In the wineries of the Western Cape it's not bad guys, bandits or even breathalysers you need to be wary of, it's baboons. If you believe the signs that line the walk from the car park to the restaurant – "Beware of Baboons. No Picnics" – the place is crawling with them, and lingering on the lawn to snap a photo of the view suddenly seems like a foolhardy thing to do.

I keep my eyes peeled for blasted baboons – apparently not happy with just stealing food from tourists and stripping vines of fruit, they like to binge on grapes that have fermented in the sun – but we make it to the cellar restaurant safely, although I'm still not sure if I'm pleased or disappointed that my first wild animal sighting in South Africa was not a pie-eyed primate pickled on pinotage.

I'm at the beginning of a a three-day road trip from Cape Town along a section of the "world's longest wine route", otherwise known as Route 62, the original road between the Cape's two most important ports, Cape Town in the west and Port Elizabeth in the east, before the construction of the N2 national highway in the late 1950s.

The new road left behind a collection of half-forgotten towns bypassed by most travellers intent on getting from A to B, or in this case, PE, as Port Elizabeth is known, on the more well-known Garden Route that runs south along the coast, South Africa's most famous touring route.

Like Australia and New Zealand, South Africa is a "new world" wine-producing nation, even though the first wine was made in 1659 at Constantia near Cape Town. New world wine, as opposed to old world – France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany – tends to be labelled according  to grape rather than place: pinot noir rather than burgundy, for example, which means most wine varieties that you find in South Africa will be familiar to Australian drinkers though there are some quirky exceptions, including a couple of unique varieties such as pinotage.

A wine tour in South Africa has its own uniquely African challenges, such as keeping out of the way of marauding monkeys, but it's a small price to pay, given the small price you'll actually pay for the wine. You may not always be able to eat outside, but eating and drinking like royalty in South Africa costs a fraction of what it does in Australia.

I always thought we had it pretty good when it came to getting good wine at an affordable price. But wines that at home would seem a bargain at $10 or $15 are, thanks to an exchange rate of about 10 South African rand to the Australian dollar, the equivalent of $3 or $4.

And we're not talking nasty mass-produced plonk from a German supermarket chain, or nameless cleanskins from a mega-sized liquor store, but handcrafted, estate-grown, boutique labels. Even the special reserves that the winemakers bring out to impress are yours to take away for less than $20 – you'll have to drink it before you fly home though, to comply with duty-free rules, and sadly, shipping a case or two back to Australia is not a cheap option.

The food is just as affordable as the wine, with main meals in most country restaurants between $8 and $18, smart mid-range accommodation easy to find at less than $100 a night, and even better, driving is on the left, just like at home and, once you're beyond city limits, the roads have little traffic.Mix it all together, add the occasional wild animal sighting and some pretty wild mountain scenery, and you've got all the ingredients for a superb road trip.

LEAVING THE FOLD: CAPE TOWN TO WORCESTER, 112 KILOMETRES

Heading out of Cape Town it wasn't long before we left behind the urban sprawl, vine-covered plains stretching towards the jagged Cape Fold Mountains, a series of parallel ridges that arc around the tip of South Africa for almost 1000 kilometres. These mountains become our companion on this trip, wherever we go they seem to always  be by our side, although they appear and disappear in the rainy mist as we wind our way across the valleys and over dramatic passes.

Our first mountain pass is a bypassed one, the Du Toitskloof, which coils 820 metres over the saw-toothed Hawequa Mountains between the towns of Paarl and Worcester. Originally just an animal track, it was built by Italian prisoners during World War II. But most people these days take the four-kilometre-long Huguenot Tunnel – the longest tunnel and largest curved structure in South Africa – that burrows its way through the mountain, cutting 11 kilometres from the journey.

But we're not in a hurry, so we take the steep and sensationally scenic road. We're here at the start of spring, and the roadsides are carpeted in wildflowers – bright orange namaqua and white cape daisies – and fynbos, South Africa's unique fine-leaved flowering bushland that forms the smallest, but richest, floral kingdom on earth. It might be unique to South Africa, but it resembles parts of Western Australia, with proteas, and pin cushions and flowering heath colouring the semi-arid landscape.

THIRST FOR THE ROAD: ROBERTSON WINE VALLEY, 47 KILOMETRES

Known as the Klein Karoo, or "little" karoo – karoo roughly translating as "land of thirst" – it's tough country, rocky and dry, the trees stunted and twisted, hunkered down against the fierce winds that buffet these mountains. Drop down to the valley floor though, where the rivers and streams cascade down from the peaks, and it's a green and fertile place, where flamingos strut through shallows and ostrich roam the plains.

The baboons, however, are ubiquitous. We had barely left the city when we started spotting them beside the freeway and, as we approach Robertson, speed signs are replaced with warnings that feeding them is prohibited: "Voer van bobbejane verbode". South Africa has 11 official languages, and in this part of the country, while almost everyone we meet can speak English, it's Afrikaans that we hear on the street, although road signs, thankfully, feature both.

This part of the Western Cape was first settled in the 1850s by Dutch and Afrikaner farmers who set up ostrich farms and orchards. It's South Africa's fruit bowl – almost all the country's dried fruit is grown and processed here, as well as olives, cheese, brandy and wine grapes.

It's the wine that the area is most famous for. The Robertson Wine Valley produces almost 200,000 tonnes of wine grapes annually and has about 15 per cent of South Africa's total area under vines. There are more than 50 wineries and countless vineyards – locals call them wine farms – in and around the towns of Robertson and Montague.

Our first taste is during a long fireside lunch in a hill-top winery with wild views of the Nuy River Valley and Langeberg mountains, high enough to be dusted by snow in midwinter. Founded in 1963, the Nuy Winery is celebrated for its white wines, potstill brandy and sweet and sticky muscadel, a lovely way to finish off a meal of traditional bobotie, a mix of spiced mince and dried fruit topped with savoury eggy baked custard and served with yellow rice and tangy sambal.

THROUGH A HOLE IN TIME: ROBERTSON WINE VALLEY TO MONTAGU, 30 KILOMETRES

We drive through Kogmans Kloof, a hole in the Langeberg Mountains that was tunnelled through the rock wall of the gorge at the southern entrance to Montagu in 1877. It's a dramatic welcome into a town that feels like it has been snap-locked in its hidden little valley encircled by mountains.

It's a time capsule where almost every building is in traditional Cape Dutch style – thatched roofs, curvy green gables and whitewashed walls gleaming in the late afternoon light – and almost every corner sports a rather grand neo-gothic or Cape Dutch church, a reminder of just how deeply religious these small communities were.

We spend the next two days exploring the valley, sampling excellent but ridiculously cheap wines in opulent tasting rooms that look like they have come straight from the deep south of the US, albeit with a Cape Dutch and African decorating twist, while we listen to winemakers complain of aardvarks in the paddocks and the pesky baboons that strip the vines of their fruit and leave a mess.

We stroll through small towns like Robertson that look as if nothing has changed in the past 50 years and cruise down the Breede River in a flat-bottomed boat at Viljoensdrift Winery, watching birds circle in the sky above as we drift past vineyards and olive groves.  We visit a donkey sanctuary where rescued donkeys, some of which were destined to become lion food at game parks so tourists can see a "kill" on safari, are nursed back to health.

FULL CIRCLE: MONTAGU TO CAPE TOWN, 180 KILOMETRES

Off the tourist trail, you seldom have to jostle for space at wineries on Route 62 the way you sometimes do in the more popular wine-tasting areas of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek closer to Cape Town to the south-west. Wine farms are family run, rather than corporate owned, and many have been in the same family for several generations.

This is not the place to go if you're looking for six-star safaris or plush accommodation – most lodgings are family-run bed and breakfasts and boutique guesthouses. Restaurants are small and friendly, the food rustic and hearty, and most diners locals rather than tourists. The charming towns are free of shops of selling tourist tat or overpriced crap.

It's roughly 800 kilometres if you drive all the way on Route 62 from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, but this is a road trip best done slowly, and we kept getting distracted, so only made it as far as Montagu, about 180 kilometres from Cape Town. We might not have got all the way down the world's longest wine route, but we certainly got our money's worth. And we didn't encounter a single drunk baboon.

TRIP NOTES

MORE INFORMATION

southafrica.net

GETTING THERE

Montagu is about 180 kilometres from Cape Town, via the N1 and R62. Qantas flies direct to Johannesburg from Sydney, with connections to Cape Town. See qantas.com

STAYING THERE

Montagu Country Hotel is South Africa's only original art deco hotel. Not all rooms feature period furniture: ask for rooms 7 or 11 when you book if you want to really immerse yourself into the jazz age. Rates start about $65 a person, including breakfast. montagucountryhotel.co.za

TOURING THERE

All major car hire firms are represented in South Africa. The Montagu Country Hotel offers personalised "American dream car" tours of the surrounding wine region in a 1956 Cadillac Sedan de Ville or 1956 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman for less than $50 an hour, for up to four people.

QUAFFING THERE

Wine farms worth visiting include Nuy Cellar for lunch with a view and muscadel (nuywinery.co.za), Viljoensdrift for river cruises (viljoensdrift.co.za), De Wetshof Wine Estate for splendid chardonnay in a grand mansion (dewetshof.com) and Zandvliet for shiraz (zandvliet.co.za).

The writer was a guest of South African Tourism

A GUIDE TO SOUTH AFRICAN DROPS

PINOTAGE

A uniquely South African variety, don't assume it's another way to say pinot noir, the way syrah is shiraz. Pinotage is a cross of pinot noir and cinsaut and is South Africa's signature wine. Sample it at Kanonkop Wine Estate, Stellenbosch. See kanonkop.co.za

MUSCADEL

Called muscat in Europe and topaque in places like Rutherglen in Victoria, it's a sweet fortified dessert wine and a speciality of the Robertson Valley on Route 62. Try it at Nuy Wine Cellar, Worcester. See nuywinery.co.za

CAP CLASSIQUE

We say sparkling, they say "Cap Classique" – either way, we're talking delicious buttery bubbles, the type of stuff they call champagne in France. Taste it at Graham Beck Wines, Robertson. See grahambeckwines.co.za

CAPE RIESLING

Technically a crouchen blanc – in South Africa true riesling is called "rhine". Try it in and around the township of Paarl. See fairview.co.za

HANEPOOT

A sweet fortified dessert wine, similar to white muscat, and one of the first grapes grown in South Africa. Sample it in Constantia. See uitsig.co.za

FIVE MORE GREAT SOUTH AFRICAN DRIVES

THE GARDEN ROUTE

South Africa's most celebrated touring route snakes along the coast between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, about 750 kilometres. Named after the prolific wildflowers seen along the way, highlights are coastal scenery and dramatic mountain passes.

THE PANORAMA ROUTE

Mountains, canyons, waterfalls and forests are just some of the reasons to drive this scenic route through Mpumalanga. It's a circular route (closest airport is Johannesburg) that can be done in two days, but Kruger National Park is nearby so go on safari.

THE EIGHT PASSES

You'll need a four-wheel-drive and a sense of adventure, but this loop drive through the Drakensberg Mountains in the Eastern Cape highlands includes the country's highest mountain roads and passes. A summer time trip, the roads can be closed by snow in winter

CEDERBERG CIRCUIT

A circular loop 200 kilometres north-west of Cape Town through a dramatic landscape with spectacular rock formations, jagged peaks, cave paintings and rock art. Best in spring when the wildflowers are out.

CHAPMANS PEAK DRIVE

Not all great drives have to be long drives. This  nine-kilometre stretch of coast-hugging road on the outskirts of Cape Town winds its way from Hout Bay to Noordhoek through 114 sublimely scenic curves.

FIVE MORE GREAT WINE ROADS  OF THE WORLD

ROUTE DES GRAND CRUS, BURGUNDY, FRANCE

Grand cru is the granddaddy of wines – if its it's grand cru is it is going to be good. This meandering drive through Burgundy takes in some of the most famous vineyards and wine villages in France, including the medieval walled city of Beaune, where wine is stored in underground vaults beneath the city streets and the Musee de Vin (Museum of Wine), housed in a former palace. See beaune-tourism.com

THE WINE ROAD, CALIFORNIA, US

Follow the Wine Road through the Sonoma Valley, one of California's prettiest wine regions. Home to almost 200 wineries, including some of the oldest in California, the wineries here tend to be low-key, family-run affairs, which means less crowdeds in the tasting rooms, cheaper accommodation and friendlier locals compared withto neighbouring Napa Valley. See wineroad.com

LA ROUTE DES VINS, QUEBEC

This 140-kilometre signposted route links 22 wineries east of Montreal in Canada's Quebec. If you don't fancy fighting over who's going to be designated driver, hire a bicycle. If you tire, simply call the Taxi-Velo, a special taxi service for bikers that will transport you and your bikes, back to base. See laroutedesvins.ca

CLASSIC NEW ZEALAND WINE TRAIL

Our neighbours across the ditch might may be small, but itstheir wine trail is big, an epic 486-kilometre signposted route from Napier in the North Island to Blenheim in the South Island, linking more than 120 cellar doors. Highlights include Hawke's Bay syrah (shiraz), Martinborough pinot and Marlborough sauvignon. See classicwinetrail.co.nz

TAMAR VALLEY WINE ROUTE, TASMANIA

One of Australia's few designated wine routes – we have lots of wine regions but not so many signposted wine trails – the Tamar Valley Wine Route links 32 cellar doors on a 170-kilometre road trip north and east of Launceston. The cool climates produces excellent pinot noir and sparkling wine. See tamarvalleywineroute.com.au