Exploring Nottingham Road
Close to Fordoun, is Indezi River Creamery. You can do a cheese tasting and buy goodies for a gourmet picnic or for that South African phenomenon, padkos.
There’s a little window at the back of the shop through which you can see the cheese being made. They make cow’s milk and goat’s milk varieties, with names like Pantsula (a St Paulin style cheese) and Kwaito (creamy gouda), among others.
At Terbodore, the famous local coffee roastery, I had a life-changing slice of chocolate cake with excellent coffee but it’s worth a visit for the atmosphere and resident Great Dane Sultan, alone.
At Ardmore Ceramic Studio we got completely lost in a tropical paradise of ceramic artworks – some functional, some ornamental, all telling a story. Cheetahs, monkeys, elephants, beautiful pangolins – a whimsical menagerie. The studio was originally founded in the Drakensberg by Fee Halsted whose first apprentice, the famous Bonnie Ntshalintshali, became integral to Ardmore’s direction and success when she joined in 1985. Bonnie and many other artists who joined the team in that time died of HIV/Aids-related illnesses, so Ardmore started a fund for HIV/AIDS sufferers.
A great highlight for us was seeing some of the artists at work. Nkwe Nkwe, only 16, works there during his school holidays. He makes ceramic frogs.