Come back along Valley Road, and head
down to Botriver for a tasting at Beaumont Wines, a birdwatcher’s
paradise from the garden to the dams, the river and fynbos
rich mountainside as well as home to the Cape hare, otter,
mongoose, genet, porcupine, klipspringer, duiker, grysbok
and the usual family of reptiles!
Hereafter take the Van der Stel pass
up to Porcupine Hills with its abundant birdlife (55 species)
and flowers. Diepklowe Private Nature Reserve was created
in the 1980s to preserve both the vegetation and the wildlife.
Common residents include klipspringer, grysbok, bontebok,
bat-eared fox, cape fox, caracal, mongoose, polecat, genet,
baboon, cape hare, and of course, porcupines.
How about
a wine tasting which includes a drive through some fascinating
history including outposts, Inns and original wagon tracks?
Continue down to the Houw
Hoek Inn for lunch. The cattle trail used by the early
Cape government officials for journeys to the interior
to purchase cattle, once ran in front of the Inn. In the
early 1900s, judges from Cape Town were accustomed to
staying at the Inn whilst conducting circuit courts in
the nearby town of Caledon. Most of the existing ground
floor building dates from 1779.
The upper storey
was added in 1860 and since then the Inn has been progressively
extended. The adjoining old farm buildings have been converted
into dining rooms and conference rooms which retain their
original character.
As you drive down the old
Houw Hoek pass, ask your guide to point out wagon wheel
indentations in the rocks. Arrive at Beaumont Wines for
a tasting. Beaumont Wines is situated on the historic
Botriver farm Compagnes Drift which was once an eighteenth-century
outpost for the Dutch East India Company and a loan-place
for grazing in 1731. Not only was it a bartering station
for the DEIC, but it was also the fording place across
the Bot River on the Caepse Wagen-weg (the Cape Wagon
route). It was granted in perpetuity in 1818 to Servaas
Daniel de Kock for his bravery at the Battle of Blaauwberg.
The de
Kock family farmed with "Koerkoem" roots to
make the spice turmeric as well as wheat, and a water
mill built by de Kock is still on the farm. Vineyards
were planted in the 1830s and in the early 1900s, one
of the original barns was converted into a wine cellar
- still an integral part of the present cellar –
and one of the oldest in the Overberg.
Compagnes Drift hosted
many an early traveller including William Burchell who
recorded the presence on the farm of two dragoons of the
21st regiment for the purpose of dispatches. Some years
later Latrobe overnighted with Servaas de Kock and was
provided with a good supper, albeit without liquor, which
grieved Latrobe. A good bed and friendly conversation
compensated for the "dry meal".
Today Compagnes
Drift still offers respite to the weary urbanite and independent
traveler, but is now authorised to sell or dispose of
its vinous liquor to those in need
Stay over at
Beaumont Cottages, Paul Cluver Guesthouse or Wildekrans
Country House.
The Paul Cluver Guest House
is nestled in a gentle valley on the banks of the Reebok
River with breathtaking views of the vineyards and the
surrounding Elgin Mountains. This exclusive complex, situated
on the old ox-wagon trail, is made up of the "Ou
Opstal" - the original Homestead, the "Eselstal"
- the original mule stable and the "Skool" -
the original school of the Elgin area.
The historic homestead,
built in 1811, was a stopover on the trek east. Wildekrans
dates back to the late 1700s when it was first established
as a farm and stopover for weary travelers.
The year-round stream served as a watering
hole for the oxen before attempting the treacherous Houw
Hoek Pass.
