6 Day Montagu Tour

Route 62 is an important historical route that links small farming communities with the two major harbour towns of Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Like the Route 66 in the USA, Route 62 lost its glory when the N2 highway was completed in 1958. From Cape Town to Oudtshoorn, Route 62 offers a 70 km shorter option than the N2, while also passing through no less than 14 beautiful and historical villages lined by mountain ranges. The diversity of vegetation and scenery makes the route a destination in itself and one should spend as much time as possible enjoying the drive.

Day 1 (Monday): Leave Cape Town for Montagu. You take the N1 to Paarl.

This town, so called because of the huge granite outcrop on the mountain, outside the town, which gleams like a pearl when hit by our bright sunlight, especially after a shower of rain. This lovely town is one of the three oldest settlements in the country. A treasure house of architecture is found along the 12 km stretch of Main Street. Starting at the “Strooidakkerk” with the Zeederberg Square next to it, you can admire surrounding picturesque Cape Dutch, Victorian and Georgian houses. Take a conducted tour of the massive K W V cellar. Visit the impressive “Taalmonument” which is dedicated to the Afrikaans language. This is the only monument for a language in the world. On entering by mounting the steps, you will pass three columns symbolizing the influence of English, French and German. Half-domes, in a proportionate scale symbolize the impact made by the Black Languages, setting off the beautiful curved lines of the structure climaxing into a smaller 25 meter high Republic column. The main 56 meter high Language column reflects in a pool. The photographic magnificence of the structure is enhanced by the scenic mountains, town and valleys surrounding it.
From here drive to the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve on the crest of Paarl Mountain, which offers a scenic drive and is a good starting point for walks to the granite domes. Wellington is reached by following the R44. Wellington is also called Wagenmakers Vallei because a wagon building industry sprang up here when diamonds were discovered in Kimberley area in the late 1800's. A tour pamphlet will help you to explore this charming village on foot. Tulbagh can be reached via the Bainskloof Pass, a National Monument along its entire length or by driving around the mountain through the Nieuwe Kloof Pass. Tulbagh, is a historic village with a wealth of Cape Dutch architecture. It was extensively damaged in the 1969 earthquake and has since been restored to its old-world splendour and has the largest uninterrupted row of National Monuments in South Africa. A walk down historical Church Street, with its many museums and antique shops as well as arts and crafts, is not to be missed.
From Tulbagh, guests can take the R46 to Wolseley and then the R43 to Worcester. Worcester, capital of the Breede River Valley, is the largest of the Western Cape’s three fruit and wine producing valleys. In Worcester you can visit the Kleinplasie Live Open Air Museum and experience life as the pioneers lived in years gone by. Each building is representative of an agricultural industry in the Western Cape during the period 1690 to 1900. The KWV Brandy Cellar, largest of its kind in the Southern hemisphere, offers cellar tours and brandy tasting.
A quick 50 km drive on the R60 will take guests to Robertson. By now it will be late afternoon and one can fit in a wine-tasting at Graham Beck’s state of the art wine cellar or Rooiberg wine cellar approximately 10 km before Robertson.
Cogmans Kloof, the natural gateway in or out of Montagu is now a declared National Monument. The tunnel, constructed by Thomas Bain was completed in 1877, the first tunnel in the country to be blasted with dynamite instead of gunpowder. The historical British Fort built atop the tunnel in 1899 can be visited. This is an area of magnificent views, panoramic landscape, towering cliffs, crystal clear streams and an abundance of trees and indigenous flora.
Montagu is a health village enfolded between majestic mountains. Hikes and walks, mountain biking, rock climbing, horse riding, golfing is all on offer here. The charming three/four-star Mimosa Lodge will be your base for the next few days. Guests might fancy a walk through the many Historical National monuments lining the streets of our magical village before dinner, guided by a pamphlet sketching the history of these homes.

Day 2 (Tuesday): Montagu - Swellendam - Zuurbraak - Barrydale - Montagu

Today we drive the scenic R60 to Swellendam, a charming town that was founded as a military outpost in 1745. Together with Tulbagh, it is the third oldest town in South Africa and has many beautiful Cape Dutch, Cape Georgian and Cape Victorian buildings dating from the 18th and 19th century, including the old Drostdy, now part of a museum complex. The Bontebok National Park is 6km south of the town. From Swellendam we drive through Suurbraak, a mission station, and over the magnificent Tradouws Pass with its pools and waterfalls to Barrydale. The road back to Montagu runs through the most fertile fruit growing area with magnificent mountain views.

Day 3 (Wednesday): Tractor Trip

The Montagu Tractor Trip to the summit of the Langeberg Mountain is a world-renowned experience. Trips can be done on Wednesdays at 10:00 and on Saturdays at 10:00 and 14:00. A traditional potjiekos-lunch is available on both of these days at 12:00. Lunch can therefore be taken either after the morning trip or before the afternoon trip.

Day 4 (Thursday): Robertson Wine Route (52 km round trip)

Famous wine estates like Zandvliet with its magnificent manor house and racehorse stud farm creates a wonderful atmosphere for savouring of wines produced on the estate. At Viljoensdrift wine estate, guests are taken on a huge raft on the Breede River after wine tasting . We then set off to Van Loveren, best known for matriarch Jean Retief’s garden of memories, where she planted trees on occasions to be remembered e.g. the end of wars, births of grandchildren and the release of President Mandela form jail. One can enjoy this splendid garden while bottles of wine are put on the table for you to taste to your hearts delight. This is only to mention a few of the estates on route. Lunch and route options will be communicated to you by the Lodge.
This Wine Route is possibly the most beautiful wine route in South Africa as the road has beautiful gardens of Roses, Cannas, Bougainvillea and Jacarandas all along the road, while one is constantly aware of the Breede River flowing slowly alongside. Still totally uncommercialised, the farmers regard your visit as an honour to their estate.

Day 5 (FRIDAY): Bonnivale - Bredasdorp - Elim - L’Agulhas - Hermanus - Montagu

Drive through Bonnievale and Stormsvlei to Bredasdorp where you can visit the fascinating Shipwreck Museum. A visit to the nearby little mission station of Elim with its Moravian church and picturesque cottages is a must. The entire village is a National Monument and nobody other than members of the church may live there. The old water mill ( 1833), the largest wooden water mill in South Africa was renovated in 1990 and is in use again to grind wheat. On to L’Agulhas, the Southernmost point of Africa, where the needle of the compass shows no deviation between true north and magnetic north, and the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. The lighthouse at L’Agulhas is the second oldest lighthouse in South Africa, built in 1840 to resemble the Greek Pharos lighthouse at Alexandria, erected by Alexander the Great. Then drive on to Hermanus where the best land-based whale watching in the world can be done. The Southern Right whales come to the peaceful waters of walker Bay to mate and calve each year, arriving in June and leaving in November. Because of the cliffs and the resulting deep water, whales come as two metres from the spectators. The cliff paths stretch for 12km from the one end to the other, and are well laid out with benches strategically placed along the way. This fishing village, established in the late 1800s, is an extremely popular tourist destination. Drive back to Montagu via the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, where wines can be tasted at Hamilton Russell Winery.

Day 6 (Saturday): Depart for Cape Town or Garden Route.