Approximately half an hour outside of Stellenbosch, in the town of Somerset West, lies a 3000-hectare estate that is known for its pristine lawns and award-winning wines. Dutch for “situated far away,” Vergelegen has a rich history characterized by its various owners and stunning biodiversity.
“Every chapter is meaningful, everybody has added their bit,” said *Jane Coetzee, library custodian at Vergelegen wine estate, when speaking about the many owners that the estate has had. The first of whom was governor of the Cape in 1700, Willem Adriaan van der Stel, according to Jason Plaatjies, a sommelier at the estate.
Van der Stel claimed 30 000 hectares of land in what is now called Somerset West, after a three-day ox-wagon ride from Cape Town, according to Plaatjies. The long journey is how the estate got its name.
In the year 1707, van der Stel moved to the Netherlands and Vergelegen was divided into four farms, according to Plaatjies. “We’ve still got Vergelegen which is 3000 hectares, not 30000 hectares anymore. So, it’s a 10th of what it used to be,” he said. “Then there are Lourensford, Morgenster and Cloetenberg.”
Until 1987 Vergelegen was a private home, according to Coetzee. “Since Anglo American bought it, their whole idea was to preserve and conserve for future generations,” she said.
A visit to the estate will show you just how well the generations of owners have preserved both the land and historical buildings.
A trip back to the 1700s
Two of the main historical buildings at Vergelegen are the homestead and the library. Rooms in the homestead contain authentic furnishings and depict what life was like over the different periods of ownership. Within one of those rooms is a historical exhibition that describes these different periods in detail.
The library, which is just adjacent to the homestead, was once a winery that was converted to a library when Sir Lionel Phillips took ownership of the premises in 1917, said Coetzee. The library contains hundreds of books that once belonged to Phillips.
Tremendous trees and a historic garden
As well as historical buildings, the grounds of the sprawling estate are home to a few historical trees. Near the homestead sits a 14-meter-tall oak tree which was planted in 1700 by van der Stel. This tree is believed to be the oldest oak tree in South Africa, according to the Vergelegen website.
In addition to this old oak, there is a royal oak tree on the grounds which was planted in 1928, and the five camphor trees which were planted by van der Stel in 1700 according to the Vergelegen website.
These trees were declared ‘champion trees’ by the minister of water affairs and forestry according to the department of environment, forestry and fisheries website.
Other plant life on the grounds include the Vergelegen herb garden, the octagonal garden, the International Camelia Garden of Excellence and the popular rose garden. “[The gardens] are stunning and so well maintained,” said Yovanna Reddy, a former resident of Somerset West who visited the estate multiple times between 2018 and 2019. “I liked going to check up on the rose garden seasonally [to check when they were] fully in bloom,” she said.
The main attraction at Vergelegen is the garden, said Coetzee. “The camphor trees and the rose garden are the two historic gardens,” said Coetzee.
The backdrop of these stunning gardens are the Hottentots Holland mountains which have their own abundance of flora and fauna.
“Every time I went to Vergelegen it was a different experience. It was one of those places that I didn’t get bored of.”
Yovanna Reddy
Wine tasting with a view
The Hottentot Hollands mountains can be seen from the outside tables at the wine tasting area of Vergelegen. Visitors are spoiled for choice at Vergelegen’s wine tasting centre.
“I did the wine tasting there once and that was lovely,” said Reddy. “The wine selection is really terrific and the waiters are very knowledgeable about the wines.”
Visitors have a choice of five or six wines ranging from Vergelegen’s flagship, premium or reserve range, with a starting price of R40. A cured meat and wine pairing is also offered.
“[When Anglo bought the farm] they had the goal of making this one of the top 100 wine estates in the world,” said Plaatjies. “And in 2019 [they were named] the number one estate in South Africa, the number one estate in Africa and they placed 34th in the world,” he said. The competition was known as the World’s Best Vineyards 2019.
If you are interested in making your wine tasting experience a bit more exciting, ask your waiter if you can do a blind tasting and see who at your table knows their wines the best.
A list of never-ending reasons to visit
Vergelegen draws visitors in for a myriad reasons.
“Some people only come here because it’s a wine farm. Other people, especially tourists from overseas, come because of the gardens, the natural beauty and the historical significance,” said Coetzee.
The entry fee to the estate is also quite appealing, said Reddy. According to the Vergelegen website, adults pay R10 and students and pensioners pay R5 to enter the grounds.
The overall experience at Vergelegen leaves visitors with sweet memories, stunning pictures and happy faces.
“It’s really peaceful, clean and well-manicured and it’s just a beautiful estate,” said Reddy. “Every time I went to Vergelegen it was a different experience. It was one of those places that I wouldn’t get bored of.”
Battling invasive burrowing beetles
Vergelegen estate has been known for its commitment to biodiversity since Willem Adriaan van der Stel’s time there. Presently, a Stellenbosch University (SU) PhD student is conducting a study on a type of invasive beetle at the estate.
Heather Nependa is studying the way in which the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) affects some of the tree species of Vergelegen.
The beetles that are indigenous to Southeast Asia, burrows into the tree and inoculates the host tree tissue with its fungal mutualist (F. euwallacea), according to Nependa.
Some of the aims of her study are to develop techniques to prevent the spread of the beetle and to test potential pesticides to control the PSHB and the fungus, she says.
The champion trees of the estate are part of Nependa’s study.
“[I chose] Vergelegen because of its unique biosphere and typography that represents a microcosm of the Western Cape,” said Nependa.
PhD student Heather Nependa, has placed some experimental traps over active PSHB holes in one of the champion camphor trees at Vergelegen. PHOTOS: Heather Nependa 
A history of slavery
When Willem Adriaan van der Stel claimed the Vergelegen estate in 1700, he employed servants from the Dutch East India Company (DEIC) and approximately 200 slaves. This is according to an academic article by Ann Markell, Martin Hall and Carmel Schrire, entitled The Historical Archaeology of Vergelegen, an Early Farmstead at the Cape of Good Hope.
These slaves descended from India, Indonesia and east coast of Africa, according to Marianne Gertenbach, historian and Vergelegen museum curator. “They were Muslims, Hindus and people of all different types of cultures. [Van der Stel] took a particular interest in different cultures,” said Gertenbach.
It is believed that the slaves at Vergelegen under the employment of van der Stel were treated relatively better than slaves at surrounding farms, according to Gertenbach. “He obviously treated the slaves well because the other farmers complained that they were escaping to [Vergelegen],” she said.
*A pseudonym for an anonymous subject