Spectacular Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch is one of those unique places in South Africa. Known for its wine pro­duc­tion, as well as for the Stellenbosch University, one of the premier ter­tiary edu­ca­tion insti­tu­tions in Cape Town, Stellenbosch is in a class of its own. Stellenbosch offers many attrac­tions for leis­ure seekers and tour­ists. The his­tor­ical town is also known as Eikestad, lit­er­ally trans­lated as Oak City, and for good reason. Many of the streets are lined with Oak trees planted by early set­tlers to the area, com­pli­ment­ing the numer­ous his­tor­ical build­ings dot­ted through­out the town centre.

The Jonkershoek val­ley offers many hik­ing trails and nature reserve areas to explore, as well as pic­nic spots, some of which allow that typ­ic­ally South African past time. Quite unique among animal view­ing exper­i­ences in the area are the cro­codile park, but­ter­fly world, and the gir­affe house.

For those inter­ested in the his­tory of this town, foun­ded by one of the first Dutch gov­ernors of the Cape Colony, Simon Van Der Stel, a visit to the Stellenbosch Museum, loc­ated in the town itself will provide a fas­cin­at­ing look into daily domestic life of old time Stellenbosch. A monu­ment to a more mod­ern inven­tion, there is also the Wijnland Auto Museum to visit or per­haps a trip to the Sasol Art Museum for art lovers.

Stellenbosch

One can­not think of Stellenbosch without think­ing of wine, and in fact, the town’s sym­bol is a bunch of grapes. For lov­ers of wine, the area boasts some 106 wine estates, where one can sample local vin­tages, or, per­haps, for yet another unique exper­i­ence, visit the Berg Kelder, a cel­lar hol­lowed out of the heart of a hill.

Another estate worthy of a spe­cial men­tion is the fam­ous Spier Wine Estate. Offering tra­di­tional wine tast­ing, as well as a culin­ary jour­ney through the heart of Africa at Moyo, the African themed res­taur­ant where one can book a tree house table, to view­ing of chee­tahs homed at the Cheetah out­reach, or horse rid­ing trails, the estate is almost an entire hol­i­day exper­i­ence in itself.

Golfers too are spoilt for choice, with the Stellenbosch Golf Club, Pearl Valley, De Zalze, and sev­eral other world class courses within easy reach of the town centre.

Far from being staid, the town sheds it’s staid appear­ance and comes to life after dark, with many pubs, clubs and res­taur­ants, cater­ing both to the rowdy stu­dent crowds, and more sed­ate pat­rons. It has in fact become a favor­ite haunt for rev­el­ers from out­side of the town as well, with many mak­ing the trip espe­cially to visit a favor­ite establishment.

If club­bing is not for you, then a visit to any one of the many excel­lent res­taur­ants in the area may be more the sort of night­life you enjoy. With options ran­ging from the estate res­taur­ants at Morgenhof and Neethlingshof, among oth­ers, to a taste of Ireland at the Brazen Head in town, most tastes are catered for.

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For more des­tin­a­tion inform­a­tion see:
Cape Winelands
Stellenbosch Attractions
Stellenbosch Accommodation