Some people go to Vergelegen Estate for the wine. We went for the beautiful gardens and delicious food.  Most of the photos in this post are from our November visit because more flowers were in bloom at that time, late spring.  Our two prior visits were in June and September. 

In 1700 the estate land was granted to the governor of the Cape, Willem Adriaan van der Stel. He created a country estate and named it Vergelegen, which means “situated far away.”  At the time, 50km east of Cape Town did seem quite a distance from the government offices. During the next 280+ years the estate changed owners three more times before Anglo American PLC Group purchased it in 1987. The current owners completed extensive restoration work on the residential and farm buildings, gardens, and vineyards. 

The octagonal garden, looking very similar to the original in the early 1700s, encompasses the east side of restored homestead.

We loved the reflection garden that leads to the main, north-facing entrance of the homestead.

The numerous, winter-blooming camellia trees at Vergelegen are impressive! This special garden is South Africa’s first and only International Camellia Garden of Excellence, one of only 39 such gardens in the world, and the only one in Africa. We took most of the camellia photos below during our June visit. 

The yellowwood walk crosses a swing bridge and ends at the large and presumably 400 year-old yellowwood tree. Many of the tree’s “children” sprouted around the expansive specimen. 

We enjoyed the peacefulness of the rose garden while sitting on the trellis-covered benches. Estate gardeners renovated the garden in 2015 with an octagonal shape and central sculpture. 

Manicured hedges define the flower beds in the sundial garden near the main guest entrance. The blooming plants in this area of the estate looked quite different from one of our visits to the next. The sundial in the center is functional, as well as ornamental.

The Stables Restaurant, one of three dining options at Vergelegen, borders the east side of the sundial garden. The eatery includes tables inside the renovated and enlarged original stables, plus outdoor eating spaces with views of the estate and Hottentots Holland Mountains. We enjoyed the Stables’ tasty food and al fresco dining during each of our Vergelegen experiences.