Peacocks at Paddagang

One of the peacocks we saw at Paddagang Restaurant in Tulbagh.

A fortnight ago, my husband and I were able to take two days off to enjoy a much-needed break from our busy routines. On the first day, we spontaneously decided to drive to Tulbagh, a very pretty little town situated less than 2 hours drive from Cape Town.

  
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Tulbagh, a very picturesque town situated in the Boland wine growing region of the Western Cape, South Africa.

Tulbagh lies in a scenic valley surrounded by towering mountain ranges. It is located in the winelands of the Boland, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The town itself has great historical significance. It is the only town in South Africa that can claim the highest concentration of historical buildings existing in a single street! All 32 buildings in Church Street were lovingly restored after an earthquake struck the town in 1969 and almost destroyed them. It is wonderful to stroll from one end of the street to the other, quietly enjoying the Cape Dutch architecture of these well-preserved landmarks. My next post will share some of these charming sights with you. Most are privately owned; several have been been converted to accommodate restaurants, an hote,l and Bed & Breakfast accommodations. One or two are shops (a clothing and gift shop, as well as a wine shop and delicatessen).

Tulbagh is situated in a verdant valley surrounded by towering mountains. When we were there, the veld (surrounding countryside) was a riotous display of glorious spring blossoms (I will be sharing the pictures we took of the wild flowers in my next post).

It was raining when we left home, but by the time we arrived in Tulbagh, the rain had stopped and we were able to enjoy a really beautiful day.

We stopped to photograph this pretty dam on the outskirts of the town.

A small herd of goats, grazing in the fields adjacent to the dam, were wearing bells...we could hear their friendly tinkling and jingling i the distance.

Our first stop upon entering the town was Paddagang Restaurant in Church Street, one of the landmark eateries in Tulbagh, famous for its traditional Cape Country fare. We had not eaten breakfast and so were greatly looking forward to our midday meal.

The restaurant where we had lunch is named Paddagang. 'Padda' is the Afrikaans word for 'frog' and 'gang' means 'route, path or way', so translated, it means frog's path. Hence the sign, "Frogs Crossing!"

This magnificent fellow was seated on a gate as we drove down the gravel approach to the Paddagang Restaurant.

Driving down the narrow, gravel entrance to the restaurant, we espied our first peacock of the day. Little did we realise that a whole flock would entertain us all the way through lunch, so we had to stop and take a few photographs right away. This peacock was extremely obliging!

He happily allowed us to approach up close...

And offered us his most attractive sides...

He really was quite magnificent! If you look on the roof in the background at left, you will see a group of cocks and hens. We counted five altogether.

"I think this is one of my best sides. Please, do feel free to click away as much as you like!"

"On second thoughts, this might actually be a slightly better side. What do you think?"

"You have to get my gorgeous legs in, too!"

As you can see, when we arrived at the restaurant itself, the front lawn was alive with peacocks, peahens and guinea fowl!

We saw peacocks draping themselves every whichway we turned!

We parked beneath this oak tree and guess what was sitting in the branches above us?

Yes, yet another beautiful peacock...

...eager to share his handsome visage with us!

By now, our hunger had turned ravenous, so we headed straight inside to enjoy our meal.

We had a pleasant view across the garden from our window seating.

And, yes, you guessed correctly...the view took in the peacocks and hens!

On and off, throughout our three course meal (I did say we were ravenous!) this magnificent bird put on a most glorious show. We took several pictures. I'll only include a couple...

Turning this way...

...then this way...

...and showing us his rear...

...he put on several repeat performances to impress the ladies...they seemed disinterested, but he certainly impressed us! So much so, that I completely forgot to photograph our meal!

After lunch, we enjoyed a slow amble around the property...the pergola was heavily draped with these fragrant wisteria blooms...the bees were having a wonderful time!

There are several oak trees in the garden and each one was occupied by at least one peacock!

Beautiful white Dog roses were sprawling over the boundary fence, such healthy plants covered in these full blown blossoms. Again, the bees were buzzing merrily!

I think these are wild garlic. Very pretty to look at, but stinky when picked!

The new season's oak leaves formed a dense canopy overhead. A lone sunray struggled to penetrate, but when it did, how glorious!

Next time, I'll show you some of the lovely sights we took in whilst in Tulbagh.