Much has been made of the missed opportunity of 90,000 day-trippers visiting Gansbaai for shark cage-diving. They’re bused from Cape Town to Gansbaai and back, and don’t get see anything else (or spend money anywhere else) in the region.
But that’s rather misleading as a bald statement.
The quickest route — especially at certain times of day — between Cape Town and Gansbaai is not through Hermanus, it’s via Caledon. (Set your SatNav for Cape Town-to-Stanford and it tells you the same.) And that’s the route most buses take.
And what compelling, attractive roadside stops are there on this route?
Well, there is Raka, an award-winning, family wine estate on the R326 between Stanford and Caledon — a really beautiful drive and a cellar well worth the visit.
"This was a value-added stop!" said one US traveller who had been in Cape Town on business and devoted the weekend to some sightseeing before heading home. Others in the group were from the USA and Australia.
Gregory Henry, the White Shark Adventures tour guide
The White Shark Adventures tour guide who who gave his clients their value-added stop was Gregory Henry, who believes in showing visitors as much as he possibly can.
So… the secret to getting Gansbaai day-trippers to stop is having an en-route, world-class, welcoming attraction.
And Raka’s Jorika Dreyer does a great job welcoming and telling visitors all about their wines.
