Recreation and Sports

Daddy Long Legs

The Grand Daddy's predecessor, also with themed rooms by various artists. The emergency room (complete with nurse outfit) is for living out doctor / nurse fantasies while artist Kim Stern's creation is any amateur karaoke shower singers dream.

Field Office

The Field Office is an initiative by two young local designers, Luke Pedersen and James Lennard to showcase design and art by creative South Africans. When the space opened in September 2010, the pair, who studied industrial design together but only teamed up again in 2009, had already made a name for themselves with awe some furniture and design products. Now they hope...

Power Van

Want an alternative to the Choo Tjoe? Then try this one: it’s a small electrical train-cart which leads up into the Outeniqua Mountains, travelling for two-and-a-half hours over four passes and through six tunnels on its way. The trip is flexible, so you can stop and picnic at the top or along the way, or grab a meal at the museum restaurant. Hours: Mon-Sat by appointment...

Outeniqua Choo Tjoe

To answer the eternal questions: yes, the train is still running; and no, it doesn’t run between George and Knysna anymore – the route has changed to George-Mossel Bay. And the experience is as charming as ever, with South Africa’s last scheduled steam train running 52km right along the coastline, crossing two rivers and taking in some gorgeous scenery. Hours: Depart...

Fancourt Hotel & Country Club Golf Estate

Fancourt boasts three championship courses (Outeniqua and Montagu, which both feature 18-hole parkland layouts, plus the magnificent The Links), plus a public course, Bramble Hill. The courses were designed by nine-time majors winner Gary Player, with special attention paid to the natural surroundings and the winds. And while golf is the main thing here, it’s not the only...

Swellendam Stargazing

Nothing puts your troubles in perspective quite as fast as looking up at the night sky and realising that our planet is but a mere speck in an infinite universe. Get more intimately acquainted with the distant balls of fiery gas during an informative 45-minute talk, then take a peek at the heavens through one of the telescopes. Open By appointment only. Rates: R80-R150....

Sulina Faerie Sanctuary

Here be dragons ... and unicorns, wizards, dwarfs and fairies, all living side by side in an over grown forest. Okay, so it’s really a garden, and the magical ensemble cast a mere motley crew of ceramic statuettes, but your kids don’t need to know that, right? Hours: 9am-4.30pm Wed-Sun; daily in school holidays. Admission: R10 adults; R5 under 13s, by donation. No-...

Marloth Nature Reserve

Thanks to Dr Rudolph Marloth, who petitioned Swellendam’s Minister of Lands and Forestry to declare part of the Langeberg a reserve in 1928, this 14,000-hectare patch is still relatively undefiled by man and home to all manner of wild critters like klipspringers, baboons, dassies and fish eagles. There are trails for all fitness levels, from short forest walks past...

The Labyrinth

Achieve inner peace and other universal enlightenments by making your way through the eleven circuits of this single-path labyrinth, which mirrors the original design found on the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in France. Further spiritual illumination can be found at the adjacent South African Peace Pagoda, a 7-metre tall golden spire donated by Burmese monk Sayadaw U...

Boat cruises on the Klein River

River cruises are a great way to get up close and personal with Stanford’s natural surrounds taking you from the wide upper reaches of the river down to the narrow waterways closer to the estuary. The African Queen: R100 per person/minimum 20 people) has space for 40 people and is the biggest riverboat offering cruises, and you can braai as the world drifts by (fires,...

Napier Wagon Trails

For an authentic ‘roughing-it’ in the wilds experience, this horse-drawn wagon adventure can’t be beaten. Choose from 2-, 3- or 4-day packages that include travelling on dirt roads, through remote Overberg villages and in unspoilt terrain. Food is cooked on the open fire and the wagons are designed to cater for two adults and two children. Rates: from R3 750 per family...

Walker Bay Adventures

Boat-based whale-watching is something special, but frankly nowhere near as thrilling as being right on the water in a kayak when a southern right decides to leap up and give a splash-down for general applause. By law you can’t venture closer than 300m, but your proximity to the water itself more than makes up for that short distance. After a thorough briefing on...

Hermanus Whale Cruises

With their new 70-seater boat Whale Cruiser, there’s no need to book ahead – just pitch up at one of the appointed times and hop on for a boat- based whale-watching experience you’ll never forget. The whale-watching runs from mid-May to mid-January, while they’ll take you on a cruise to see dolphins, seals and African penguins right up until May. They also do cultural...

Hermanus Golf Club

Situated under the mountains of Hermanus, a brand new Peter Matkovich course has replaced the old parkland layout as part of the new Fernkloof Estate. It undulates in places, has plenty of pine trees framing the holes, and offers its fare share of challenges. Look out for the signature 11th hole – an uphill par 5 through a narrow avenue of pine trees to an elevated green...

The Funzone

The diminutive members of the family may be averse to a day of fynbos, or could hamper the romance of a stroll along the cliff path, which makes the Funzone a rather useful distraction. They offer a safe, clean play environment with a large modular play frame, jumping castles, arcade games, a climbing wall and more. There’s also a separate soft-play area for little ones,...