Things To Do

Wine & Dine

Whether you feel like a gourmet meal or a quick hamburger, a formal dinner or a casual affair, the area around SomerZicht teem with excellent restaurants and eateries. Some famous, some hidden away, a large number on wine farms and some near the ocean, our guests are spoilt for choice.

The famous Stellenbosch Wine Route is on our doorstep. With more than 150 estates producing wine of origin in the region, guests can spend weeks touring the various sub-routes (Bottelary Hills, Greater Simonsberg, Helderberg, Stellenbosch Valley and Stellenbosch Berg). Some of the more famous estates include Blaauwklippen, Spier, Muratie, Rust en Vrede, Ernie Els, Delheim, Simonsvlei and Kanonkop.

The Helderberg Wine Route boasts the 2nd oldest wine estate in the country. The stunning Vergelen estate is well worth a visit. Other well known estates include Morgenster, which also produces award winning olives and olive oil, and Lourensford, with its stunning gardens, lively markets, art galleries and lifestyle shop. Located high up on the Hottentot Holland Mountains with exquisite views over False Bay, lies Waterkloof Estate with its award winning restaurant as well as Idiom Wine Estate, specializing in Italian Wine varieties grown and bottled on the estate.

Explore Stellenbosch and the Helderberg Region

A mere 15 minutes from SomerZicht, Stellenbosch is a sought after destination: it offers beautiful heritage buildings and authentic Cape Dutch Architecture, lively streets to explore, a vibrant café culture, plenty of interesting events, superb cuisine and to top it all off, world class vineyards and wine.

With the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland mountain ranges as backdrop, the beautiful Helderberg region offers a wonderful combination of nature, vineyards and beaches.

For those who love the great outdoors, the Helderberg Nature Reserve is a must. Situated on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountains, with breathtaking views of False Bay, the reserve is home to a spectacular array of plant and bird life. There are various hiking trails and it is also the ideal spot for a relaxed picnic while enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.

If you feel the urge to swim or surf, the Helderberg region has two fantastic beach areas – Gordon’s Bay and the Strand. There is also a range of adventure activities on offer in the area, including a surf school and paragliding.

Don’t miss out on one of the most spectacular coastal routes in South Africa from Gordon’s Bay via Rooi Els all the way to Hermanus… and as a bonus, enjoy whale viewing from June to December.

Explore Cape Town & Surrounds

Whether riding the aerial cable way up iconic Table Mountain or wandering through beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, taking a boat ride to Robben Island or exploring Cape Point, watching penguins at Boulder’s Beach or hiking Signal Hill, Cape Town offers a myriad sights and activities for our guests to enjoy.

Golf

With its great weather and beautiful golf courses, South Africa is rightly known as a ‘Golfer’s Paradise’. Somerset West is ideally located for easy access to a range of outstanding courses to suit every handicap.

Whether you choose to play at one of the many courses in the Somerset West area, or would prefer to tee off in the Cape or Winelands areas, we can assist you with making all the necessary arrangements.

Within a radius of just an hour’s drive from SomerZicht, you will find these courses:

Erinvale Golf Club 10 Minutes - www.erinvalegolfclub.com
Somerset West Golf Club - 10 Minutes - www.somersetwestgolfclub.co.za
Strand Golf Club - 15 Minutes - www.strandgolfclub.co.za
De Zalze Golf Club - 20 Minutes - www.dezalzegolf.com
Stellenbosch Golf Club - 20 Minutes - www.stellenboschgolfclub.com
King David Golf Club - 25 Minutes - www.handicaps.co.za
Devonvale Golf Club - 35 Minutes - www.devonvale.co.za
Royal Cape Golf Club - 35 Minutes - www.royalcapegolf.co.za
Milnerton Golf Club - 45 Minutes - www.milnertongolfclub.co.za
Kleinmond Golf Club - 45 Minutes - www.kleinmondgolfclub.co.za
Pearl Valley Golf Club - 45 Minutes - www.pearlvalley.co.za
Atlantic Beach Golf Club - 45 Minutes - www.atlanticbeachgolfclub.co.za
Westlake Golf Club - 45 Minutes - www.westlakegolfclub.co.za
Arabella Golf Club - 45 Minutes - www.arabella.co.za
Clovelly Golf Club - 50 Minutes - www.clovelly.co.za
Steenberg Golf Club - 50 Minutes - www.steenberggolfclub.co.za
Paarl Golf Club - 50 Minutes - www.paarlgolfclub.co.za
Hermanus Golf Club - 60 Minutes - www.hgc.co.za

Beaches

Helderberg Beaches: a mere 10 minutes from SomerZicht, on the Eastern coast of False Bay.

Strand Beach: a mere 10 minutes away, it has a 5 km stretch of white sand ideal for long walks. Fishing, surfing and wind surfing are very popular here as the waves are quite good.

Gordon’s Bay Beach: a bit further along the coast, has wonderful sheltered rock pools great for exploring and paddling. It is regarded as one of the safest swimming beaches in the area.

Bikini Beach is a small, Blue Flag Beach, with a high level of water quality, facilities, cleanliness and safety. It is popular for sunbathing as it is sheltered from the wind.

Kogel Bay is reached after a short but spectacular drive along the coast towards Rooi Els. It is essentially a surfers beach, but has a long stretch of white sand and a couple of exciting caves.

Hermanus Beaches: On the South coast, an hour from SomerZicht, lies Grotto Beach with its restaurant, play park and well maintained ablution facilities. Excellent for swimming and long beach walks. A bit further is the more private and secluded beach of Langbaai.

False Bay Beaches: 40+ minutes from SomerZicht on the False Bay Coast, between Muizenberg and Simonstown, guests will find good beaches and small seaside villages. Muizenberg Beach is a surfers’s paradise and its long sandy beach boasts colourful beach huts. Not very wide or big St James Beach offers a delightful tidal pool which is great for children. Fish Hoek Beach has calm waters and the walkway that hugs the right hand side of the beach is ideal for an enjoyable stroll.

Boulders Beach is just past Simonstown and is synonymous with the population of African Penguins who live here. This is a paying beach and one of the best swimming beaches in Cape Town. It lies in a small cove and is protected from the wind by giant granite boulders. A boardwalk past the main beach takes you to the penguin beach, although they do pop over to visit you around the boulders.

Atlantic Coast Beaches: There are numerous famous beaches on the Atlantic side of Cape Town, just over an hour’s drive from SomerZicht. Bloubergstrand for not to be missed sunsets and those spectacular views of Table Mountain, Sunset Beach, the third best wind surfing spot in the world and the fashionable Clifton and Camp’s Bay beaches, to name but a few.

Markets & Festivals

Markets and festivals offer guests the opportunity to mix with the locals and to enjoy a day of fun, laughter and great food.

Seasonal festivals include Wine Festivals, Harvest Festivals, Olive Festivals, Cheese Festivals, Food festivals, and many more take place in the region on a regular basis.

Then there are the numerous regular markets ranging from Art and Craft markets to fresh food markets.

Visit the family market at the historic Blaauwklippen Wine Estate on a Sunday. The market has a range of stalls offering fresh produce and homemade products to crafts and plants. There are also live music, delicious food stalls and of course Blaauwklippen wines to enjoy.

The Harvest Market at the Lourensford Wine Estate offers fresh produce and traditional food from a wide variety of regions. It also has some arts and craft stalls and is open on Sundays.

The Root 44 market at the Audacia Wine Estate is open every Saturday and Sunday. The market is housed in sturdy marquees (which means rain is never an issue), and offers funky live entertainment, craft and home ware stalls and a good selection of edible and drinkable treats.

Country Craft Market in Somerset West, every 2nd Saturday, offers genuine quality hand-made arts and crafts.

Hiking, biking and so much more…

The area surrounding SomerZicht offers myriad opportunities for energetic pursuits. Right on our doorstep is the beautiful Helderberg Nature Reserve which offers a number of walking trails, suitable for all ages and levels of fitness.

Then there is Helderberg Farm which offers a number of scenic walking trails ranging from 1 to 20 km with various levels of difficulty.

Or explore the scenic Jonkershoek Nature Reserve in Stellenbosch on foot or mountain bike.

Experience the Winelands in a healthy and fun way – and be green about it! Do a carbon negative tour and enjoy a day of cycling through the vineyards.

For the more adventurous, there are a vast variety of activities on offer in the area and around Cape Town:

Helicopter flights
4 x 4 adventures
Quad biking
Paragliding
Skydiving
Great White Shark cage diving
Horse Riding
Abseiling Table Mountain
Canopy tours
Cycle the City of Cape Town
Hot air ballooning
Whale watching (in season)

Explore further afield

Being so centrally located, staying at SomerZicht offers our guests the opportunity to enjoy numerous daytrips to explore a vast range of places in the area. We are happy to provide maps and advice to assist our guests in planning these trips. Just a few places to wet the appetite:

For awe-inspiring views and one of the most scenic drives in the region, take Clarence Drive from Gordon’s Bay to Hermanus. En-route, drop in at Rooi Els, Pringle Bay, Betty’s Bay and Kleinmond. Great Southern Whales can be seen all along this route between June and September.
Explore the Overberg Region which offers award winning wine estates, quaint little towns such as Botrivier and Caledon, and end the day Whale watching in Hermanus.
Do a circular and very scenic drive up Sir Lowry’s Pass with its well known view point looking down on False Bay, through Caledon, up the Theewaterskloof Pass to Franschhoek. Visit the Theewaterskloof Nature Reserve and Dam along the way.
Visit the lesser known wine areas of Wellington, Paarl, Robertson, and Montagu. The road between Robertson and Montagu includes a scenic pass with dramatic rock formations.