The smell of ripe peaches in the warm February sun in this magnificent valley just outside Bonnievale. The jovial chatter of the pickers as baskets are filled again and again. Everyone worked and moved in unison and with an urgency to bring in the harvest during the cool of the morning. February temperatures can rise to well over 40 degrees in the Breede River valley. You can almost feel the relief as the trees, heavily laden with fruit, are being stripped of its soft peachy stone fruits. It has been a very good day.

My heart was filled with gratitude when Jaco De Wet invited me back for the grape harvest the next day. What a privilege to witness the pickers skilfully cutting every bunch, softly dropping them in a basket, while carriers collect full baskets to be tipped in the tractor trailer slowly moving from line to line.

The harvest is simply too big, and the temperatures too high for hand picking, so mechanical harvesters are employed to assure the cut-off time is met at the cold storage.

The unique smell of the fruit sugar in the air, the chatter, the sweaty brows-How beautiful to see the labour of an entire year being brought in under the watchful eyes of Jurie and his son Jaco from Oudekraal. I gained such respect for every aspect of a successful harvest.

An experience I will cherish.