We took an exceptionally well behaved group of children to Overberg Honey on 10th April, accompanied by community helper Akona and volunteer Anne Mckeag.
Overberg Honey is beautifully thought out for groups of visiting children – and not everywhere can claim that! The two guides (Nauthaando and Aaron), who took us through the process of getting honey into jars, were kind, well informed and full of humour. We waited while an unexpected tasting group were taken care of and the children used the time to good effect by making sketches for the ‘big pictures’ they were going to make later when we got back from the bees to the appropriately named Butterfly Centre. (In fact the sketches were excellent and the final artwork showed the effects of an exciting, and tiring, morning). These children didn’t just go in, eat some honeycomb and pile out again. They really learned something.
The careful plan to eat pancakes drizzled with honey at the Butterfly Centre went slightly awry when no pancakes appeared. After a search, a bag of delicious vetkoek was discovered (there having been some concepts ‘missing in translation’, notably the word ‘pancakes’). The enterprising community caterers had used the ingredients supplied to make what they could.
Anne Mckeag, author of the illustrator Wendy Patterson, read one of her daughter’s books – The lemon Tree – where Gogo swaps all the ripe lemons on her tree for the ingredients to make pancakes. The children (and some visiting Butterfly Centre children, and some passing friends from London) munched their vetkoek. We enjoyed a book about bees and honey (The Bee Man) while making the artworks. A thoroughly good time was had by all.
Our thanks to Nadia and Daniel of Overberg Honey for the opportunity to visit and to Nauthando and Aaron for the excellent and informative tour.
Thank you to Anne Mckeag, who we hope will be a regular visitor.
Thank you to Akona who was invaluable during the walk to and from the honey and during the workshop.
Much gratitude to the butterfly Centre for their on-going kindness and hospitality.
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