The Van Gaalen Kaasmakerij in Skeerpoort
In 1990 Annelies van Gaalen immigrated from the oldest and one of the Netherland’s bigger cities to Skeerpoort, a small farming community in the Hartbeespoort dam area.
Living in the peace and quiet of the countryside, she soon realized that this was the ideal setting to begin making cheese like the Dutch ‘voorvaders’. It started out as a hobby, but as the demand for Boerenkaas grew, it soon became a successful venture. In 1994 ‘Van Gaalen Kaasmakerij’ was officially registered.
Originally cheese was sold at markets and to delicacy shops, supermarkets and restaurants, but these days the cheese is only sold from the farm shop.
As more and more visitors came to the farm to buy ‘Boerenkaas’, in 1999 it was decided that a new building had to be erected in order to accommodate the growing flow of visitors. Erik found an old chicken shed in Natal, fetched the steel construction and started building.
Today the farm is humming with activity. Farm animals entertain the guests, and besides the farm shop there is a garden restaurant, the cheese production tours, conferences, weddings, and events and in addition the Magalies MTB trails start at the farm.
The Van Gaalen Kaasmakerij Is one of the landmarks of the area, and is the perfect day out in the country for the whole family.
Getting there The Van Gaalen Cheese Farm is situated in Skeerpoort, close to the intersection of the R 560 and R 512.