Bot River, Bot River

On the eastern slopes and foothill of the Houw Hoek Mountains, overlooking the Overberg with its rolling wheat fields, you will find the fertile village of Botriver. This small village is situated en route to Hermanus and Caledon and has very unique property to offer. Its is well known for its wine and fruit farms in the Botriver valley towards Villiersdorp over the Van der Stel Pass, as well as the wheat and sheep farms towards Caledon on the N2 Garden Route. The new Arrabella Golf Estate is only 15 minutes away and so is Kleinmond for those who love the beach and ocean. Botriver is a mere 30 minutes from the Somerset Mall in Somerset West traveling over the ever beautiful Sir Lowry’s Pass. To own property in Botriver means you escaped the city in exchange of a quiet and much safer country life style, but you are still only minutes away from everything you need from the mother city.

The Khoi-khoi tribes pastured their cattle here and called the river that meanders through this valley the “Couga”. This can be translated into either ‘rich in fat’ or ‘lots of butter’. They named it “Couga” because the Hottentot tribes who lived on the banks of the river produced butter in abundance.

The early European settlers of the Cape journeyed here and established barter agreements with these tribes for barrels of butter as early as 1672. They adopted the Khoi name for the river, calling it the Botter River at first. Later it became Botrivier. Today Botriver is once again “Couga”. This time you will find Property in Abundance.

The Bot River rises south of the Theewaterskloof Dam. It flows into a large lagoon, forming a marsh near its mouth, known as the Bot River Lagoon. The Bot River wetlands is home to thousands of waterfowl. It is here where you can catch a glimpse of the ONLY herd of wild horses in South Africa that roams a wetland habitat.

The current steam locomotive used for touring trips these days, works ‘rail on trail’ with the old Garret steam engine which history dates back as far as 1942. The semaphore signal which gave clearance for the train driver to enter the station, has become a proud showpiece on the station. One of the oldest buildings, the Botrivier Hotel, has been operating since the turn of last century. On this hotel stoep you can overlook the green and yellow ‘ruens’ of the Overberg and enjoy some locally produced Beaumont Wines. The historic farm Compagnes Drift, once an outpost for the Dutch East India Company, today is the property of the Beaumont family. They produce world class Pinotage, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz and a classic red blend called Ariane. From the Klein Paradys Equestrian Centre where young and old can master the art of horseriding, you can take scenic trail rides on horseback to Houw Hoek, Kleinmond, Hawston and Dassiesfontein.