De Doorns, the town at heart of the South African table grape industry, is situated in the stunningly beautiful Hex River Valley, in the Western Cape. The valley, which changes its beautiful scenery through the seasons, from green to gold, is surrounded by majestic mountains, one of which, Matroosberg, is the highest mountain peak in the Western Cape at 2249 metres.
The tapestry of wall to wall vineyards coupled with historical Cape Dutch homesteads, and, in winter, snow-capped mountains all add to the charm of the town.
With its wide range of service and commercial facilities, De Doorns has become the business and shopping centre for the entire valley and surrounding towns. Due to the grape industry, the biggest pre-cooler in the Southern hemisphere, Hexkoel, is located here.
De Doorns lies on the main route to and from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, and is only one and a half hours’ drive from Cape Town, just off the N1 and 35 kilometres north of Worcester.
The De Doorns Wine Cellar has the longest harvest season in the world. Their range consists of dry and semi-sweet white wines, a beautiful demi-sec sparkling wine, excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, rich muscadel, sweet hanepoot jerepigo, a full sweet sherry and a medium dry sherry.
The Veldskoen Farm Stall is an amazing surprise. The whole stall is decorated with beautiful furniture and knick knacks and laden with tasty goodies to eat or take with you.
Hexpas Express – all who have done this trip come away with not only memories of the beautiful scenery, but with a sense of having “lived” the history – that of the railway, built in the 1870’s, aspects of the Boer War and the way of life of those who originally inhabited this area.
The 2 day Botterboom Hiking Trail near De Doorns, is fairly new and takes a route through the beautiful Hex River Valley, a huge area surrounded by magnificent mountains and devoted to table grapes.
The Two Tunnel Mountain Bike Trail traverses the scenic Hex River Valley, mainly along one of the first railway tracks in South Africa, built in the 1870’s.
Keisie River Valley Self Drive Route from De Doorns to Montagu is well worth the effort – the drive covers magnificent fynbos, good scenery and finally the pretty Keisie River Valley farms before reaching Montagu.
For more information on this area see ShowMe Breede River Valley.
