Living in Canada means loads of snow and maple syrup. As a self-proclaimed right of passage in our journey to become Canadian citizens, we figured it was a must to visit a maple farm and witness the process of making maple syrup. We’ve seen it a time or two on TV shows, but the actual thing is so much more impressive.

We decided to go to Horton Tree Farms, a family run maple and Christmas tree farm. I’m so glad we ended up in one of the smaller farms for our first maple festival. The Hortons were so welcoming and friendly, and spent a lot of time with each cluster of visitors individually. We learned more from personal conversations than we would have in a tour group.

It was also really interesting to learn how the sap was tapped and cooked through the ages, through the various displays.

When we arrived, the sap was still frozen, but thawed as the day progressed. We tasted sap from the tree, had a sample of the finished syrup, and rounded off our visit with some delicious pancakes (the kind we call flapjacks in South Africa, not pannekoek.)

This was such a lovely experience, I highly recommend it as part of your Canadian sightseeing if you’re visiting in March or early April – tapping season.

Have a good weekend!

Yolandie