A few weeks after the R62, before the memory of that drive had settled into anything resembling routine, we were back out again.
This time the destination was decided in advance. AJ and some of the Off The Beaten Track 4x4 Social Club members were coming out to Paarl for a day — nothing structured, just a group gathering at the rock and seeing what the day made of itself. That’s usually enough of a plan.
Paarl Rock
Paarl Rock is one of the larger granite domes in the world — which sounds like the kind of fact that needs a reference but is true enough that locals will tell you without hesitation. It sits above the Paarl Valley with the kind of presence that makes you understand why the town is named after it. Paarl means pearl, and on a clear day, the light on the granite looks like something reflected rather than lit.
The hike up is accessible, which means it works well for groups with kids and different fitness levels. You can cover as much or as little of the rock as you feel like on the day. The views from the top take in the Berg River Valley, the winelands, and on a clear enough morning, the Cape Flats stretching out toward the coast.
It’s not technical terrain. The incline is gentle enough that you’re walking more than climbing, and the exposure is gradual — the height sneaks up on you by the time you’re looking down at the valley and realise how far you’ve come. The kids moved faster than the adults, as they always do, and were somewhere ahead before the rest of us had found our pace.
Good morning out. The kind where the effort is low enough that you enjoy the destination without the hike becoming the story.
Too Early to Head Home
We came down from the rock, regrouped at the vehicles, and someone checked the time. It was earlier than it felt. The kids still had energy — the kind of mid-morning energy that’s been outdoors for an hour and is still nowhere near running out. AJ and I looked at each other.
The Drakenstein Lion Park is not far from Paarl. That was the whole conversation.
Drakenstein Lion Park
The Drakenstein Lion Park is a sanctuary, not a game farm. The lions there are not wild in the conventional sense — most have come from captive or exploitative situations and cannot be released. The park provides them with a permanent home, which is a different thing to a safari and matters in how you approach the visit.
What you get, practically speaking, is closer and more sustained access to lions than most game drives allow. The cats are visible, often active, and the enclosures are large enough that you’re watching lions living rather than lions performing.
The kids were fully absorbed. It’s one thing to see a lion in the distance from a game vehicle; it’s another to stand at a fence and watch one walk directly toward you, unhurried, curious, completely unbothered by the attention. That kind of proximity does something to your sense of scale. The photographs don’t quite get it — you’d need to be there for the sound of it.
We stayed longer than we’d planned. That was the right call.
Home
The plan after the lion park was a late afternoon pool session at the house — a way to cool down and wind out before AJ and the family pointed their vehicle toward home. There are no pictures of that part, which probably means it was a good time: too busy enjoying it to reach for the camera.
By the time we waved them off, the day had covered more ground than a morning at Paarl Rock usually suggests it will. That’s the good kind of day — the one where you look back and realise it kept finding room for more.
Until next time, AJ.