Focus on Robertson, Western Cape, South Africa

Robertson is well-known as the Garden Town of the Boland of South Africa and is situated in the fertile Breede River valley, only 160km from Cape Town on the popular Route 62.

Situated at the foot of the Langeberg Mountains, Robertson offers the visitor wine estates, hiking trails, nature reserves, a riverside holiday resort, racehorse stud farms and above all exceptional hospitality.

The town is surrounded by vineyards and orchards that stretch from the outlying farm lands into the very heart of the town. Columns of red or yellow cannas and flaming bougainvillea line the roads outside the wine estates, gardens overflow and vineyards are banked with roses, while brilliant mauve jacarandas shade the streets.

Founded in 1853, the town, boasts a proud architectural heritage with Victorian and Georgian houses and cottages lining the streets. Among the National Monuments are the Pink Church (1859), the Museum (1860), the Edwardian No 12 Piet Retief Street (1904), the Victorian No 59 Van Reeneen Street (1914) and the Powder House, used as a storage place for gunpowder in less peaceful days.

Around Robertson lie the stately stud farms. Eleven co-operatives, fourteen estates and half a dozen private producers, in and around Robertson, have made this one of the foremost wine-making regions in South Africa. And orchard upon orchard of decidious fruit, destined for the national and international markets, punctuates the landscape that isn't covered by vineyards.

Attractions and places of interest include:

Robertson Museum
Dassieshoek Nature Reserve
Silwerstrand
Robertson Wine Trust
Racehorse Stud Farms
Mountainrides and Horse Trails
Fruit Route
Mc Gregor
Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve