the tour and a meal for lunch for R250 (excluding drinks).

Call !Khwa ttu on 022 492 2998, email on [email protected] or visit their website at www.khwattu.org for more information.






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