The Berg River traverses a veritable smorgasbord of nature, culture and history during the last few kilometres of its 294 km journey from the mountains above Franschhoek to St Helena Bay. First up is Velddrif, a birding mecca and home to SA’s Bokkom industry, then you’ll stumble onto Port Owen, a deep water marina with 3.5 km of waterways and finally Laaiplek, where the river at long last meets the wild Atlantic.
Did you know? Laaiplek, at the mouth of the Bergriver, was established in 1850 as a trading station, sending goods on the ‘Alabama’ to Cape Town where the slaves sang “Daar kom die Alabama” while unloading the ship.