Tulbagh is a town in the Tulbagh valley and is situated in the Witzenberg Local Municipality, with the valley called "Die Land van Waveren" locally. Closest towns are Wolseley, Prince Alfred's Hamlet, Gouda and Ceres in the Boland (Highland) district of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The valley has been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous Bushmen and Khoi peoples. It was about 300 years ago when, after a land grant by the Dutch Colonial Government to a more or less equal number of Dutch and Huguenot settlers to settle the area, that the town of Tulbagh was founded. The town developed slowly and over time and in the period many notable examples of Cape Dutch architecture, Victorian and Edwardian houses and other buildings such as Die Oude Drosdy (the original colonial Magistrate's complex) were built in the valley. Many of these lovely buildings were destroyed in an earthquake in 1969 but quite a number did survive the catastrophe. Church Street in Tulbagh is now graced by the largest number of original Cape- Dutch, Edwardian and Victorian National Monuments in one street in South Africa and is a major tourist attraction of the town to the present day. Tulbagh is situated in a bowl surrounded by imposing mountain ranges, with the Obiqua Mountains to the west, the Winterhoek Mountains in the north and the Witzenberg Mountains to the east. The valley experiences a mediterranean-type climate. The southern side of the valley is open to cooling south-east winds during the hot summer months. Accordingly Tulbagh enjoys some of the most diverse and attractive conditions for viticulture in the Cape, and the differences in terroir available to wine makers allow for a wide diversity of distinctive wines of excellence, attributes which have attracted many new producers to the valley.

pretty darned good too!

recipe:
1 (1/4 oz.) package active dry yeast
3/4 cups warm water
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
5 tblsp. e.v.o.o.
2 tblsp. chopped fresh rosemary
coarse salt

1. dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water, and let sit 10 minutes.
2. in a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, yeast mixture and remaining water
3. mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon and then your hands (i needed to add more water here)
4. transfer to a floured work surface and knead by hand for a few minutes until smooth
5. place in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours
6. punch down and place on an oiled baking tray, forming into the desired shape
7. dimple the top surface with your fingertips, and then drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the salt and rosemary
8. bake in a preheated oven 425F for about 20 min ( i had my oven at 175C for the first 20 mins, and seeing that it wasn't getting brown turned it up to 200C for the last ten mins, and it was perfect)

this focaccia was amazing after it had cooled down ever so slightly. i had a few slices left over and tried it today...sad to say, it wasn't that great. it was tough and chewy, but that may have had something to do with me.
so...it's best eaten warm, and preferably fresh out of the oven.