17 things to do in Elgin in the Overberg

by Roxanne Reid
Less than an hour’s drive from Cape Town lies the fertile Elgin Valley. Here vineyards and orchards roll out along the hills, with quaint cottages and roses along fences adding to the rural charm. It’s also heaven for outdoor enthusiasts. Discover 17 things to do in Elgin in the Overberg.

​The Elgin Valley is South Africa’s largest producer of apples and pears. It’s also a serious contender for the quality of its cool climate wines so wine tasting is bound to be on your to-do list. Elgin lies in the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom and is surrounded by mountains outdoor lovers will love to explore. There’s something for everyone, from romantic wine farm escapes to adrenalin-fuelled ziplines, hiking and biking or simply kicking back and relaxing in the fresh country air.

Here’s my pick of some of the best things to do in Elgin and surrounds.

​One of my all-time favourite things to do here is to spend a morning or two wine tasting at some of the exquisite Elgin wine farms. Choose from numerous wineries in this cool climate area that produces elegant whites and reds. There’s a fee for tasting, but it’s usually waived if you buy a few bottles.

Don’t miss the pioneering Paul Cluver Wines with its flagship chardonnay and pinot noir (the only red it makes). Libby at the tasting centre is a gem – so friendly and knowledgeable. Almenkerk is a small family estate that has a lovely outdoor tasting area reminiscent of Tuscany and perfect for a relaxed tasting. Or sit around the pool at the much bigger Oak Valley Estate, best known for its chardonnay and pinot noir. I’m not really a chardonnay lover, but even I left with a few bottles.

Other Elgin wine farms to look out for include Highlands Road Estate, where we ordered a nice cheese and charcuterie platter with our tasting, Paul Wallace Wines for an informed tasting and wonderful views of vineyards from the tasting room, and South Hill Vineyards where you can admire the art gallery or sit outside overlooking the vineyards. Charles Fox is the place for those who love Cap Classique bubbles.

2. Zipline in the Hottentots Holland mountains 

If whizzing along ziplines across mountains and valleys is your kind of fun, if you fancy starring in your own Indiana Jones movie, then sign up to do the Cape Canopy Tour.

You do need to book ahead. When you arrive you’ll get a safety briefing before being kitted out with all the gear. Then you’ll hop into a 4x4 vehicle for a 30min drive high into the mountains to the first platform. Note that you need some level of fitness for this activity because there’s an uphill hike of about a kilometre to return to the vehicle at the end of the last slide.

Two guides will stay with you throughout, to click you on and off the ziplines and keep your mind off the sheer drops by telling you about the ecology and geology of your surroundings. You’ll slide from platform to platform (13 in all), past waterfalls and craggy mountains, over deep gorges, all the while surrounded by colourful fynbos in the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve. The longest slide is 320m and takes about 30 seconds.

If you love an adrenalin rush, you’ll love this four-hour adventure. It all ends with an optional light lunch back at base, where you can buy a video and photos of your trip.

3. Spend time at the Elgin Railway Market

​We know that Elgin is an apple growing region, but Roger Orpen’s idea to turn an old apple warehouse, which Italian POWs built in the 1940s, into a steam punk and Art Deco inspired foodie market is dazzling. He completely gutted the interior and gave his engineering works the job of creating a fascinating network of fans, pulleys, rocket stove fireplaces, balconies and over-the-top light fittings for what was to become the Elgin Railway Market. It’s a virtuoso display of décor that alone is worth the visit.

Come to marvel and stay to have coffee and food – everything from curries and pizzas to burgers, dim sum, nachos and more. Sample artisanal gin and craft beer, buy wine, olive oil, even clothing, jewellery, leather goods and toys. Chill and enjoy the vibe.

Fans of steam trains will love to catch an 80-year-old steam train from Cape Town to the Elgin Railway Market and spend three hours there before returning. It runs a few times a month and is operated by The Ceres Rail Company. Or simply go to the leisure deck to admire the train as it huffs and puffs into the station.

The full market is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 till 16:00, but the coffee shop opens on weekdays and some of the food stalls open from 16:00 to 20:30 on Wednesdays and Fridays.

4. Visit a nature reserve
The Elgin area encompasses two beautiful nature reserves. One is Cape Nature’s Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve – a perfect place for outdoor activities like hiking (see point 7), mountain biking (see point 6) and ziplining (see point 2). It’s also part of the UNESCO-recognised conservation area and botanical wonderland that is the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. Spend time adventuring or relaxing in either of these reserves and you’ll understand why South Africans love the outdoors as much as they do.

5. Stop at a farm stall 

Don’t miss visiting at least one of the farm stalls in the area to stock up on fresh farm produce like fruit & veg, honey, preserves, artisanal cheeses and breads. If you’re a pie lover, you might want to join the debate as to whether Peregrine Farm Stall or the Houw Hoek Farm Stall a little further east has the more satisfying pies. Dassiesfontein Farm Stall is worth visiting as much for its rabbit warren of collectables and bric a brac as its foodie fare. The other farm stall of the quartet and the furthest west along the N2 is The Orchard.

6. Saddle up
If you prefer to explore nature on wheels rather than your own two feet, there are lots of places to go mountain biking in and around Elgin. Try the Lebanon Forest mountain bike trails, where there’s some 60km of single track to suit different levels of expertise and fitness. Ride through pine forests, past fynbos and farmland, with some rocky sections.

Or cycle the 34km Groenland mountain biking trail in the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, with superb views of the local farms and out to sea. Get more info and a permit through CapeNature.

The Paul Cluver wine estate has a number of routes from jeep track to single track. There are hot showers next to the play park for freshening up after your ride. Because of the pandemic, these routes are currently closed for everyday use, but open for guided rides with Trail’s End, tel 021 859-5193 or email info@trailsend.bike.

There are also mtb trails passing through forest, vineyards and orchards at Oak Valley Wine Estate, with something to suit every level of skill. 

​7. Do one of these Elgin hiking trails 

If you enjoy mountain scenery without having to pitch a tent and rough it on a skinny camping mattress, then you’ll love to know about these guided slack-packing trails. Hike the four-day 60km Green Mountain Trail across private land on the Groenlandberg, seeing fynbos and visiting wine farms along the way, eating home-cooked meals and sleeping in a comfy bed at Wildekrans Country House. Or try the three-day 50km Blue Mountain Trail.

You’ll find other Elgin hiking trails in the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, including the 6km (2-hour) Palmiet Trail. Or hike the multi-day Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve Overnight Trail where you can sleep overnight in the Landdroskop, Shamrock, Boesmanskloof and Aloe Ridge huts.  All permits and bookings through CapeNature.

8. Go stand-up paddleboarding
Go stand-up paddle boarding on the lake at Old MacDaddy, which has a lakeside beach and also offers other activities like mountain biking, kayaking and nature walks.

9. Eat out at Elgin restaurants 

Pick of the Elgin restaurants is the fairly new Paul Cluver Restaurant, which uses the freshest of ingredients, many of them grown right here on the estate. We had a lovely apple, beetroot and goats cheese salad to start, pan-seared linefish with fresh veg including home-grown fennel, and warm cinnamon and apple crumble with divinely creamy vanilla bean custard to finish. Service was friendly and efficient.

We also enjoyed the restaurant at South Hill Vineyards, which offers cheese or charcuterie platters and tapas like whipped feta with dukkah, chicken liver pate or marinated peppers, all served with yummy country bread. You can sit inside to enjoy the numerous artworks that occupy the space, but we sat outside instead. Choose between shaded tables on the lawns or a picnic bench hunkering down between two rows of vines.

For breakfast, light lunch or coffee, the Peregrine Farm Stall (see point 5) is extremely popular, busy every day of the week and especially at weekends. They have fresh and baked goods (including their famous pies) in one section and a menu in the café that includes steak roll, quiche, toasted sarmies, fish and chips, burgers and bobotie.

The Melting Pot at Oak Valley Wines has lovely views out over the pool and surrounding trees, or you can sit outside on the pool terrace. The menu is small and might include mezze, oysters, mussels, smoked aubergine flatbread, beef rib taco, sashimi linefish or Vietnamese pork rice paper rolls. 

The Barn at Old MacDaddy is a large open space with huge glass windows looking out on pin oaks and other greenery. The menu includes salads, pork belly, steak, burgers, chicken schnitzel, wraps, curries and wood-fired pizzas.

The Hickory Shack’s menu includes smoked and barbecued beef/pork ribs and lots of other meat options, as well as chicken, tacos, nachos and two options for vegetarians who are visiting with their carnivorous friends.

You can also find casual food at the Elgin Railway market (see point 3).

10. Go brandy tasting
Did you know that Elgin is not only about wine and fruit? Some of the vineyards’ grapes go to Oude Molen to be distilled and matured into fine brandy. You can join a two-hour interactive distillery experience to learn more about how brandy is made and taste the different brandies. Note that no one under 18 is allowed in the distillery. Or skip the distillery tour and just join a tasting and chocolate pairing experience. Book at least two days ahead.

11. Take in a show at the amphitheatre

There’s a delightfully rustic amphitheatre on Paul Cluver Wine Estate, which makes a perfect setting for concerts. Sadly, it has been closed since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 but we can but hope that, once the pandemic becomes better controlled and restrictions are lifted, we will see the reopening of this lovely venue for summer starlight concerts and other events.

12. See roses galore 

Don’t miss driving along roads like Viljoenshoop Road, Appletiser Road, Highlands Road and Elgin Valley Road to see roses blooming in profusion along the fences in October and November. You’ll spot colours from white and pale pink to cerise, orange and red and you’ll want to stop to photograph them all.

13. Visit the Elgin Open Gardens
Visit the Elgin Open Gardens for a day of wonderful interaction with passionate gardeners. For two weekends at the end of October or beginning of November, some ten or so gardens open to the public who come from far and wide. Enjoy various types from formal to cottage gardens, indigenous to English country gardens. There’s an entry fee, part of which goes to charity. If you want to stay overnight to make a weekend of it, book your Elgin accommodation well in advance (see point 16).

14. Admire green hills and valleys 

Turn right from the Viljoenshoop Road onto the Appletiser Road for wonderful views out over the green hills and valleys that make up the wine and fruit farms that dominate the area, especially on the second half of the loop. This is a super route on your bike too.

15. Books, books, books

If browsing and buying books makes you happy, then check out Burning Books housed in a 1955 red ​fire truck next to the Peregrine Farm Stall, or visit the more traditional independent bookshop called Liberty Books to the right of the farm stall. You’ll also find books in a 1970s provincial library bus parked at the Elgin Railway Market (see point 3).

16. Elgin accommodation: stay on a farm

There’s a great choice of Elgin accommodation, from country inns and guest houses to self-catering cottages and B&Bs, even glamping. But this is wine and fruit country and my preferred place to stay is on one of the farms. Choose from wine farms like Belfield, which has a range of self-catering cottages, or Paul Wallace Wines, where the cottages look out over the vineyards. There’s an attractive little honeymoon cottage or houseboat at South Hill Vineyards. We’ve also enjoyed a lovely self-catering stay on an apple farm at Cheverell Farm Cottages, where you can pick your own apples from February to April.

17. Visit Kleinmond nearby
Continue along Highlands Road, past Iona Wines, until it meets the R44 near Kleinmond. This is all part of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. Look for wild horses at Rooisand Nature Reserve, go hiking in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve and find lots of other things to do in Kleinmond and surrounds, including visiting a colony of African penguins. The distance from Elgin to Kleinmond is about 45km.

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