Page 84 - Travel + Leisure India & South Asia (January 2020)

R O A D TR IP
From left: They’ve also restored the charming cottage
A porch at the gardens, which are now inhabited by Bill and
Robertson Small Hillary—a pair of unusually energetic tortoises.
Hotel; the exterior
of the property.
DAY 4:
MONTAGU TO ROBERTSON
After bathing in a giant tub scented with garden
herbs and feasting on orange-yolked eggs in a
dining room adorned with bunches of dried
flowers, I wandered the streets of Montagu, past
centuries-old buildings and galleries. Try to avoid
my mistake of visiting on a Sunday—most things
will be closed, except for the fruit shop (worth
stopping at for padkos—traditional road snacks
such as beef biltong and dried apricots). So I
explored the town’s many churches and the paths
that wind from its outskirts into the dry foothills.
Heading out of Montagu, I drove to two vineyards
recommended by Lew Rood (lewrood.com), a
Cape Town–based travel planner I’d consulted
before setting off. First, I stopped at Springfield
(springfield estate.com), which overlooks a pretty
lake, then Van Loveren (entrées `356–`1,068;
vanloveren.co.za), where the buzzy, vine-covered
bistro offers inventive tastings, like a range of reds
paired with chocolate from the region.
After a busy day of driving and exploring,
the Robertson Small Hotel (doubles from `8,188;
80 TR AV E L+LE I S U R E IND I A & S O UTH A S I A | J A N U A R Y 20 20
therobertson small hotel.com) was the ideal place
to collapse. With interiors by talented South
African– born Londoner Sophie Ashby, the
Edwardian-era home has 10 stylish rooms,
gardens, courtyards, and a wood-fire-warmed
living space, all adorned with tastefully curated
arts and crafts. Ashby’s sister Rose helped create
the menu, and dinner was superb, from the
herb-fed lamb with butternut squash to a rich
chocolate dessert sprinkled with a ‘gravel’ of
burnt oranges and dried mulberries.
DAY 5:
ROBERTSON TO STELLENBOSCH
I didn’t really want to leave the Robertson Small—
who would, when the bread has just come out
of the oven and the marmalade is thick with
kumquats? Luckily that day’s route, heading
west toward Stellenbosch, was particularly
picturesque. After I took in the dynamic
17 -century university town, with its thatched
th
roofs, white Cape Dutch gables, and South African
art spaces including the shoppable Dorp Street
Gallery (10 Church St; 27-21-887-2256) and the
prestigious Rupert Museum (rupertmuseum.org),
it was time to check in to the Lanzerac Wine
Estate (doubles from `21,360; lanzerac.co.za),
my lodgings for the night. Created from an 1830
Cape Dutch homestead, the estate’s recently
refurbished 48-room hotel has elegant suites with
private pools, a spa with vineyard views, and a
cosy bar that serves Cape farm-style cuisine—
which that night included a rich pork belly and a
cinnamon-dusted milk tart. I was due to return to
Cape Town the next day. That, and the fact that
Lanzerac’s vineyard was where, in 1925, the first
Pinotage was created by mixing Hermitage
and Pinot Noir varieties, had me feeling a bit
sentimental. So I decided to ship home a few
bottles to savour while planning my next trip:
along the eastern half of Route 62.