About Western Cape

The Western Cape is anchored by Table Mountain, a flat-topped sandstone massif that forms part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest and most biodiverse of the world's six floral kingdoms, home to thousands of fynbos species found nowhere else. Cape Town's harbour has served ships rounding the Cape since the Dutch East India Company built a resupply station there in 1652, and Robben Island, visible from the city's waterfront, held Nelson Mandela for 18 of his 27 years in prison. Inland, the winelands around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek trace their vines to Huguenot settlers of the 1680s and remain the country's oldest and most established wine-producing region. Along the coast, towns like Hermanus have built a tourism economy around the southern right whales that calve in the bay each winter, while the Garden Route stretches east through indigenous forest and lagoon towns toward the Eastern Cape.

Away from Cape Town and the main Winelands towns, Clanwilliam's calendar runs loud with the ZOOKED RNB & SLOW JAM FESTIVAL this stretch. Sir Lowry's Pass answers with the recurring Lourensford Market Sundays, while Bredasdorp hosts the multi-day NSA Level 1 Coaching Course. Cyclists can take on Ride the Cape Tulbagh through the Wolseley valley, and Wellington's Festa Restaurant closes out the week with Future Ravers RSA.