The
Garden Route and Eastern Cape
offers a magnitude of Towns and routes
to follow. Read more below.
-Garden
Route Tours, Cape Country, Grabouw
Grabouw,
South Africa, Garden Route... Reaching
the town of Grabouw entails a mere hour’s
drive from Cape Town along the Garden Route over
the Hottentots Holland Mountains with a descent
into one of the most beautiful valleys in the Western
Cape - the Elgin Valley - filled with flowers, fruit,
fynbos and wine. Grabouw lies in this green paradise,
sandwiched between the Groenland and Kogelberg Mountains,
with enchanting stretches of forest, vineyards and
orchards as far as the eye can see.
This
is apple country - 65% of South Africa export apples
are produced in the fertile valley and this has
earned it the international reputation as the ‘valley
of apples’. This Garden Route valley is also
home to the now famous farm, Applethwaite, on which
Edmond Lombardi created the pure apple-juice drink
that became known as Appletiser in 1966.
The
locals refer to Grabouw as Elgin-Grabouw, probably
because the local railway station, called Elgin,
is better known than the town renowned not only
for its apples and fruit but also for its wine and
roses. Grabouw was named after the village in Germany,
Grabau, by Willem Langschmidt who created the town
on the farm Grietjiesgat in 1856. The father of
some 23 children, Langschmidt and his wife - who
also managed, between giving birth - to run a little
trading store, Willem was to sell off parts of his
farm, which later led to the little farming community
of Grabouw. Today the town has become a commuter
town for those wanting to live the country lifestyle
and a perfect day trip from Cape Town, particularly
as it is only 70 km outside of the mother city.
Houw
Hoek Farmstall in GrabouwKogelberg Biosphere Reserve,
known as the ‘heart of the fynbos’,
borders on Grabouw and the Groenland Mountain on
its inland boundary and stretches the entire coastal
area from Gordon’s Bay to the Bot River vlei.
An incredible range of 1 600 different plant species,
of which 150 are endemic, make this their home and
the reserve encompasses one of the richest displays
of diversity in the world. There are also a number
of animals that live in the reserve, including antelope,
a prolific number of birds and leopards.
Grabouw
holds its annual festival at the country club with
some of the most incredible views over the Eikenhof
dam at the foot of the Nuweberg. Thousands of visitors
descend along the Garden Route on the town at this
time of year to sample the flowers, fruit, wines
and local products. Grabouw is not far from the
coastal towns of Gordon’s Bay, Kleinmond and
Hermanus and Strand and Somerset West are only a
short drive away.
Looking
to book a Garden Route Game
Drive or Safaris in South Africa?
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