The Cape Less Travelled

IT used to be that visitors to Cape Town who wanted a taste of the wine and wild coastal landscapes outside the city would tack on a road trip through the beloved Garden Route. But over the past decade or so, the Garden Route, which runs around the southern tip of South Africa from Mossel Bay to Port Elizabeth, got a little crowded. These days, tuned-in travellers are heading inland, to the agricultural heartlands of the Cape and its lesser-known southern shores—home to some of the most appealing hotels in South Africa, as well as traditional farming villages, fashionable new restaurants, and award-winning vineyards. With the easy-to-navigate at its heart and a host of quaint guesthouses at which to spend the night along