27/01/2025
๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฅ๐
๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ง ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ฒ.
Like a bowl of soup, full of warm tastiness, so is Barrydale: a soup bowl surrounded by beautiful mountains and Mother Nature.
People say there is a certain magic in and around Barrydale, it may be the crystal layer on top of the surrounding mountains or the energy thereof, I donโt know. What I do know is that I was drawn to, no, captivated by the energy in Barrydale. So much so that I cried after a weekend holiday here before returning home to Cape Town. It felt as if I was leaving my home behind... Needless to say, six months later, we sold up in Cape Town and moved to Barrydale!
Talking about Barrydaleโs magic, if it does not rain for a few weeks, you can feel a slight negative breeze running through the smiles of the Dalers. Locals guess it is because of the soup bowl effect where negativity doesnโt flow out. It hangs over our heads. But my oh my, it takes only a small fresh drizzle of rain in the beautiful Klein Karoo and the negative energy flows away into the Huis River. Frowns are turned upside down and peace and tranquillity fill the air once more.
One famous belief in Barrydale is not to try to change it; otherwise Barrydale will spit you out!
Iโve had numerous Customers telling me about their dreams to live in a village like our Barrydale. In the same breath they suggest possible changes and ways to grow it bigger. Every time I have to stop them and remind them of their first words, โa village LIKE Barrydaleโ. โWhy do you want to change it?โ
Barrydale, with the most eccentric bunch of people all together, has no Pharmacy or onsite GP. No local vet or dentist. I had to learn very quickly what a Honey Sucker is! By the way, no, it is not a bird! Visitors ask โwhy you would want to stay here without those basic services?โ The answer is simpleโฆ โYou donโt choose Barrydale, Barrydale chooses you!โ
Barrydale is still named a village with a population of just over 4 000 people. Only a handful born-and-bred Barrydalers still reside here. People escaped the city life from Gauteng to Cape Town, Upington to Durban and made Barrydale their home. With this said, the competition between Barrydale Restaurants are quite stiff. Restaurant owners challenge each other to be better and more resilient; basically forcing each other to be their utmost best. A lot of people see this as a negative but in fact it is a positive, keeping you centred and focused.
Growing up I heard the term โSmall Town Syndromeโ many times and have felt and experienced gossip and rumours in my almost two years of living here. The reality is that it was way worse living in the city. I was just not aware of all of it. Everyone knows almost everyone here and someone will always have your back. This cannot be said of the city life.
In life, if you take every challenge as an insult, you will not succeed at all!
Letโs jump to the nature side of the beautiful Klein Karoo and Barrydale. Some days I actually miss load shedding when the human-made sounds and white noise go quiet. You stand outside in the pitch dark and it feels as if you can touch the stars! Iโve learned to breathe here and to see the small things again. To literally smell the roses! Iโve learned just โto beโโฆ
Agriculture still has a major impact on the village as Farmers employ locals especially during harvest time. As clear as yesterday, I remember driving the R62 for the first time in 2022. To find a little piece of heaven, take the R62 on your next road trip as when you exit any town or village, you only witness countryside and the farm life. Breath-taking beautiful!
We also have a lot of fun and games in Barrydale. Because the village is surrounded by mountains, we have a large troop of baboons sharing our village with us. They love โtake awayโ meals and, especially on refuse bin days, they are very active. They roam the streets looking to score a quick milkshake or hamburger. Iโve heard stories of whole cakes being stolen out of restaurant fridges and sugar bowls grabbed off tables at eateries. Restaurant owners are always looking for more sugar bowls as the baboons take them up high in the mountains for their tea parties, I assumeโฆ Never leave your eggs or fruit out in your home, the fridge is the best place to keep them. The lonely male baboon is very arrogant and brave. He will stroll into your home and help himself. Believe me when I say he doesnโt clean up after himself!
Our second but not so funny neighbour is the Cape Cobra. You always need to watch your step although he is known to be a gentleman. The sneaky puff adder is more dangerous as it wonโt warn you before you step on him. Even though his venom is extremely dangerous, it takes a lot of effort for the Green Boomslang snake to bite as he bites with his rear fangs. In order for it to inject its venom into its prey, it would have to open its mouth extremely wide, scientifically speaking, to at least 170 degrees. In fact it does not really want to bite human being. Just give him his space.
On a lighter side, just the other day I had my first encounter with a Red Roman insect (Solifugae). Needless to say, I was soon standing on the restaurant table! That little sucker can move like a baby on steroids! Baboon and Rain spiders are also everywhere. They really give me goose bumps but with our dinosaur-aged mosquitos, they are a blessing to have. Our mosquitos are so vicious, you feel them land on you to suck you dry!
Dust, sand and more dust is a big thing in Barrydale. When the wind picks up and rushes in over the spectacular Tradouw Pass, youโd better close your mouth or youโll literally get a mouth full.
The architecture in Barrydale is something that will leave you in awe. Local slate (leiklip) is used on almost every building here which looks spectacular. A must visit is the Dutch Reformed Church which was founded in 1881 and built in 1908. So many other heritage sites exist in Barrydale. Around every corner you are bound to find some history such as the border wall which the Boere hid behind when the English came over the mountains.
If you have not visited Barrydale yet; not just to grab a snack and a body break then drive on; I mean really visited โฆ by staying the night and walking the streets, you need to add this to your bucket list. I have been gripped by Barrydale and will love this village for the rest of my days.
๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ฆ ๐? ๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฅ๐! ๐
