Toontjiesrivier is a historic farmstead in the Nuy Valley, with origins dating back to around 1840.
The farm, the name of which has changed many times, has a unique history going back 300 years. At one stage it was the furthest outpost in the Cape of the Dutch East Indies Company and later became a vital staging post and replenishment station on the main wagon route to Stellenbosch, Swellendam, and Graaff-Reinet, predating the N1 highway.
At one point, it formed part of the larger Vergelegen estate; an agricultural hub founded by Governor of the Cape, Willem Adriaan van der Stel. Its original homestead was the birthplace of one of the Presidents of the early Boer Republics. The farm buildings are a most beautiful example of traditional and unspoiled Cape Dutch architecture.
The farm features a late-Cape Dutch style thatched house with a distinctive four-pilaster Worcester-type gable with concave wings, a seven-bay façade, and a T-shaped layout, unlike many other Breede River houses of the same period.
The house has been carefully restored, including its original slave quarters, and is now a guest house.
The original and fully restored old homestead (now known as Pepper Tree Cottage) dates from 1750, while the later (1840’s) Manor House is one of the Cape’s architectural masterpieces. These buildings, together with The Cellars, the Old Fruit Barn and the various outbuildings, today provide accommodation of an exceptional standard to discerning visitors. The original stables have also been fully restored and now serve as the Laundry for the estate.
The Clopper-Naudé-Hugo succession illustrates a common pattern in Cape pastoral landholding; family inheritance, marriages, and sales structure ownership and land use.
The Hugo family’s lineage is tied to prominent early Cape settlers and Huguenot genealogy, suggesting broader European connections and influence in developing winelands agriculture .
Water access on the farm influenced these ownership decisions; both Clopper and Naudé valued the Toontjiesrivier, and it likely attracted Hugo during purchase.
Penhill seeks to operate in a way that maximizes its contribution to the environment and society in the area. From the fountain water that feeds the house and gardens to the main emphasis on indigenous planting and waste management. While the farm promotes conservation and sustainability now, its early history under VOC likely involved indigenous labour and farming practices with little environmental oversight .
The restoration of the slave quarters acknowledges (though subtly) the role of enslaved people in 18th–19th-century Cape Dutch agriculture.
The activities Penhill Manor Estate provides are many and varied. For those who want peace and quiet, there are wonderful gardens and tranquil areas surrounded by nature in which to relax. There are also numerous walks through spectacular scenery, home to some 18,000 plant species. Mountain biking, bird-watching, swimming, boulle, tennis and croquet are just some of the many things to do. In the vicinity are golf courses, some 30 wine tasting farms, hot springs, scenic boat rides down the Breede River and many other things to do.
