Rogge Cloof Guest farm

The origins of Rogge Cloof date back to 1756, when Joachim Scholtz, the son of German and Nordic immigrants to Africa, acquired the property on the Roggeveld plateau. The name means 'rye ravine' in Afrikaans, and the farm has been a working landscape ever since, surviving centuries on one of the most remote and dramatic plateaus in South Africa.

Today Rogge Cloof operates as a private nature reserve and guest farm in the Great Karoo, roughly 350 kilometres from Cape Town and 15 kilometres before Sutherland on the R354. Sitting at an altitude of 1,400 to 1,700 metres, the property occupies some of the highest and most exposed terrain in the Western Cape. The air is dry, the nights are cold, and the skies are among the clearest on earth. Rogge Cloof is part of the Sutherland Dark Sky Reserve, South Africa's largest dark sky area, making it one of the finest stargazing destinations in the southern hemisphere.

Accommodation ranges from the Orion Suites -- luxury open-plan units with king-size beds and closed-circulation fireplaces -- to self-catering options like the Waenhuis, Stables, Oryx House, Cedar Cottage and Wolskuur. The Adventure Camp offers dormitory-style bunk accommodation for groups of up to 50. A conservation levy of R100 per guest per night applies.

The activities are as varied as the landscape. Guests can join game viewing trips, track cheetah, ride fat bikes, hike mountain trails, visit fossil fields, climb the Salpeterkop Volcano, explore Anglo-Boer War fort remnants, or simply lie back and stare at the stars through on-site telescopes. The best stargazing months are May to August when the winter skies are at their clearest.

In 2018, Rogge Cloof planted its own vineyards -- at 1,500 metres above sea level, the highest in the Cape -- with 0.5 hectares each of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The first wines from these estate blocks are expected in 2025. The property already produces its own wine range under labels including De Knolle Fonteyn, Salpeterkop, Sneeukop, De Rogge Cloof, Joachim Scholtz, and the premium Emineo range, with grapes sourced from the Sutherland-Karoo region -- the coldest wine-producing area in South Africa. Wine tasting sessions are available in the on-site cellar, and guest reviews consistently note the quality of the wines as an unexpected highlight of their stay.

The journey to Rogge Cloof is part of the experience. The R354 from Matjiesfontein climbs through the Karoo until the landscape opens out into the vast, treeless expanse of the Roggeveld. Arriving at the farm feels like stepping into a different country -- one governed by geology, astronomy and deep silence.

Rogge Cloof is not a wine farm in any conventional sense. It is a Karoo wilderness with wines, stars, fossils and silence -- a place where the landscape itself is the main attraction.