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.

Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge, Hluhluwe

Coming of Age

What sets this luxury lodge apart from all others is its spectacular location on the edge of a vast valley in Hluhluwe Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. The architecture makes the most of this setting, with a dramatic, full-height glass front and wooden deck which reaches out into the view. From this vantage point, you can watch the light change as the sun rises and sets, while witnessing animals move silently below, undisturbed and protected in a pristine natural habitat.

The main lodge is upmarket, with snazzy furnishings and tasteful local fabrics. Lighting has been used to great effect to showcase a wall-length mural of wildlife. Throughout the lodge, movement has been created by photographic wall murals and I have to remind myself to close my mouth as each turn reveals a new breath-taking scene. The long pool is framed on one side with bright aloes and on the other side with nothing but open valley views.

This new lodge represents a coming of age for South African hospitality. Offering the best that local architecture, photography, décor, food and natural wildlife, the lodge is a celebration of all that this unique corner of the globe offers its privileged guests. Community-owned, the professionalism, warmth and pride of the staff marks our point in history as we transform into a developed nation. Lodge manager Sphamandla Shabalala says “It is Isibindi’s commitment to staff development that attracted me to take up the position at this lodge. I love taking staff from a basic level and growing them into competent professionals” he explains. “It is so rewarding to see people grow – it’s such a sense of achievement.”

Accommodation experience:

Despite the many amazing features of this lodge, I am most excited about waking up to this gorgeous face – a giant photograph of a warthog. I set my alarm early, even earlier than necessary to catch the morning game drive. I smile as I wake and greet my newfound best bud. I sit in bed with my coffee and notice new modern features of my suite which I had not seen the night before. I marvel as the sky turns pink, then pale blue, then ochre and I feel intensely proud to be a South African on this gentle and beautiful dawn.

Beautiful Food at Thonga Beach Lodge, Mabibi, Northern KwaZulu-Natal

Insert Before and After Selfie Here

Look there’s no need to make a complete scene, but do allow yourself a silent little weep when you encounter the heavenly food at Thonga Beach Lodge, Northern KwaZulu-Natal. How often does one find food that is truly delicious at the same time as being wholeheartedly healthy? Here you can camp out at the lunchtime buffet table, come back again for the high tea, eat every course of the glamorous dinner and start all over again with a cooked breakfast – all without self-recrimination of any kind.

The Thonga open deck lunches have all the right colours – bright green salads, red and yellow roasted peppers, orange caramelized butternut, green-black pumpkin seeds and olive coloured … well olives. You will find creamy Gorgonzola, lemon glazed chicken, glossy asparagus and fresh muscles in white wine sauce.

Dinners have creative spicing on sustainable fish, plentiful pesto super-green sauces, tender ostrich fillets and succulent pork.

If the thought of too much health makes you lose the will to live, fear not – decadent puddings and teas elevate the meals from worthy to worshipful. I meet the friends-forever kind of drunken chocolate mousse and I take a defensive stance over the red velvet muffins at the tea table (they have the good icing over which many a war has started from Mabibi to Manchester). I have a fleeting image of finding squashed cupcakes in my luggage back home, shrug and take another.

Despite these delicacies, combined with the plentiful beach activities and visits to the serene spa, you will come out of this holiday looking the healthiest, happiest version of yourself. Take a ‘selfie’ before and after photo to show the change from pudgy, pasty, stressy old you to slim, smooth, toned, shiny, happy new you – with just a hint of cream cheese icing on your nose to authenticate the image.

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.

Oysterbox Hotel, Umhlanga

Oceans of kindness and spaciousness

With summer arriving in full force in South Africa, I have a hankering to go down to the sea again – not as some distant blue blob on the horizon – I want to be right up against the sea, the sight, sound and smell of the surf hitting me as I wake and look up from my bed. And I know exactly where to find this along KwaZulu-Natal’s spectacular coastline – the Oysterbox Hotel, one of South Africa’s premier beachfront hotels.

Indeed, this beachfront cabana is the perfect place from which to appreciate the ocean. The double doors face full out onto the sea, and my cabana is right near the pathway leading down into the vast swimming beach. However, I plan to hardly leave my suite in order to fully experience this place, with its elegant plantation-style white shutters, cool, cream floors, a colonial-style paddle fan and airconditioning. There is a grand four-poster bed from which to appreciate the sounds of the sea and the thread count of the bed linen reaches new highs from which I suspect there is no return. I am temporarily distracted from the view by a careful search for the label on the linen, without mussing up the sleek bed. The deep bath in the marbled bathroom provides another temptation away from the view, as does the integrated lighting, such that even when you open the cupboards, recessed, soft downlights come on.

The hotel has multiple dining options which also make the most of the prime waterfront location. Timeless architecture of royalty, cool tiled floors connect the vast indoor and outdoor spaces and one feels like a princess of a bygone era wafting through the interesting spaces of the hotel.

Indeed the hotel has withstood the toughest test of time and I find here a kind of solemn elegance to the regal architecture and décor. There is no pandering to the latest trends of bling or brash and the hotel stands dignified, confident in its superior location, superb luxury, unruffled history and inimitable class.

Accommodation experience:

There are many reasons to stay at the Oysterbox Hotel – great access to the beautiful Umhlanga beach, Durban city and surrounds, plentiful hotel facilities to satisfy every whim, including a world class spa, and every luxury imaginable. My choice is perhaps more unusual – I wish for a quiet retreat as close as possible to the ocean, such that it may do its work on my psyche. My ‘meditation cave’ is rather more luxurious than the traditional hermitage, though there be plenty of white, dark and light inside. The privacy of the suite impresses me and I enjoy a private, low hedge-walled garden in which to escape from the world. Yet there will be no ascetic False Self boosting here and I fall upon the gifted pink macaroons, finally understanding what the fuss is all about as they simultaneously melt and explode with flavour in my mouth. My complimentary Umhlanga Schling cocktail is already telling me I am lovely and belong. I have a luxurious bath, don a red silk and toweling gown and sit up in the high bed to gaze upon the sea and wait.

It is dusk and the light turns blue, at first pale and haunting, deepening into a Prussian blue, purple then black. The lights are on in a ship far out on the horizon and I send out good thoughts to them from my position of great privilege and comfort, as I send out good thoughts to my friends who are struggling and also lost at sea, unable to have this type of luxurious respite which I am currently enjoying.

The sea is rough tonight and crashes into my room just as I had hoped, the bass notes reverberating in the headboard. I need the freshness of this ocean to buffet my mind and I am reminded of Jeff Foster’s sense of self and emotions joining into the vastness of a spacious ocean self.

There is a cleansing and calming which happens when we dare to take the time out in solitude and silence to reconnect with nature and ourselves in the present. Contemplative psychologist James Finley encourages us to “Become the kind of person who is not a stranger to reflecting in a quiet and open way on the infrastructure of our heart and relationships.” And somehow the solid elegance of this hotel, along with the delightful treats and luxuries make this a compassionate and beautiful place from which to do so right up against the ocean of kindness and spaciousness itself.

Papkuilsfontein, Nieuwoudtville

 

Gently Lit

I sit at a small, square, wooden dining table, writing these words in an old journal. My source of light is gentle, even though it comes from 3 sources – a candle, a paraffin lamp and the wood-burning fire. I am at Papkuilsfontein, Rondekraal stone and thatched cottage. There is no electricity, though by day the cottage is amply lit by 3 doors, 2 windows and glass panels at the front end of the cottage. At night the natural flames create a warm glow. 

The Rondenkraal cottage is set within an old, stone-walled horse kraal, in a field of yellow grass or flowers, in the middle of nowhere, on the aptly-named Moedverloorpad (“losing will road”).

There are several thoughtful seating areas facing different directions, to make the most of the rising and setting sun and deep shade. A photographer’s paradise, there is texture and colour everywhere – thatch, stone walls, windmills, fynbos, rolling hills and big skies with cotton clouds. Thanks to the stone kraal wall and vast open fields, the privacy of the cottage impresses me. Usually rather a prude, I am so alone here that even I walk freely between bathroom and bedroom with the windows and doors wide open.

The cottage has a classical long-barn shape which is typical of this area. What gives it a modern twist is the glass wall at the top end of the cottage. Inside there is a pleasing aesthetic, with thick stone walls and recessed windows, old wooden furniture and an open-plan layout. At the top end of the cottage, the inviting lounge has rich red wingback rocking chairs facing the fireplace. In the middle of the cottage, the kitchen is well-equipped with a full sized fridge, gas stove and oven, and a stove-top espresso pot. A friendly dining table divides the living area from the sleeping area. The bedroom is pretty - a double bed with a white mosquito net, white linen and a soft tartan blanket. Finally, there is a bathroom at the other end of the cottage, with a deep ball-and-claw bath, as well as an outdoor shower.

Accommodation Experience:

I light every one of the paraffin lamps, as well as making a fire – it is the main entertainment here at night. I am tired from the long trip - in a good way. Sunburnt, physically sore from too much exploration of the wonderful surrounds, I am left feeling a bit old and weathered. There is a safe vulnerability that this Namaqua landscape brings. Strange contradictions unhinge me – the dry vastness contrasted with the myriad of pretty flowers; the lack of keys in the doors and the sense of complete safety; the organic, rustic nature of this cottage along with the containing, thick stone walls; the simple but ample equipment to meet every need without the back-lit technology and excess which keep us distanced from ourselves.

It is a choice whether to engage this gentle undressing of all pretences and distractions. There is plenty to do in the area if one needs diversions. But I sense that my only task tonight is to sit here alone and give in to this experience of vulnerable openness and see to which new destination it takes me.