Walking at La Motte

posted in: Home, South Africa | 3

We were looking for a walk in the Franschhoek Valley and the Tourist Office in Franschhoek, gave us information about a trail at The La Motte Vineyard

La Motte Vineyard in the Franschhoek Valley

La Motte charges R50/person to walk the trail and you receive a map and bottle of water. The hike is 5kms, takes two hours, and needs reasonable fitness as there is quite a bit of scrambling and even a chain to cling on to as the trail crosses rocks.

The trail through the vineyards at La Motte

Groot Drakenstein Mountains on the horizon

Groot Drakenstein mountains on the horizon & La Motte vineyards

The Fan Aloe, Aloe Plicatilis
The Fan Aloe, Aloe Plicatilis

The Franschhoek Valley is incredibly beautiful.

The Franschhoek Valley

The Vineyards around La Motte

The trail rises into the hills and involved quite a bit of scrambling, and even some clinging.

The path in the hills above La Motte

The path at La Motte!

Welcome shade on the path at La Motte

The ropes for crossing the rocks at La Motte

We were lucky to find proteas still in flower.

Sugarbush proteas at La Motte

As the path descends we walked through protea beds and vineyards, and past an old cemetery back to La Motte.

16-2-25 La Motte LR-1430

16-2-25 La Motte LR-1440

16-2-25 La Motte LR-1446

The trail passes the an old graveyard which some say was the original cemetery for the Huguenot settlers in Franschhoek; others say it was a general cemetery for the town. It has been sadly neglected. I don’t know the date of the photographs below but the contrast with today is stark.

Unbroken graveyard at La Motte-

H G Froneman (1780-1816) grave at La Motte

Back at La Motte visitors were settling down to lunch or wine tastings – we were too scruffy to mingle and headed into Franschhoek for a beer.

You may be interested in
La Motte Vineyard
A description of the wine tasting & food at La Motte
Forgotten graves at La Motte
Conserving the graveyard at La Motte

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