Cape Camino
How it all started.
Camino de Santiago was my inspiration. When I walked it in 2011 I was able to view the concept from two perspectives. Firstly I was the journey woman, with my own issues to walk with, carry and release. But I am also a community facilitator. I became aware of what the concept Camino brings to the local communities and to the whole of Spain.
Peggy, my daughter and now colleague, walked, together, but alone. We started off on the first day together. I tried to keep up with her and she slowed down for me. After 25 km I was so completely depleted I actually decided to throw in the towel and meet Peggy at the end. It was just too hard. I was 50 years old and by then I had decided to do what I wanted to do not what I thought I should. And I did not want to have that degree of complete exhaustion every day for three weeks. That I knew for sure. I was miserable to my core.
Then a Spanish woman told me to stop trying to do it at my daughter’s pace. Peggy is 30 years my junior and has a very slim physique. This was my first big life lesson. And I was able to integrate it into my life- Stop trying to do things according to other people’s needs, wishes, abilities, purpose etc etc. It’s usually something we put upon ourselves. Peggy wasn’t demanding I keep up with her. It was my misguided intention to do so. I realized that much of my life had been motivated by needing to please someone else for one reason or another. We are inclined to live like this; considering the family before ourselves. Until it just becomes part of our psyche. It is no longer an active choice to give up our own needs, it becomes easier to keep others happy. How many people pleasers are out there?
By the end of our journey my life lesson was just how capable I am. Put one foot in front of the other and I can do anything. We all can. I was very satisfied with how my body had coped and adapted. How few blisters or injuries I had (none). How strong I was. By the time we arrived in Santiago my confidence levels were high and I felt as if there was nothing I could not embrace.
But while I walked I was still a community facilitator and was so aware of how this concept benefited the locals. The bulk of the accommodation was provided by the municipalities and the church but there were also many many small local service providers offering accommodation, food, luggage transfer, curio’s etc, They were all benefiting from the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims on their life journeys every year. Small advertising boards outside eateries offer “Pilgrim Meals’- a simple meal with a small carafe of wine and something sweet for R 100 (that was in 2011) Billions of Euros are being pumped into communities and related sectors thanks to Camino de Santiago.
Cape Camino
As a facilitator I recognized that this concept would benefit our country immensely. Not only for the resources it would inject but for the ethos that a Pilgrimage evokes. Peace and Unity are natural byproducts of a nation working together to create, and host, a Camino.
So I started to facilitate the concept in South Africa in my home town of Cape Town. I walked several times a week, from the Catholic shrine in Constantia to the harbour in Kalk Bay. I met people and spaces and natural phenomenon that expanded my experience and respect for my home town. I had no idea how very rich we are, as I fly by in a car. But on foot the world becomes alive and available, and a Pilgrimage is right there for those who choose to journey.
Cape Camino launched a 7 day route around the Peninsula after many months of route facilitation. At that stage I had outsourced a small team to assist me, especially with the ‘techy things’. Within a few months of launch, the team and I parted ways and Peggy joined me full time. The project seemed so enormous. And now there were just two women (one in her early 20’s) taking on this animal.
The initial idea was that pilgrims would purchase a passport pack with maps and a directory, and off they would go, arranging everything themselves.
We soon realized that although South Africans were excited by the concept, they were also unsure of how to ‘Camino’. The route and project had to gain a reputation and we were on a mission to tell the Cape Camino story.
We found that arranged itineraries were what pilgrims wanted. They wanted to feel safe; that their accommodation, meals, chaperones, were all pre booked.
By 2016 our confidence had grown as more pilgrims began to walk for 7 days around the Peninsula. At the same time the route was also growing. In 2017 Peggy and I were contracted by the Department of Agriculture to facilitate a Camino along the Berg River. The aim of the project was to create awareness for the Berg River water system and the Department saw ecotourism as a way of achieving this. Community involvement was a criteria for the job, and my facilitation skills came in big demand.
Entering the rural areas of the Cape Province opened up a new flavour for Cape Camino and by 2019 the route had grown in hundreds of kms and ran through the Winelands, Tulbagh Valley, along the Limietberge, into West Coast towns, along West Coast beach and the Sandveld.
Today Cape Camino is 640km’s over 36 days.
Peggy and I have worked extremely hard over the last 7 years not only expanding the route, but designing and refining a unique Cape Camino experience.
Every pilgrim has helped us uncover challenges and identify a way forward with the hosts. Many times we have relooked and reconsidered what’s on offer and whether future pilgrims will benefit from the experience. At the same time, we remain true to our ethos of peace, unity and sustainability.
The main tweak between Cape Camino and Santiago is that we have a wealth of sacred diversity, whereas Catholicism is the primary host in Spain. So it is this basket of Grace that provides the sacred spaces, and hosts in our country. Making the experience very rich and diverse. No one day is remotely the same.
Every pilgrim will have a different tale. We all go in for different reasons, experience various incidents along the way, have our own brand of interpretations and bring our travels home in very different packages. Such is the nature of humanity. Each of us is so unique.
We are also so much the same too. We have the same needs for communication, friendship, compassion, and support. We all need shelter, food, water and a path to walk on. And this is what the route provides. The solid ground with roadside support for our unique journeys.
I recognized this during my Santiago Camino. There is nothing on Camino de Santiago that South Africa cannot provide. On the contrary:- we have so much to offer. Our rural hospitality for starters. The extent of the welcome, warmth and care that South Africans offer is unprecedented. Our natural environments, sea and coastlines, mountains, wild flowers, are abundant. So much so that possibly we take them for granted. Reconnecting with these wonders on foot, gives us the time to notice again. How privileged we are. How much we have. How beautiful our country is. How filled with Grace our people are. – Gabrielle Andrew
The Spirit of Camino
There are two distinct beneficiaries on Camino- the pilgrims who need a sacred path to provide them with alone time, space, and a route. A long road that keeps on giving; sometimes a little tough, sometimes easy, mostly flat, offering distances between 15 and 40 km per day.
And then the hosting country also benefits from this pilgrimage route. Every single pilgrim needs daily logistics and if the local communities can provide these, then there are huge benefits to small, micro business, individuals and particularly in hospitality and tourism, but not exclusively. It is a wonderful symbiotic relationship of communities, giving and receiving and providing for each other. What is different and special about a Camino vs normal tourism is that it is conducted in the Spirit of Camino.
This Spirit is so different to the usual relationships in the service industry where one party has more power than the other. On Camino community takes care of community, individuals of individuals. When you are with your hosts, they are just that; hosts and you are their guest. So there is an expectation to behave as hosts and guests do; with respect and consideration for each other’s circumstance. Friendship are made, relationships are established. Sometimes across many miles, and many years.
This overriding ethos is found everywhere. Locals encourage you on your journey and have open hands and open hearts. Pilgrims meet and greet and share food and accommodation and stories and experiences. Pilgrims also recognize the role they could play in bringing much needed resources into communities and individuals in the rural areas in particular.
For example, A Cape Camino chaperone started a Camino books project. She lives in Riebeek Kasteel and wishes to remain unnamed, such is her modesty. She introduces the concept to pilgrims and mostly they respond with generosity; purchasing and distributing books, and other reading material, to semi-literate children, and adults on the route, that have not had the opportunity to finish schooling nor have access to reading material. Such is the Spirit of Camino. Together Cape Camino brings Peace, Unity and Thriving to South Africa.
Cape Camino sections and stopover
The full Cape Camino route is currently 36 days and consists of the Winelands, Farmlands, Community, Sandveld and Strand, Langebaan, and Peninsula sections. See the booking page for the full route here.
On the route page you can get to know each stop by clicking on each profile and reading more about the day. We’ve put together a comprehensive profile for each day so you can really get a feel for what to expect.
Here is the full itinerary with links to each Leg profile. Give it a second or two to load.
Itinerary
Winelands Sections Begins
Day 0 – Meet your hosts in Wellington Hills at Cascade Manor
Day 1 – Wellington Hills to Wellington Town. 21 km.
Day 2 – Wellington Town to Wellington Countryside. 23 km.
Day 3 – Wellington Countryside to Hermon. 27 km.
Day 4 – Hermon to Riebeek Kasteel. 17 km.
Day 5 – Riebeek Kasteel to Gouda. 23 km.
Day 6 – Gouda to Tulbagh Weg/Tulbagh Town. 12 km / 20 km.
Day 7 – Tulbagh Weg/Tulbagh Town to Oudekloof Wine Estate. 20 km / 12 km.
Farmlands Section Begins
Day 8 – Oudekloof Wine Estate to Sandvlei Farm. 26 km.
Day 9 – Sandvlei Farm to Nuwefontein Farm. 16 km.
Day 10 – Nuwefontein Farm to Bridgetown. 16 km.
Day 11 – Bridgetown to Volstruisdrift Farm / Alternative Farm host. 14 km.
Day 12 – Voltruisdrift Farm to Koringberg. 24 km.
Community Section Begins
Day 13 – Koringberg to Wittewater. 20 km. Community stay.
Day 14 – Wittewater to Goedverwacht. 14 km. Community stay.
Day 15 – Goedverwacht to Kapteinskloof Guesthouse (transported after a day spent in Goedverwacht). 16-23 km.
Day 16 – Kapteinskloof to Aurora. 22 km.
Sandveld & Strand Section Begins
Day 17 – Aurora to Redelinghuys countryside. 20 km.
Day 18 – Redelinghuys countryside to Redelinghuys. 14 km.
Day 19 – Redelinghuys to Klarefontein. 20 km.
Day 20 – Klarefontein to Elands Bay. 21 km.
Day 21 – Elands Bay to West Coast. 28 km.
Day 22 – Fork West to Dwarskersbos. 21 km.
Day 23 – Dwarskersbos to Laaiplek/Velddrif. 10km / 15 km. Transport to Langebaan
Day 24 – Langebaan Longacres. 16 km (still to be profiled)
Day 25 – Langebaan Pumpkin House. 18 km. (still to be profiled)
Day 26 – West Coast National Park. 14 km/28 km. (still to be profiled)
Day 27 – Yzerfontein to Grotto Bay. 18 km. (still to be profiled)
Day 28 – Grotto Bay to Contreberg. 18 km. (still to be profiled)
Day 29 – Transported to Peninsula section
Peninsula Section Begins
Day 30 – Transport from Velddrif/Langebaan to Newlands.
Begin Newlands to Constantia. 14 km.
Day 31 – Constantia to Muizenberg. 20 km.
Day 32 – Muizenberg to Simon’s Town. 23 km.
Day 33 – Simon’s Town to Scarborough. 25 km.
Day 34 – Scarborough to Hout Bay. 18 km.
Day 35 – Hout Bay to Green Point / Table Mountain. 14 / 20 km.
Day 36 – Explore Cape Town City and Table Mountain.
How to book
You can start your journey anywhere on the route. Choose an itinerary and book your own dates or join an existing group on the calendar. The calendar can be found on the Route page.
A popular option amongst South Africans has been the 23 day Country Route Itinerary (Winelands + Farmlands + Sandveld) See more.
There are also 7 day options, and other shorter itineraries.
The full list of what we offer from the longest number of days to the shortest is:
- 36 day, 640km full Cape Camino
- 29 day or 23 day or 16 day Country Route
- Last 250km Sandveld and Strand, and Peninsula
- 7 days
- 5 days
- Weekend Camino itineraries
- Calendar dates – join for any number of days
More about these can be found here.
Costs and what’s included
Costs range from R2 500 for a Weekend Camino to R10 000 for a 7 day itinerary and R20 000 for 16 days.
Since much of the route is set in rural parts of the Cape, itineraries are designed to include services that would otherwise be difficult for the pilgrim to arrange. All itineraries include accommodation, some meals, Cape Camino passport and branded gear. Most itineraries include chaperones, breakfast and supper, and luggage transfer. There are also self-guided and cycling routes.
Accommodation is a mix of guesthouse, farm stay, home stay, private rental, backpacker, converted stable blocks. All hosts provide clean and comfortable pilgrim accommodation. Some only operate for Cape Camino and others are existing establishments. Watch this clip on the types of accommodation.
Difficulty
Difficulty wise, pilgrims need to have a base-level fitness to enjoy the route. Most days are flat walking but distances are long. There are 5/6 days of moderate incline walking with long distances. No climbing.
Sometimes the terrain can be tricky like sand paths, rocky footpaths etc which adds to difficulty. A training program is necessary and we advise pilgrims to walk over 15km per week to get ready for the route.
Camino products on the route
Pilgrims can purchase home-made, locally sourced products as they walk. Wine, coffee, rusks, flour, soap, honey, souvenirs and many more items are for sale. At the moment, products are bought directly from hosts. Cape Camino is working on an online store so that pilgrims can purchase a themed box of their choice.
Contact information
Gabrielle +27 84 844 7996
Peggy +27 83 99 77 404
