What would you do with unlimited berries?
At the foot of the Swellendam mountains in South Africa, you can pick as many berries as you want to. They give you a couple of buckets at tell you you can pick as many as you would like.
You pay about $1 (R20) to enter the farm, and you pay about $3 (R50) per kilogram for berries that you pick.
But you are frolicking in the sun with your loved ones, and you think about days long gone where technology did not exist. At least for me, the picking of berries reminded me of a nostalgia I have for times I was never part of.
On the farm, you cannot hear anything but the birds and the nearby river rolling over rocks. You are one your own. It is a little gem that no one has found yet. Or more specifically, it is too far away from everything commercial.
But the great thing, no one is watching you pick the berries.
Being the kid I am in this adult body, I picked some berries but I also ate a lot of them. You have to test them after all! Some of them are very ripe, so you cannot leave them in your bucket full of berries. Ripe berries spoil. So my brain said: Eat them!
Every now and then, I hear my girlfriend, 
"Stop eating!"
Our bucket never filled up with berries because I wandered off taking photographs of the berries whilst eating them as well!
After all, can you not be tempted to eat them? Just see how beautiful and juicy they look. Inherently, we are hardwired to be lured to eat them!
But let me start over, the berries have already infested my mind with all their juicy wonderful deliciousness!
Getting Your Buckets
As you get your buckets from the friendly staff, you are greeted with the most beautiful views of the mountains. You are at the foot of the mountains and you cannot ask for anything better. (On a side note, the golf course is on the other side of this berry farm, so you are always encapsulated by mountains and this town is truly a gem!)
Anyways, you get your buckets and you walk to the berry farm or plantation which is on the otherside of the "Klip rivier" or Rock river. The water flowing down the river is weak, so you can stand with your feet in the water!
Walking to the Berries
As noted, you need to walk over the very small river to get to the berries. The views are spectacular.
As Swellendam is situated about two and a half hours away from Cape Town, few people venture to this side of the Western Cape. But it is surely one of the most beautiful places. The outlying farms are usually used for wheat and canola farming, but inside of the town, there are various berry farms.
But let us stop this talking and pick some berries!
Picking Berries
You have the choice between picking Young Berries (a cross breed between raspberry and black berries) and Black Berries. Both are amazing freshly picked from the vines. I cannot even begin to describe the flavor explosion in your mouth. You really need to taste for yourself to experience something as fresh as these berries.
All the whilst you are situated at the foot of the mountain. Your whole body experience of sensory overload is something that a price tag cannot even begin to justify.
Sensory overload is an understatement.
There are no noise besides the birds chattering and the water rolling over the rocks. The berries are insanely flavorful. The mountains are beautiful. The sun prickles your skin. It is really just perfect. And then after everything you still have buckets full of berries!
And I mean this when I say it, buckets full. I think we picked about 4 kilograms worth of berries.
The statement needs to be reitterated:
What would you do with unlimited berries?
At the end of the day, your fingers are stained with the berries you just picked, but for the whole day, you are reminded by the sweet smell and lingering taste in your mouth of the hard work!
And if you enjoy it with someone special, all the better!
Buy Some Jam
In the store, you can buy some of the berry jams that they make.
But I mean, after picking so many berries, you can make your own jam! In fact, I am thinking about making some fermented juices with all these berries. I am also thinking of growing some of these berries, but I do not have the space. I am already growing copious amounts of cape gooseberries.
Postscriptum, or Stained Fingers and Lingering Memories
In the end, you have fingers stained purple, sweetness that overwhelms you, but you feel like a kid again. You smell the berries, maybe already fermenting in the back of the car, driving home.
You have buckets full of berries, you have no idea what you are going to make with it. Recipes are flooding your mind, ideas are clouding rationality, and you think of yourself as a berry picker.
I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour with me picking berries. I know me and
All of the photographs are my own, taken with either my Nikon D300 or iPhone. The musings are also my own. Happy travelling, and be safe!