Wildspan Guest Farm, Campbell, Northern Cape

Release that Inner Cowgirl

Set free your inner cowgirl at this Kudu ranch in the middle of nowhere, complete with windmills, royal blue skies and golden grasses. Restless of spirit, I come across this place while traversing the Northern Cape one dark winter’s night.

We travel too late and feel unsettled to arrive in this unusual environment. The owner meets us on the road with a torch and points out the white stoney ground, which he says is lit up by a full moon such that you can see without torchlight. He says we need not lock doors and should not fear the sounds of hooves around the cottage as the Kudu roam freely about.

He leads us into the stone cottage, where a large open fireplace in the kitchen, cozy bedrooms and warm wooden furniture complement the ranch setting. We light the fire, make strong cups of tea and the cottage feels instantly our home even though the landscape is as different as one could imagine.

Accommodation Experience:

I sleep deeply and wake feeling unusually peaceful. It is quiet here, with a stillness that softens even my dragon-slaying edges. 

I head out in the chilly dawn, blanket wrapped, to take photographs of the windmill, cacti, Kudu horns and stone walls. The golden morning light is kindly and blesses my efforts. The sky paradoxically turns from bright blue to a pale powder light as the sun rises higher.

The urgent questions I came here with have fallen away and I even struggle to remember what they are. This otherworldly landscape has drawn me into its time warp and confuses my restlessness such that I may find myself staying, becoming ever more peaceful and restful until I relinquish my searching to find what I was looking for all along, right here and now.

Blackwood Log Cabin, Hout Bay

Wordless prayer

This is one of those places where I walked in and the view simply took my breath away. I moved spellbound towards the deck, while the poor hostess bounced in front of me trying to catch my attention to explain various practicalities. I waved her away with a glazed smile, and opened every one of the glass doors to let the cool forest breeze and astounding mountain views in.

As I walked out onto the deck I breathed deeply, remembering why I have always loved Hout Bay. It is a thickly forested green haven, close to Cape Town, with a pretty, winding, tall-tree-lined road into town. It has easy access to beautiful beaches like Llandudno, Camps Bay, Noordhoek and the spectacular Chapman’s Peak drive. But best of all, it is surrounded by towering mountains, with two perfectly-placed gaps between the mountains – one allowing fresh morning sunlight to spill over the back of Table Mountain, the other parting from the sea side allows late golden light to shine up the valley, where long evenings may be spent enjoying sundowners on the deck while many other parts of Cape Town are already in the shadow of the mountain.

And within this pristine setting I find the perfect Hout Bay accommodation – Blackwood Log Cabin Mountain Retreat. A glamorous yet natural wooden house set high up a hill in the thick forest setting, the house has been designed to maximize the views on every front. The lounge is conservatory style, with surround glass doors opening onto the deck which faces in three directions. Even the bedrooms have ceiling-to-floor glass all round. And of course one of my favourite things – a freestanding bath set up against a bank of windows with forest and mountain views and cool breezes to offset the warm water.

The cabin is a freestanding villa, with a well fitted, full scale kitchen, open plan dining and lounge area. The lounge is decorated with a natural, organic touch, including woven lamps, baskets and hanging rows of flat, pearly shells on the walls. The look is not too earthy-crunchy though, and it is sophisticated and modern, with a clean-lined grey couch and a Kelim rug. There are two private bedrooms and two full bathrooms, one with bath and one with shower. There is an indoor fireplace and outdoor barbeque area, with 3 lovely outdoor seating areas, and a hammock. The lodge has its own private swimming pool.

Accommodation Experience:

I was supposed to be working on a big report which was due at the end of the month. But when a colleague phoned to ask about my progress, my reply was simple – “It’s too beautiful.” She chuckled and left me in peace.

I lay on the hammock on the deck, perfectly shaded from the hot afternoon sun, a cool breeze blowing across me. I wanted to pray, but, like Mary Oliver, "I have not forgotten the Way, but, a little, the way to the Way". My prayer came out in a wordless combination of request and gratitude – a silent and deep thanks for this place and moment, all that had come before and all that was yet to come and for the hope and certainty of a life well lived.

5th Seasons Guesthouse, Nelspruit

Lowveld Classic

Gorgeous little cottages set up against a high koppie (stone hillside), made of classical tin walls and wooden decks which are so quintessential to this Lowveld region, I am well pleased to have discovered 5^th Seasons Guesthouse in Nelspruit (Mbombela). 

The beautiful décor manages to be both stylish and minimalist, always a happy combination in my world. Naturally themed, choose between the Bird Room, the Tree Room and the Botanical Room, all identical in layout. With a slipper bath, King sized bed, a couch, kitchenette, double cottage-pane doors and a deck opening out onto a spacious view, the huts are well designed and thoughtfully finished.

Each cottage has an individual parking bay, with private access through a raised wooden walkway. The hillside is covered in big rocks and large-rooted trees and is home to many indigenous bird species. The cottages are situated 5km outside of Nelspruit (Mbombela) on the R40 towards Barberton in Mpumalanga.

Accommodation Experience:

Called “Kruger Park nerds” by our family and friends, we were planning to head out at dawn’s first light from 5^th Seasons Guesthouse in Nelspruit, where we had stopped over on our way to our beloved Park. But somehow the gentle slowing of the Lowveld has infiltrated this place. We find ourselves in no hurry at all to leave the guesthouse, first lying under soft covers as long as we like, then sitting outside on the high deck, drinking coffee while enjoying the sounds of the many birds of this area. So lovely is this place that I even find myself wishing for another night here, as a transitional space between the hectic Real World and the otherworldly space of the Park.