Wellington Wine Walk
– The Day Walks
As the Wellington valley has a wealth of options we have crafted day walks with a focus on various aspects of this historic wine valley. This will allow you to pick your choice of walk based on the subject matter and the level of walking fitness desired. All these walks have a cross pollination of – olives, wine, buchu, stokkies, heritage, fynbos and views.
They also allow those with limited time to get a real flavour of the Wellington Valley. Try one and come back for more.
These are the alternatives available:
The Olive Walk - Olives and Olive Oil, moderate walking, about 14km
The "Kuier" Walk - Buchu, stokkies and Wine, moderate walking, about 12km
The Heritage Walk - Bainskloof, Cape Dutch farms and wine, easy walking 9-12km
The Groenberg Walk - Groenberg, Views and wine, energetic walking 12 or 16km
The walk starts on the Diemersfontein Wine and Country Estate where you will meet your guides at 08h00 and have a cup of coffee and listen to a briefing for the day. You will leave your cars here for the day. You will be taken by tractor and trailer from Diemersfontein Wine and Country Estate towards the foot of the original Du Toit’s Kloof Pass. Walk uphill for about 45 minutes and then stroll along the contour paths of Kleinboschkoppie through the fynbos with beautiful views of the Paarl Valley. Continue to walk downhill alongside the vineyards with the beautiful Paarl Valley ahead of you before ascending again through more fynbos to some spectacular granite boulders where we stop to catch our breath From here there are stunning views of the Drakenstein, Simonberg and Banghoek mountains as well as the Paarl and Franschoek valleys. We descend from here past buchu fields and into olive country. You will proceed to the impressive Cascade Country Manor where you will be introduced to olives and have an olive oil tasting presented by Volker Goetzer. This is followed by lunch, wine and coffee. Before starting take a stroll to their lovely waterfall.
After lunch you start your walk down through a buchu distilling farm, along a huge dam and past more olive groves. Eventually you will arrive at Druk My Niet for a further wine tasting.. After this tasting you will be transferred back to your vehicles.
Level:
Moderate,
some uphills,
but mostly level and downhill.
("Kuier" means having a relaxed and sociable visit. In this case we visit some very innovative farms.)
We will gather in the parking area of Imbuko Wines at 08h30 where you will leave the cars for the day. Your guides will meet you here and give you a quick briefing for the day. We start by walking down to the home of Elsabe du Plessis where we will kuier with her while she tells us the importance of buchu, the nursery industry and her home products. Taste some of Elsabe’s delicious olive products and pinotage jam We tear ourselves away to start our walk uphill through buchu fields and vineyards until we reach our next kuier spot, Hildenbrand Estate for a wine-tasting accompanied by a light lunch presented by Reni Hildenbrand, owner and winemaker. She is an expert on olive oil and is on the International Tasting Panel. After a leisurely tasting we proceed through more vineyards with views of the Hawekwa mountains ahead. We leave the Blouvlei Valley area and head for the Bovlei Valley where we arrive at Oude Wellington for a hot or cold drink and something sweet. After this the guides will transfer you back to your vehicles.
Level:
Moderate, a few uphills, mostly
level.
This
is our Heart of Wellington day. You will gather and meet the shuttle at
either Diemersfontein, Val du Charron or Dunstone Country House
depending on your specific day. Your
guides will meet you
for a quick cup of coffee and briefing for
the day. You
leave by shuttle
one third of the way up the Bain's Kloof Pass.
The guides will share facts and stories of Mr. Bain and the building of
this pass. From here you will start walking down on a steep farm track
through the fynbos and vineyards to the
Doolhof Estate
for your first wine tasting
and get to hear more stories around this area.
Walk on to Welvanpas
along the Kromme River. The owner, Dan Retief, a direct descendant of
the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief, will share the history of the farm
while you taste his wines and enjoy your lunch prepared by Retha, his
wife. After lunch you
will head further down the valley through citrus orchards and more
vineyards. From here there are a few options depending on your
particular day being taking the shuttle to a final wine-tasting at Bosman’s Family Vineyards restored state
of the art wine–cellar at Lelienfontein including a cellar tour, or to
continue walking to either Val du Charron or Dunstone Country House for
coffee/tea and something sweet. The shuttle will take you back to Diemersfontein Wine and Country Estate
to your vehicle.
Level: Downhill and level, easy hiking.
This day is filled with views and has a longer
alternative for the more energetic. The start for the energetic
option is at the Val du Charron/Dunstone Country House parking area
where you will leave your vehicle for the day. The guides will meet you
here at 08h00 for a cup of coffee and give you a short briefing for the
day. For the less energetic option, you will meet at the Diemersfontein
parking where you will meet your guides for a cup of coffee and a short
briefing. A shuttle will then take you to the start of your walk in the
Bovlei Valley. The walk starts along the foothills of Groenberg walking
gradually up and up past olive groves, mother blocks and vineyards. We
stop and take in the views, arriving at Broodklip at the top. After a
short break we head down the other side into the Voor Groenberg area. We
then arrive at Linton Park for a tasting of their wines.
We then head towards the outskirts of Wellington town. Here you will be collected and taken to Oude Wellington for lunch. After lunch, those on the less energetic option will be collected by a shuttle which will transfer you to Diemersfontein where you will enjoy a wine pairing or wine tasting.
For those on the energetic option, the walk continues from Oude Wellington across the base of Bains Kloof Pass where you will enter the Bovlei Valley and walk through vineyards and nursery vines. Eventually we make our way back to Val du Charron/Dunstone Country House where the guides will bid you farewell. You are welcome to pop in here for some additional refreshments (not included) before being on your way.
Uphills and downhills, energetic hiking.
Contact Details
Email: l
Elaine Wegelin - Phone +27 83 235 5570
Katrin Steytler - Cell +27 82 335 8132