If only we could bottle it ....

On Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting the Riebeck Kasteel Olive festival ... which that in itself is quite amazing, considering I cannot stand the things! But knowing South Africa as I surely do by now, I knew there would be plenty of other things on the menu and that I certainly would not go hungry or thirsty for that matter! Whilst , as expected I was not disappointed in this department, I was however pleasantly surprised by another ....

Often referred to as 'The valley of a thousand paintings' Riebeck Kasteel, an almost storybook style town, is one of the oldest in South Africa. Definitely one of the best kept secrets of the Western Cape, there a population of around just 2700 and is located 75km from Cape Town. Having visited this stunningly beautiful, but rather sleepy little place before, I knew not to expect a repeat of the previous weekend's Franschhoek Cheese Festival that welcomes over 10,000 visitors a day. However, I had not taken into account the eclectic mix of people that call Riebeck Kasteel their home, and that subsequently resulted in a 'vibe' and 'community feeling' second to none. There are the European ex pats, who have come to retire in this tiny piece of paradise ... then there are the Gauteng rat race escapees, every kind of craftsman you can imagine, including artists and writers in abundance, Wine and Olive farmers and of course their workers ... the true locals who were born and bred here. Everybody regardless of age, colour, nationality or breeding came together to put on a show to be proud of ..... there was a tractor and trailer running a 'park and ride' system .... children running barefoot all over the place, the village square was pumping to the sound of two local bands, the restaurants spilled out onto the pavements, oh yes , did I not mention that the weather was a warm 29 degrees!

As I caught a ride on the tractor back to our car and enjoyed the somewhat ariel view of the village festivities..... I found myself wishing for the impossible. If only all of our visitors to South Africa, during the world cup or otherwise could be fortunate enough to experience just five minutes of the incredible atmosphere that I had been able to witness that day .... what a difference it would make to the world perception of SA.