Cape Town, the Garden Route and South African Quilt Festival

Upon arrival in Cape Town, we will transfer to our hotel located on the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront before this afternoon’s orientation tour of Cape Town. During this introductory tour, you will see some of the city's highlights, including the Castle of Good Hope, Company’s Garden, and the colourful Bo-Kaap neighbourhood, giving you a glimpse into Cape Town’s rich history and vibrant culture prior to our included dinner.

Today’s Cape Town Peninsula Tour will take us on a journey through one of South Africa’s breathtaking regions, offering stunning coastal landscapes, rich biodiversity and historic sites.

To begin, we will head along the Atlantic Seaboard to the charming fishing village of Hout Bay, where we will visit the vibrant Hout Bay Harbour Market, offering local arts and crafts. We will then take the scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive, one of the world’s most famous journeys, to the Cape of Good Hope, a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula. We continue to Boulders Beach, home to a colony of approximately 3,000 endangered African penguins.

Our final stop will be at the studio of Carole Nevin Designs, known for colourful, artisanal hand-painted and hand-printed fabrics, table linen, cushions and fabrics. Carole’s business started almost 30 years ago when she decided to embark on a new journey, drawing inspiration from the vibrant colours, patterns, and textures of Africa to create unique home décor items.

This morning, we will visit the iconic flat-topped Table Mountain, one of the Natural Wonders of the World. We will take the rotating Table Mountain Aerial Cableway to the top of the mountain to enjoy panoramic views of Cape Town and the surrounding coastline, as well as admire the flora and fauna.

After descending the mountain, we continue to Signal Hill, another prominent vantage point in Cape Town, offering spectacular views of the city. This is where the Noon Gun is fired at 12pm, a historic time signal and cherished local tradition dating back to 1806.

This afternoon, we will explore the vibrant neighbourhoods of Woodstock and Salt River, two of Cape Town’s oldest suburbs. Historically the heart of the clothing and textile industry, they’re now a hub for artisans and fabric shopping, including African prints, cotton, linen and other haberdashery items.

Our day will conclude with a private visit to the home of a prominent member of the Good Hope Quilters Guild, who has played a big part in uplifting quilt art to a professional level through her curatorship and working tirelessly with disadvantaged groups in the Western Cape.

After breakfast, we will take the morning ferry across Table Bay to Robben Island, one of South Africa’s most significant historical sites. Upon arrival at Murray’s Bay Harbour, we join a bus tour around the island where you will hear about the history and see structures built by political prisoners. This will be followed by a guided walking tour of the ex-maximum-security prison, led by a former prisoner, who will show you Nelson Mandela’s prison cell and provide profound insights into the struggles of Nelson Mandela and other political freedom fighters who were once detained. We then return to the hotel for our first workshop with our expert Pat Archibald.

This evening, we will enjoy a fun and vibrant drumming and dinner experience, which will begin with an interactive djembe drumming session, followed by a 14-dish taste safari, while being entertained by live African performances that showcase the continent’s diverse cultures and rhythms.

This morning, we depart Cape Town and travel to the beautiful Cape Winelands region, an area offering scenic landscapes, historic towns and rolling vineyards producing some of the world’s finest wines. En route, we will meet a local quilt group who will showcase their work during a show-and-tell session.

Our journey will continue to the charming and historic town of Stellenbosch, located in the heart of South Africa’s wine industry. Founded in 1679, it is the second-oldest town in the country, and, during our sightseeing tour, you will be able to walk along the oak-lined streets. This includes Dorp Street, with its boutiques, galleries and arts and crafts shops. You can also admire the magnificent Cape Dutch architecture and enjoy the youthful energy of the town fuelled by the prestigious Stellenbosch University.

We will begin the day with our second workshop with Pat before visiting iThemba Crafts in Stellenbosch. The shops founder will give a tour of the beautiful quilts and needle work on display, before we meet the skilled women producing items for iThemba in the nearby township of Kayamandi, where a local lunch will be included.

Leaving Kayamandi, our day will continue with a drive through the region’s beautiful valleys and vineyards, passing stunning wine estates and stopping to enjoy wine tasting at one of the many wineries before returning to our hotel.

Our day will begin with an early start as we leave the winelands and drive to Swellendam, where we will visit the Drodsty Museum to view some of the artifacts and quilts, including some not usually on display.

Our journey will continue to the Karoo, a vast and semi-arid region in South Africa, known for its dramatic landscapes, unique biodiversity, and rich cultural heritage. It is divided into two main areas, the Great Karoo and smaller, more fertile, Little Karoo. Our destination is the quaint, rural town of Prince Albert, located at the foot of the Swartberg Mountains, surrounded by fruit and olive farms.

Today we will explore Prince Albert on foot, including a visit to the local library where you will find the Heritage Quilt and the Bookcase Quilt, both created by a local quilting group.

The Karoo is renowned for its Angora goat farming, producing some of the finest mohair wool globally and supplying around 50-70% of the world's mohair. We will visit Frances VH Mohair, who create rugs and tapestries that are true to origin. Here, every step from spinning to trimming is done by hand, creating beautiful bespoke products. We will also visit Karoo Looms, an all woman team sharing the same vision, working together to develop, sustain and preserve the knowledge of handweaving for future generations.

After a tour of the weavery where you will be able to observe dyeing, spinning and weaving mohair into blankets, carpets and garments, we will be hosted for lunch.

This evening, you have the opportunity to join a light hearted walk led by a local guide, sharing stories of characters who lived in Prince Albert in the past and the ghosts that don’t want to leave!

Leaving Prince Albert, we will take a scenic drive via Meiringspoort, a breathtaking mountain pass with rugged cliffs and waterfalls to Oudtshoorn, famously known as the Ostrich Capital of South Africa. We will visit a working ostrich farm for a fascinating insight into the life cycle of these remarkable creatures, from egg to fully grown birds.

Next, we will explore the Cango Caves, an incredible system of 20-million-year-old limestone chambers, often described as one of the world’s greatest natural wonders. You can marvel at the dramatic rock formations, ancient stalactites, and vast underground halls that tell stories of geological evolution, before we continue to Knysna, one of the most picturesque destinations along the Garden Route.

After checking in to our hotel, we will visit Knysna Heads, where towering sandstone cliffs create a dramatic entrance to the Knysna Lagoon from the Indian Ocean, before an evening sunset lagoon cruise.

This morning is free for independent exploration. You might like to go whale watching, stroll around the shops, or simply relax in the hotel prior to this afternoon’s workshop with Pat to continue working on your project.

Our journey along the Garden Route continues today as we head to Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth.

En route, we will stop at Plettenberg Bay, where we will visit Old Nick Village, with its wonderful arts and crafts shops and boutiques, and Mungo Mill. In 1998, Master Weaver Stuart Holding came into possession of two restored antique looms. He used them to weave limited runs of beautiful homeware textiles from what he called his ‘working weaving museum’ – an old barn where passersby could watch him work. During our guided tour, you will see the Mungo cloth production process, as well as a cross-section of weaving techniques and technology from pre-industrial revolution to present day.

We will then make a stop at nearby Langa Lapu Fabrics, the unique fabric sun-dyers combining exotic and colourful fabrics handmade in South Africa with the lush tropical vegetation and the African element of earth, wind, fire and water. Production takes place in the summer months only, but you will have the opportunity to admire some of the beautiful fabrics before we continue to the small town of Storms River in the Tsitsikamma National Park, where you will be able to walk over the Storms River using the suspension bridges or visit one of the beautiful, majestic Big Trees.

We will continue to Gqeberha and, after checking in to our hotel, we will dine together at a local restaurant.

Today we will go in search of the 'Big Five' at Amakhala Game Reserve. Under the guidance of experienced rangers, we will track foot prints in the hope of encountering elephants, lions, buffalos, leopards and rhinos. As well as giraffes, zebras and various other species, we’ll appreciate the flora of the bush before enjoying lunch at the reserve.

We have two full days to visit and enjoy the 23rd South African Quilt Festival.

Organised by the Dias Quilters Guild, the festival will be titled 'Sew Awareness 2026' and will be a celebration of quilting and textile as a medium for promoting environmental awareness.

During the event, you will be able to view the exhibitions, participate in workshops (at an additional cost), spend some time shopping, and make new friends!

Dinner is included at a local restaurant on day 15.

We spend this morning at leisure for any last-minute shopping and sightseeing prior to transferring to the airport for the return flights to the UK.