!Khwa Ttu
No I haven’t made a spelling mistake, nor have I made a typo.
!Khwa Ttu is a San name for a San culture and education centre in Yzerfontein, on the West Coast.
The centre is dedicated to celebrating the San culture and history.
It felt like the coldest day on the West Coast when we arrived at !Khwa Ttu and received the warmest welcome from the cheery and friendly staff to the hot, crackling fires set up for us in our room. It was just what the coldest day called for. This plus a hot chocolate at the restaurant and we were nice and toasty and ready for the adventurous day and cozy nights stay ahead of us.
Upon arrival, we were immediately wowed by the eco-friendly establishment and the natural state of all the finishing touches.
!Khwa Ttu is a magical place that everyone needs to visit at least once in their lifetime. The sounds, the sights and most of all the history titillate all the senses! It is also just enough distance from the city of Cape Town to enjoy one of the clearest night skies I have ever seen. Truly magical!
So here are 5 reasons why everyone needs to visit !Khwa Ttu
1. Discover and Learn
The centre gives visitors the opportunity to discover and learn everything about San culture (previously known as Bushmen). This is done is by a San Guided Tour, either by foot, on a bicycle or by tractor.
Before hopping onto the tractor you are introduced to the different groups of San and their different languages. Part of this is learning how to make the clicking sounds by twisting, turning, rolling and emphasising the movements of your tongue.
After driving through the fynbos and spotting a few zebras along the way, you are dropped off at a traditional San Village replica. The guides explain and demonstrate all the nitty gritty details. From how the San made fires without firelighters, to how bows and arrows actually work, and lastly how love-bows symbolised you liked a girl (you are sweet on her).
What I loved most about the whole tour was all the talking, exploring and most of all interacting with each of the tour guides that came with us. Each guide has a story to tell and an experience to share. And every question we asked was answered passionately.
2. Escape and Relax
!Khwa Ttu is situated on the top of the hill with panoramic views of the Atlantic ocean and Table Mountain if the weather is clear enough. Together with these spectacular views you will find an abundance of bird life, game animals and fynbos.
This seems like utter bliss; doesn’t it?
You can escape the bustling city life and enter a world of total bliss by staying the night in one of the guest houses or tented camps.
We stayed in the guest house, and if I have to use one word to describe it, it was truly “magical“.
The guest house comes fully equipped with 2 units. Each unit has an en-suite bathroom, a cozy lounge area with a fire place and a fully equipped kitchen. Because the guest house is up on the hillside, it comes with complimentary views and most of all a magical sunrise to wake up too.
3. Wine and Dine
While you are out in the bush the only kind of restaurant you want to wine and dine in is a rustic one. And this is the exact restaurant at !Khwa Ttu. The interior is made of all natural materials, such as wood and stone, and the attention to detail was carefully considered. The menu offers a variety of dishes all using locally sourced ingredients including a selection of meat dishes using free range game reared on the farmland. And you will also find a wide selection of good locally produced wines.
As rustic as the restaurant is, we were spoilt for choice with the modern day varieties on the menu. So we opted for a greek salad, calamari and rice and spaghetti and meatballs. Each dish was tasty, delicious and most of all wholesome!
4. You, Me and Everyone
The San people have been roaming the southern and central regions of Africa for thousands of years. They were the first inhabitants of Southern Africa.
So it is for this fact alone that it is yours and my duty, as a South African, to visit !Khwa Ttu. We need to explore their culture, invest in the knowledge and pass it down to the next generation. And !Khwa Ttu is the exact place for this. It is a place for everyone, young and old, and most of all South Africans, and non-South Africans alike.
I am humbled to have had experienced the very best !Khwa Ttu has to offer and more. I honestly wish (from the bottom of my heart) that every South African reading this visits !Khwa Ttu to experience the same magic and be able to share the same stories.
5. Near and Far
!Khwa Ttu is a quick one hours drive from Cape Town on the R27 West Coast Road. As near as it is to Cape Town, you enter a world that is a million miles away. A world where it is just you, the birds and the stars at night. What more can you ask for?
You will stay in an old farm building that has been beautifully restored. You will eat in a restaurant that was an old homestead and barn. You will walk on land that has been recovered to its natural state. You will see zebra and other game grazing on the grass. And you will wake up to the most exquisite sunrise.
I didn’t know a place like this existed, until I visited !Khwa Ttu.
The San Guided Tour was insightful, our nights stay was heavenly, the food was wholesome and delicious, and the staff were interactive and passionate. All of this made the whole experience absolutely warm and magical.
Thank you !Khwa Ttu as well as the West Coast Way team for everything.
If you would like to know more about !Khwa Ttu or the West Coast Way, you can visit their websites:
!Khwa Ttu
♥
