What a find! Total one-off quirkiness with superb hospitality - this is Holt Hill Forest Stay outside Knysna.
Caledon has a new reason to visit
Frequently a 'drive through' town for Garden Route visitors, Caledon doesn't get the column inches of its more famous cousins like Hermanus or Franschhoek. But out on a limb from the rest of Caledon, just over the Bath river, you’re in for a treat.
Through antique wrought iron gates, you’ll find the glorious serenity of Caledon Grace. Rarely has a name fitted a place so well. An enormously wide and luxuriously furnished stoep, set at the back of the building, overlooks a sweeping lawn which culminates in a swimming pool perfectly in keeping with the house. Inside, the house is blessed with such sumptuously high ceilings and so well kept and restored in terms of the wood and plaster work that one has the feeling that this place is more stately home than guesthouse.
A collection of six huge rooms, most on the first floor and some with bathrooms so large as to be able to accommodate another King bed on their own, complete the picture. There’s also a cute, separate garden cottage with its own wrap around stoep and log burner. The whole house is off grid for electricity and water.
Caledon Grace is most definitely a reason in itself to stay in Caledon which is all about the proximity to the Hemel en Aarde wine route and is exactly equi-distant between Hermanus and Greyton which both make superb day trips.
www.caledongrace.co.za
We were so honoured this week to be invited to !Khwa ttu, the self-proclaimed 'embassy' of the original, indigenous inhabitants of Southern Africa, the San people.
I had images in my mind of awful 'cultural villages', not all of which are bad but can be an embarrassment both to visitors and the people they claim to represent. Not so at !Khwa ttu.
You'll be greeted by huge flocks of weaver birds as you enter and a friendly tortoise too who lives just outside the restaurant. The farm buildings have been converted to house various different aspects of San history but there is also an ultra modern shell-shaped, green-roofed building which houses a living museum complete with a nine-projector surround cinema experience about San traditional life.
The entire place is run by well trained San people who guide, cook, host and sell with style and panache and with huge smiles on their faces.
There's a huge variety of things to do, including walks and bike rides but we loved the short 45 minute tours of which there are five to choose from.
At only 60 minutes from Cape Town, !Khwa ttu is really a must.
Oakhurst Farm, Wilderness
A farm stay like no other, Oakhurst Farm just north of Wilderness on the Garden Route, South Africa, offers a full range of accommodation (glamping, cottages and luxurious self catering) combined with a vast range of activities all on site. Add into that lots of attention to detail, a superb farm shop selling fresh, locally made meals and you've really got a perfect recipe for total family relaxation.
