On Location: Filming in the Grabouw and Elgin Region
The Grabouw and Elgin Region, an hour’s drive east of Cape Town, is a tapestry of undulating hills, with the Hottentots Holland mountains serving as a towering backdrop over the landscape. Reaching the same height as Table Mountain, these peaks form part of a unique Biosphere Reserve. With snow-capped mountains in the winter, and clear blue skies in summer, The Elgin Valley offers a stunning variety of scenery and backdrops for filming.
The region is well known throughout the Western Cape and South Africa for it’s extraordinary natural beaty, sensational fruit crops, and cool climate wines. With its scenic vineyard and orchards, serene lakes of all sizes, and large oaks forests dotted around the valley, this region boasts a perfect and varied location for filming.
Having hosted many international and local film crews in the past, the inhabitants of the valley have a high appreciation and understanding of the industry. The area is famed for its hospitality and benefits from many delightful hotels and B&Bs to accommodate any size of crew: from Hollywood blockbuster to indie film flicks.
Locations such as Oak Valley Estate, an 1,800-hectare farm, are already established filming sites. Some previous shoots include car adverts for Bentley and Mercedes-Benz, various Afrikaans cooking shows, and feature films and documentaries such as Of Kings and Prophets, History of Mankind, History of the world, Labyrinth and No Man Left Behind.
While Oak Valley Estate has become a firm favourite in both the international and local filming communities, the GDA wants to make the wider Grabouw and Elgin Region more accessible to film crews. With a great deal of experience of working in the valley, GDA has built up strong relationships with the local municipality and landowners and is able to facilitate access to several gorgeous locations around the valley. These include vineyards and orchards, the country club, Oak Valley, and the Cluver Estaste, as well as several areas under the management of Cape Nature.
The GDA has a strong working relationship with the film unit at Wesgro, who are one of our main partners and benefit from extensive experience managing the logistics of filming in the Western Cape. They have become experts at removing red tape and gaining permits for local and international crews. So, with all this to offer, why not make your next project a Grabouw production?