Karoo Stoep Tasting Festival with a Walking Experience in Nieu Bethesda 2024

The annual Karoo Stoep Tasting Festival in Graaff-Reinet and Nieu Bethesda has been running for the past 11 years and Wide Open Spaces decided to combine the Stoep Tasting Festival with a Walking Experience in Nieu Bethesda.

The 4-Night package includes three walks over the weekend and includes accommodation, all meals (home-cooked and with freshly baked farm bread each day), 3 guided walks in the area, a wine-pairing dinner and Karoo Food Experience at one of the well-known restaurants in Nieu Bethesda, and a unique sundowner experience in the veld.

This 4-Night package offers a variety of unique activities, not offered if you simply attend the Stoep Tasting Festival and it is a fun-filled excursion in a most beautiful part of South Africa.

The guided walks are easy to moderate, and one gets to see game, such as kudu, blesbok, springbok, rhebok, baboons and a large variety of birds, while on the trails.

The village of Nieu Bethesda is small and therefore one can walk around the village and taste wine on the stoeps of the houses and restaurants in the village.

Wine tasting commences at 12h00 and ends at 18h00 each day and therefore there is more than enough time to do the guided walks in the morning, whereafter a tasty lunch, head off to Nieu Bethesda for the Stoep Tasting Festival.

Here is a review from one of our guests who joined Wide Open Spaces on our latest tour.

“We have just been on the Stoep Tasting and Hiking adventure in Nieu Bethesda. We stayed on an operational sheep farm which has been on the family for generations. Each day we went on a lovely hike, each one different to the other in the stunning Karoo countryside. The first night we had sundowners in the middle of the veld where we saw the most magnificent sunset I have ever seen in my life. The Canyon hike was memorable with the black eagles (Verreaux’s) soaring effortlessly above us with the backdrop of the orange, craggy cliffs. We then had the afternoon to taste delicious and high-quality wines and had enormous fun and banter. The whole weekend was catered for by Judy and Howard Sheard from Weltevreden Farm. It was delicious home-comfort food that we ate ravenously after all the hiking. Ant and his colleague, Colleen, were expert guides/organisers attending to our every need and the weekend worked like clockwork. We met lovely people, made friends and felt we would love to sign up for another similar weekend in the not too distant future.”

Further reviews of a number of our walking tours can be read on TripAdvisor here.