Imagine sitting on the veranda or stoep (porch) in the warm-ish winter sun overlooking rows upon rows of citrus plants whilst drinking some of the best orange drinks you could think of. Imagine lively music playing in the background and the buildings remind you of Italy or Spain. Imagine you can get all of this without the need to fly overseas and spend an exuberant amount of money with your very weak currency (in South Africa). Well, just less than 100km from Johannesburg, you can sit as we did and enjoy this stunning place without ever leaving the country. It might seem contradictory to want Europe in Africa, and with colonial and apartheid pasts, this is a problematic statement to make. But from another perspective, that of the traveler without money, this is a dream come true.

It was time for me to take @urban.scout out of the house a bit and she mentioned the lovely farmhouse of Almost Orange a couple of times now. We got into the car and traveled a bit. We drove underneath the "South African Arc de Triomphe" and enjoyed the open road before we arrived at the lovely orange orchard which was our final destination.

From where you sit, you look into the orchards. If you are lucky, they place you at one of the tables inside the orchard itself. What a lovely way to spend the afternoon, listening to some music and sipping on some lovely orange drinks.

So please come along with me on this virtual journey as I take you through the lovely Italian/Spanish-inspired farmhouse and our meanderings through the orchards after our light lunch.

The Italian/Spanish-inspired Farmhouse

You walk through two massive doors, greeted by copious amounts of lemons and a very friendly staff member. The decor reminds me of Italy or Spain. I love the small detail like the tiles on the bottom step. The windows are also covered with lovely plants, which reminds me of my visit in Italy many years ago.

We were seated on the veranda or stoep (porch); however, if you are lucky enough you can get a table in the orchard itself.

As you walk to your table, you are greeted by countless wine barrels stacked with oranges and citrus. It is amazing just how much these orchards can produce.

The Menu

It always bothers me when you go to a place, like an orange orchard, and the menu is not littered with, in this case, orange-inspired dishes.

This might be a mini rant, or a problem I have with these places.

But let me start with the good. The orange drinks that @urban.scout and I shared were amazing. The "Almost Orange" cocktail (we had virgin ones because I needed to drive home) was something out of this world. It was spectacular and instilled childlike joy in us both. The kiwi, berry and lemon cocktail (also a virgin one) was also very good.

But here is my question: why do the chefs of these places not use the produce of the farm be the star on the menu? We had to search for something orange related on the menu. I would have guessed that the chef could experiment with various chutneys, sauces, desserts, and dishes with the main ingredient or focus orange.

Moreover, it being so abundant on the orchard and essentially "free", it seems to be a win-win case for the owner and the chef. It being a seasonal fruit can be a problem, but one can again become very creative by making these jams and chutneys and so on in bulk to use in the off-season when there are no fruits on the trees.

Rant over.

The food and the drinks were, besides my little rant, really good.

We ordered a small platter with various bites on it. It came with lovely freshly baked bread. It was, for once, enough bread on a platter! A mini-rant that I will not go into now (I already had my mini-rant above) is when platters do not come with enough bread. It is frustrating because bread is so cheap and easy to make. But that's beside the point now.

The clear winner for me and @urban.scout was for sure the duck and fig samoosa. I have never heard of this combination, but my word, it was heavenly. (Again, lashing on with my mini-rant from above: there are no fig trees on the property, where did this combination come from? Probably pre-made stuff they bought and did not make on-site, but this is a massive assumption.)

These prawn rissoles were @urban.scout's second favorite after the samoosa.

Strolling In and Meandering Through the Orchards

After the lovely lunch, you really need to stroll through the orchards.

It is a massive orchard and you can probably get lost betwixt all the trees. But strolling and meandering through the trees with the citrus smell hanging in the air is heavenly.

It leads you to philosophically overthink the menu of the restaurant, as is evident from the above mini-rant that I displayed above. But this is merely part and parcel of walking betwixt these lovely trees (and getting a little drunk on all the fermented fruits on the bottom of the trees!).

It is funny though, with the trees being so full and heavy with fruits, you are not allowed to pick any. Even though the trees drop so many fruits, you are not allowed to pick any. I can understand this as we humans tend to abuse what is given to us. I can imagine if they allowed it that people would pick baskets full of oranges. Now, you can buy some of these oranges and other citrus fruits from the farm itself. Which again, with the abundance, feels a little odd. Rather than give clients sweets when they pay, why do they not give you some oranges?

The sign is at first very funny until you see 10 or 20 of these signs! Luckily they did not prohibit photography (like the previous place we went to.)

Sweet Toilet Art

I should totally begin a series on photographing random art pieces in toilets. It seems like various places take it up to them to decorate their bathrooms for their clients. And sometimes you stumble on some really good art. I should really start a new art series: Bathroom Art. (That might be interpreted wrongly...)

Postscriptum, or Turning Around a Last Time Before You Leave

Before I left, I turned around for a last time to look at the courtyard or the front of the building. I really love the look of the place and I am jealous of the owner. I would love to live in such a home on such a lovely property. Maybe dreams do come true, but for now, I will relish and enjoy my nomadic status on this planet. Being strapped down is not always optimal.

All in all, this was one of the most enjoyable visits we had in a long time. The staff was friendly, the food and drinks were heavenly, and the stroll in the orchard cleared the mind so nicely. I really hope you enjoyed this virtual journey. As a last "treat", please enjoy this video of us leaving the orchard. It is truly beautiful.

All of the photographs (and video) were taken by my iPhone or Nikon D300 camera. The musings and writings are also my own. (Edit: Title error)