Under the mighty Berg

Hiking, cycling, horse riding, paddling and hearty food to replenish you after a day of playing in the mountains Underberg has it all!

- MIA LOUW

Ian Bonsma welcomes me in the garden of The Olde Duck, his wife Jeannine's restaurant about 5 km outside Underberg with views of the Southern Drakensberg. "This area is one of South Africa's best kept secrets," he says.

"We're further away from the main travel routes Gautengers tend to visit the Northern and Central Berg, which is closer for them.

We're 600 km away - a seven-hour drive.

City folk generally don't come here just for the weekend, and that's why it's special. We're not too busy or commercial." Ian was born and bred here. He farms dairy cattle, as his father Nico did. Jeannine is a Durbanite. She and Ian have been married for 34 years; she started The Olde Duck in 1996, sold it, and bought it back in 2014.

"This was a shed and feeding area for the cows before I opened the coffee shop," she says. "It was called the Duck & Dolittle back then. Ian was sceptical. I remember him saying, 'Who the hell is going to come and drink coffee here?'"" Just look at The Olde Duck today. Besides the restaurant, there's also a clothing and decor shop called Vanilla Rose, and a farm shop called The Daughter's Deli. The "daughter" is Bronwyn Penny, who bought into The Olde Duck enterprise in 2020 and runs the businesses with her mom.