Riebeek Kasteel is an interesting and quirky town nestled in a beautiful valley in the Swartland region of South Africa. Ideal for either a day's trip from cape Town or an extended week-end visit.
The Swartland Wine and Olive route includes towns such as Piketberg, Koring berg, Malmesbury, Riebeek West and Riebeek Kasteel. Olive farming started in the late 1980's and is now one of the primary olive oil producing regions of South Africa.
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| Royal Hotel Riebeek Kasteel The early settlers called this area :Het Zwarleland (the black land) because of the Renosterbos (Rhino bush) that dotted the landscape making everything look dark grey. They planted crops such as wheat, vegetables and vineyards for their own use. At that stage nobody would ever have dreamed that these original vineyards would put the Swartland region on the global map. The area around Riebeek Kasteel, Riebeek West, Gouda (with the large windfarm) Hermon and back to Riebeek Kasteel offers some stunning landscapes with vineyards planted for miles and miles. The Kasteelberg mountain offers a hiking trail from Pulpit Rock Winery but this is not for the feint-hearted so do take care before attempting this trail. There are over 40 dams in this area - all looking very full after the winter rains. Farm roads just beg to be explored - there is nothing more fun than wandering down a gravel road and seeing another vehicle with its dust cloud hurtling towards you. Farmers don't slow down on these roads -they drive them daily and have their sturdy 4X4's to keep them safe!
Restaurants are many and varied - too many to try over 1 week-end. So check out the Reviews and pick those that grab your fancy the most. You could happily eat out for 2 weeks and not go to the same place twice. We enjoyed Eight Feet Village up on the Bothmaskloof Pass. Run by the 4 du Toit brothers this was a happy place as Pieter-Steph du Toit is currently playing in the Rugby World Cup with the South African Springbok team. The Kloovenburg Wine and Olive farm is well worth a visit. However, there are numerous other wine farms open to the public such as Pulpit Rock, Allesverloren Wine Estate, Het Vlock Casteel, and the Wine Kollective. See their information on the link below. https://eightfeet.co.za/about/ Further afield we stopped outside the PPC Cement Factory near Riebeek West - fascinating to see this huge plant with all the conveyor belts, creaking and groaning as they work at breaking down the stones. The company name is Pretoria Portland Cement and was started in South Africa as far back as 1892 with the Riebeek West plant from 1946. General Smuts birthplace is in the grounds here and can be visited.
There is also work in the old shelter on the square by Cape Town Street artist Folko One "Falko One is now known as one of the most important (and earliest) street artists in the world, and if you’re lucky enough to track down his paintings—many of which are on the sides of buildings or people’s homes in poorer neighborhoods (he always makes sure it’s OK before letting loose)—you’ll find some of the most awe-inspiring work on the planet. One of his favorite subjects? Elephants, which take on psychedelic hues like purple, bronze, pink, and baby blue. He’s also known to do caricatures of faces, birds, and the occasional gorilla. There’s a fairytale ending to this story, of course. He finally got landed major sponsorship bucks from Red Bull, so he’s traveling the world making art for a living."  So, all in all, a fun place to visit = whether for wine tasting, olive tasting, eating out, shopping, visiting galleries, hiking to Pulpit Rock, driving dusty country roads or just sitting on the "stoep" of your B&B or Hotel watching the world go by. For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa |
