Spier to Boschendal

When you leave Spier, turn left onto the R310 and note your kms. After 1,5 km turn left onto Annandale Road. Follow the Annandale Road for 5,4km through farmlands until you reach a T-junction with the R44 (linking Stellenbosch to Somerset West). Turn left onto the R44 towards Stellenbosch — noting your kms.

After 3,5 km, turn right across the right half of the freeway, onto the gravel access road to the Blaauwklippen estate. Follow the signs to the cellars, passing on your right a small farmyard.

The Blaauwklippen farm buildings include a coach house containing a collection of old horse-drawn vehicles, and a museum. There is also a small farm shop selling farm produce, and the estate wines may be bought during normal business hours on weekdays. In the summer an open-air restaurant provides a pleasant ‘coachman’s lunch’.

Drive out of Blaauwklippen and turn right onto the R44 towards Stellenbosch, noting your kms at the turn. As you enter Stellenbosch, continue straight through three sets of traffic lights. You will find yourself on the road you travelled along earlier, but now going in the opposite direction. 4,5 km after turning onto the R44 from Blaauwklippen, turn right into Merriman Avenue. Continue straight ahead through the traffic lights at Bird Street, then turn left into Andringa Street. Take the first turning to the right, into Banhoek Road, and continue on Banhoek road (which becomes the R310) as it leads out of Stellenbosch and winds up the Helshoogte Pass towards the Drakenstein Valley and Franschhoek. As the road climbs, you have lovely views on your left to the slopes of Simonsberg — over a landscape of farms, forestry plantations and dams.

Over the summit of the pass, the road winds down into the Drakenstein Valley. You eventually pass through the small hamlet of Johannesdal, then the old mission settlement of Pniel dating back to 1843. Note your kms as you pass through Pniel, and 1,2 km later, turn right into the Boschendal estate.

Boschendal to the Taal Monument

Drive out of the Boschendal estate and turn right onto the R310. After 1,5 km you cross a double railway line. Immediately after this, turn left onto the R45 towards Simondium and Paarl noting your kms. After 9,8 km, immediately after passing under a railway bridge, turn left onto the R101 towards ‘Klapmuts/Cape Town’then after 650m turn right towards ‘Suid Agter-Paarl’, and cross over the Ni. 2,2 km after crossing over the N1, turn right through the white gate-posts into the Fairview estate. In addition to making wines, Fairview specialises in the making of goats’ milk cheeses. Visitors are welcome at the cheese factory and at the goat enclosure (milking time 16h00), and tours of the cellars may be arranged.

When you leave Fairview, turn left — back the way you came. Immediately after crossing over the N1, turn left, back onto the R101. 900m along the R101, turn left, and note your kms as you recross the N1. The road takes a sharp bend to the right, and 900m after crossing the N1, turn left at the Taalmonument’ sign. The road now climbs the lower slopes of Paarl Mountain, bringing you eventually to a large parking area. Before visiting the monument, walk to the edge of the parking area for a splendid view over the Berg River and Drakenstein valleys.

From the monument, retrace your route down the mountain, turning right at the T- junction at the bottom, left at the sharp bend, and crossing over the Nl. Turn left when you reach the R101, and after just 400m turn left for the N1 — heading back to Cape Town