They say an army marches on its stomach.

I can assure you that this is nothing compared with what a tourist travels on.  Many holidays are merely a case of marking time between meals, and most of the joy of exploring a new part of the country or the world is experiencing the taste sensations of unusual cuisine. While most people enjoy something exotic once in a while, a number of travellers would draw the line at eating something that is unrecognisable, or perhaps something that is too queasily recognisable. But no one, absolutely no one, has an objection to cheese, chocolate and liqueur.  Which is why an enterprising group of purveyors of these goodies, as well as an art gallery, decided to join forces to create a new route for foodies as an aside to the usual ostriches-and-outside-spaces route of Oudtshoorn. The Art, Cheese, Chocolate and Liqueur Route begins just 5km outside Oudtshoorn.  This is where you will come across the Jamstreet Farm and the Mooooi Gallery (although I might have put too many ‘ooo’s in the name).  The name comes from the fact that this art gallery started life as a dairy.  Where the cows used to stand and go ‘moooo’, the visitors now stand and go ‘moooooi!’ Gallery owners Danie du Plessis and Wim Rheeder have created a gallery with a gift shop, a boutique coffee shop, self-catering accommodation and a labyrinth.  A labyrinth?  Yes, a medieval maze, made out of winebottles – the only one in the world fashioned from wine bottles – modelled on the famous labyrinthine pattern on the Byzantine mosaic floor of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy.  That would certainly be a conversation-stopper at your next dinner party… After food for the soul it would be time to move on for a meal of a more solid variety:  cheese.  Sonja Ferreira, of the well-known Tantinki goat-milk cheese factory, opened a shop in Oudtshoorn selling 13 different cheeses in 17 flavours.  The milk comes from those fluffy white Saanen Heidi-goats found usually on Alpine hilltops.  Sonja’s farm is out in the country, and this is the only outlet where the cheeses can be bought directly. From Alpine hilltops it is only a short distance to heaven, and so it is only a short distance from the Tantinki shop to the chocolate boutique of Rococo, which specialises in traditional Belgian chocolates.  Chocolatier Marita Lamprecht usually only supplies special clients, but the visitor to Oudtshoorn can visit her shop to sample her unusual chocolate combinations.  There are hand-painted chocolates, dark chocolates, flavoured chocolates, filled chocolates (although perhaps not as filled as the eager visitor when time comes to leave the shop!). A few kilometres away are the vineyards of Sandkoppies, the estate for Grundheim Wines.  The wine cellar is more than 100 years old, and the cellar is famous for its fermentation process in open tanks.  The Winery’s logo is a white bull-terrier, which is an apt label for its famous Witblits that sneaks up and bites you from the rear.  Other products include muscatel, port, liqueurs and pot-still brandy – good old-fashioned likker such as would have been used for nagmaal and around the opsitkers.  The route was the brainchild of gallery owner Danie, who left the Cape Town rat race three years ago with ad-agency partner Wim, bought the dilapidated dairy farm and proceeded to set up an off-the-beaten-track attraction.  “It’s not your average art gallery,” he says of the Moooooi (still don’t know how many ‘ooo’s) Gallery.  “We have tried to create a destination.  The gift shop is very trendy, we have built an amphitheatre where we will put on top-class shows; we had a classical festival earlier this year and intend to have regular concerts. “The setting is quite spectacular, with the Karoo evenings and the backdrop of the Swartberg Mountains.” The other businesses on the route were invited on board because they are small, personal businesses, they are complementary products – they are unique and upmarket offerings. Visitors pick up a route map from their guest house or the tourist office and at each of the four destinations they get a sticker.  Once they have four stickers they get a small gift as a souvenir of the route. “Our feedback has been very good,” says Danie.  “We think our route has the edge, because it is small, personal and high quality.” A fifth product owner, an olive farm, is also on the cards. “The route can take two hours or it can take six hours,” says Danie, “depending on how long you want to kuier.” En dis ook baie Moooooooooi! The route is featured on the Oudtshoorn website at http://www.oudtshoorninfo.com/activities.php?id=32  .