Fabulous Heritage Experience

Lovers of North Coast culture immersed themselves in the very first Ilembe Heritage Experience held over the long weekend from Thursday, September 24 to Saturday, September 26.

Featuring the much anticipated Ballito Strawberry Festival, the Orphan Fund bass fishing competition, a community cook-off, King Shaka Day celebrations and various markets, this lively landmark event was marketed far and wide by the North Coast Courier and Enterprise Ilembe.

There is every hope that it will grow into a prime festival weekend on the South African calendar, rubbing shoulders with the likes of the Knysna Oyster festival and Nelspruit’s Innibos.

Thousands of people swooped on Cappeny Estates at Compensation for the sold-out Ballito Strawberry Festival to pick their own strawberries and savour the many sweet treats lavished upon mankind by the noble strawberry. Festival goers agreed that the huge, juicy strawberries were worth picking and the strawberry beer was epic.

Including a bottoms up craft beer tent, wine and strawberry pairing, open mic strawberry jam sessions, a pig out strawberry eating contest, a strawberry inspired crazy hat competition, a kiddies play area and live music, it is no wonder about 1 000 disappointed people had to be turned away once tickets were sold out.

The farm could only accommodate a limited number of people and tickets had to be limited to 5 000. All 4 500 online tickets were sold out before the event and the 500 tickets that were on sale at the gate went like hot strawberry cakes.

By 11am the strawberry picking field was filled to capacity with eager family groups. No more picking passes could be sold and those with unused pre-booked picking passes used the overflow field.

Further inland, the Orphan Fund bass competition held at Rain Farm Lodge proved to be a relaxing family outing, surrounded by nature’s beauty. The fish may have been a little slow on the bite, but the waterside tranquility, sound of children laughing, smell of boerewors on the braai and the surprise visit by a couple of Rain Farm’s trail horses, more than made up for it.

The King Shaka Day celebrations held at the KwaDukuza recreation grounds was a cultural extravaganza after any foreign tourist’s heart. Many thousands of people gathered, dressed in traditional attire, to listen to King Goodwill Zwelithini’s speech and participate in traditional Zulu dancing, stick fighting and celebrate their rich cultural heritage.

The community cook-off at Sugar Rush pitted six braai teams against each other in a quest to find the North Coast’s king of the braai. The dishes were imaginative and delicious, perfecting our traditional outdoor eating experience.

For those who like to spend hours browsing through stalls while relishing delicious home-made treats with chilled live musical performances in the background, there were no less than three markets to visit – one every day. King Shaka International Airport hosted their first ever I Heart Market, followed by the popular Litchi Orchard Night Market and Umhlali Village Market.