HISTORICAL ROUTE 62

HISTORICAL ROUTE 62

DAY ONE (±290Km / 180Miles)

Cape Town / Stellenbosch - Paarl - Wellington - Bainskloof Pass -
Tulbagh - Ceres - Worcester - Robertson - Montagu
 

DESCRIPTION:

Start your trip via the West Coast and Cederberg Routes OR take off on your cross-country journey via Paarl, Wellington, and the old Bainskloof Pass to Ceres and Route 62.
Paarl, a lovely wine-route town is one of the three oldest settlements in the country. A treasure house of Cape Dutch, Victorian and Georgian architecture is found in the longest Main street in the country. Tulbagh can be reached via the Bainskloof Pass, which is a national monument along its entire length. Tulbagh, a historic town with a wealth of Cape Dutch architecture was extensively damaged in the 1969 earthquake and has since been restored to its old- world splendour. It has the largest concentration of un-interrupted national monuments in South Africa. Ceres is an ideal overnight stop for a wilderness experience in the Cederberg Mountains before heading for the Breede River Valley and the town of Worcester, Robertson and  Montagu. Visit the KWV Brandy Cellar at Worcester, largest of its kind in the world, for a cellar tour and brandy tasting. Brandy is the favourite spirit in South Africa.
Taste wine at one of the many wine cellars along the fertile Breede River valley.
Montagu, the heart of Route 62, is famous for its heritage in brandy making, wine, fruit, mountains and natural hot springs. Cogmans Kloof, a National Monument is the natural gateway into Montagu. This is an area of magnificent views, panoramic landscapes, towering cliffs, crystal-clear streams and abundant indigenous flora.

OVERNIGHT:

West Coast & Cederberg
Breede River Winelands & Historic 'Route 62'

OPTIONS: Tulbagh Museum, historic Church Street, Kagga Kamma Wilderness, the ‘Kleinplasie Living Open Air Museum’, the KWV Brandy Distillery, wine tasting, visit the Excelsior Wine Estate outside Robertson and the Brandy Exhibition at the Montagu Museum.
   

DAY TWO (320Km / 200Miles)

Barrydale - Ladismith - Huisrivier Pass - Calitzdorp - Oudtshoorn
 

DESCRIPTION:

The Langeberg Mountain range along the eastern part of the historic Route 62 forms a natural barrier between the fertile Breede River valley and the sunburned rock garden of the Little Karoo and Oudtshoorn, the capital of the Ostrich feather industry. Fertile valleys are linked to the Garden Route and the Eden Coastal Route on the one side and the Groot Karoo on the other side by rugged, beautiful mountain passes such as the spectacular old “Seweweekspoort Pass”, Schoemanspoort.

LINK TO THE OVERBERG AND THE EDEN COAST.
From Barrydale take the shorter Tradouw’s Pass back to Swellendam and Mossel Bay. Visit the historic Cape Dutch settlement of Swellendam and the Diaz Museum in Mossel Bay or, continue to the coast and enjoy the exhilarating fresh sea air and beaches in the Whale capital of South Africa - Hermanus or Sandown Bay in Kleinmond. Enjoy the Blue Crane route and the wildlife experience at Boltierskop.

SWARTBERG PASS OPTION
From Oudtshoorn, drive over the spectacular Swartberg Pass to the village of Prince Albert. Then drive to Klaarstroom and return to Oudtshoorn via Meiringspoort, another one of natures wonders, and visit the quaint De Rust village. If you want to experience the vastness of the Great Karoo, drive from Prince Albert along the N1, to Beaufort West and then down to Oudtshoorn via Meiringspoort.

OVERNIGHT: Breede River Winelands & Historic 'Route 62'
Klein Karoo
Overberg & Eden Coastal Route
OPTIONS: Visit the Cango Caves, ostrich farms, Cango Wildlife Ranch, a wine cellar in Barrydale or in Calitzdorp or pop in to the Boplaas Estate for port, wine; enjoy brandy tasting at nearby private distilleries: Grundhiem, Kango Co-Operative and Mons Ruber.
 

DAY THREE (420Km / 250Miles)

Oudtshoorn - De Rust - Misgund - Joubertina - Kareedouw -
Oyster Bay - St Francis Bay - Port Elizabeth

DESCRIPTION: From Oudtshoorn, continue on Route 62 where the Kammanassie Mountains and the Kouga Mountain ranges flank the long fertile valley called ‘Langkloof’, one of South Africa’s oldest farming communities. This eventually narrows down to a small valley in the shadow of the Ttsitsikamma Mountains as you make your way back to the N2 Highway.