RIEBEEK WEST & RIEBEEK-KASTEEL

Until fairly recently Riebeek West (80km from Cape Town) and cousin Riebeek-Kasteel made up an untainted corner of the world, known only among historians as birthplace of DF Malan and Jannie Smuts. Then the artists and would-be artists (a lot of them from Cape Town) moved in, injecting the villages with new blood. Riebeek’s attraction is clear to see. During the week, it lies barely awake on the rolling slopes of Kasteelberg, nibbled on all sides by blossoming orchards, vineyards and lovingly tended bougainvillaea, while over weekends the village emerges from its slumber and pulls up a seat at the local coffee shops and bars.

Things To Do
  • Activity in these slow villages should be confined to regaining lost friendships and lost minds, activities best conducted over a cuppa at various coffee shops, bars and restaurants. These include the beautifully revamped Royal Hotel (tel 022-448 1378), Café oppie Square (tel 022-448 1059), L’attitude (tel 022-448 1440), The Cook & The Gardener (tel 022-461 2713) and Kasteelberg Country Inn & Bistro (tel 022-448 1110).
     
  • Pick up a bottle of famous port at Allesverloren Estate (tel 022-461 2589) or a case or two of Riebeek white at the Wine Cellar (tel 022-448 1213), open for tasting in the week and Saturday 9am-2pm. Close by is the Riebeek Olive Boutique (tel 022-448 1368), which peddles a range of olives.
     
  • Visit the house where Jannie Smuts was born, close your eyes and imagine him as a toddler.
     
  • The mountain above the village, Kasteelberg, is a spring flower spectacle and a good place to stretch the legs, though much of it seems privately owned.