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Kleinefontein on the garden route, South Africa.
Kleinefontein on the garden route, South Africa.
This house was originally built by the Mayor of Swellendam in 1789 in the Cape Dutch style as a hunting lodge and later used by Lord Charles Somerset for the same purpose.
The house is situated in Puntjie, 20 minutes from the peaceful and undeveloped country hamlet of Vermaaklikheid on the Duivenhoks River between Stilbaai and Breederivier at the beginning of the garden route on the East Coast of South Africa.This is about a four hour drive from Cape Town.
It was also owned by the well-known Barrie family from the region, one of whom was the famous Dr James Barrie, a woman who dressed up as a man so that she could practice medicine. Lord Charles Somerset and Dr James Barrie had a torrid love affair so perhaps Kleinefontein may have been one of their suitably remote trysting spots.
Anton Rupert, who, ahead of his time, bought the farm to incorporate into a larger vision of the Bontebok National Park. Sadly, the surrounding farmers were not open to this concept and the project stalled and the farm was sold again.
The farm's name Kleinefontein is derived from the pristine, water-lily studded fresh water spring found in the perimeter of the formal garden.
The grounds cover 300 acres including 2.5 kms of private river frontage, less than a km to the sea which is accessible by boat. The beach is closed to public access as is bounded by a private game reserve.
The house enjoys views over the river to an enormous sand dune which is part of a privately owned Nature Reserve. Huge formal gardens with extensive lawns surround the homestead with 5 giant Canary palms framing the view of craggy Cape mountains that soar up behind the house. The farm is at the epicentre of an enormous tract of land where 90% of the farmers and landowners have agreed to a number Conservancy protocols. Blombos caves where the earliest evidence of art was found are situated in this conservancy.
The Wildlife incude 5 species of antelope (grey rhebuck, bushbuck, duiker, steenbuck, Cape Grysbuck) porcupine, water mongoose, yellow mongoose, grey mongoose, cape clawless otter, dassie/rock hyrax and various species of tortoise.
The Birdlife includes a vast array of species - Blue crane, Stanley's bustard, Orange breasted sunbird, Cape Sugarbird, malachite sunbird, Cape siskin, protea canary, Karoo korhaan, Stanley's bustard, secretary bird, white-winged black korhaan, Cape francolin, Southern boubou, Southern tchagra, African hoopoe, jackal buzzard, fish eagle, black oyster catcher and estuarine and sea birds and many, many more.
Whales are easily visible in the bay every day from May - November. St Sebastian's Bay is the most important breeding and calving ground for the Southern Right Whale in South Africa.
The Duivenhoks estuary is the best preserved and cleanest estuary on the South African coast. The entire river has now been declared a conservancy with a 5 km speed limit. Good fishing is possible on the beach and up and down the river. Species available are elf, steenbras, yellowtail, cob, mullet, galjoen and red roman.
As for activities, there's safe swimming in the river which is also ideal for canoeing, boating and fishing.There is good access for day trips or onward journeys to the Garden route, Outshoorn, Robertson's pass, Stanford, Hermanus, Cape Agulhas, Swellendam, the Bontebok National Park, de Hoop Nature Reserve, the Overberg and the klein Karoo.
The house sleeps ten (three doubles the rest twins) with two family bathrooms and a outdoor shower. There's help on hand, but best of all whilst there's gas there isn't any electricity just gas lamps, candles and the stars at night. This is just a great place to relax, read or write that novel and completely escape from the modern world.........
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