Catharina Ustings Ras must have been one formidable woman. Landing at the Cape just 10 years after Jan van Riebeek stepped ashore to kick-start centuries of colonisation, the lawless Cape of Good Hope was no place for a young widow just 22 years old.

Hangings, lashings and brandings were commonplace, and skirmishes between settlers and indigenous Khoi Khoi were common, so Catharina did what she knew she had to do to survive. She found a husband.

As it turns out, a husband provided little security for the 'Widow Ras' though, and Catharina would eventually marry five times, outliving all but one of her husbands as one by one they perished by accident, murder and wildlife.

Things eventually calmed down in 1682 when she settled on 25 morgen of land at the foot of the Ou Kaapse Weg granted to her by Simon van der Stel, the governor at the time.

Lying at one end of the lush and fertile valley of Constantia, she named her farm Swaaneweide – the Feeding Place of Swans – presumably in memory of the swans on the Baltic near her home in native Germany. Her hospitality was legendary, and hearty meals and comfortable accommodation were often granted to weary travelers. The lyrical name of Swaaneweide has faded into history, but travelers are still welcomed with open arms at the Manor House on the farm now known as Steenberg.

Indeed, things have moved up a notch since Catharina's day. You may not find elephants grazing near the river or wagons making the trek to Simon's Town, but in return you'll enjoy five star accommodation, award-winning wines, one of the Cape's best golf courses and fine cuisine in the restaurant dedicated to the woman who started it all.

And I'm sure that Catharina would have been proud. A traveler who enjoyed her hospitality remarked that Catharina served her guests "radishes and freshly baked bread and beautiful cabbages," but nowadays you can expect something a little more decadent.

With born-and-bred Capetonian Garth Almazan as Executive Chef, Catharina's has made as much of a mark on the Cape culinary scene as she did amongst the fledgling colony's bachelors. Trained under the legendary Garth Stroebel at the Mount Nelson Hotel, Almazan's menu is a reflection of the best the Cape has to offer; from Kalk Bay Line Fish Fillet through to Char-Grilled Loin of Karoo Lamb. Dishes are impeccably presented, and the service is as discreet and professional as you'd expect from the recipient of the American Express Platinum Award for fine dining in 2006.

Catharina's may be housed in the original 17th century winery, but that doesn't mean you'll go thirsty at Steenberg. The cosy new winery on the upper slopes of the farm offers wonderful views over Table Mountain, False Bay and the vineyards that produce some of the estate's award-winning wines.

The Steenberg vineyards enjoy the same soils and cooling sea breezes that made the wines of the Constantia valley popular with the kings and queens of Europe, and although the estate produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz, as with the rest of the valley the white wines are the stars of the show.

She 'rides bareback like an Indian'

Sixty percent of the vineyards are planted with white wine grapes, with Sauvignon Blanc far and away the estate's flagship. No surprise then that the 2004 received a five-star rating in the influential Platter's Guide. However, generous plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir mean that the estate can also boast one of the best Methode Cap Classiques (champagne, for those not in the know) the Cape has to offer.

As you may have guessed, Catharine was no shrinking violet — one visitor gasped at her "riding bareback like an Indian" — so there's no guessing what she would have made of the Gingko spa on the Steenberg Estate.

That amount of pampering would probably have been too much for the hard-working woman from Lubeck, but for weary travelers it is a welcome way to wind down. After a spell in the steam room, you'll be led to one of the five stylish treatment rooms and massaged, scrubbed and exfoliated to your heart's content. The ScenTao Hot Stone Therapy Massage is the spa's signature treatment and is sure to banish any remnants of city stress and get your arms ready for swinging.

Designed by the wily Peter Matkovitch

Swinging, you say? Well, Steenberg is also home to one of South Africa's top championship courses and to miss out on a round would certainly be a waste.

Designed by the wily Peter Matkovitch, the course has enough twists and turns to keep the best golfers on their toes and make the weekend hackers cry out for a straight drive.

Make sure you watch out for the nasty seventh, which sees you tee off aiming for a mere scrap of green surrounded by water. Misjudge the prevailing south-easterly wind and you'll come splashing down without a doubt. Regardless of your score, with fairways coasting through vineyards and up the slopes of the Constantiaberg it'll certainly be a round to remember.

Even if you're not a golfer, guests at the Steenberg Hotel will certainly get a feel for life on the links, with a number of suites overlooking the 18th fairway. These luxurious suites are furnished in a modern style with sleek wooden furniture and open-plan bathrooms combining city luxury with country style. If you'd prefer a taste of history (and less risk of flying golf balls) then the, housed in the gabled Manor House are perhaps a better bet. Furnished in a traditional Cape style, the décor is perfectly suited to the catharina's old home; a National Monument and the only surviving 'holbol' gable in the Cape Peninsula.

Whether it's wandering through the hallways Catharina called home, traipsing through the vineyards of her farm or dining in the restaurant that bears her name it's incredible to imagine how the views of changed since she landed up here over 300 years ago. Times may have changed, and Egyptian geese are more common than swans, but the welcome is just as warm as when the 'Widow Ras' walked the fields beneath the Steenberg.