JD and the 'giant peach' farm
Please indulge my slightly bizarre intersection of fiction and reality as I share my ‘magical’ and immersive visit to a Klein Karoo peach farm at harvest time.
If Roald Dahl’s ‘James and the Giant Peach’ is a favourite of yours, then stick with me. Hopefully this blog will be as enjoyable and inspirational as Mr Dahl’s heartwarming fictional adventure story.
This tale - as real as real can be - starts with an invitation to visit Little Oaks; a 3rd-generation peach (and pear) farm on the outskirts of Montagu on Route 62. (The only make-believe that occurred was me pretending to be a real farm girl for a few hours).
The story of a Klein Karoo farm
“We are now about to visit the most marvelous places and see the most wonderful things!” ― Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
It was harvest time on JD (now retired) and his son, Dawie’s farm, and I had no clue as to the ‘most wonderful things’ that did await…
First, we visited the pear orchard, where a swarm of animated pickers worked swiftly alongside tractor trailers being loaded to the brim with fresh pears. (These pears are off to Ceres to be made into baby food pulp before being shipped to Germany).
This visual spectacle of man and nature in harmony was ineffable. I'm not sure I’ve ever seen any activity so wonderfully chaotic and ordered at the same time.
“My dear young fellow,' the Old-Green-Grasshopper said gently, 'there are a whole lot of things in this world of ours you haven't started wondering about yet.” ― Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
After passing the peach orchards, we arrived at the ‘hub’ where so much was happening - all at once. It was an unexpected bombardment of the senses.
″And now suddenly, the whole place, the whole garden seemed to be alive with magic.” ― Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
There were peaches on trees, peaches on the most ‘fantastical’ machines, peaches in crates, (there were even ‘giant’ peaches), peaches in cold storage, peaches being oven dried, peaches being sun dried, peaches being sorted for export, second grade peaches being sidelined for chutney, and peach pips being used as biofuel.
And yet, amongst all this harvesting pandemonium and frenetic buzz, was a sense of focused calm as peaches, machines and labourers engaged in an unspoken rhythmic and synchronised dance; completely undeterred by spectators.
“Come right up close to me and I will show you something wonderful.” ― Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
It was loud. It was messy. It was fast. It was sweetly fragrant. It was busy. It was colourful. It was sticky. It was humming. It was hot. It was awe-inspiring. And I loved every minute of it!
“The walls were wet and sticky, and peach juice was dripping from the ceiling. James opened his mouth and caught some of it on his tongue. It tasted delicious.” ― Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
But back to the story of JD, Dawie, and their peach farm.
A ‘rags to riches’ tale
Here’s the dramatic coincidence: James, the protagonist in Roald Dahl’s story, was a young orphan boy.
As JD introduced us to the backstory of Little Oaks Peach Farm, he shone the light on his father, an orphan boy who grew up in Robertson and whose determination, resilience, and work ethic turned a childhood dream into a reality.
“Well, maybe it started that way. As a dream, but doesn’t everything. Those buildings. These lights. This whole city. Somebody had to dream about it first. And maybe that is what I did. I dreamed about coming here, but then I did it.” ― Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
After farming for years in the Caledon and Greyton area, he bought Little Oaks in 1979. According to JD, his father was more of a speculator than a farmer. But at the age of 60, he hung up his farming hat and retired to Hermanus, leaving JD to fill his boots.
JD - a true farmer - and his wife, Toitjie - ‘n boervrou nie ‘n huisvrou nie’ - farmed and raised their family together, developing and scaling the farm into the revolutionised and modern enterprise it is today. Their peach chutney - which now has its own factory in town - was started in Toitjie’s farm kitchen with her own testing of recipes.
And Dawie? Well, what do you expect when you’ve been on a tractor since a toddler? The baton has been passed down and it is now his farm; his turn to continue the legacy set in motion by his father and grandfather.
No-one is under the illusion that farming is easy. Seven years of drought have left their mark, testing the most resilient of farmers. But there have been two good years of rain and they are thankful.
Wandering about the farm with JD and Dawie, you quickly realise that when farming is in your blood you cannot silence the love you have for your land. One could almost feel their pride and commitment. They love every minute of it!
A reflection on a happy place
“Everybody was feeling happy now. The sun was shining brightly out of a soft blue sky and the day was calm. The giant peach, with the sunlight glinting on its side, was like a massive golden ball sailing upon a silver sea.”― Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
On Little Oaks, you’re unlikely to bump into a wisecracking centipede, a pessimistic earthworm or a sage grasshopper. What you will bump into are happy ‘worker bees’ with quiet smiles, busy hands and an energetic productivity.
You'll bump into an innovative farmer who is a passionate and diligent steward of the land and nature’s yield.
And, most satisfying of all, you'll bump into the story of a peach at every turn.
Written by Leanne Johnson
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