While we love Hermanus for its world-class restaurants, cafés, and whales, there’s plenty more to see in the Overstrand.
The small towns surrounding Hermanus, such as Stanford, have beauty to rival any major city in the world, with hilltop views, world-class wines and cheese and scenery straight from the pages of a storybook.
Stanford boasts a number of manufacturers, producers and shops that will make you return to this beautiful place.
Klein River Cheese Farmstead
The Klein River Cheese Farmstead is a celebration of cheese, picnics and family. It exists to unleash the inner artisan in every one of us.
It does not just create cheese but inspires chefs and romantics, nature lovers and healthy, family-centered ambassadors.
Klein River Cheese Farmstead’s award winning cheese is a vehicle to join the artisan movement. It is not only about its products, but it’s also a culture. www.kleinrivercheese.co.za
Epic Tanks
Epic Tanks is a new manufacturer of water and chemical storage tanks located in Stanford, Western Cape.
All tanks are made from virgin food-grade LLDPE (polyethylene). Available sizes – 5 000 l, 2 600 l, 1 500 l, 1 000 l, 500 l – standard and slim. Colours available – white, ivory, beige, light grey, dark grey, khaki, bronze, olive green, emerald green, dark green, black.
All tanks are made with black lining for UV protection and come with two regular fittings. Taps are optional.
Ten-year warranty and free delivery to your house from Gansbaai to Kleinmond. Delivery to other areas can be arranged. Pick-up from the factory in Stanford is also available. Custom solutions to fit your individual water storage needs. Lowest prices in the Overberg! Call or WhatsApp for prices and stock info.Walker Bay Estate
The Walker Bay Estate was founded in 2003 with the planting of its first grape vines. Since then the estate has grown into a fully functioning vineyard and winery with state-of-the-art winery equipment to ensure its winemaker can produce the best blends possible.
The beautiful country estate is situated near the heritage town of Stanford, in the shadow of the Klein River mountains, bordering the cold Atlantic Ocean. There is a unique mix of different soil types on the farm, including decomposed granite, shale and outcrops of limestone. Additionally, the cool climate terroir allows its grapes a long ripening period for the production of concentrated, yet balanced wines that have true sense of place. Browse the estate’s selection of superb wines and visit it for wine tastings, where you can choose from its range and purchase your choice of favourites.
Have a meal at its newly renovated restaurant and experience delicious food and wine offerings, accompanied by spectacular views of Stanford Valley and the Klein River mountain range.Birkenhead Brewery
Founded in 1998, the Birkenhead Brewery started as one of the first craft breweries, and is now officially the oldest existing craft Brewery in South Africa.
Named after the Birkenhead Ship that sank along the local coastline, its award winning beers are inspirited (to instil courage or life) by the ferocious power of local landscapes and the charismatic characters to be found in the Overstrand. Birkenhead produces six different craft brews, with additional special brews as and when inspiration strikes. All of their beers are filtered and pasteurised, with a nine-month shelf life.
“At the Birkenhead Brewery we pride ourselves on creativity and quality, with each beer lovingly crafted, mostly by moonlight, in-house by our small team of expert brewers,” said a spokesperson for Birkenhead Brewery.
Visit the working craft brewery and newly renovated restaurant and events venue for tours, tastings and to take home your own draught or bottled beers. ?Tours of its in-house craft brewery are available on request through advanced reservation.
Says the spokesperson: “Our innovative restaurant menu incorporates traditional South African dishes with a modern twist, to complement our crisp and refreshing beers.
Relax next to the fireplace in comfort on a rainy day, or gather around a table with your family and friends in our garden, and enjoy breathtaking views of the beautiful Stanford Valley. Unwind and let our family serve your family.”Stonehouse Cheese
The Stonehouse Cheese factory is situated on the R326 at the mouth of the Akkedis Berg Pas – at the place where the rolling grain lands take on the mountains before opening out to the sea and lagoon at Stanford.
This small dairy farm on the Klein River now produces its own cheese. This exciting development should be a great addition to the area’s fantastic wine farms and other cheese producers close by.
Stanford has become a wonderful central point for great wines, food, cheese, fynbos and natural scenery. Stonehouse is a valuable addition to this already interesting area.
The farm is 250 ha of natural splendour. High mountains and lovely rivers, irrigated pastures and modern dairy all add to the experience of a South African farm.
“Our aim is to manufacture, using traditional methods, fantastic boutique cheeses for the food loving market in the country,” the spokesperson said. “We have more than 30 years’ experience in the dairy business, so a natural step would be to grow into cheese making. Using full cream and traditional methods we are making a natural creamy cheese.”
Stonehouse’s initial cheese will be the white-mould cheeses of Brie and Camembert. Later on they will make various hard cheeses, such as the Tete de Moine styled cheese.Overberg Honey Co
Overberg Honey Co is a family-owned beekeeping business specialising in the pollination of fruit and vegetables and the production of honey and bee products.
They offer raw South African honey for sale online and through their stores in Stanford, Hermanus and Grabouw.
They also use their honey and other bee products to produce their HoneySuckle range of natural hand-made cosmetics and beauty products.
“We are passionate about all things bee-related, so we have pulled together the best of the bee products available in our online shop and Overberg Honey Co stores.
Overberg Honey Co sells 16 different varieties of South African raw honey at factory prices, sourced from our own hives and from quality beekeepers around South Africa. We also have a vast variety of health and beauty products all made from honey, beeswax and propolis,” the spokesperson said.
For the beekeeping hobbyist, they also stock beekeeping equipment.
Buy online, or via the Honey Shops in Stanford, Hermanus and Elgin/Grabouw.
Kiwinet
Original, standard and customised mosquito nets designed for your unique needs
From Out of Africa diaphanous white netting that gently billows in the breeze to luxurious fabrics dip-dyed in shades and hues to match your mood or beaded and embellished to create your own stylish sleep sanctuary
If you can dream it . . . Kiwinet will make it. The Kiwinet team is dedicated to delivering flawless nets that create elegance and add romance to any bedroom or outdoor living area. Beautifully styled and spacious, Kiwinet designs and crafts distinctive mosquito nets.
From Hoopnets to Suspended Four-Posters, they can cover any bed.
Kiwinet employs a team of local women and men who work cheerfully to the background rhythm of the radio.
The constant snipping of scissors, hum of the sewing machines and swish of each net being hung and checked for imperfections while Kiwinets float on the line in the sun makes Kiwinet a vibrantly busy and yet calm place to visit.
Raka Wines
The wine was named after Raka, the beloved fishing boat of Piet Dreyer, proprietor of Raka wines. For more than three decades Piet has plied the seas of the southern ocean in search of the finest catch. The same passion has found home at Raka, where the Dreyer family now pursue the earth’s bounty for the creation of fine wines.
With the rich blessing of earth and elements, the help of a dedicated workforce, the enthusiasm of winemaker Josef Dreyer and the advantages of a modern gravity flow cellar, Piet Dreyer produces his award-winning Raka wines.