The Eastern Cape interior is pioneer country whose towns echo with tales of frontier wars and the courage, determination and indomitable spirit of the various protagonists.
Today the inhabitants of this magnificent region display these same characteristics… except that now, 200 years after all the rumbles, the diverse people are unified and rightly proud of their strong hospitality ethic.
Starting at the colonial university town of Grahamstown, work your way through the historical towns of Bedford, Cradock and Graaff-Reinet in search of the “true stories” of what really took place when British settlers clashed with the indigenous Xhosa.
The historical thread leads to stories of a new democratic SA and the 1994 elections. But history aside, this region is unspoilt, little known by overseas visitors, the landscapes are beautiful, the farms idyllic, the vistas long and the skies broad. Here are some of the Greenwood Guide’s favourite places to stay in the region.
ANDRIES STOCKENSTROM GUEST HOUSE
100 Cradock Street, Graaff-Reinet
049 892 4575
Attention all foodies. If the kitchen is the heart of a home, few places have more heart than Andries Stockenström, where you’ll eat fiercely well and, accordingly, sleep like royalty.
Andries has always been synonymous with fine dining, but Gordon and Rose, ditching city strife in Port Elizabeth, have introduced a much more laissez-faire style to proceedings.For starters, non-guests are welcome.
“Life’s too short for bad food and bad wine,” grins Gordon, whose chef’s whites are speckled with kudu biltong soup (hunted and prepared by him), Karoo lamb with peas (picked, shelled and largely eaten by two small sons that morning) and rum parfait.
The high-ceiling, antique-filled rooms of the 1819 manor house shimmer with Rose’s oil paintings. She discovered her ability with a canvas only on returning to Graaff-Reinet, the town where she and Gordon, a wonderfully fun couple, went to school.
“Rose wasn’t keen on kissing me back then,” he winks.
Rose has magic hands. Not only is she a reflexologist – foot-fondling is on offer – and decorator of Andries’s elegant, yet homely suites, but also a mean lemon curd maker.
In the name of research, I sampled it (by the mugful) at breakfast, alongside home-made salami (on separate plates) and sous-chef Maureen’s eggs, winner of a best omelette in South Africa competition.
In summer, you’ll eat in the white-column courtyard beneath magenta bougainvillea vines – appropriate surroundings for sublime feasts.
KICHAKA LUXURY GAME LODGE
Assegaai Bush, Grahamstown
046 622 6024
The rhinos were minding their own business, but in my over-excitement at seeing them, I missed my turning. I was able to retrace my steps, though, and was received at the lodge in fine style.
A cool face-towel and a fruit cocktail were followed by a glass of chilled white wine and a buffet lunch. After lunch, manager Keith, who is bursting with enthusiasm for Kichaka, took me on a tour.
First stop was “hippo station”, a large deck that extends over a small lake in front of the trimly thatched lodge. Here an infinity pool permits the illusion of basking with the hippos as they grunt and shuffle below.
Each rondavel suite is exquisite, mixing African tones with European sophistication.
Neat shutters at one end partition off vast baths and showers from enormous beds, while at the other French windows lead to a private stoep inset with your own pure-blue plunge pool.
Upstairs in the main lodge you are well served by a huge flat-screen TV and bookshelves, but it was as Keith described the gourmet dinners served each night that I began slavering.
I noticed him frown over the (complimentary) house wine. “It’s just too good,” he said shaking his head. With all this you might forget you’re in the bush, but daily game drives (featuring the big five and much more) with expert guides ensure you won’t. The message was clear: Kichaka is about fine living in an exciting bush setting. Children from the age of eight are welcome.
WHEATLANDS
Route R75, Graaff-Reinet
049 891 0422/4
If you’re looking for flat-screens, iPod docks and high-speed wifi, you’re in the wrong place at Wheatlands.
This is for those who want antique, country-farm luxury and can’t spell the word “mod-con”. Built in 1912 on the profits of ostrich feathers (a so-called “feather palace”), don’t expect a humble farmhouse.
I found a manor mingling Cape Dutch and Edwardian styles, a façade dominated by three extravagant gables and a lovely rear veranda opening on to a green lake of lush lawn where heritage roses sprout like weeds.
Haul your wagon into the sandy courtyard (to the strains of a goat chorus) and grace the cool, wood-panelled grand hall. It’s a lofty pleasure after the desert heat of the Karoo and an appropriate home for Wheatlands’ antique furniture and Persian rugs.
The bright, homely lounge, replete with cushioned windowsills, houses the grand piano. Corridors are lined with first editions. There’s a snug corner for reading, and high-ceiling guest bedrooms are not converted outhouses but an integral, lived-in part of the home.
Wonderful wanders can be had in the sprawling back gardens and the Shorts are astounding hosts.
Kirsten and Diana cook decadent dinners, which are eaten at one large oak table, while David and Arthur are serious wool and mohair farmers. And cricketers. They even have their own ground. Of course, it’s Aimee and Emma, David and Kirsten’s tots who really rule the manor.
DIE TUISHUISE
Market St, Cradock
048 881 1322
Sandra has a raptor’s eye for historic detail, laced with an antique dealer’s nose and the heart of an interior designer – unparalleled in my experience of South Africa.
There are 31 houses along Market Street, all furnished with antiques to reflect different styles, eras and professions. The houses were once lived in by bank managers, teachers, wagon makers and so on, and you step into their 19th Century shoes when you stay – although the bathrooms are more modern.
Each house is an antique shop in its own right, but modern comforts include fans, heaters and fireplaces. I was lucky enough to visit all and it is no exaggeration to say I was dumbstruck – reason enough for Sandra to have gone to the effort (some might feel).
The hotel, a Victorian manor at the end of the street, has a further 19 rooms similarly done out in the style of the time, and sherry is served in the drawing room before buffet dinners (my Karoo lamb was delicious). Sandra and her daughter Lisa are dedicated to presenting South African history in a way you can touch and feel.
They do cultural performances epitomising the Xhosa and Afrikaner cultures – ask in advance.
CAVERS COUNTRY GUEST HOUSE
R63, Bedford
046 685 0619
I can’t be the first to call Cavers an oasis, but it is irresistible. In the distance a stand of tall oaks shimmers unconvincingly in the haze. Then suddenly you are among well-watered, mature gardens, an Eden of lawns and vivid flowers.
The fine stone, ivy-encased farmhouse was built in 1840 and has been in Ken’s family for four generations (now it’s used exclusively for guests).
The bedrooms, with wooden floorboards, high ceilings and voluptuously draped windows, are refined and elegant. From one of the upstairs rooms, I got the impression of living in the trees with a hadeda nesting at eye level and yellow orioles twittering and fluttering about. Two grand upstairs rooms with pressed metal ceilings have balconies overlooking a profusion of flowers.
Rozanne is a maestro in the kitchen, cooking with fresh produce from the farm and surrounding area. All her meals are mouth-watering feasts. The memory of that salmon cheesecake is even now a Pavlovian trigger that gets the mouth watering.
There is a clay tennis court, hiking on rolling land inhabited with plains game, riding, and cricket on the magnificent ground nearby. You can swim in the pool or a big round reservoir – and DStv is at hand should “your team” be playing.
ABBOTSBURY
Graaff-Reinet
049 840 0201
A 3km drive on a dirt track takes you up into the land that time forgot, a small valley that Sue calls home. She is there to greet you in her improbably lush and well-tended garden, which seems immune to the Karoo sun’s forbidding glare.
An ingenious old water furrow running down from the dam must take some credit for this, although a fence has been added to protect the aloes and roses from midnight-feasting kudus, of which there are plenty, despite the privations.
You can relax under the trees in the tranquil gardens or hike up the valley in search of the 10 species of antelope and other Karoo wildlife on the farm. Back at base, guests stay in a lovely old cottage, circa 1880, a twin-bed suite attached to Sue’s own, even older house or the luxury garden suite with its sweeping views of the garden and wild valley.
None lacks character, with polished yellowwood floors, restored old furniture and photographic prints and artwork on the walls.
Sue takes your supper orders when you book, so as to have a fresh farm supply at the ready (springbok and Karoo lamb are specialities) and you are served in your own private dining room with solid silver cutlery, bone china and a service bell.
Breakfasts are also a royal affair.
Nearby: the sculpture garden of the Owl House, historic Graaff-Reinet and the Valley of Desolation.
THE STONE COTTAGE
Ebenezer Farm, Route 75, Graaff-Reinet
049 891 0416
I can hardly see The Stone Cottage for the butterflies. A thousand wings flit between lavender, African daisy and sunny aloe, all vying for the best spot outside the friendly farm-stay.
It took a mighty spring clean to enable stays at Ebenezer Farm, says Michèle, piling my eager plate with roast farm chicken. “My husband Graham is the sixth generation of Hobson to work Ebenezer, but the cottage was a farm store for years.”
Two years of sprucing and one (almost) butterfly-proof stable door later, The Stone Cottage was born, a shuttered den of warm, earthy tones, piled with furry rugs, Karoo-themed books and games, heaven for families fleeing city stress for wholesome farm fun.
The cosy kitchen is armed for battle – stock up pre-arrival as no car likes tackling a 28km dirt road twice in one day. Michèle hates rumbling tummies and loves spoiling people since sons Leith and Stuart (whose Picasso-inspired artworks dot the cottage walls) started boarding school.
She’ll happily feed you, spicing things up daily. “A big guy who looked like he’d eat a hectic breakfast stayed, so I threw a lamb chop in with his full English,” she reveals, apologising for not having made me her signature kudu pie.
After lunch, Josh the collie leads us through the gardens to sheep and angora goat pastures, past the pool, treehouse, tennis court and jungle gym down to the forest where monkeys play. The Stone Cottage is a rustic Karoo paradise. - Sunday Tribune