Farm days at Babylonstoren
Babylonstoren and Soetmelksvlei, on the Babylonstoren estate, are putting on a weekend of garden-based activities for children of all ages. At Babylonstoren, ages 4–10 can join a morning of outdoor exploration — waddling behind ducks, learning about bees and bugs, and decorating eggs, followed by a light lunch at the House of Shadows. Children must be accompanied by an adult. R750 per person.
At Soetmelksvlei — an immersive, 19th-century-style working farm, set up as a kind of living museum — the focus shifts to treasure hunts. Children aged 8–16 can take part in an Amazing Race-style “Hopscapade”, following clues across the farm (R150 pp), while younger ones (2–7) can opt for a more traditional egg hunt, with chocolate rewards along the way (R100 pp). Prices exclude entry to Soetmelksvlei.
• Activities run Friday and Saturday at Babylonstoren and Friday to Sunday at Soetmelksvlei. Booking essential. See babylonstoren.com/events.
Light play at Spier
Spier Light Art is back at the Stellenbosch wine farm for its eighth edition, turning the grounds into an open-air exhibition after dark. This year’s programme features 21 artists working with light, sound and installation, with pieces spread across the farm.
Visitors move between works along walking paths, encountering everything from neon text and interactive pieces to larger-scale installations. The experience is informal and self-guided, which makes it easy to do with children — especially paired with one of the farm’s sunset picnics.
Over Easter, there’s an added daytime draw: the Easter Eggventure Hunt, where children follow a short clue-based route across the farm for a prize at the end, and wine-tasting stations set up for adults along the route.
Spier Light Art runs until 6 April, daily at dusk. Free entry.
The Easter Eggventure Hunt takes place 3–5 April, 9am–12.30pm, R230 per child (adults free).Picnics and meals available on site. See spier.co.za.
A walk through history
The Long March to Freedom is an open-air exhibition in Century City featuring more than 100 life-size bronze sculptures. Together, they chart 350 years of South Africa’s resistance history, from early Khoi leaders to well-known 20th-century struggle figures.
South African visitors pay R20 for a self-guided visit or R75 for a guided tour. Over Easter, families can also take advantage of a R120 guided-tour special for groups of four, and on Sunday visitors can take part in the Big Easter Egg Hunt.
Through March and April, there’s also a wine-tasting special in collaboration with The Wine Spot. For R120, visitors get a guided tour plus a tasting of five wines from emerging Black winemakers. See longmarchtofreedom.co.za.
Cinema under the stars
The Galileo Open Air Cinema has two family‑friendly picks over the Easter weekend. On Friday, it screens Rise of the Guardians at Central Park in Century City — a 2012 animated adventure in which childhood figures including the Tooth Fairy, Santa and the Easter Bunny team up to save the day. On Sunday, Wonka plays at Kirstenbosch, following a young Willy Wonka as he dreams up the beginnings of his chocolate empire.
Gates open at 5pm for food stalls, lawn games, face painting and giveaways, plus a chance to snap a pic with the Easter Bunny before the movies start at 7.30pm.
• R175–R275, including entry, entertainment, a backrest, blanket and popcorn. See thegalileo.co.za.
Festival for forests
Since 2011, the annual Reforest Fest — “Africa’s largest tree-planting festival” — has blended arts, culture and music with hands-on reforestation. This year’s event runs over the Easter weekend, hosted by Greenpop at the Bodhi Khaya Nature Retreat in Stanford, with a programme that includes talks, workshops, live music, guided walks, mindfulness sessions and activities for children.
Saturday morning is the festival’s core moment, when the community heads out for a mass planting of 5,000 to 10,000 indigenous trees in the Platbos Forest Reserve and Bodhi Khaya as part of Greenpop’s Uilenkraal Forest Restoration Project. Dedicated family planting areas, with gentler terrain and shorter walking distances, make it possible for younger children — and those not keen on a strenuous hike — to take part too.
• R1,400 for adults and R425 for children includes access to the full programme from 3–6 April. Locals and corporates can apply to take part only in the tree-planting on Saturday. See greenpop.org.
