Mzanzitravel Magazine - Issue 9

Country Travel
In the Western Cape options range from staying on a boutique wine farm, to a grand old
wine estate, a rugged Namaqualand farm covered in veld flowers, a West Coast private
nature reserve, a Karoo sheep farm, an apple farm in the mountains, a wheat farm in the
Overberg, a milk farm in the Boland, or a Southern Cape vegetable farm.
In the Northern Cape you will be spoilt for choice between the working sheep farms of the
feel cut off from the world in its tranquil and historic surroundings, the estate is
actually almost in the middle of Stellenbosch. Bathed in luxury and pampered with
excellent food and wines, rows of lush vineyards and vast landscaped gardens
shaded by giant oak trees, you can escape city life here without ever actually
leaving the city. With the estate cradled in the Jonkershoek Valley, the mountains
right behind it are calling out to be explored, from casual walks to more serious
hikes.
Karoo, the wild beauty of the Kalahari, or farms that are home to historic battle sites, or
even a truly remote retreat in a mountain desert. The Eastern Cape offers a great variety
of farms from large private estates to communal land, set in rolling grass-covered hills,
sub-tropical coastal forests or high up in the mountains. Stay in a traditional communal
farming village, on a game farm or on any of a number of other types of farms here. In
KwaZulu-Natal you will find retreats on active dairy farms, horse-breeding farms, tropical
coastal pineapple or sugar cane farms, or on the many beautiful estates lounging in the lap
of the majestic Drakensberg.
Little over an hour’s drive from Cape Town is Welbedacht Nature Reserve,
a country retreat just below the Winterhoek Mountains and wilderness area.
Here, in this tranquil environment, guests stay in well-appointed cottages and
can enjoy nature walks, a variety of bird life and flora, spectacular views of the
valley, mountain hikes or swimming in natural pools, among other activities.
Another historic and working wine farm, Eensgevonden in the beautiful Breede
River Valley surrounded by high mountains, offers guests a stay in one of their
traditional, white-washed Cape Dutch style cottages. The old farmhouse itself is
a national monument and dates back to the 1720s. Here you can lose yourself in
rolling vineyards or in the farm’s own 400-hectare mountain nature reserve.
The Free State offers a wide range of choices, from the more Karoo-like farms in the
southwest, to the beautiful highlands farms in the northeast, including cherry farms, many
of them close to the Drakensberg or Lesotho’s Maloti Mountains. Farms houses and
cottages on most of them are in the typical eastern Free State sandstone style.
The further north you travel, the more you will have a wide choice of game farms and
private reserves. Settings range from the dry bushveld in the west, the cooler Highveld
with its grasslands and trout streams, to the sub-tropical low veld with sugar cane and
banana farms in the east. The variety is almost unlimited. Here’s a quick sampling of what
is available around the country.
Sample of guest farms
Lanzerac wine estate in Stellenbosch, established in 1692, is perhaps the grand old dame
of wine farms where guests can stay. More of a big wine estate and luxury hotel with a
spa than guest farm, Lanzerac represents the upper end of the scale. And while you will
For a self-catering farm retreat with a difference, Excelsior farm offers peace
and tranquillity, ideal for families or groups. It is a beautiful farm shaded by tall
eucalyptus trees just outside Porterville, off the N7 that runs from Cape Town to
Namibia.
Or you may want to consider the Matjesvlei Retreat 1945, a charming old-world
farm offering self-catering accommodation in Calitzdorp on the iconic Route 62.
Included in the deal are stunning mountain views, plenty of fresh farm air, hikes
in the surrounding veld, or exploring Calitzdorp with its wine farms, historical old
buildings and sampling the port-style wines the town is renowned for.
80 |ISSUE 9|www.mzanzitravel.co.za | MZANZITRAVEL
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