Sometimes it’s perfectly acceptable to scream like a girl. Like when you are whizzing along a zipline hundreds of metres high in
the mountains.
To be fair, the shrieks are generally more expressions of delight than fear, because the adventure with Cape Canopy Tour is professionally handled by trained and experienced guides who place great importance on your safety.
Everything is explained thoroughly at base camp before you set off on a hair-raising 4x4 drive to the first platform in the Hottentots Holland mountains.
There, you are clipped onto a metal cable bolted into the rock face and sent soaring across
the void. You have one more chance on the second line to decide if you want to continue or turn back.
I strongly recommend the former; as the lines of varying lengths, speeds and heights crisscross through the craggy mountains, the exhilaration is like nothing you’ve felt before.
Elgin Vintners Merlot Lanscape Pictures: Bianca Coleman
Remember to smile, because there are GoPros dotted around the course which are recording you for your own video memory moment which is emailed along with a certificate by the time you get back to your car.
Ziplining is suitable for
all ages. Younger children and
those of nervous disposition
can be strapped to a guide for tandem rides.
You do need a certain level of physical fitness; the free hike included at the end, which takes you back to the 4x4, is a steady and steep uphill. Whether you pronounce it with a soft G or a hard one, Elgin is exquisitely beautiful.
The N2 from Cape Town separates it from Grabouw on the other side of the freeway, and it’s about an hour’s drive from the CBD.
The Veranda at Elgin Vintners
When you see Peregrine Farmstall, the home of vintage tractors, you’ll know you’ve arrived.
Pop in there for braai supplies if you’re self-catering, a fabulous freshly baked quiche, or a
quick coffee. Out back is a converted bus from which new and second-hand books are sold.
Facing east, Grabouw is the village on the left, and the Elgin Valley is to your right. A network of tar and gravel roads connects several wine farms, guest houses, and eateries.
Our accommodation for the weekend was at Elgin Vintners, a wine farm with a small three-bedroomed guest wing (with two additional rooms sharing a bathroom, good for families and very close friends).
We were welcomed by Juanrie Hickman-Boltt, who showed us around and urged us to make ourselves at home.
“This is your farm now,” she said. We promised we would look after it.
Elgin Vintners Pinot Noir Vineyards
Later that afternoon, we spent a most enjoyable couple of hours tasting wine on the veranda (I recommend the merlot rosé) followed by making our own braai in the garden after all the staff left.
An honesty bar system is in place, and guests have access to the kitchen as well.
The next day was a busy one, as far as country days go. It began with breakfast at South Hill, overlooking the vineyards. The hot beverage was restorative, and my open omelette/frittata with cheese and bacon
was delicious.
We popped in at Andrea’s Topiaries where you can see - by appointment - Andrea Semple’s collection of décor items made with indigenous Cape foliage which is treated to maintain its colour.
At the moment, the showroom - reached after a pretty drive through the farm - is full of bunnies in all shapes and sizes. Because Easter,
of course.
The afternoon was taken up with another wine tasting, this time at Almenkerk, a modern winery with an enviable hilltop position from which you can suck in the glorious view of the valley.