Swellendam trips and tours

South Africa's third-oldest town sits at the foot of the Langeberg Mountains in the heart of the Overberg, and it is, in the best possible way, exactly what it looks like: oak-lined streets, whitewashed walls, thatch roofs, gardens spilling over fences, and a pace that hasn't been in any particular hurry since 1743. The Drostdy Museum anchors the heritage end of things – a beautifully preserved magistrate's complex with yellowwood floors and cow-dung kitchen finishes that no restoration project would dare invent. But the town is lived-in and unstuffy, with good restaurants, art galleries and pottery studios tucked between the historic buildings. Bontebok National Park lies minutes away, its fynbos plains grazed by the once near-extinct bontebok and Cape mountain zebra, while the Marloth Nature Reserve offers everything from a riverside stroll to a demanding six-day traverse of the Langeberg ridge.