Water Works - A Heritage Walking Tour Up the Liesbeek River
Schedule
Sat Apr 11 2026 at 02:00 pm to 05:00 pm
UTC+02:00Location
Rustenburg Girls' Junior School | Cape Town, WC
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Do you want to explore more, learn more, exercise more, socialise more or feel more of a sense of belonging to your city and country this Autumn?And is there any activity that ticks off all such boxes (and more) as neatly as a weekend heritage walking tour?
We have 19 more of these to march through over the next few weeks so best jump on the parade as soon as you can!
Fortunately this weekend we're promoting our most popular and rewarding instalment: a winding gallavant along the natural highway of the Southern Suburbs...
Is this a walk or a hike?
Let's say it's the best of both and not the worst of either...
But this Saturday from 14h00, in a marvellous feat of suburban adventure, we're going to follow the incredibly extant line of Jan van Riebeeck's infamous bitter-almond hedge all the way from the gates of Rustenburg Girls' Junior School in Rondebosch to Paradise Park just short of Bishopscourt.
This is South Africa's first frontier - the first border-wall that separated the founding Cape Dutch estates from the infinitely beautiful and inhospitable hinterland that we eventually deemed our shared homeland. Along the way, we'll sample the sights and stories of the half-ancient watering-holes that gradually became the independent constituencies of Rondebosch, Newlands, Claremont, Wynberg, Bishopscourt and Protea Village.
On this slim strip a hundred histories that still define our nation's character and fame were founded and pushed out across the Flats - from the most densely diverse botanical kingdom on earth to the biggest brewing industry this side of Sydney to the homestead style of architecture that would inspire revivals for hundreds of years to follow.
And on either end you've got a lovely cafe strip and the best free picnic site in the province to look forward to.
Bring your walking shoes, your cameras, your water bottles, your snack baskets and your curiosity, and come enjoy a 3D movie gliding through time and space to the heart of the peninsula.
As always, RSVP for places! See you soon!
P.S. If you've read this far I'm guessing you'll want even more of the specs, so here goes:
- We'll be starting by the entrance to Rustenburg Girls’ Junior School in Main Road, Rondebosch at 14h00 on Saturday and finishing about 4 to 5 km away in the middle of Paradise Park so happily park on either side and organise an Uber carpool if needs be. I’ll be providing an Uber XL back to the starting point anyway.
- We've just put up our ticket prices for the first time in two-and-a-half years, from R120pp to R150pp. Obviously this is just to keep with inflation and to allow the tours to remain a sustainable enterprise for the foreseeable future, but this is still about R50 less per person than our nearest competition. In other words, we are deliberately undercharging the tours so as to keep them affordable for locals and visitors alike and to encourage guests to come back weekend after weekend.
- Book via Quicket, WhatsApp us on 076 033 8164, E-mail us on [email protected] or Message us via the buttons on our home page to secure your place.
- We have also just introduced a broad scheme of discounts you can apply for on each tour, so please do consult the list below before contacting us!
- And we've decided to partner with a different local NGO or charity for each and every one of our tour routes so that R10 of every ticket purchased goes directly to a good, sustainable, local cause. For the Liesbeek tour, we've chosen to fund-raise for the Friends of the Liesbeek and you can inspect their brilliance here:
https://fol.org.za
- This is a consistently well-reviewed heritage-focused walking tour; which is to say that all you'll need to enjoy yourself is curiosity about Cape Town's past (and History in general) and enough stamina to walk just less than 3km in one afternoon (with stops and snacks).
- If you're rejoining us, please please please please please please consider dropping us a short (or extensive) review on our Facebook Reviews or Google Reviews section as it will help spread our gospel of curiosity and playful appreciation across the internet and across the spectrum of all potential visitors to the Cape. It helps us more than you can believe!
- You can also add an optional R10 donation on your ticket which will go directly to the NGO Streetscapes as part of our mission to spread love, enthusiasm, mutual support and respect for all of Cape Town's people and histories. Just think how many people we could help and the difference we could make with a few hundred tours!
- Feel absolutely free to spread the word, invite friends who've been looking for this kind of experience and badger us with every imaginable heritage query. We live for it!
Can't wait to meet ya, really! 🙂
THE CTHT DISCOUNT LIST:
1. Guests over 65 and under 18 can claim a 33% discount on each ticket, at R100pp pre-booked.
2. If you buy tickets for both the Saturday and Sunday tours on one weekend, you can claim R50 off each ticket, at R200pp pre-booked.
3. If you buy a Cape Town Heritage Tours Tote-Bag or any of our books on sale at our Half-Booked Online Shop, you can claim a free tour voucher for each piece of merchandise.
4. You can buy individual advance vouchers for our public tours at R150 each and then message in the week before a scheduled tour. But you can also buy value-packs of five for the price of 4 (R600), 10 for the price of 7 (R1050) or all 18 for the price of 10 (R1500).
5. If you bring 2 or more friends on a weekend tour you can claim R30 back on each of your tickets, at R120pp pre-booked.
6. If you share the posts promoting individual tours you can claim R30 back as well, at R120pp.
7. If you review the tours on Google Reviews, Facebook or TripAdvisor (at any rating) you can claim 50% off your next ticket, at R75pp pre-booked.
8. Likewise if you recommend the tours to a friend who then attends a weekend tour, you can claim 50% off your next ticket, at R75pp pre-booked.
See ya next weekend!
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Where is it happening?
Rustenburg Girls' Junior School, Main Rd ,Cape Town, Western Cape, South AfricaEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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