Stellenbosch

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Lush vineyards, white Cape Dutch architecture, and some of the most picturesque wine estates against a majestic backdrop of rugged mountaintops. The Cape winelands are unquestionably one of the most beautiful wine districts in the world. While wine tasting obviously tops the region’s activity list, there are plenty more things to do in the winelands of the Western Cape.

Horse riding experience

Saddling up is one of the best ways to explore the Cape  and its various different wine routes such as the ones of Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Franschhoek. To book a horse riding tour, one does not have to look very far as there are quite a few estates and wine farms along the different wine routes that offer horseback rides.

Aspiring cowboys and cowgirls who wish to see a bit more than one wine estate are catered for too. One of the companies that specialize in horse riding tours in the Cape winelands is Paradise Stables in Franschhoek. Apart from being treated to a magnificent scenic expedition along the Franschhoek wine route, its vineyards, forests, and mountains, riders are taken to some of Franschhoek’s best wine estates for a series of excellent wine tastings.

Golfing in the wine lands

Golf fanatics alike will find themselves in absolute heaven in the Cape winelands of South Africa. The area boasts a myriad of world-class golf estates and golf courses, including Devonvale Golf and Wine Estate in Stellenbosch and the Pearl Valley Golf Estate near Franschhoek. The ‘best golf estate in the Cape winelands’ list also features Boschenmeer Golf and Country Estate in Paarl and De Zalze - to name a few. The latter two in particular are seen as the crème de la crème of golf estates in South Africa. 

Relaxing 

Of course not every traveller is into active holidays. Some simply prefer to relax and unwind while being pampered like royalty. Again, the Cape winelands are the place to be. The Camelot Spa at Le Franschhoek boutique hotel, for instance, is a lavish sanctuary where recharging one’s batteries is a piece of cake. The same counts for Lanzerac Manor and Zorgvliet wine estate. Ran by professional beauty and health therapists, these and other Cape wineland spas offer nothing but pure bliss and a total rejuvenation of body, mind, and soul.