THE WINE ROUTE

Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch has a  atmosphere, architecture and general appearance which all contribute to a unique charm. Essentially an academic and farming center, it is largely free of the relentless pressures of industry and excessive population growth.

Here, man has a change to live in a more relaxed atmosphere, to take stock of the good things around him, conserve and beautify, and learn that it is more pleasant by far to live in the shade of a tree rather than that of a lamp-post. 

Muratie Wine Estate covered in spider webs

 Muratie the wine museum

The birth of Stellenbosch

It all started in 1679. On 3 November of that year Simon van der Stel , the newly appointed Commander and future governor of the Cape for the Dutch East India Company, set out with an escort of soldiers on a journey to explore the countryside immediately eastwards of Cape Town.

For five days Van der Stel and his party explored the wild garden. Following the Eerste River with its amber-coloured water up towards its source in the bosom of the mountains.

They reached, on the afternoon of 6 November, a place which captivated Van der Stel completely.
It was there that the river for a part of its course divided into two branches. Between the branches an island had been formed.
Van der Stel and his party camped beneath shady trees on the island. It was named Van der Stel se Bosch ( Van der Stel’s Wood ).
Before the end of that year the first settler had made a home in the area.
By the summer of 1681 the settlement Stellenbosch was flourishing. 

Van der Stel

He was always a great man for trees, especially oaks. He ordered that oaks be planted along the sides of each street, watered by furrows fed from the river, with water rights to all gardens. 

The presence of the river with its ample water was a great benefaction to the growth of a town.

The trees were a legacy from Van der Stel of incalculable value, not only beautiful, but shading the streets, purifying the air, deadening the sounds of ever-increasing traffic, providing leaves for compost,timber for all manner of uses from firewood to furniture. 

Stellenbosch Restaurant under Oak trees 

Wine cellar with tasting room