Flee to the Country. From Cape Town to the Cape Winelands

TIME:
One (full) day, although you may want to make it a weekend and include McGregor or Montagu. Better still would be a few days to take in the entire Route 62.

DISTANCE:
About 380km as a round trip.

BEST TIME TO GO:
All year, although it’s particularly beautiful in November and December when jacarandas, cannas and roses make the route a riot of colour. Grape harvest time is February and March, when there’s lots of activity in the cellars, and autumn is charming too, when the vineyards slowly turn to rust and gold.

THE ROUTE
Kick off your shoes and relax as you explore the vine-clad countryside around Robertson, the ‘valley of wine and roses’. Taste the wines of Graham Beck, Van Loveren and De Wetshof Sip Viljoensdrift wines aboard a boat drifting down the Breede River Have a picnic on the Breede or eat at Fraai Uitzicht 1798. Get lost in the largest hedge maze in the world and explore the cactus garden at Soekershof, or be dazzled by the parrots at Birds of Paradise Head for the river again for sundowners and dinner aboard the Kolgans floating restaurant.

Before you go
The Viljoensdrift wine cruises take place on Saturdays and the first Sunday of the month (every Sunday in December). If you’re visiting during the week, taste the wines in the cellar, then make the Kolgans trip a lunchtime cruise. Fraai Uitzicht 1798 is closed for meals on Mondays and Tuesdays (except for overnightguests). The Graham Beck, De Wetshof and Van Loveren wine estates are all closed on Sundays. Try Bon Cape Organic Wine instead.

Siyabona Africa Travel recommends Cape Winelands hotels

Waterfront to Graham Beck – 1hr 30min

From the Waterfront turn left onto highway following signs for N1 Paarl. At 61km follow signs for N1 Worcester and pay a toll fee to use the Huguenot Tunnel at 66km. Ignore the first turn into Worcester (signed R43 Villiersdorp). At the second set of traffic lights, about 107km, turn right to Worcester/Robertson. At 109km turn left at the lights onto R60 Robertson, and turn right at the next lights into Robertson Road, R60. Turn right into Graham Beck at about 147km. Graham Beck sparkles in the galaxy of South African wines, and a sip of these bubbles will get the day off to a suitably uplifting start. (They certainly worked for Nelson Mandela – the Graham Beck Brut was selected for his inauguration in 1994.)

Don’t expect anything Cape Dutch: metal sculptures in the vineyard prepare you for fabulously avant garde architecture in purple, orange and green, which looks better than it sounds. The purple reflects the indigenous vygies, the green the fynbos and the orange the sand and soil of the Klein Karoo. The wines cover a wide range, but most famous of all are their magnificent Methode Cap Classique sparklers. Cellar tours by appointment only, phone and book.

Graham Beck to Robertson – 6min

Turn right out of Graham Beck onto R60 Robertson. Enter the town at 7km, the tourism office is on the corner of Voortrekker and Reitz streets at about 8km. Robertson is a charming Boland town, with lovely examples of Victorian and Georgian homes – drive up Paul Kruger and Van Reenen streets to have a look. But that’s not why you’re here. So after a quick look at the town, head straight out on the Bonnievale road to the riverside wine estates, starting at De Wetshof and working your way back. Watch your time as the river cruise starts at 11:00 or 12:00. Do phone ahead.

More to do in Robertson: Ask the tourism bureau about Springfield wine estate, trendy Bon Cap, where they grow organic wines; game viewing at Pat Busch Private Nature Reserve; walks in the Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve; Breede Valley Wines at Branewynsdraai Restaurant where you can buy wines of the region at cellar prices; 4x4 routes; rock climbing at Cogmans Kloof; mountain biking and hiking trails; canoeing and fishing in the Breede River; and fynbos trails in the Dassieshoek Nature Reserve.

Tourism office to De Wetshof – 15min

From the tourism office turn left into Voortrekker Street (the main road out of town). After about 2km, turn right onto the Bonnievale road. You’ll pass Springfield (also worth a visit), Viljoensdrift at about 12km, Van Loveren about 2km later, and then turn left into De Wetshof at about 14km. The Bonnievale road is extraordinarily pretty when the flowers are blooming. A riot of roses gives way to banks of deep red cannas, before an avenue of purple jacarandas leads you up to the De Wetshof tasting room.