Wolfkop Weekender attracts music’s nature lovers

SCONE MALONE and CANDICE CHAPLIN

TWO HOURS out of Cape Town on the seldom visited peripheries of the striking banks of the early southern stretches of the Olifants River lies a small, unregarded meandering tributary.

Flanking this for an area of approximately 450 hectares is a pristine undulating nature reserve whose spacious camping villages are so timeless that they make you think digital watches are a decidedly unnecessary idea.

This undisturbed area plays host to an annual get-together of happy music lovers at the Wolfkop Weekender, this year happening on the weekend of August 28. For the fourth year running this event will attract a musically discerning audience and like-minded nature lovers, as well as curious travellers and tourists from afar.

This intimate three-day back-tonature event of rolling basslines in the Citrusdal valley will see the likes of legendary Felix Laband’s other-worldly poetic beats.

The long-awaited reappearance of Felix now sees him, alongside visual artist Kerry Chaloner, using their sublimely Delphic music and art to evoke thought and elucidate their audiences to an unspoken social awareness. From Los Angeles, California, the festival is headlined by the skilful craftsman Alfred Darlington, otherwise known as Daedalus. Not much can be said about this man if you have heard his music; for those who have not had the pleasure of listening to his music, please stop being silly.

To celebrate the return of spring and the unique splendour of the Cape Floral Kingdom’s flowering display, 500 to 600 lucky people get to enjoy water-based days in the exquisite lilo flows of that stretch of river. The event has wholesome food on sale as well as a fully stocked bar – this experience is not to be missed.