Early Saturday Morning at the Pretoria Boeremark
A couple of Saturdays ago, my friends Fiver and Stuart and I woke up at before 5:00 a.m. and drove an hour north to the Pretoria Boeremark in Silverton. I’ve been meaning to check out this market – probably the largest open-air market in Gauteng – for ages, but it took a while for me to fully commit to waking up so early. The Boeremark opens at 5:30 a.m. (some people arrive even earlier) and winds down by 9:30 a.m. Apparently you have to get there early to find the best stuff.
Your first question might be: Why does this market happen so damn early? My purely speculative answers are:
The Boeremark (which means “farmer’s market” in Afrikaans) was founded several decades ago as a place where actual farmers sold the food they produced. Farmers wake up early, and that tradition stuck. These days, like most South African markets billing themselves as farmer’s markets, the Boeremark is more like a craft and prepared foods market with a few niche meat and produce sellers mixed in. But it’s still the closest you’ll get around here to a legit farmer’s market.
South Africans, as a general rule, wake up insanely early and that’s just the way it is.
We arrived at 6:15 and I quickly realized I was in over my head. It was so early and there were so many people (I have never encountered so many people in one place, anywhere, before 6:30 a.m.) and hundreds of stalls and nearly everyone was speaking Afrikaans, of which I still understand only a few swear words after 14 years in South Africa.
Stuart, who was headed to the Parkrun at the nearby Pretoria Botanical Gardens, said his goodbyes, leaving Fiver and I to wander, dazed and still a bit groggy, trying to figure out what to photograph/buy/eat first.
I didn’t do a great job documenting the Boeremark; there was too much to see and I need to go back a few more times to really figure out the best places to eat and shop. For a more detailed and informative account of what happens there, I recommend this Daily Maverick article by my former colleague Marie-Lais Emond, who did her homework properly and arranged a Pretoria local to show her around the Boeremark.
But here’s a little slice of what Fiver and I experienced.
Two Hours at the Pretoria Boeremark
After walking a lap around most of the market, we decided to buy two cups of “moer koffie”: coffee brewed the traditional Afrikaans way in an aluminium pot, then poured through a strainer and sweetened with condensed milk.
Once we’d found a picnic table where we could sit down and sip our coffee, it was after 7:00 a.m. and I’d been awake for close to three hours. Starved, I sought out a pancake stall, Sugar & Spice Pancakes, which my friend Jay Jay had recommended. I ordered two pancakes filled with curry mince, an Afrikaans specialty, and two filled with caramel and banana, and carried them back to our table.
After eating, we hung around for a bit people-watching (and dog-watching), then circled back and hit a few stalls that had caught our eye earlier.
I bought some samoosas to take home to Thorsten. I can’t remember the name of the stall and forgot to take pictures but they were fantastic. We also stopped by the farm animals section, part of the kids’ entertainment area, and said hi to the baby goats and pot-bellied pig.
Our last stop was the flower stall selling the protea flowers, where Fiver and I both bought big bouquets on our way out.
A few logistical notes:
- The Pretoria Boeremark is at 665 Moreleta Street, Silverton.
There is no admission fee to the Boeremark.
The Boeremark website is in Afrikaans only, which is annoying. Facebook and Instagram have automatic translations.
I’ll be back for the deep-fried fat.
Comments
sounds wonderful. I;d go with you next time if I were there. And the proteas are stunning. I would love a big bunch (here those would cost $75 or more I think) Se this: https://www.buyproteaflowers.com/shop/bouquet-of-the-week?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAn-2tBhDVARIsAGmStVlJfKorOCTlpDV4SITowhFj3sEDa4qWj9DF4OvGekXD16lHozcvIOYaAittEALw_wcB
That’s crazy! But I guess they have a long way to travel.
We go there at least every 3rd month. It’s such an amazing place to buy your braai meat, moer koffie and sometimes some Dutch Kroketten (as I’m Dutch). We love this place to mingle and kuier (talk) with the Afrikaners. Geniet die naweek Enjoy your weekend.
Cool! How early do you normally go?
Love u Maarten,as i love the afrikaans language. Geniet die naweek, totsiens Sue
So glad to see Michael is still going strong with his punch needles, he used to also sell at the Rosebank Market but has not been this side in awhile. I grew up on Pap and Kaiings, my grandmothers and mother always had a bowl of dripping which when made and there would be kaiings left in the pot, the dripping was also a great alternative for butter on bread. You really must try them. Also another South African dish to try which I’m sure you would love is ‘Melkkos’. I just wish this market was not so far but the crowds also turn me off a bit. Great blog and photos
I’m trying those kaiings first thing next time :)
Good morning. I just want to correct you on the kaaings. It’s actually pork and not lamb. We are there most weekends because my daughter is working at the ostrich meat stand. You must try there sosaties.😁
Agree. The crowd is intense and makes me nervous…
I can definitely see how an environment like that is not for everyone!
That’s wonderful. I am aware of that market and so wish I can go there one day. I lived in Bloemfontein for 10 years. Bloemfontein has their own Boeremark which I have visited so many times. But the one in Pretoria is much bigger obviously. Great places to buy vegetables, meats and fruits. And to socialize.
It’s definitely quite the scene!
I have a stall at this market and find that there are 2 groups visiting the market. Sales are up between 6 and 7 then quiet for a while then peaking around 8 am. There are 3 afternoon evening market per year each the evening before a public holiday the first is on 20 March. Hope to see you there!
Ah, that is good to know – thanks. I think the next time I’ll just go slightly later as it seemed like there was still plenty to choose from.
Of course, my type of people n place Lekker kos.
I didn’t know about that market - really worth a visit, if only to buy a few of those fabulous pens!
The pens are absolutely worth a trip. I love mine and will definitely buy another the next time I go.
Yes, a lot of Farmers Markets around here have also gone the way of food stalls and crafts. But we’re fortunate that there’s a pretty big one that food growers head to on Saturday. They have the best produce…and they open at the very reasonable hour of 8 AM. I await the deep fried fat blog, LOL.
Hahahahaaaaa. Noe I feel I definitely have to write a post that is just called “Deep Fried Fat”. I still miss the farmer’s markets in DC! We had great ones back in the day but I guess the last time I attended one was around 2011. So who knows.
Can I also recommend that you also take a friend of colour the next time you attend so that you can also observe and document their experience? I can share with you my experience of how the old racial issues also still remain but for fear of coming across as one-sided rather I bring those issues to your attention to deliberately take note of.
Hi Les, thanks very much for the comment. Before I published this post, a friend of color actually messaged me to ask if I thought they would feel comfortable and welcome at the market. I told them honestly that 90% of the people I saw there (customers and vendors) were white, and I invited the person to come with me next time I go (still hoping they’ll take me up on that but not sure yet). I thought long and hard about addressing this topic when I wrote my post, but ultimately decided that as a white person it would be wrong for me to speculate about what the experience for a non-white person at the market would be. I do agree it is a really important topic though and I appreciate you bringing it up. Please feel welcome to share your experience if you’d like to!