A not so fruitful drive through Ceres

Expectations are funny old things.  I expected less than nothing from Williston in the Karoo and was enchanted.  I had great expectations for Ceres and was sorely disappointed.  My perception was that Ceres is the fruit capital of South Africa.  I envisaged a valley of plenty, brimming with natural abundance.  Little short of Disneyesque perfection.  I pictured farm stalls selling the sweetest, juiciest fruit.  Smiling roadside vendors offering splendid peaches, worthy of a role in James and the Giant Peach.  I salivated at the thought of leafy cafes selling freshly squeezed juices.  Despite passing many orchards, alas and alack not a farm stall in sight, not a vendor and no garden of Eden café.  Instead we drove through a mediocre town, complete with factories and tyre fitment centres, well you get the picture (and it’s not very pretty), not a whiff of Disney.

 

On the outskirts of town we did stop at Deja Brew (totally cool name) café for tea and cake.  I return to the subject of expectations, this is a perfectly adequate establishment but it was competing with idealistic imaginings which had a head start on steroids.  It may have scored a few more points if the seating deck faced the mountain behind the building instead of the main road.

A little further on the road toward Cape Town we did pass another café (Tolhuis) which was more in line with my mental picture but I don’t know what the food on offer there was like.