Fynbos Estate

Just an hour’s drive from Cape Town, this unique and special place has been called a hidden gem’ and a corner of paradise’. Set in a kloof of the Paardeberg in the Swartland, Fynbos Estate has become a favourite destination for those with a love of nature and countryside, comfortable yet simple accommodation and fine quality food and wine.

A grand old Victorian farmhouse and quaint country cottages nestled amongst vineyards, olive groves and mountains, make Fynbos Estate ideal for getaways, workshops, retreats and conferences. Lovely gardens, a pavilion and an old cellar, create a magical setting for weddings, parties, and other functions.

A magical place for spiritual retreats, yoga workshops, art classes or holistic workshops of all kinds. Perfect for lovers of nature in a tranquil atmosphere with delicious homemade food and comfortable farm accommodation for up to 45 people.

• Comfortable spacious single and shared accommodation with additional camping or dorm sleeping options
• Seasonal homemade meals and teas included. Part board or self-catered optional (vegetarian and vegan food)
• 3 venues offering various possibilities including a large sprung wooden floor for yoga, dancing, martial arts and various forms of movement.
• Breakaway spaces indoors and in many of the beautiful gardens and patios

The farm accommodation caters for couples, families, family reunions, groups of friends, wedding and celebration guests and workshops and retreats. Accommodation includes an original Farm House, Honey Badger House, Caracal Cottage, Black Eagle House and Owl Cottage, and in total the estate can accommodate 45 people sharing.

There are plenty of outdoor activities, including walks in the nature reserve, bird watching, mountain cycling, swimming in the pool at the foot of mountain and chilling on the many verandas. Friendly residents dogs and cats and the possibility to pet rescue animals, make it a haven for animal lovers. Accommodation is pet-friendly in selected houses.

How we see it. A real place where magic happens

Twenty years ago Johan and I decided to leave the city for a quiet and beautiful place in the country. We planned to grow and sell grapes and make a few bottles of wine for fun. But if we thought we could sit on our veranda and watch the grapes grow, life had other plans for us, and we have participated with delight, in a journey towards not only increased sustainability, but into a hive of activities involving many new spaces and a wide range of people.
Thus currently we make natural hand-crafted wines in the old style of the 1900s as well as organic olive and lemon products. We host guests for getaways, retreats, workshops, fairs, music festivals, weddings and other celebrations, and we cook up a storm of seasonal homemade country food using seasonal and locally sourced ingredients. Perhaps most exciting has been turning the wonderful wild mountain land of the farm into a gazetted nature reserve.
The journey has had its challenges – with twists and turns that have included hailstorms and mudslides, fearsome fires and fickle market forces, not to mention complex community politics and brain numbing bureaucracies. Part of the farm process has been setting up a farm worker crèche in Jourbertskloof – sadly with only partial success. Another is a determined pursuit to reduce our footprint and to use the farm to encourage conservation and wilderness education.
But whatever events or processes happen at Fynbos it is always at heart a real place – where real things happen to real people. As a result, and greatly heart-warming, is the growth of a community of past guests, friends, staff and volunteers who love the farm and have contributed to it – in whatever way.

Most of all these eighteen years have been a great adventure for Johan and me, and however demanding, we would not have exchanged it for anything. What do we wish for, looking forward? That the adventure continues. That Johan, and Andy our annually visiting UK winemaker, have many harvests from which to make delicious wine. That we get to restock the reserve with indigenous animals. And that we get a bit more time off. But most of all we wish that the abundance of Fynbos and its beauty and peace will continue into the future to inspire people in positive and different ways.

What a piece of paradise is Fynbos Farm! We’ve just returned from our third annual meditation retreat at the farm, and I can’t imagine a more beautiful or supportive environment in which to undertake the demanding work of meditating seven hours a day. The valley in which the farm is nestled feels a million miles from the bustle of the city – though it’s scarcely an hour away by car. Every year I visit, there is deepening evidence of Johan and Diana’s dedication to shaping the land into something where all can flourish – human, animal, and plant alike. The massive trees, the baby owls, the rolling hills of vine and olive – the many summer scents of the farm: honeysuckle, plectranthus, wild garlic; – all these encircled by mountains well on their way to becoming a gloriously restored indigenous biome. And as if all these environmental pleasures weren’t enough, there’s the unforgettable food. What delectable homemade ice-creams! A sweet red-onion tarte tatin to break you heart! A million thanks to our hosts and their sweet, hard-working staff for making our retreat a real holiday. We’ll be back. Again and again.
Andrew

Thank you so much for all your efforts to make our stay this comfortable. Everyone had the most amazing time and we will definitely be back.
This is a special place and we all know it. The pavilion is a fantastic venue for this work and the views and gardens and pool are beautiful. The houses were excellent and the farmhouse kitchen and verandas wonderful for cooking and for eating. Diana and the fynbos team were accommodating and friendly. There is such a sense of peace here.
Gerlinde

Everyone is glowing from the retreat – that place is so special and we always feel so blessed to be able to spend time there.
Fynbos provides the most sublime context in which to practice meditation and mindfulness. The gorgeous natural surround has a magical quality to it that encourages the true sense of home. The wonderful hosts, Diana and Johan, and their respectful and generous staff provide the care, safety and containment needed for the practice. A great bonus is the delicious vegetarian meals served on our retreat that truly nourish and support the practice. It is a space that gets under my skin and that my body longs for each year.
Pippa

Thank you Amiene for offering the opportunity to practice the Zen Art of Sleeplessness.
I am also using this opportunity to express my gratitude to all involved.
It was a perfect retreat in every way, with a lot packed in… but somehow spacious… intense but delightful?
I mean, great wine, awesome food, great venue. Yet it is true that great times are usually people related, so it is the energy  of the great hosts and great people attending that makes these type of events wonderful.
Johann