By Roxanne Reid
The history of Riebeek Kasteel and the wider Riebeek Valley in the Swartland goes back a long way, as stone-age tools and KhoiSan art found in the mountains around it show. But today it’s a much-loved weekend getaway for Capetonians. Here’s my pick of things to do in Riebeek Kasteel and the Riebeek Valley.
1. Visit the wine farms
The original wine cellar at Kloovenburg is now a tasting room. Kloovenburg grows sauvignon blanc on the mountain slopes, apparently the highest bloc of sauvignon blanc in the Swartland, which is good for the cultivar because it’s cooler. The Eight Feet white and red blends are named for the four young sons of the family who used to love helping to stomp the grapes.
You can also do an olive tasting at Kloovenburg or book a picnic from Kringe Inni Bos next door to the tasting centre. Collect your food and drink from a kiosk and park off at one of the picnic pods under the trees. There’s a playground for kids too.
Kloovenburg Pastorie, originally the pastorie for the Dutch Reformed church (see point 10), also provides Riebeek Kasteel accommodation.
At Pulpit Rock at the foot of the Kasteelberg the young woman dealing with us just told us which wine she’d poured, then left us to ourselves. I missed a bit of chat about the wines, their growing conditions and their flavours. She later confessed she was fairly new, so perhaps by the time you visit things will be better. They have three ranges, the budget Stories collection, the Brink Family Vineyards range, and the Louisa collection that includes an MCC, a red blend and a fortified dessert wine.
If you’re in the mood for more wine, try Allesverloren, the oldest wine farm in the Riebeek Valley. It’s best known for reds – including cultivars like shiraz, touriga nacional and tinta barocca – and for its port. Or perhaps Meerhof, which has one of the finest views from a hilltop looking down into the valley. You’ll find a range of whites, reds and rosé to taste. They also make a dessert wine called Mooistrooi with pineapple and citrus flavours. Each of these estates also has a restaurant. Marras Wines has recently opened a new tasting centre in Riebeek West where you can also get burgers, pizzas, steaks and salads. Mullineux & Leeu Wines do Friday tastings for those who book ahead.
2. Taste craft beer
Flagship Brew craft brewery has moved from its canary-coloured home in the village of Riebeek Kasteel up to the Meerhof wine farm on the Bothmaskloof Pass (R46) just outside town. Visit for a tasting of their five beers and for the views over the valley. The beers – on tap or in bottles to take away with you – include a New World Lager, Oktoberfest Lager, Summer Ale (Belgian blonde ale), the robust Red Valley Ale and the hoppy Siren IPA.
3. Taste olives and olive oils
Olive tasting in the Riebeek Valley is seriously tasty business. When the Riebeek Valley Olive Festival launched in 2001, just 2000 people turned up; by 2016 the number had shot up to about 20 000. Sadly, the festival had to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, and the 2022 festival has been postponed indefinitely, but there are hopes to get it up and running again once it
’s safe to do so. It’s usually held in May.
My favourite olive tasting in Riebeek Kasteel has to be at Het Vlock Casteel in Kerk Street, in a villa with hint of Tuscany about it and great views from the upper courtyard. They have the widest range of olives and olive oil products I’ve ever seen. The informed olive tasting includes 10-12 products, both green and black olives, as well as dried olives, smoked olives, olives with flavours of balsamic, fig, pomegranate, chilli or lemon. There’s a host of other products in the shop, including olive relish, olive chutney, olive oil soap, and more. They produce various single cultivar extra virgin olive oils (think mission, frantoio, leccino and coratina) and a blend that is their flagship. Het Vlock Casteel is also a popular wedding venue.
Or visit the Olive Boutique opposite to discover delicious bottled olives from a much smaller producer. My favourite kalamatas were in blueberry dressing, or with rosemary and garlic. You can try a range of different olive oils, from light/delicate (much loved by South Africans and Australians) to coratina intense, which is the choice of serious tasters in the Mediterranean. There’s also a range of olive oil bodycare products.
Kloovenburg (see point 1) and Goedgedacht (see point 17) also produce olives.
4. Visit Jan Smuts’ birthplace
The lovely old Cape Dutch house where Jan Smuts was born in 1870 was once on a farm called Ongegund in Riebeek West, a few kilometres down the drag from Riebeek Kasteel. Today it stands on property owned by a cement factory, but is still well worth a visit. It’s furnished as it would have been when Smuts lived here till the age of eight. There are dung floors and rietdak ceilings in the kitchen and passage, a separate building depicting his military and political life. But there’s always the sound of grinding from the cement factory, the taste of cement dust on your tongue. A self-professed ‘son of the veld’, Oom Jan wouldn’t want to live here now.
5. Hike the Kasteelberg
If you’re a keen hiker you won’t be able to resist the challenge of making it to the top of the Kasteelberg to look out over the valley. A trail starts behind Pulpit Rock winery at about 248m above sea level and continues for 2km to around 850m. It’s not a hike to be taken lightly, so be sure you’re fit for five hours or more to get to the top and back. Let someone know where you’re going. Take sun protection and lots of water. Don’t go alone and don’t overdo it, rather turn back. Wear proper hiking boots rather than takkies. Download a map here.
6. Sit on the longest stoep south of the Limpopo
Riebeek Kasteel’s Royal Hotel claims to be the oldest hotel in the Western Cape with the longest stoep south of the Limpopo. It has its origins in the mid-1800s and the date inscribed on the gable is 1862, but the facade we see today was only built in the 1920s. (Pedantic people might point out that the Houwhoek Hotel, between Elgin and Bot River, was licensed in 1834 and is certainly older, although to be fair it did start out life as an inn rather than a hotel.) History aside, The Royal is a great place for tea or gin-and-tonics on that impressive stoep while you watch the world go by. There’s also a restaurant that’s well-rated on TripAdvisor, although we haven’t eaten there.
7. Enjoy the Short Street precinct
Opposite the Royal Hotel you’ll find what looks like a collection of old buildings in a small square. Called Short Street, its Karoo-style architecture was in fact only built in the early 2000s, an inspired plan to create what has turned out to be one of Riebeek Kasteel’s most visited tourist attractions. Here you’ll find a Tasting Emporium, a clothing shop, one that sells essential oils, soaps and lotions, and a clay studio that merges gallery, shop and workshop. Visit the Lewis & Madge Leather Co or the Wine Kollective selling boutique wines of the Swartland. Other than the leather shop, which looks freshly painted and cared for, the buildings in this square are looking a little neglected and forlorn since the last time we saw them.
8. Admire a greenhouse and nursery
Don’t miss a visit to the Riebeek Valley Garden Centre, or Die Boomhuis. You can’t miss the striking double-volume dark green building on the main road in Riebeek West. Even if you’re not planning to buy succulents, orchids or other well-fed plants, it’s worth visiting for the greenhouse alone. This main structure is dominated by a young baobab tree with colourful crocheted flowers on its base, by stained glass windows, moss-covered stone walls and tinkling waterfalls. Walk out back to browse the plants for sale and enjoy the shed with its old wooden wheelbarrow and metal rocking horse, a kicking metal bull out front. You might hear the crowing of a cock or see some hens scratching in an enclosure nearby. There’s also a gift shop and a coffeeshop called Krem a Tart that does breakfast, coffee, cake and light lunches.
9. Wander the streets
If you’re interested in architecture or pretty gardens make your heart happy, spend some time wandering the streets, either on foot or on your bike. There are some charming old buildings and houses in Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West. Some date back as far as the mid 1800s but perhaps my favourites are the grand old Victorians and Edwardians that hint at a much more elegant age. Some of these now offer accommodation, others are private homes but you can still enjoy looking at them over the garden fence; you might even meet a barking, tail-wagging dog or two.
10. Visit a museum in a church
In Kerk Street you’ll find the Dutch Reformed Church that now serves as the Riebeek Valley Museum. Dating back to 1856, this national monument houses some old kitchen implements, farm equipment, sewing machines, carriages and other things that the Voortrekkers who came to the valley might have used. If you’re looking for ghosts, hang around the horse-drawn hearse and you might feel a chill. To bring the museum up to date and make it more inclusive, there’s a section on the forced removal of the Oukloof coloured community in 1965. About 60 families were moved, their homes, church and community…
