Another day takes us through Harold Porter National Botanical Garden in Kleinmond before climbing into the mountains, zigzagging upwards past streams and small waterfalls. On a clear day, views stretch across the landscape; when the mist rolls in, you find yourself quite literally walking through clouds.
The trail moves through constantly changing environments, from working farms and indigenous vegetation to mountain paths and river systems.
And then there is that white riverbank – soft sand that looks almost like a beach, except there is no ocean in sight. Instead, there is birdsong, frogs and the surreal feeling that someone has put a beach in entirely the wrong place.
Good food is part of the experience. Each day’ s walk ends at one of the valley’ s wine estates for lunch and a tasting, including Paul Clüver, Almenkerk, and Beaumont. After several hours on your feet, a good meal and a glass of cool-climate wine feel less like indulgence and more like a perfectly reasonable recovery strategy.
Then comes the pleasure of returning to Wildekrans Country House. Rose and Annie’ s generous home cooking becomes disproportionately exciting after a day on your feet. During our stay, dinners included kingklip poached in Sauvignon Blanc, asparagus grown in the garden, lamb shank with fresh vegetables, chicken with capers and olives, and desserts worth finding room for.
The formula is simple: walk all day, eat beautifully, sleep deeply, begin again.
Wildekrans Country House is more than accommodation on this journey; it becomes its anchor. Owner Alison Green grew up on a neighbouring farm and has lived here with her architect husband, Barry Goud, for 27 years. There is deliberately little signage, no casual walk-ins and not even a doorbell. Guests arrive because they are expected.
Inside, South African art, carefully considered interiors and the surrounding gardens make it feel more like a home than simply somewhere to spend the night. After hours in the mountains, returning here feels remarkably like coming home.