Welcome to Napier

Tucked away at the foot of the Soetmuisberg, surrounded by the rolling wheat and barley fields of the Overberg, Napier is one of those special little villages where life seems to move at a gentler pace. Century-old cottages sit alongside colourful homes, local eateries, artists and small businesses, while the surrounding countryside gives the village its unmistakable rural character. Napier also makes a wonderful base from which to explore the wider Cape Agulhas region, including Arniston, Struisbaai and L’Agulhas.

Napier has an unusual beginning. The village was established in 1838, following a disagreement between two neighbouring landowners, Michiel van Breda and Pieter Voltelyn van der Byl, over where their community church should be built. Neither was willing to give way, and eventually two separate settlements developed, Bredasdorp around Van Breda’s choice and Napier around Van der Byl’s. Napier was named after Sir George Napier, the Governor of the Cape Colony at the time.

Almost two centuries later, Napier still has a wonderfully independent character. It is a place to slow down, wander, explore and reconnect with the countryside, whether over a good meal, a walk through the village, a drive through the surrounding farmland or simply a quiet afternoon doing very little at all. And sometimes, that is exactly what a getaway should be.