AFRICAMPS AT STANFORD HILLS, STANFORD

Peter and Jami Kastner are the owner-managers who live on the farm with their two young sons, Jack and Alex (winemakers-in-training). Before 2005, Peter owned a restaurant, and Jami ran a flower export company. In 2005, they sold their businesses and, together with a few friends, invested in what was then a portion of Weltevrede Farm, with four hectares of Pinotage for small-scale production and a single self-catering cottage for rental. Today, the estate is known as Stanford Hills, featuring six wine labels exported to 11 countries, a 100-seater restaurant, and accommodation for 57 guests. The farm is also a popular wedding venue and hosts various events, including a winter craft beer festival and the Stanford Stumble in November.

Although Peter has no formal wine training, he has learned on the job, navigating what he describes as a steep learning curve. He does most of the work by hand in the small cellar, which occupies one half of an aircraft hangar on the farm, and he believes in minimal intervention to allow the grapes to express their unique characteristics. Peter is confident in the quality of the grapes, which ripen slowly due to the cool sea breezes in the area and are carefully managed for optimal yield. As he puts it, “It’s possible to make a bad wine from good grapes, but there’s no way you can make good wine if your grapes aren’t up to scratch.”

Jami manages Casa Cello, the estate’s restaurant, where their children often help out as well. She is also a published author of Sam and Me and the Hard Pear Tree, published by Jacana, and has recently opened The Butterfly Centre in Stanford. This non-profit organisation offers a variety of beneficial activities for children in the area with special needs.

Check-in: From 14h00 to 17h00 on day of arrival
Check-out: Before 10h00 on day of departure

Check-in arrangements need to be made and guests are kindly requested to inform the specific AfriCamps host of their estimated time of arrival. This way you are ensured of a smooth check-in experience. You will receive the host’s telephone number in your booking confirmation email. For check-in after 17h00 please call the hosts at the camp to make arrangements.

SWIMMING

Guests can swim in the dam in front of your tent.

FISHING

If you have your equipment with you, try some bass fishing in the top dam (catch and release).

walkING & mountain bikING trails

Keep a lookout for signs pointing to the different walk and mountain bike trails on the property. There are two circular trails to explore. The 5 km red trail passes the tents, so you can start and finish at the tent. There is also a 2 km yellow trail. Don’t forget to bring your mountain bike to explore some trails on the property.

WINE TASTING

Stanford Hills first became recognised for top-quality Pinotage in very small quantities and has since grown into a boutique wine farm to be reckoned with. We now also produce a Sauvignon Blanc, a Shiraz, and a Chardonnay under the Stanford Hills label, as well as the popular Veldfire range. Wine tasting of our various wines is offered daily at our restaurant, Casa Cello.

HORSE RIDING

Half-hour and full-hour horse rides available through African Horse Company.

Wood-fired hot tubs

Our boutique glamping tents offer the exclusive use of a private outdoor wood-fired hot tub situated next to the tent. A wood-fired hot tub is the purest form of relaxation. Soak up the beautiful surroundings while listening to the calming crackle of the fire, or take a dip to cool down during the summer months.

Hiking trails

Gansbaai Harbour to Klipgat Cave

A beautiful and fairly easy hiking trail is the 7.7 km Gansbaai Harbour to Klipgat Cave hike. It starts from the Gansbaai harbour and passes through limestone-rock vegetation and past several larger and smaller caves and coves. At the end of the trail, you find the best known of the caves, Klipgat, which was named for its remarkable window-like openings that offer spectacular views of the bay and sea.

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve is a haven for nature lovers. It is a spectacular area offering guided walks, whale watching, horse riding, nature drives, and birding.

Phillipskop mountain hike and rock paintings

Take the 30 to 40 minutes hike to visit the only recorded rock art on the Cape Whale Coast at Phillipskop! The paintings are thousands of years old and are any historian’s delight.

Get on the water

Shark cage diving and whale watching

The Great White House is the ideal one-stop centre for extreme adventure tourists and marine lovers from across the globe. Shark cage diving and whale watching trips are the most popular and must be pre-booked.

Cruises down the Klein River

Take a slow boat down the Klein River, put your feet up, relax with a picnic, or get your binoculars out and see the amazing birdlife. There are a few operators to choose from, check Stanford Tourism for more info.

Delicious experiences

Kleinriver cheese and picnic farmstead

The deli-style Kleinriver Picnic Shed is filled with local produce, wine, beer, and a mountain of artisanal cheese which you can taste.

Manor House Restaurant

Praised as one of the Cape’s top country dining spots and ranked in the top 10% of restaurants worldwide, Manor House is a culinary gem with a menu that spans breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Beer tasting

Birkenhead Brewery started as one of the first craft breweries in South Africa. Visit the working craft brewery and pub-style restaurant for tours, tastings, and take home your own draught or bottled beers.

Explore a local market

The Sunset Market takes place on the last Friday of each month from September to May on the old Market Square, 18h00 to 20h00. Meet the locals, buy some delicious local food, listen to live music, and spend a few hours perusing the stalls.

BREAKFAST BASKET

We offer ‘Cook Your Own’ breakfast baskets which are placed in the tents for guests to prepare. Pre-order your breakfast basket when making your booking. Breakfast baskets should be booked a day in advance.

Each breakfast basket serving includes:

Freshly baked croissant
Preserves and butter
Homemade muesli
Fresh seasonal fruit
Bulgarian yogurt
Honey
Eggs
Bacon*
Erwin’s homemade cheese griller sausage*
White and brown bread
Milk
Juice

*Vegetarian option (available on request): Meat substituted with vegetarian sausage and sliced mint halloumi cheese.

Cost: R180 per adult | R140 per child (0 to 12 yrs)

BRAAI BASKET

We offer ‘Cook-Your-Own’ traditional South African braai baskets which are placed in the tents for guests to prepare. Pre-order your braai basket when making your booking. Braai baskets should be booked a day in advance.

Each braai basket serving includes:

200g Beef rump steak*
Traditional boerewors*
Chicken kebab*
Locally produced beetroot and butternut salad
Traditional Greek salad
Homemade garlic and cheese roll

*Vegetarian option (available on request): Meat substituted with aubergine steak; vegetarian sausage; garlic, butter, basil pesto, mozzarella, and Gruberg stuffed black mushroom; and butternut, baby marrow, onion, and red pepper kebab.

Cost: R250 per adult | R180 per child (0 to 12 yrs) 

On-site shop

Essentials like water, wood, firelighters, ice and more are available at the shop at reception.

Other options

Casa Cello Restaurant

Visit the popular Casa Cello restaurant on the estate! With an exquisite menu of Portuguese-inspired dishes in a family-friendly setting, it offers traditional favourites alongside new and exciting flavours crafted by Chef Jose Marinho.

Dining out

The surrounding area has a wealth of acclaimed restaurants, including Grootbos, Springfontein and Marianas. We recommend:

Barke at Blue Gum Country Lodge
Graze Slow Food Cafe
Don Gelato
Manor House Restaurant
Kloeks@Home
Ou Meul Bakery

Booking is essential, especially during peak seasons, please ask your hosts for assistance with this.

In order to mitigate the effects of load shedding on our guests, we’ve installed battery power backups in each tent at AfriCamps at Stanford Hills for your convenience. These backups ensure uninterrupted lighting and warm water during load shedding periods. Please note that wall plugs won’t be operational during power outages. 

Our tents sleep up to five guests, but our rates are based on a two-person stay. Please note that the rates below are a price indication, please use our online booking calendar to check live rates and availability. Extras like meals, activities and tours are not included in the price unless otherwise stated.

Cleaning Fee: All rates exclude a once-off R250 cleaning fee per booking. This fee will be added to your total during the booking process.

Please find our full terms and conditions here: www.africamps.com/terms-and-conditions/

Accommodation

All tents sleep a maximum of five people. The following items or services are not included in the price unless otherwise stated:

• Food and beverages
• Activities and tours
• Additional daily cleaning service (available on request)
• Wood and firelighters for the wood stove and campfires (for sale at the property shop)

Pets

We allow one dog per tent on prior arrangement. 

Music

No noise, parties or music are allowed in the camp unless the guest has booked the entire camp for a function.

Day visitors

No day visitors are allowed in the camp. Out of consideration for fellow guests, the camp will only accommodate up to 5 paying guests per tent.