BREEDE RIVER VALLEY, WESTERN CAPE,  SOUTH AFRICA 
TRAVEL & LODGING GUIDE

BREEDE RIVER VALLEY TRAVEL GUIDE, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

The Breede River Valley is relatively broad and flat for a Western Cape valley, averaging at a floor height of 80m-250m above sea-level. Western regions are mostly alluvial and flat, while eastern regions have more hills of the Bokkeveld Formation with narrow alluvial deposits. The valley was formed by its namesake, the Breede River. It is completely encircled by high mountains of the Cape Fold Belt ranging in height from 1500m to upwards of 2000m's. It stretches from Tulbagh in the north to McGregor in the south and Rawsonville in the west to Ashton and Bonnievale in the east.

It is climatically diverse, however it completely falls within a Mediterranean Climate. Towards the north and west, rainfall approaches upwards of 1000mm p.a., particularly in the Slanghoek Region near Rawsonville, whilst it becomes drier towards the south and west, with most areas averaging 300mm p.a., with areas near Worcester only receiving 175mm p.a. Thus Karoo Shrub dominates eastern hills, with lush Fynbos vegetation dominating western regions.

CERES ACCOMMODATION - BREEDE RIVER VALLEY

It was named after the Roman goddess Ceres, a name which is fitting as the valley in which the town is situated is extremely fertile and is a major producer of South Africa's deciduous fruit. It is situated in the Warmbokkeveld (Afrikaans: "warm antelope field") Valley about 170 km north-east of Cape Town, which is climatically warmer than the surrounding highlands, which is known as the Kouebokkeveld ("cold antelope field").

Ceres experiences a typical Mediterranean climate tempered by its altitude. The town experiences warmer temperatures in summer, due to its inland location with infrequent rainfall, however winters are cool to quite cold and wet, with frequent snowfalls on the surrounding higher-lying ground, rarely falling on the valley floor itself. Total annual precipitation averages 1088mm, with average temperatures ranging from a February maximum of 29,9°C to a July minimum of 2,4°C.

Ceres is well-known for fruit juices exported worldwide bearing the town's name. It is also famous locally for winter snow and cherries: Cape Town residents flock to the town during winter to ski or simply play in the powder — something of a rarity for the otherwise mild climate they are used to. If you forgot to pack your ski gear there are opportunities in town for rentals in case you want to hit the slopes.  Whilst in summer, people come to pick cherries from "Klondyke" farm.

South Africa is one of the most stable parts of the world in seismic terms but on the 29th of September 1969 a massive shock shook the district without warning. The epicentre of the quake was on a major local structure called the Worcester fault, which had clearly been geologically active in the distant past but had not moved in over three hundred years of recorded history. Ceres was affected badly. Many old Cape Dutch buildings were damaged and some lives were lost. The quake was strong enough to knock plaster off walls in Cape Town, a hundred miles away

ROBERTSON B&B / GUEST HOUSES - BREEDE RIVER VALLEY

Situated in the fertile Robertson Valley, farming and wagon building were the town's original industries. However, after the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899, the wagon building industry collapsed when the railways took over the transport of all goods.

Robertson subsequently became famous for its ostrich farming, but this industry collapsed as well shortly after World War I and thus the farmers of the area turned switched to wine and fruit farming. Later, several successful racehorse stud farms were founded. Agriculture remains the mainstay of the town's economy up to the present day.

Tourism has also grown in recent years and the town has several South African National Monuments, such as the Pink Church (1859), the Museum (1860), the Edwardian-style house 12 Piet Retief Street (1904), the Victorian-style house 59 Van Reeneen Street (1914) and the Powder House (which used as a storage for gunpowder).

The wine industry in Robertson has grown from less than 25 cellars in 1995 to more than 50 registerd wine cellars as of today. There are a number of wine cellars that receive the highest awards both locally and internationally every year. Robertson wine cellars include: Graham Beck, Springfield, Bon Cap, Majors Hill and Excelsior Estate.  There are also a range of small boutique wineries as Rosendal and Fraai Uitzicht.

ROBERTSON HOLIDAY RENTALS/SELF-CATERING - BREEDE RIVER VALLEY

TULBAGH B&B / GUEST HOUSES / HOLIDAY RENTALS ACCOMMODATION - BREEDE RIVER VALLEY

The valley has been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous Bushmen and Khoi peoples. It was about 300 years ago when, after a land grant by the Dutch Colonial Government to a more or less equal number of Dutch and Huguenot settlers to settle the area, that the town of Tulbagh was founded. The town developed slowly and over time and in the period many notable examples of Cape Dutch architecture, Victorian and Edwardian houses and other buildings such as Die Oude Drosdy (the original colonial Magistrate's complex) were built in the valley. Many of these lovely buildings were destroyed in an earthquake in 1969 but quite a number did survive the catastrophe. Church Street in Tulbagh is now graced by the largest number of original Cape- Dutch, Edwardian and Victorian National Monuments in one street in South Africa and is a major tourist attraction of the town to the present day.

Tulbagh is situated in a bowl surrounded by imposing mountain ranges, with the Obiqua Mountains to the west, the Winterhoek Mountains in the north and the Witzenberg Mountains to the east. The valley experiences a mediterranean-type climate. The southern side of the valley is open to cooling south-east winds during the hot summer months. Accordingly Tulbagh enjoys some of the most diverse and attractive conditions for viticulture in the Cape, and the differences in terroir available to wine makers allow for a wide diversity of distinctive wines of excellence, attributes which have attracted many new producers to the valley.

TULBAGH HOTELS - BREEDE RIVER VALLEY

WORCESTER ACCOMMODATION - BREEDE RIVER VALLEY

Being the largest town in the Western Cape's interior region, it serves as the administrative capitol of the Breede Valley Local Municipality and as regional headquarters for most Central- and Provincial Government Departments. The town also serves as the hub of the Western Cape's interior commercial, distribution and retail activity with a Shopping Mall, well developed Central Business District and infrastructure.

In the early days of the Cape's history the main road through the great mountain barrier which streches northwards from the Hottentots-Holland, Wemmershoek and Slanghoek mountains to the Groot Winterhoek mountains, lay through the Roodezand Pass into the valley of Tulbagh. From here the road gave access in the south-east to “the original great rift valley of Africa” as Jan Smuts once described the Breede River Valley.

Worcester is located at an elevation of 220m and can be reached by road either travelling on the N1 highway through the Huguenot Tunnel or by driving through spectacular Mountain passes. From Cape Town Du Toitskloof, from Wellington Bainskloof, from Malmesbury Nieuwekloof, from Ceres Mitchells, from Robertson Goree, from Hermanus Rooihoogte and from Johannesburg Hex River, with vistas over the Hex River Valley.