Hawksmoor House, Stellenbosch

Extending time

 

This is my second stay at Hawksmoor House and I start to wonder how they organise such intensity of blue skies each time I visit. It is so blue it lifts the soul instantly. You would have to be a seriously miserable person to be unhappy here.

The artistically landscaped gardens offer many delights. Someone has considered the movement of light over the property and throughout the day there are back-lit gems of all colour and shape.

Within the historic homestead, artistic decor picks up on the rich blue skies, red vines, green-lit Oaks and purple lavender. Around every corner there is a surprise and one is drawn into fascinating spaces with each vibrant, sunlit wall and perfectly balanced piece of antique furniture. The choice of colour for each room becomes especially clear in the late afternoon when the slanting light reflected off the long koi pond creates a play of interconnecting hues.

No lazy, tourist-pleasing pseudo-African decorating here - this no faux wine estate or country fake new build. It is intensely local, a 300 year old Cape Dutch thatched grand house surrounded by rambling outbuildings. And being on a real working wine and fruit farm, you feel local and privileged to enter this space. 

I give a gasp as an enormous (and may I say very well endowed) bull walks right past my low window. I am relieved to see he is on the other side of a fence and we spend a good few minutes staring at one another in equal fascination. It seems he got as much of a fright seeing me as I him and despite his size and ferocious look, I gather he is a bit frightened of the wind and seeking company rather than trouble. I stop short of offering a cuddle.

One of the best value luxury stays South Africa has to offer, I recommend this place to everyone I can. It is perfectly placed to access the Cape Town International airport, the wine farms and restaurants of Paarl, Wellington, Stellenbosch, and even Franschhoek and Cape Town itself. If you can bear to leave that is - Hawksmoor specialises in deep, beautiful baths, quality white linen, antique furniture, dramatic decor and double French doors letting in a splay of golden light and leading onto characterful outdoor seating areas. Most surprisingly, all this comes without primp or petulance, with the hosts offering warm, genuinely friendly and helpful hospitality such that your stay here will simply never be long enough.

Accommodation experience

Indeed the days are too short here and I wish to apply for an official extension of time at the magical space that is Hawksmoor House. The weather puts on such a spectacular show that it takes me a while to settle. The sky turns even bluer now, almost purple in its insistence. Fortunately my camera battery dies and I am forced to spend a slow sunset simply sitting on my private balcony where this place does indeed perform its magic on me. I am able to extend my time here through a portal into presence, a different time dimension altogether. 

Here there are delicious moments which extend downwards, rather than horizontally, into infinite sensory experiences which stretch even to the future where I am able to access them as I write. The experience of the sun streaming into my room, the layering of a valley with trees and mist, the tinny call of a guinea fowl, a row of impossibly straight ducks flying slowly past my open doors, a hawk caught on an updraught, suspended in time like me. If I could stay in this state, here on this natural patch of earth, I am sure I could live forever.

The Tulbagh Boutique Heritage Hotel

Celebrating the best of local produce
What could be a lovelier way to spend a few days than in the historic mountain village of Tulbagh? Thoroughly South African, Tulbagh is a beautiful little town with old Cape Dutch whitewashed and thatched buildings, quiet streets and the friendliest people.

Unlike some of the bigger tourist towns, which now seem to stock anything from every country at exhorbitant prices, this town celebrates all that is local. I spend a happy day olive tasting at nearby Oakhurst. The olive oil they describe as 'intense' pops tiny, peppery fireworks in my mouth when they teach me to suck in as I taste. I am now thoroughly enjoying my mission of sampling local wares and I move on to wine tasting at Saronsberg. I am given a local cheese platter which makes the wine perform a symphony in my mouth. I happily totter through fields of art sculptures, clutching two bottles of the superb Voignier under arm. Just outside town on a quiet little road, I am able to wend my unsteady way back to the hotel in Tulbagh without endangering myself or anyone else.

And what a gem is this tasteful South African haven of the Tulbagh Boutique Heritage Hotel! With rooms named after various protea and other favourite regional flowers, the decor manages to be both elegant and bold. Vibrant pinks are muted against peaceful ash velvet and crisp white cotton. The deep, modern, white baths and generous basins contrast the olde worlde charm perfectly. Fynbos soaps and bath products fill the suite with even more local flavour. The turndown service gifts South African chocolate coated nougart, once again perfectly complementary to the fragrances which already fill the room.

I would love to come back to this hotel in winter. My suite has both airconditioner and fireplace and I pray for a cold snap so I may watch the fire from bed. It is 32 degrees today and an unlikely request.

What I especially love about the hotel is the creative art which catches one by surprise at every corner. A fountain pours out of a kettle below an open-faced clock on your way to the sparkly pool. 

A pair of meercat are up to their usual mischief at the open fire area. Hand-painted protea and mountain scenes line the walls. There are varied seating areas and multiple decks looking out towards the mountains which surround the village.

The Olive Terrace Bistro and Lounge restaurant is an outdoor deck under dappled shade, looking out onto the main street in town. Specialising in local, seasonal produce, the menu includes descriptions of cheese from Druk my Niet farm and free range eggs from De Heuvel, while the fruit is from the surrounding valley estates. The vegetables and herbs are from Dream Tulbagh Community Garden just down the street. I choose a Snoek pate as starter and Cape Malay lamb curry as a main, which complement the setting well, especially paired with more local wine.

The breakfast is another experience in fresh local produce, and you can taste the lack of food-miles in every mouthful. The marmalade is the best I have ever tasted and the jams are tart, not over-sugared.

The hotel is well staffed with said friendliest of locals, equally enthusiastic in the advice of where best to sample the fine local produce for which the area is famed.

There is so much to see and do in this vibrant yet gentle part of the country. Art galleries, famous restaurants, a cafe called the Reading Room, chocolate dipping, tractor rides and Cederberg canopy zipline adventures. 

Finally, car filled with all the local produce that I sampled, I reluctantly make my way back to Cape Town via the spectacular Bain's Kloof Pass, a narrow winding road through a river gorge with views to rival any mountain pass. 

I feel somehow that I have imbibed the innocence of a heritage setting and am well pleased that places like this still exist where we have the privilege of traveling back to a simpler time, uncontaminated and vibrant in its essential purity and intense flavour.

Val du Charron, Wellington

Understanding fine tastes

From every aspect of this spacious guesthouse you look out onto 180 degree views of mountains, intense blue skies, ochre fields, bright green grass and vineyards. A working wine estate, Val du Charron understands fine tastes. 

A clear love of outdoor dining, open decks stretch out into the view and it is marvellous entertainment to watch each arriving guest gasp, whip out their cameras and twitter as the sun creates spectacular displays of light on the vineyards and mountains beyond.

The bedroom interiors are modern, with every possible traveller convenience. The plush carpeted rooms have been thoughtfully crafted, with built-in, stylish tea and coffee facilities, a bar fridge, airconditioning, and hairdryer. The ensuite bathroom has smooth creamy tiles and complements the room well.

An exclusive Coach House is available for small parties choosing the privacy of their own walled, well-established palm- and oak-treed setting, with a private pool. They share the same spectacular views onto the valley, mountains and big skies.

Accommodation experience
Despite the modern interiors, with no busy road or traffic rushing by, no modern houses spoiling the view, it is easy to settle quickly into an older rhythm here. On the morning of my stay I lie in bed late, guiltily listening to the gentle yoga class on the sunlit, expansive lawn below the lodge. I am sure that I am absorbing their healthy way vicariously and I feel quite cleansed and worthy by the end of our session.

Breakfast is served on a deck overlooking the pool and valley below. I choose the healthiest options, newly inspired by my yoga twisting friends. I end with freshly squeezed strawberry juice, ready for the fun day ahead.

The activities on offer are plentiful, including a raised, glass-fronted spa (once again making the most of those amazing views), wine tasting, mountain bike riding, walking and touring. But I am on a mission to find an ostrich feather lamp and head into the nearby village of Wellington for some tourist fun. White fluffy lamp under arm, well pleased with myself, I head back to the calm lodge for some much needed respite at the pale blue pool. I feel it is my duty to sample a local Chenin, super chilled and crisp.

Dinner is a vibrant affair and I choose to eat at the stylish grill. The decor is superb, artfully balancing modern, earthy and traditional.

Specialising in what South Africa does so brilliantly, red meat and wine, I select a grass fed rump and locally produced red. Locally made bread dipped into a speciality spice rub complete the experience. The waitrons are particularly good at their jobs, entertaining, full of humour, caring and efficient.

I have spent the last few work days with colleagues who are burnt out. They are pressed down, cynical, snide and their words and thoughts control them, not the other way around. They are busy, busy, busy, always frantic to snatch extra pieces of time here and there. They seem to have lost perspective on what is important, yet, more dangerously perhaps, they feel that of others and make you feel bad for your living thoughts and clear breaths. It is with a lift that I realise I am no longer in that space.

I remember this person. This version of myself now, who is not negative, harsh, despairing and always on the verge of a meltdown. Who has an actual sense of humour, great kindness and a lightness in step. Who loves the play of light and catching nature in the act of being herself. Who can make herself so light she drops through a portal of mindful presence into untapped wells of joy and wonder.

As I marvel over this realisation, the mountains and skies in this spacious place once again collude to put on a touching display of pink, blue and green. I realise in this place of open skies and beauty, I am always only a weekend away from a saner, serene, connected version of myself and vow to return to this feast for the senses sooner than later.