4 minute read
Year-round walking tours, steam rides & special events at Sandstone Estates
During a time when the world is virtually holding its breath and international travel is struggling during a global pandemic, the fresh air, panoramic charm and fun for visitors of all ages continue to attract local visitors to Sandstone Estates in the Free State. Near Ficksburg, overlooking the majestic Maluti Mountains of bordering Lesotho, this is a unique destination.
Ensuring the safety of visitors during any level of lockdown and following the strict COVID-19 protocols in force, the team at Sandstone has designed a varied programme of activities to stimulate a diverse tourism portfolio.
Sandstone Walking Tours
When the number of visitors is limited, the Sandstone Walking Tours have proven an ideal getaway for visitors in need of the fresh, mountain air and magnificent surrounds. Starting at the Waenhuis Café, small groups adhering to social distancing rules proceed on a walk down memory lane. This includes viewing military vehicles, the tractor display, an ox wagon shed, steam and vintage sheds, vintage machinery, the vintage workshop, the main workshop, the stationery engine museum, a rolling stock shed, and the Sherman tank shed.
Team building opportunities
From corporate team building to executive getaways, product launches and weddings, to yearend functions, television, video and photographic location shoots, Sandstone Estates cater for a myriad interests. Some of the most recent group visits have comprised student, club, and tourist group outings.
Steam train rides
Fancy a scenic trip to the Lesotho border in the BSA Rail Car, a 1910 classic Edwardian RAIL CAR, or perhaps the Wickham rail trolley, depending on numbers in your group…or perhaps an ox wagon or military vehicle ride afterwards? From a cute Fowler locomotive, snaking along to Grootdraai, to sturdy Garratts powering the hefty Mountain Wanderer train along the 30km of narrow-gauge track – the activities never disappoint.
Accommodation options
Sandstone Estates also offers affordable accommodation for 32 guests, with options ranging from camping facilities, complete with an ablution block at R380 per stand per night, to six self-catering Victorian cottages, which sleep four guests in twin-bed rooms, offering fully fitted kitchens and showerbathrooms at R1 980 per cottage per night, including VAT. Railway cottages are R425 per person per night. Braai facilities are also on offer.
For those of you with a yearning to escape city life to traverse the unusual, including rides on world-class historical steam trains, vintage buses and vintage army, steam, and farming equipment, this is the place to be!
The highly productive farmland, toiled by a team of 36 working oxen, as well as state-of-the-art heritage and modern farming equipment, are just some of the many attractions to be embraced on this spectacular estate.
For more information, call Mariette Palmer on +27 (0)64 752 3852 or +27 (0)51 933 2235 email mariettep@sandstone.co.za or visit www.sandstone-estates.com
... welcome to Ridgeback Wines
Ridgeback wines is a family owned small to medium sized fine wine estate located in the heart of the Cape Winelands just outside of Paarl towards the Swartland. Settled at the foothills of the Paarl Mountain, Ridgeback focuses on producing high quality wines.
Having such a unique surrounding we are completely committed to produce terroir driven wines and work with cultivars best grown in our area. All of our grapes are hand harvested with a minimalistic approach to wine making ensuring only the highest quality wines get made.
Our newly built tasting center and restaurant is peacefully situated and overlooks a little dam that is home to about 25 different species of waterfowl. It is the perfect weekend getaway and has been voted as one of the best breakfast spots in the winelands.
Our iconic guesthouse, tastefully furnished and consisting of 6 en-suite bedrooms, is situated in the middle of the estate surrounded by vineyards.
The overriding policy at Ridgeback wines is quality which starts in the vineyards and carries through the production process to the final packaging and presentation of our wines. This is evident from the fact that all our wines, throughout all our tiers, consistently carry medals and awards of distinction and are well received in several global markets. Our approach to wine making is terroir driven with a minimalistic influence to as naturally as possible guide the process from vineyard to wine.
+27 (0)21 869 8068
info@ridgeback.co.za
www.ridgebackwines.co.za
Welcome to Warwick Estate. Some see us as an award-winning Stellenbosch wine farm. And that we are! But more importantly we’re a team of farmers, winemakers, accountants, cellar hands, and hosts, who prize quality in every facet of our work. The Warwick range includes multiple tiers, and features bottles for every occasion; from your Monday work lunch to your Sunday pot roast. But perhaps more importantly, each wine in our collection tells a small part of the Warwick story, and allows you to get to know our family a little better.
