Franschhoek Jaunt

Yesterday I had a meeting with a client at a private wine estate in Franschhoek. With the weather being so awesome I thought it a great idea to hop on Big Red and use the time to get a little rural ride in.

It was a fantastic day for a ride, and there was some mind-blowing scenery to take in. Most of the images were taken on the estate, whilst others were along the route. The route itself included the N1 (to cut out a lot of the areas already travelled), on to the R45 road that cuts through the Groot Drakenstein areas nestling between the Jonkershoek and Haweqwa mountains, through the quaint town of Simondium, past well-known wine estates like Vrede en Lust, Allee Bleue and Solms Delta.

After a couple hours on the estate I headed back home via the Helshoogte Pass, which splits off the R45 and heads through some more gorgeous little dorpies, such as Pniel, home to the Boschendal Wine Estate, and Lanquedoc. 

The pass runs between the peaks of the Hottentots Holland mountains, on which MolenVliet and Zorgvliet Wine Estates are found. This road pops over and trickles down in to Stellenbosch, where I cut through the town and out towards Spier Wine Estate and Lynedoch Eco Village. This was a great stretch as the sun was setting and with it a more stunning landscape.

Not bad for a short day out...