Inspired by the OG–the Camino de Santiago through Portugal, Spain and France – the Cape Camino is South Africa’s answer to the personal pilgrimage.

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It’s made up of a few different parts, and we decided on the Cape Winelands section. So… 7 days of walking… and walking… and walking… through a tapestry of farms, vineyards, small towns and epic mountainscapes.

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The route averages around 21km per day. Starting from the outskirts of Paarl, the first two days track along the side of the Hawequa mountains, underneath the Du Toitskloof mountain pass and tunnel.

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After our first day of walking, we spent a night on the outskirts of Wellington, a town known for its wine and brandy. Our second day’s trek took us to an… interesting night closer to the centre of town, but day three was the real nut-kicker: 32km in the scorching heat to Hermon. The furthest I’ve ever walked in a single day. It was hectic, but Hermon is middle-of-nowhere in the best possible way and I wouldn’t even know it existed if it wasn’t for this walk.

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From there we took a dusty stroll through fields of scattering sheep to Riebeek Kasteel. If you love South African art, you’ll love Riebeek Kasteel. Plus, there’s that obligatory G&T to be had on the porch of the Royal hotel. Day five we headed out to Gouda. Trigger warning: you will walk past butcheries and livestock auctions. With Gouda behind us, we walked along train tracks and on the sides of old mountain highways to reach Tulbagh, an absolute stunner of a town.

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Our last day was a walk from Tulbagh, through stunning vineyards and toward the historic Oudekloof pass. This was probably the most beautiful day of all, and not just because we were close to being finished.

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In the end, our group’s smartwatches clocked a total of 146km on trail, but we did walk to dinner and things like that so for the sake of our egos, let’s call it an even 150.

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Final review: The Cape Camino was tough but super rewarding. A chance to explore the backstreets of the Western Cape winelands and farmlands – a really special slice of South Africa.

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Even as lifelong Capetonians who now live in our own small town, these are parts of our province we would never have seen if not on foot. For that reason alone, we highly recommend doing it.

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There were of course a couple of “oh fok” moments. Sometimes shit got real, but if things went according to plan all the time, life would be so boring.