We couldn’t resist one more beach walk before starting our drive back west. We traveled from east to west along the N2, the main route through the Garden Route. But, instead of taking the same route back to Cape Town, we decided to take the much longer, yet more scenic, R62. This road winds and weaves through the stunning Overberg, offering some breathtaking views. We planned to break up the journey along the way.
Our first stop was Oudtshoorn, just over 300 km from Jeffreys Bay. The drive was hard to concentrate on because there was so much to take in. It was cloudy for most of the journey, which created dramatic skies, but it was the fog rolling down the mountains that really caught our attention—it was pretty epic. As we got closer to Oudtshoorn, all we could see for miles were ostrich farms, and not much else. But we were impressed with La Plume when we arrived. The room was nice, and the bathroom was particularly impressive to Rachel. The restaurant was also great, with views over expansive open vistas.
After our usual morning routine, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast and set off for our next destination—Montagu. We booked the accommodation over breakfast that morning. It’s funny how, when visiting a country, we normally do extensive research and book everything in advance for peace of mind. Yet here, we’d landed with a last-minute five-day stay in Cape Town, and since then, we’ve been completely comfortable leaving everything to the last minute without feeling stressed at all.
The drive continued to impress us, and we made light work of the 300 km, arriving in Montagu in about three hours. We were greeted by our host at the Vineyard Country House, a peaceful and charming spot in a lovely little town. The highlight of the property was a terrace overlooking the breathtaking mountains, which looked even more impressive in the soft dawn light. After another delicious breakfast and booking our accommodation for the evening, we were back on the road by 11 AM for a shorter leg of 200 km and a couple of hours to Franschhoek— a place we had skirted on our way down.
We arrived at the impressive facade of Basse Provence Country House, one of the many vineyards in the area. Like most vineyards, they have fantastic restaurants where you can enjoy delicious food while taking in the magnificent landscape. We spent some time wandering around the estate, which we both really enjoyed. That evening, we managed to book the final part of our trip, allowing us to savor another great breakfast and take a final stroll around the estate before heading off to our final stop.
Dream Chasers 