Things to do
About Bonnivale
Bonnievale is known as The Valley of Cheese and Wine for a good reason. There are 2 Co-operative Wine Cellars, 4 Estates and 2 private wine producers in the area. We also boast two cheeseries namely Parmalat and Mooivallei Suiwel. The Robertson Wine Route, which includes all the wine cellars in the Bonnievale area, has in recent years won great acclaim in South Africa and around the world, for the production of outstanding white and red wines.
Explore the farm life
Our neighbours have free range chickens just next door, so if you hear an early morning “cock- a-doodle-do” that would be “Takeaway” performing his morning call.
Don’t be surprised if one or two kittens pop in and visit you during your stay. Do you love birds? Don’t forget to bring along your birding book and binoculars, we have plenty of birds in the garden and around the farm to take in.
Take a bike ride, go for a walk or run through our tranquil farm.
It's just short stroll through the orchards to the river - so bring your fishing rod and canoe. The Breede River provides an endless list of water sports, including a boat trip on the River Goose.
What fish can you catch in our river?
Bass, Barber and Karp
For those without water wings there is a golf course, hiking and 4x4 trails nearby.
Enjoy the river
Wine and cheese tastings
Explore the nearby wine farms and cheese producers:
Wineries nearby
www.boncourage.co.za
www.bonnievalecellar.co.za
www.viljoensdrift.co.za
www.wolvendriftwines.co.za
Cheese Factories nearby
Mooivallei Suiwel
Parmalat
Relax
Just sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet that farm life has to offer. Pack a good book, watch the evening stars & unwind. This is the perfect spot to recharge and just get away from it all.
Restaurants nearby
Grapes
We end our summer fruit harvest with red wine grapes that we deliver to Bonnievale Cellar to make some “lekker” red wine. The farm boasts Pinotage, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Ruby Cabernet.
Citrus
The farm also boasts Lemons and Clementine’s with lots of vitamin C to keep you healthy during the winter months. Harvest starts early May until middle June.
We also have a fruit tree nursery aimed at growers, who put their orders in each year early September.We then make sure they have some lovely trees to plant the following year in June/July.
While exploring the farm during the week, do take a look how they graft these fruit trees , it’s something quite unique!
Pick fresh fruit in season
We have orchards full of yummy fruit for every season. You are more than welcome to pick some during your stay. The golden rule is to only pick what you can eat otherwise we might have some unhappy farmers on our hands!
You will find an information board at each orchard that will explain exactly what trees grow there and when they were planted.
Peaches
Zandvliet, Keisie, Western Sun & Cascade
Harvest time is busy on the farm and we pick Peaches at the beginning of every year. We start picking Zandvliet early January,followed by Keisie, Western Sun and finishing with Cascade middle February.
Apricots
Charisma apricots are the first of our summer fruits to be harvested in early December and these finish off late December. Why not try your hand at making your own apricot jam during you stay on the farm?
We have a great recipe for you!
Plums
Sapphire, Fortune, Sun Supreme and African Delight .
They are just the yummiest, that’s why we decide to name our rooms after them. We start harvesting our plums early December and end early March. We also have Leatitia, Sungold, Southern Bell and Ruby Star.
