Rich in history and natural splendour, with steep mountain ranges on both sides, and the Breede River that winds through the valley, it is an off the beaten track place of rest and quiet. Visitors to Bosjes will find the journey worthwhile, if only to see the Chapel, an architectural masterpiece, and to enjoy the landscaped Chapel gardens.

Bosjes is 108 km from Tableview but with our 1^st pick up from Constantia being somewhat delayed by traffic, we only got going from Tableview by about 09h45 – after a short comfort break at the Winelands Engen we went through the Du ToitsKloof tunnel by 11h30 with still a distance of only 37,7km to Bosjes but the road was fraught with stop-‘n-goes!  This has us arriving at Bosjes at about 12h10 which was a pity – perhaps next time we need to combine this trip with our away trips to give us longer to enjoy the gardens and their stunning chapel!

On arrival we had a ‘short’ lecture from Francie about Bosjes; the chapel; and the gardens. Interesting was to see the primary school a product of the Western Cape Government partnering with the community – a stunning building with well-dressed children learning in this stunning environment.

Those who wanted to still managed to walk the garden; with a stunning water feature with water trickling down the sides of high walls and then being recycled and pumped to the top to start the cycle over again; some walked the little kopje – round-and-round to the top to get stunning of this estate which is predominately used as a wedding venue because of their unique chapel which has won many coveted awards.

After our walk around everyone was ready for lunch at the Bosjes Kombuis.
A Harvest Table Luncheon was set up for us, comprising:

Various breads (See Loaf, Milk Roll; Ciabatta) Spreads, Hummus, Smoked Olives, Tomato Jam, served with cured Beef Charcuterie; Smoked sirloin; Rare Roast Beef; Chicken Kebabs and Garden salads of Red Pepper; Crouton, Oranges, Broccoli and Toasted Almonds, Butter Lettuce.  They also had Mini Vegetable and Beef Quiches, All followed by delicious Chocolate Brownies and Homemade Marshmallows.

We ended up leaving Bosjes by about 15h15 which had us getting stuck in late afternoon traffic with drop-off in Tableview at about 17h30 and Constantia would have only got home by about 19h00!

A long day – and as I said at the outset perhaps these distances are best tackled on longer away trips when one can stay close by and enjoy the venues far more – instead of a ‘whistle stop’ trip!

We should all heed the words of Dalai Lama ?

 Once a Year go somewhere you’ve never been before

This is what makes life so special!

Photo gallery to follow shortly