Constantia "Where Life is Savoured Slowly"

Published: 30 Apr 2008

The Constantia Valley – “Where Life is Savoured Slowly”

Last week I dragged a producer and a cameraman around to various Constantia Valley Association members’ establishments to film a short internet video on Constantia as a tourist destination. By the end of the day apart from being exhausted I was also feeling a tad guilty because I realized that I have been taking this beautiful valley I live in totally for granted and I am certain I am not alone in doing so.

Constantia has so many interesting stories attached to it, for example, did you know that it is the oldest wine-making region in the southern hemisphere and that Napoleon Bonaparte and royalty of the 18th Century enjoyed the wines produced here?

How about the fact that The Constantia Valley takes its name from the farm granted to Simon van der Stel in 1685 by Commissioner van Rheede. It is said that Governor van der Stel named his property after Constanza, the little daughter of his benefactor. We now know the entire area as Constantia.

Imagine arriving at the Cape via ship trussed up in chains way back in 1668? It must have been a truly gruesome experience for countless individuals. One story is that of three men, all of wealth and influence who arrived on 19th May of that same year. Great care was taken that they were not left at large as it was thought that they were likely to do injury to the Dutch East India Company (VOC). One was sent to Robben Island and the other two, Sheikh Abdurahman Matebe Shah, the last of the Malaccan sultans and Sayed Mahmud, a spiritual and religious leader of the Malaccan Empire, went to the Company’s forests in Constantia. Their tombs or Kramats, part of the holy "circle of Islam" around the Cape can be found at Summit Hill and at the gate of the wine estate, Klein Constantia.

If going back to the past doesn’t “float your boat” then let’s move forward a few thousand years to look at the Constantia Valley as it is today.

On any given day you can enjoy wine tasting from seven different wine estates all located within minutes of each other. The best part about that is all the Constantia Valley Estates produce top of the range wines, so no nasty surprises for anyone! After a visit to the tasting cellars you can enjoy a picnic at Groot Constantia, dine at the award winning restaurants of Buitenverwachting, Constantia Uitsig and Steenberg Vineyards or you can drive to High Constantia Shopping Centre, Steenberg Village or Constantia Village and take your pick of even more restaurants all offering mouth watering dishes that cater to any palette! Don’t feel like doing the restaurant thing? How about visiting a spa and pampering those tired old bodies? Constantia has many spas offering a huge variety of treatments to suit everyone.

For the shopaholic (and we have a lot of those in Constantia) there are specialty shops at all of the centres, and if you feel like more of a “farm” shopping experience then take a visit to Piggies Market on Saturday mornings where supervised activities are available for the children while Mum and Dad have a wander around. So you see, we really can buy everything we need right on our doorstep!

But that’s not all because I haven’t mentioned the golf, walks on the greenbelts or having a few drinkies at Peddlars on the Bend watching rugby, football or motor racing with another common species that resides in the Valley, the TV sportaholic.

So many of us that live in the Constantia Valley are “imports” whether it is from within South Africa or abroad and being imports means we get VISITORS. Do you have any idea how many accommodation establishments there are here? Well there are loads and they cater to everyone’s needs so don’t groan next time Auntie Betty says she is coming to visit, find her a nice little establishment to stay at and remain calm!

Finally, have you noticed how many established service orientated businesses operate from the Constantia Valley? They are all here from Financial Institutions, Real Estate offices to Tour Guides. The Constantia Valley is a busy little hub that still retains that rural feel.

I don’t know about you, but I think we are very privileged to live and work here and I recommend that next time you are sitting around at home wondering what to do, take a trip through your valley, the Constantia Valley!

For more information about Constantia please visit the Constantia Valley Associations website www.constantiavalley.com

If you would like more information on the Constantia Valley Association or wish to become a member and feature in the 2008/09 Constantia Valley brochure coming out in August please contact jooles@constantiavalley.com for more details to avoid missing out.