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Good Morning, locals

Psst, the gates swing open tomorrow. Garden Town Stellenbosch turns five, and for ten days more than 15 private gardens that are usually tucked behind high walls invite us all in for a peek. Every R50 ticket helps the Animal Welfare Society Stellenbosch celebrate its 70th, so your nosiness is officially for a good cause.

The sky is putting on a show too. The moon is full on Sunday and Monday: watch it rise from the top of Muratie, or from a tractor trailer at Eikendal. And with Halloween next Saturday, we’ve lined up a forest night run, a pumpkin picnic and a festival with Jeremy Loops to plan around.

Plus a love story that started in high school and ended in 28 sold flats, and your coffee verdict. (It wasn’t close.)

After today’s showers, it’s dry and warm right through to Wednesday. Let’s get to it!

The burglar bars you can't see

What do astronaut helmets, aircraft windows and police riot shields have in common? Polycarbonate, the remarkably tough material behind SheerGuard's clear burglar bars.

Most of us live here for the view: vines from the kitchen window, the mountain from the stoep. Nobody chose their home for the burglar bars. SheerGuard's genuine EXOLON® bars are German-engineered, strength-tested to 3,000kg of force and fixed with tamper-proof stainless-steel rivets, yet you'll barely notice them. They won't rust or turn yellow (there's a Lifetime UV Warranty), and they're insurance compliant.

Need proof? Watch a panel take twenty minutes of hammers, crowbars and an axe. We couldn't look away.

🏡 Book your FREE, no-obligation quote | Lauren 076 315 0044 | Office 060 725 6863 | Email Lauren | sheerguard.co.za

Ten days, five years old, and the best excuse all year to peek over a wall.

Garden Town Stellenbosch 2026
📅 Fri 23 Oct - Sun 1 Nov 📍 Across Stellenbosch, Idas Valley and the Bottelary Hills
15+ private gardens, 10+ public ones and 40+ workshops and tours. In town: a free Garden Show & Market at the Town Hall with 70+ makers, the Grand Flower Parade (Tue 27 Oct) and a Street Soirée on Drostdy Street (Wed 28 Oct). 🎟 Private gardens R50 | See here | Full programme

Bottelary Hills 4x4 Wine Adventure (Book now!)
📅 Fri 23 or Mon 26 Oct | 10:00-14:00 📍 Zevenwacht Wine Estate, Kuils River
Off-road in a vintage military truck, with tastings at Kaapzicht, Mooiplaas and Zevenwacht and the story of how they protect the last critically endangered Renosterveld. Only 12 seats a trip. 🎟 R1,295pp | Grab a seat

Delheim Nature Walk & Tasting
📅 Daily, Fri 23 Oct - Sun 1 Nov | arrive 09:00-15:00 📍 Delheim Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
A self-guided 2.5km or 5km walk among 120+ indigenous plants and 50 bird species (keep an eye out for caracal), then five Delheim wines. Possibly the best value of the festival. 🎟 R180, booking essential | More here

Next week: the closing weekend, with Rustenberg’s manor gardens and a sunset hike to the top of the Bottelary Hills.

Magic Mindful Photography Workshop
📅 Fri 23 Oct | 10:00-12:00 (also Wed 28 Oct & Sun 1 Nov)📍DeMorgenzon, Stellenbosch Kloof
Photography, mindfulness and a little writing in DeMorgenzon’s gardens with Manie van der Hoven. Less about camera settings, more about learning to look slowly. 🎟 R390 | Info here

Sunset Sweatshop: 10 Years Live
📅 Sun 25 Oct | Doors 13:00, Show 15:00 📍 Daisy Jones, Summerhill Wines, Stellenbosch
From workshop jams in Joostenbergvlakte to a number-one hit: ten years of ghoema rock, reggae and big local singalongs, with Battersby opening. Veranda tables are first come, first served. Kids welcome. 🎟 Grab tickets

Full Moon Experience at Eikendal
📅 Mon 26 Oct | From 18:00 📍 Eikendal Vineyards, Helderberg, Stellenbosch
A tractor ride up through the vines to watch the full moon rise over the Helderberg. Bring snacks and a warm layer; wine is from the bar up top. Easy and unhurried, for all ages. 🎟 Hop aboard or 021 855 1422

KAMERS/Makers Winelands
📅 Tue 27 Oct - Sun 1 Nov | 09:00-17:00 📍 Allée Bleue Wine Estate, Franschhoek
The country’s best-known artisan showcase fills Allée Bleue’s lawns with slow fashion, homeware, art and pantry goods. Christmas shopping that doesn’t come off a mall shelf. 🎟 Tickets here

Halloween Forest Night Run
📅 Sat 31 Oct | Registration from 18:15, 10km 19:15, 5km 19:30 📍 Dirtopia Trail Centre, Muratie Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
Muratie’s 14th Halloween run: 5km or 10km of forest trail after dark, with treats and surprises along the way. Costumes encouraged, headlamp essential. Entries close Thu 29 Oct. 🎟 5km R185, 10km R225, kids R90 | Dare to enter

Bliss Family Festival
📅 Sat 31 Oct | 11:00-22:00 📍 La Paris Estate, Franschhoek
A brand-new family festival with a proper line-up: Jeremy Loops headlines, with Arno Carstens, RAAF and the Saxby Twins, plus a global food market and kids’ activities. Seating is covered, so leave the blankets and camp chairs at home. 🎟 Adults R850, kids R250, family of four R1,950 | Get tickets

Pienkstap: Pink October Walk
📅 Sat 24 Oct | 08:00 📍 Laerskool Stellenbosch (Withuisie), Stellenbosch
A relaxed 1km to 4km community walk for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, for school families affected by cancer. Everyone welcome. Dress code: pink, and be creative. 🎟 Open to all | Just turn up in pink

Sunset to Full Moon Hike at Muratie
📅 Sun 25 Oct | Arrive from 17:15 📍 Dirtopia Trail Centre, Muratie Wine Estate
A 3.5km loop and 200+ hand-built steps to a lookout where the sun sets over Table Mountain as the moon comes up. Bring a picnic, buy a glass at the top, headlamp home. 🎟 R175, under-10s R85 | WhatsApp 078 343 3572

Jordan Run & Ride for Renosterveld
📅 Sun 25 Oct | Ride 07:30, fun run 08:30 📍 Jordan Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
A 34km ride or 6km fun run for the Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy, with a bottle of Jordan wine in every goodie bag. Capped at 100 each. 🎟 Run R220, ride R380 | Sign up here

Rosé de May & In Situ at Glenelly
📅 Fri 23 Oct | Drinks 17:30, dinner 19:00 📍 The Vine Bistro, Glenelly Estate, Stellenbosch
Rosé at sunset, a first look at Merle de Jager’s landscape oils in In Situ, then three courses. A grown-up Friday without the crowd. 🎟 R590pp plus service | 021 809 6444 or email

Oktoberfest at CBC
📅 Sat 24 Oct | 10:00-17:00 📍 Cape Brewing Company Brewery, Spice Route, Paarl
As close to Bavaria as the Boland gets. Your ticket buys a CBC beer mug to take home and your first Festbeer. Head to the brewery, not the distillery next door. 🎟 R55 | Prost, here

Lanzerac Botanical Afternoon Tea
📅 Sat 24 Oct | 14:00-17:00 (also Sat 31 Oct) 📍 Manor Kitchen, Lanzerac Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
Tiers of sweet and savoury bites, each paired with a floral, spiced or stone-fruit tea, in the Jonkershoek Valley. Bottomless Cap Classique optional. 🎟 R460pp, or R580 with bubbly | Email to book

An Evening with the Stars: Spring Edition (Book now!)
📅 Sat 24 Oct | 18:00-23:00 📍 Baccō Estate, Simonsvlei Road, Paarl
Seven Paarl producers, fourteen wines and seven small plates, with the winemakers at your table. April’s sold out fast. 🎟 R985pp | Grab your seat

Africa's first bread sommelier lives in Franschhoek. Ricardo Slawers, head baker at La Motte, has earned the title from Germany's National Bakers Academy. His thesis? Mosbolletjies. Read more

The 2027 harvest is off to a good start. Vinpro reports good reserves, mostly enough water and vines budding two to three weeks early. Flowering and fruit set still get the final say. Read more

Drones over Nederburg. The estate now has self-docking security drones with thermal cameras, watching only its own land. Spot one over the Paarl vines? Now you know. Read more

Halloween is next Saturday, and both of these need booking now. Also kid-friendly this week: the Jordan fun run, Eikendal’s tractor ride and Sunset Sweatshop.

Freaky Friday Halloween Party at Total Ninja
📅 Fri 30 Oct | Toddlers 09:00-11:00, kids (4+) 17:00-19:00 📍 Total Ninja, Somerset West
Cobwebs over the obstacle park, two hours on the courses, plus games, treats and prizes. For kids who’d rather climb than trick-or-treat. 🎟 R300 | WhatsApp 071 774 1913 or email

Pumpkin Patch Picnic
📅 Sat 31 Oct | 11:00-13:00 📍 Play By Nature, Stellenbosch
Hay bales, pumpkins and low picnic tables under the oaks for ages 2 to 8. Gentle and pretty, not spooky. Pre-order a picnic basket or buy pizza on the day. 🎟 More here

Weekday lunch sorted: Hussar Grill Somerset West does any two courses for R199, Mon to Sat, 12:00-16:00, until 30 Nov. Book here

Also worth knowing: Restaurant Week's last call (until Sun 1 Nov)

And for the wine rack: Vergelegen's Spring Sale has Wild Winds Sauvignon Blanc at R110 (down from R165) until Sat 31 Oct. Shop here

Today's the wet one: 60% chance of showers and a cool 19°. Then summer turns up. Friday clears to 25°, Saturday is mostly sunny at 26°, Sunday reaches 27° with a southerly breeze and Monday is a sunny 25°. Tuesday is the hottest day at 28°, and Wednesday settles at 25°.

☀️ Best days: Sat to Tue. Perfect for the full-moon walks and a long, slow garden crawl.

Presented by

This week we’re swapping the house for the people who sell them. Ferdi and Estelle Birkholtz met in high school more than 20 years ago and stayed friends ever since. Three years ago, life brought them back together. Today they’re married, and a husband-and-wife team at Peter Venter Estates in Stellenbosch.

Property started as a side income. After their first sale, it became the career. Last year alone they sold 28 apartments in Stellenbosch Central, and Estelle’s listings rarely hang around: her one-bedroom in East Lynne, a stroll from campus, is already sold, and a two-bedroom in Westside went in a single day.

Best part of working together? “Shared goals, working side by side and supporting each other through the challenges. Every milestone means more because we get to experience it as a team.”

Advice for couples thinking of doing the same? “Communicate openly, respect each other’s strengths, and remember your relationship must always come before business.”

Why Stellenbosch? “Beautiful scenery, rich history and a wonderful sense of community. There’s something for everyone, from first-time buyers to families and investors.”

🏡 Apartments and investment buys in Stellenbosch Central | 28 sold last year
👋 Say hello: Estelle 063 795 7028 | Ferdi 082 462 9167

Dopamine snacks (no biscuits required)

If you have ADHD (or just a very busy brain), you’ll know the moment it craves a quick hit, and the biscuit tin is always closest. Dietitian Jess, who has ADHD herself, has a better idea: a menu of tiny dopamine hits that aren’t food, small bits of novelty, movement or sensory input that help your brain switch gears.

Ours? Five minutes of sun on the stoep or a song turned up loud in the car. What’s yours? Hit reply.

Platō, by a landslide. One reader even named their favourite: the Platō at the Estron filling station in Stellenbosch. The "somewhere else" crowd gave shout-outs including Justice Coffee and Maria's in Paarl. Noted for our next coffee run. Sadie and Bootlegger fans, we know you're out there.

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