Page 82 - Travel + Leisure India & South Asia (January 2020)

R O A D TR IP The Cape Less Travelled

Road-trippers, take note: a spectacular route around the
farther-flung reaches of the South African peninsula is

coming into its own. And with its stylish, singular hotels

and first-rate food and wine, you may want to plan a trip
now—before the rest of the world arrives.
BY LISA GRAINGER

used to be that visitors to Cape Town
IT who wanted a taste of the wine and wild
coastal landscapes outside the city would
tack on a road trip through the beloved Garden
Route. But over the past decade or so, the Garden
Route, which runs around the southern tip of
South Africa from Mossel Bay to Port Elizabeth,
got a little crowded. These days, tuned-in
travellers are heading inland, to the agricultural
heartlands of the Cape and its lesser-known
southern shores—home to some of the most
appealing hotels in South Africa, as well as
traditional farming villages, fashionable new With the easy-to-navigate Route 62 (route62.co.za)
restaurants, and award-winning vineyards. at its heart and a host of quaint guesthouses at
which to spend the night along the way, this trip
showcases a quieter, more characterful side of
The seven-room the region. Starting and ending in Cape Town,
Lekkerwater I sampled the western half of the route last May
Beach Lodge is

the first high-end for five sun-soaked days.
property to open
in South Africa’s
De Hoop Nature DAYS 1–2:
Reserve. CAPE TOWN TO DE HOOP
NATURE RESERVE
Driving southeast out of the city on the N2, I was
Cape Dutch
architecture at struck not only by the quality of the roads and
Jonkmanshof, a roadside farm shops, such as Peregrine (peregrine
boutique B&B farmstall.co.za), near the town of Grabouw, and
in Montagu.
the delightfully old-fashioned Napier Farm Stall
(fb.com/napierfarmstall), but how extraordinary
the landscapes in this part of the world are. As I

wound through the Overberg region, field after

field and orchard after orchard stretched towards
the horizon, framed by dramatic mountain peaks.
It doesn’t surprise me that when Dutch and
French traders stopped here in the 17 century
th
to resupply their ships, they didn’t leave.

About five hours into my drive, I turned in
to De Hoop Nature Reserve—and immediately
spotted a herd of rare bontebok, a type of antelope
with distinctive white markings. The animals
were taken aback by my presence, because until
Lekkerwater Beach Lodge (`17,000 per person, ADRIAAN LOUW
all-inclusive; natural selection.travel) opened in this

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