Friday
The long way out
Take Route 62 through Worcester, Robertson and Ashton. Stop in Montagu for a late lunch and a walk, then drive up Burgers Pass to the farm before dark. Braai on the stoep.
Montagu and the Koo
Our nearest town was voted Best Dorpie in the Cape 2026 in the Kfm 94.5 Best of the Cape Awards. It’s the third time, after 2021 and 2025. Here’s how to make a weekend of it.
Source: The Herald, 4 September 2026.
In Montagu
Twenty nine kilometres down Burgers Pass from our gate.
The hot springs
Montagu grew up around its warm springs, and they’re still the reason a lot of people come. Go on a winter afternoon.
Walk the old town
Georgian, Victorian and Cape Dutch houses on quiet streets, and an Art Deco hotel on the main road.
Climb or hike
The kloofs around town are known for rock climbing, and marked walking routes take in the town’s history.
Ride
Mountain bike trails and quiet farm roads in every direction.
Dried fruit and nuts
This is fruit country. Buy padkos for the road home.
Route 62 wine
Wine farms line the road between Montagu, Ashton and Robertson.
The Koo Valley and Burgers Pass
The R318 climbs out of Montagu up Burgers Pass, laid out by the road engineer Thomas Bain and finished in 1887. At the top it opens into the Koo, a high valley planted with orchards from one side to the other. The valley gave its name to a tinned fruit brand South Africans have known for generations.
Come in early spring, around September, when the orchards flower white and pink. In winter there’s often snow on the Matroosberg.
The farm’s storyA weekend from Cape Town
Saturday
Up the mountain
The tractor leaves in the morning. Muscadel at the hut, potjie under the pines when you come down. Spend the afternoon at the dam, or go back into town for the hot springs.
Sunday
The quick way home
Drive north through the Koo on the R318 and join the N1 in the Hex River Valley. Cape Town is a little over two hours away.
Only have a day? Leave Cape Town early, come straight here on the N1 and the R318, do the tractor and the potjie, and go home through Montagu and Route 62.
Visiting from overseas?
Protea Farm is an easy stop between Cape Town and the Garden Route if you take Route 62 instead of the coast. It’s a good way to see the countryside most visitors miss: working farms, fynbos and mountains, and a lunch that’s been cooked the same way for generations.
Hire a car in Cape Town. Most of the road is tar. The last few kilometres to the farm gate are on the R318, which is tarred but steep. Fill up with petrol in Worcester or Montagu.
Directions and questions
Make the farm your stop
The tractor trip is R300 for adults, and the potjie the same again. Spring weekends and school holidays fill up first.