Zorgvliet Suites, Banhoek Valley
Published: 22 Dec 06
It's a busy road that winds through the Banhoek valley connecting Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. Rush, rush, rush. It's all best observed from a distance, away from the dizziness and noise, I mused.There aren't any roses around the deck at the Zorgvliet suites to stop and smell,
but I was happy to nose the sherry in my glass, and poured another.
Earlier, checking in had been painless. The sun was setting against the auditorium of mountain peaks, casting spectacular hues, and I was keen to get to my sundowner. Unpacking involved tossing my bag at the foot of the four-poster in the airy room, and throwing open the large glass doors to let the dusk creep in.
Out on the deck, the air was chill and I was glad of the sherry. A light mist rolled out between the vineyard rows. Geese passed overhead, racing the dying light. Frogs gurgled and burped, and all the while a pair of swans drifted soundlessly around a reflection of the rising full moon.
Suppertime was signalled by three things: hunger, a reservation and, quite co-incidentally, the expiry of sherry. Also, I was itching to try out the sporty little number Zorgvliet kindly makes available for guests wanting to tour the farm or pop down to one of the restaurants. The golf cart bumped and swayed on the paved brick pathway, but it got me to the Herenhuis 1692 restaurant quite safely. There, a slap-up dinner of oxtail in phyllo pastry parcels sitting on paprika samp and veggies, washed down with a thick and juicy Zorgvliet Shiraz, was followed by chocolate risotto, and coffee, a nightcap and a smooth Cuban on the leather couch in the bar.
Executive chef Derek Lowe took a break from the pots - and planning a new menu - and popped in to say hello. He joined the estate in August after finishing up at its sister hotel in Gauteng.
I was still smoking the Cuban on the way back, driving past the horse paddocks and fruit trees, their blossoms like a fantasy in the moonlight. Fantasy was also my idea later as I soaked in a large Victorian-style bath, dried lavender flowers floating around me and the aroma of the French countryside. I used the time to read up on the farm and its owners. Zorgvliet is one of three prominent hospitality businesses owned and run by South African entrepreneur Mac van der Merwe and his family. A series of well-timed business transactions, including the sale of shares in an IT business and a gold mine near Welkom, provided the means to buy the 90-hectare Zorgvliet, the 89-room Riviera on Vaal hotel, including the adjoining Riviera Country Club in Vereeniging and the 8 700-hectare Ka'Ingo private game reserve in the Waterberg area of the Limpopo Province. The Zorgvliet Group also has a majority share in the King George Hotel on the Garden Route.
I clambered out of the bath, narrowly missing the flower posy on the bathmat. There was also one on my bed alongside a nougat treat and a note wishing me a good night's rest. I didn't argue, suddenly feeling stupid at mumbling "thank you" to thin air.
The next morning over bacon and maple syrup flapjacks, at Zorgvliet's other restaurant, Le Pommier, Van der Merwe told me that for him, picking a project is a bit like mountaineering. "People ask: 'Why do they climb Everest?' And the answer is always: 'Just because it's there'."
These projects regularly take him across the globe, more recently to London and Kazakhstan. Recently he was on a delayed flight back from Dubai. The flying is tedious, he says "There aren't any lifts to the top of Everest."
But he and his wife Marietjie are excited about the future. Van der Merwe has been plotting the hospitality business for some time, which has included acquiring two travel agencies. Also, they're about to launch Richelle - the pinnacle wine label on the triangle made up by the Le Pommier, Silver Myn and Zorgvliet brands.
And what about smelling the roses? I ask, thinking about that busy road through the valley.
"My daughter put her foot down and booked us a place in Mauritius next week," he says.
There are three venues offering accommodation at Zorgvliet. Rates at one of the six five-star Zorgvliet Suites are from R1 295 pp for a single booking in a luxury room to R2 200 per superior double room.
Zorgvliet Suites R310, Helshoogte, Banhoek Valley, Stellenbosch. Tel: 0861 967 485; www.zorgvliet.com; info@zorgvliet.com
Earlier, checking in had been painless. The sun was setting against the auditorium of mountain peaks, casting spectacular hues, and I was keen to get to my sundowner. Unpacking involved tossing my bag at the foot of the four-poster in the airy room, and throwing open the large glass doors to let the dusk creep in.
Out on the deck, the air was chill and I was glad of the sherry. A light mist rolled out between the vineyard rows. Geese passed overhead, racing the dying light. Frogs gurgled and burped, and all the while a pair of swans drifted soundlessly around a reflection of the rising full moon.
Suppertime was signalled by three things: hunger, a reservation and, quite co-incidentally, the expiry of sherry. Also, I was itching to try out the sporty little number Zorgvliet kindly makes available for guests wanting to tour the farm or pop down to one of the restaurants. The golf cart bumped and swayed on the paved brick pathway, but it got me to the Herenhuis 1692 restaurant quite safely. There, a slap-up dinner of oxtail in phyllo pastry parcels sitting on paprika samp and veggies, washed down with a thick and juicy Zorgvliet Shiraz, was followed by chocolate risotto, and coffee, a nightcap and a smooth Cuban on the leather couch in the bar.
Executive chef Derek Lowe took a break from the pots - and planning a new menu - and popped in to say hello. He joined the estate in August after finishing up at its sister hotel in Gauteng.
I was still smoking the Cuban on the way back, driving past the horse paddocks and fruit trees, their blossoms like a fantasy in the moonlight. Fantasy was also my idea later as I soaked in a large Victorian-style bath, dried lavender flowers floating around me and the aroma of the French countryside. I used the time to read up on the farm and its owners. Zorgvliet is one of three prominent hospitality businesses owned and run by South African entrepreneur Mac van der Merwe and his family. A series of well-timed business transactions, including the sale of shares in an IT business and a gold mine near Welkom, provided the means to buy the 90-hectare Zorgvliet, the 89-room Riviera on Vaal hotel, including the adjoining Riviera Country Club in Vereeniging and the 8 700-hectare Ka'Ingo private game reserve in the Waterberg area of the Limpopo Province. The Zorgvliet Group also has a majority share in the King George Hotel on the Garden Route.
I clambered out of the bath, narrowly missing the flower posy on the bathmat. There was also one on my bed alongside a nougat treat and a note wishing me a good night's rest. I didn't argue, suddenly feeling stupid at mumbling "thank you" to thin air.
The next morning over bacon and maple syrup flapjacks, at Zorgvliet's other restaurant, Le Pommier, Van der Merwe told me that for him, picking a project is a bit like mountaineering. "People ask: 'Why do they climb Everest?' And the answer is always: 'Just because it's there'."
These projects regularly take him across the globe, more recently to London and Kazakhstan. Recently he was on a delayed flight back from Dubai. The flying is tedious, he says "There aren't any lifts to the top of Everest."
But he and his wife Marietjie are excited about the future. Van der Merwe has been plotting the hospitality business for some time, which has included acquiring two travel agencies. Also, they're about to launch Richelle - the pinnacle wine label on the triangle made up by the Le Pommier, Silver Myn and Zorgvliet brands.
And what about smelling the roses? I ask, thinking about that busy road through the valley.
"My daughter put her foot down and booked us a place in Mauritius next week," he says.
There are three venues offering accommodation at Zorgvliet. Rates at one of the six five-star Zorgvliet Suites are from R1 295 pp for a single booking in a luxury room to R2 200 per superior double room.
Zorgvliet Suites R310, Helshoogte, Banhoek Valley, Stellenbosch. Tel: 0861 967 485; www.zorgvliet.com; info@zorgvliet.com
