The Cape, Hosted · Tuesday 23 February 2027
Three great estates linked on foot, by the roads I ran as a boy.
Constantia is the oldest wine-growing land in the southern hemisphere, twenty minutes from the lodge through the oaks. Most visitors see it from a car park: three tasting rooms, three car journeys, lunch.
We walk it. From the age of eight until I was sixteen I lived on the edge of Klein Constantia and trained as an athlete on the gravel roads between these estates. So instead of being driven between the great houses of the valley, your guests walk through the vineyards between them, with someone whose childhood is in that soil.
And the day ends where it should: back at the lodge on the edge of the Atlantic, for a last long dinner over the water before the journey moves on.
We begin where my own childhood began, at Buitenverwachting, part of the original Constantia grant, while the valley is still cool and the vines are wet with dew. In February they hang heavy with grapes, and the harvest is only days away.
Then we walk, along the gravel roads I ran as a boy, about two kilometres through the vineyards at an easy pace. I tell them about the young athlete who trained here before school; the vehicle follows quietly behind, so anyone who would rather ride simply climbs in, and there is water and shade at every stop.
The farm I grew up beside. Here we taste Vin de Constance, the sweet wine Napoleon asked for in exile on Saint Helena and Jane Austen wrote into her novels, poured where it has been made for more than three hundred years.
On through the vines to Groot Constantia, where South African wine began in 1685: the white manor house, the old cellar, and the story of how a governor’s farm came to make the most sought-after wine in Europe.
La Colombe sits up a hillside above the valley and is counted among the finest restaurants in Africa. Beau Constantia is the lighter choice, with a view that does much of the work. Either is booked a year ahead.
Over Constantia Nek and down through the forest to the lodge, with time for a swim, a shower, or simply a chair on the deck as the light turns gold on the Sentinel. This is our last evening in Cape Town, and I want it to be the one they talk about on the flight home. Canapés and the cocktail of the day as the sun goes down, and then dinner at Chefs Warehouse at Tintswalo, Liam Tomlin’s restaurant on the water’s edge, where chef Braam Beyers sends out four courses of sharing plates to the middle of the table. The Atlantic moves just below the windows, the bay goes dark around us, and nobody has anywhere else to be. Tomorrow the journey moves on; tonight belongs to the Cape.
| Trip guide | Russian-speaking, and with the party every day of the journey. |
|---|---|
| John Sparks | Walks the route with the party. |
| Driver | Shadows the walk with the vehicle. |
| Guests | Up to 12 |
|---|---|
| Walking | About 2 km, at an easy pace |
| Meals | Breakfast, lunch and dinner |
| Accommodation | Tintswalo Atlantic, night 4 of 4 |
The proposal
Not tours. Living chapters.February · The Cape
The Cape, three waysThe Cape, PrivatelyThe Cape, HostedThe Cape, EssentialApril · For the Families
For the FamiliesApril · Lesotho
Lesotho and the High CountrySeptember · The whales
The Whales, and Deep TimeWhere they stay
21 NettletonTintswalo AtlanticRadisson CollectionLanzeracGrootbosThe MarineHarbour HouseThe Shark BaySanbonaNambiti HillsEsiweni Luxury Safari LodgeCleopatra Mountain FarmhouseWhere they eat
Café CapriceStellenrustTwo Oceans RestaurantLa ColombeBeau ConstantiaCreationAlong the way
Table MountainThe Bo-KaapThe Castle of Good HopeThe Company’s GardenHout BayBoulders BeachGroot ConstantiaKlein ConstantiaBuitenverwachtingStellenboschRustenbergHermanus and Walker BayRiding at Pearly BeachThe Art of the BlendFranschhoekChapman’s PeakCape of Good HopeSnorkelling with SealsGreat White Shark DivingThe whales: the trailerTalk to me
john@visitorstoafrica.comWhatsApp