Slow & easy things to do in and around Cape Town & the West Coast - Part 1

Mamre Mission Station, Mamre

About 50 kilometres from Cape Town, just off the busy R27 West Coast Road, lies the town of Mamre. The town itself is unremarkable, being a dormitory town whose inhabitants work in Cape Town or nearby Atlantis and Darling. However, there is a most remarkable Moravian Mission Station on the western side of Mamre.

The town of Mamre is a true hidden gem with its rich and colourful history. It is home to a remarkable Moravian Mission Station which was established in 1808, and the original church and parsonage retain their charm are now national monuments. The watermill has been restored as a museum and the church is still used for services and packed to capacity every Sunday.

Darling Brew Taste Room, Darling

The original Darling Brew Tasteroom in the small, West Coast hamlet of Darling overlooks our entire Darling Brewery operation and offers contemporary pub-style food with the full craft beer and beer tasting experience. Here you can sit down to a great meal, knowing that you are supporting local producers; whilst their team is intent on sourcing the freshest, most amazing ingredients from within their talented, hard-working community.

West Coast Fossil Park, West Coast Peninsula

The fossil site of Langebaanweg is located in the West Coast Fossil Park (WCFP), approximately 150 km north of Cape Town (a 1.5 hour drive), and is world-renowned for its exceptionally well-preserved fossil faunal remains that date to the terminal Miocene/early Pliocene (circa 5.2 million years ago).

A national and international team of researchers are currently unravelling the fascinating and unique history of fossils from the West Coast Fossil Park and attempting to recreate the environment and climate of the west coast some 5 million years ago. At this time many animals that are now extinct, such as saber-toothed cats, short-necked giraffes, hunting hyenas and African bears roamed the west coast which then had a more subtropical climate with lush, riverine forests and open grasslands.
 

A new Visitor Centre has been constructed using funds from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and now hosts a brand new exhibition hall, restaurant, shop, amphitheatre, conference, meeting and office facilities in addition to the open dig site that many past visitors are familiar with.

The WCFP is a National Heritage Site and forms part of the Cradle of Human Culture Artist's Route.

Evita Se Perron, Darling

This is home to ‘Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout’, the world-famous alter ego of Pieter Dirk Uys, South Africa’s best-known political satirist, and impersonator. Evita se Perron is a transformed train station with two cabaret venues, a restaurant, outdoor heritage garden and a bar featuring local performers and tannie Evita herself - talking about the past, the present and the future!
 

Evita se Perron is filled with local gifts and food with funky packaging, descriptive names, and interesting décor. The local brands sold in this Swartland emporium are all handcrafted, and are creating employment opportunities.

The products are displayed in a mishmash of wooden cabinets,1950 style Formica cupboards. The original cabaret stage sits at the far end of the room, showcasing yester-year furniture, on the side Tannie Evita’s flamboyant frocks hang from the top of the glass wall, her high heel shoes stand tall in a glass display case, and art deco chairs offer a soft landing for the ample bottom to rest a while with a coffee and cake. Tables and chairs inside and out are provided for eating or takeaways.