Page 83 - Travel + Leisure India & South Asia (January 2020)

84,000-acre nature reserve in May 2019, few
visitors passed through. From the lodge’s seven
glass-fronted bedrooms overlooking miles of
creamy beaches, there isn’t another structure in
sight. The point of being there is to immerse
yourself in nature, said Marieclaire Day, the lodge’s
manager and chef. Day, I discovered, was a master

at creating home-style meals out of the area’s flora

and fauna—from fire-seared spiced antelope
sausage to salads coloured with edible flowers.

To help protect the offshore marine reserve, all
activities are land-based: bike rides and hikes on
hills and beaches, beside giant, pool-pocked rock
plates and shallow bays (which thankfully are more
protected from the sharks that inhabit these rich
currents than the open seas beyond). So abundant
is the sea life, you don’t even need to leave the
hotel to observe it. I watched mega-pods of
dolphins frolicking in the waves at daybreak from At the Lanzerac
the comfort of my bed. From June to November, Wine Estate, farmers’ market (visitswellendam.co.za/under-
Day told me, so many whales breed in the bays that Cape vintages the-oaks) where local women sold homemade
are paired with
one coastal path is known as the Whale Trail. farm-to-table cakes, jams, and floral honeys, then strolled down

“Every time you look up, you see one,” she said. cuisine. its oak-lined streets, past restored 17 -century
th
houses and the thatched museum Mayville House
DAY 3: (visit swellendam.co.za/mayville-house). Next I
DE HOOP NATURE RESERVE embarked on the steep drive up the Tradouw
TO MONTAGU Pass, a 16-kilometre feat of engineering that
I drove out of the reserve just after dawn. In the winds through the Langeberg mountains into the
quaint Cape Dutch farming town of Swellendam, more desert-like Karoo region, offering views as
I stopped for coffee at the weekly Under the Oaks thrilling as its multiple hairpin bends.
Barrydale, at the end of the pass, is one of
the towns that has benefitted from the growing

Plan a Perfect popularity of Route 62. This once-sleepy place is
Route 62 now offbeat and arty, with several notable places
Road Trip
to stop, ranging from the Magpie Art Collective

TOUR OPERATOR (magpie art collective.com), a gallery that is
Africa luxury specialist stocked with regional art and eclectic chandeliers
Mahlatini can arrange crafted from discarded items (the Obamas own
a six-night itinerary,
two) , to the American-style retro diner Diesel &
with stays at
Lekkerwater Beach Crème (entrées `285–`570; diesel and creme.
Lodge, Jonkmanshof, co.za) and the Maker’s Brewery (themakers brew.
the Robertson Small co.za), where I sampled—but because I was
Hotel, and Lanzerac driving, regrettably couldn’t gulp—cold glasses
Wine Estate (from
`1,85,091 per person, of its prize-winning ale.
including hotels, Driving northwest, I passed through autumnal
car rental, and vineyards planted between towering mountains
international flights; en route to the historic town of Montagu. Had I
mahlatini.com).
known quite how beautiful the guesthouses there
were, I might have stayed two nights rather than
one. Jonkmanshof (doubles from `11,390;
jonkmanshof.com) is a delightful antique- and art-

A guest room at filled B&B made up of two traditional homes,
Jonkmanshof, where built in 1854 and 1856, that have been renovated
19 -century rooms
th
are furnished with by the renowned Cape Town chef Jacques
modern pieces. Erasmus and his partner, Hein Liebenberg.

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