Mostert Mill

The big boys
Mostert Mill

Today I went and saw the only working windmill in Africa (this is according to the pamphlet, but I’d imagine they’re spot on)- Mostert Mill in Rondebosch. I won’t give you all the history as you can go have a read of the website yourself. But I will tell you it’s the one you see when you’re driving past UCT, and every now and then you see the sails spinning in the wind. Apparently they’re open about every 6 weeks for tours. I arrived around lunchtime on Saturday to find two old pensioners manning the gate. I took to them instantly as they had three brown dumpy bottles of unlabelled beer in front of them. When I asked what it was the one old bloke told me (no idea what it was) and offered a taste. I had a sip. It was gooooood. I asked what it was again (again, no idea what he said). He then told me he brewed it himself. I offered to buy some from him it was that good, but he just laughed at me. Pity. Next was a tour of the mill, guided by a retired Captain. He was well informed and took me through the little mill. The mill was built as a private mill (ie for the farmers milling requirements only) not commercial, like in Holland (the Zaanse Schans being the first industrial area as I’ve said in one of my previous posts). I fell in love with the sound of the mills in Amsterdam and I was happy to hear a very similar noise when I entered the Mostert Mill. I had a great tour, with them even stopping the sails for me (the brakes are wood- so wood braking wood results in a lot of friction and you can smell the burning!). They then offered me the last bag of wheat flour, which is on sale to visitors, provided they’ve ground enough. I left very satisfied with my bag of wheatflour (only R10 a kilo!)