Klapmuts, Cape Winelands

Klapmuts, just off the R45 between Kraaifontein and Paarl, is a rather small village in the heart of the Cape Winelands. Klapmuts is also not very well known amongst tourists - an added bonus as the area offers the chance to stay on large farms and small holdings with views out over the mountains on the edge of things. One feels free of the city out here, despite being but 45 minutes away from Cape Town.

Klapmuts the town has recently undergone a fair amount of development, and intends developing still. You can see evidence of new houses under construction, but in general, there is a sense of the pastoral here that you won't find in the midst of the hubbub that is Cape Town, or outlying towns like Paarl and Stellenbosch. People come here mainly to experience the calm and quiet of a getaway. Farms and properties that surround the town don't come cheap though and just a stand in the developing security complex that nestles between Paarl and Stellenbosch will set you back R350k.

But a stay here is sublime. There is plenty to do in the area. In the first place you are only 14 km from Stellenbosch, 16 km from Paarl and roughly 20 km from towns like Wellington. Possibly one of the most popular attractions in Klapmuts is Butterfly World, great if you have children, and similar little towns of Simondium and Pniel make wonderful drives. Essentially though you are here to take advantage of the wine estates around Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, and Klapmuts places you right in the midst of these.