Do you love the Southwest of the USA? But wish it was in South Africa? Then you are in luck! Here are some of the things to do in Clarens, South Africa. The Golden Gate National Park is right there, and this town is near Lesotho, so it makes for a good stopping point. The area has a frontier, southwest USA, feel to it. It’s about fours from Pretoria.
Cheese tasting at Baris: This farm cheese shop is so fun. Go for lunch and order a cheese tasting.
Hiking: This is the real reason many people visit this area.
Gin tasting: At Clarens Brewery, they have a gin store, Junipers Craft Gin Bar, and they do tastings (plus they have some yummy food including their ‘chips’ or fries and they have Bunny Chow, a curry-in-a-loaf-of-bread specialty of South Africa.
Shopping: Lots of artwork, souvenirs, cards, clothes, and gin. I almost bought paintings by this local artist, Johan Smith. There are other cute shops including the Purple Onion. Make sure to check them all out. They are all next to each other. Everything from art, fudge, cards, shoes, clothes, and antiques.
Entertainment: This town has live entertainment including a local guy who is famous in this local town.
Eating: Surprisingly good restaurants for such a small town. The Italian one, Bocca di Lupo, run by a guy from Bologna, is divine. Excellent pizza and pasta.
Sleeping: You can stay in a castle. I stayed at the Protea, a Marriott hotel because it was about four minutes downhill by food from the Clarens square with the shops and restaurants. Made for an easy commute after shopping or eating.
Outside of the town of Clarens, there are other things to do and see. Other than the cheese place, there is also a dinosaur center. If you want another cafe with views of the mountains and hiking areas, check out Highland Brew. It has food and drink, plus a shop selling jam and coffee.
The area around Wilson in downtown Lima is known as the graphic and computer area, but I got a recommendation and tried out Cubo Graphic. 1,000 business cards, double sided, color, for 105 Soles ($32) delivery in Lima included. They would have designed them for me for an extra 20 soles. The cards took two days to order, print, and deliver. The quality of the printing was fine (as the sheen in the photo is because I took the photo of the open face sandwich through the glass counter).