Travel to Swellendam

the third oldest town in South Africa

Swellendam is located in the Overberg area of the Western Cape.

This historic town sits at the foot of the Langeberg Mountains some 200 km east of Cape Town. It’s actually the third oldest town in the country (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch), having been established in as early as 1746.

The modern town contains some very impressive colonial architecture, especially around the north end of the high street, where there is also a decent museum and a few nice places to eat.

The most annoying thing about Swellendam (and something we have real trouble getting past) is that during the 1980s most of the previously elegant high street was vastly widened to accommodate the increasingly busy through road. Half way through this process, it was decided that the plan was no good anyway and a bypass was constructed instead. So the town had its heart ripped out for no good reason. We hope whoever was responsible for that was hung, drawn and quartered.

Activities in the area include golf, wineries, river rafting and some extensive hiking in the nearby Marloth Nature Reserve. There’s also a limited amount of wildlife in the modest Bontebok National Park (there are also bonteboks in De Hoop, if you are heading there).

Being situated on the N2 highway roughly halfway between Cape Town and the Garden Route, Swellendam is often used as an overnight spot.

However, since we usually prefer to meander through this wonderful region rather than tear down the main road, we tend to more often include Swellendam as a lunch spot when passing between the De Hoop down on the coast and Calitzdorp to the north.

If you do choose to stay in the town, then there’s a handful of decent guest-houses, mostly at the northern end, including the relatively upmarket De Kloof Estate and the friendly Schoone Oordt House.

very rarely deploy nights in the town