We are in the hospitality business, and our crazy season is looming. Where others are winding down for the year, and counting down to their annual holiday, we are working up to a period of non-stop work, intense stress and relentless chaos. So when deciding where to spend our last precious family holiday for the year, we settled on the ultimate in family relaxation – a farm stay at Lowestoffe Country Lodge near Hogsback.
Horses at Lowestoffe
Lowestoffe has three large and authentic farm houses for rent, located on its rambling adjoining farms, Lowestoffe, Woodhouselea and Rockford. The farms are full of mountains and valleys, interspersed with crystal clear rivers, trout dams and green working farmlands. We decided to stay in Woodhouselea, which is a beauty of a farmhouse – tucked at the base of the Elandsberg Mountain, overlooking a fertile valley whose view literally takes your breath away.
Woodhouselea at the base of Elandsberg
After a relatively short drive from PE, we arrived at Lowestoffe and were enchanted by Spring in all its decadent finery. The trees were brimming with fresh bright green leaves, the fields full of blooming flowers, and verdant fields stocked with expectant pregnant ewes. Woodhouselea has a graceful façade with huge bay windows at each end, and a marvellous stoep along the front. As the kids leapt out the car, their cries of delight filled the silent country air as they discovered a huge tree with a wooden tree house and even better – a ”foefi” slide across the garden.
The Foefie slide in from of Woodhouselea
Woodhouselea was built in the good old days when space and budgets were not as constrained, and everything comes in XL. Its oak floored passage is the widest I have ever seen, and our main bedroom was bigger than an average townhouse!
We whiled away our days fishing for trout morning and evening, and bass during the day (Jacob especially), zipping through the garden at jaw breaking speed (Luke & Cian), hiking around the fields (all 5 of us), braaing (Ralph) and sitting on the top step of the veranda watching the world and contemplating life (Sarah).
Fishing with a view
Manager, Debra and her daughter gave us an incredibly warm welcome, and introduced us to their ramble of friendly dogs, chickens and also Boetie, a tiny orphan calf only a few weeks old. Jacob fed him a 2 litre bottle of formula, which he gulped hungrily in a couple of minutes.
Jacob feeding orphan calf, Boetie
We will never forget how we met brand new-born lambs each day. The pregnant ewes were all ready to pop, and each day the ones who gave birth were transferred across the road into the moms & lambs’ nursery field. When we arrived it was empty, and it was magical to check each day to see the pure white new arrivals wobbling on their skinny legs under their dirty grey moms. We even saw 2 sets of rare twin lambs, and by the end of our week, the moms & lambs’ field was as full as the expecting mommies’ labour ward field.
A brand new twin lamb
We were delighted when we arrived back home one day, to find a huge freshly baked chocolate cake waiting for us in our farm kitchen – what a uniquely enjoyable, tasty and thoughtful touch from the owners!
We were delighted with our huge chocolate cake
Lowestoffe is home to magnificent bushman paintings and it was incredible to see some of the first documented bushman paintings of men on horseback. We hiked up to the paintings, and picnicked while looking down on the same view that the Koisan enjoyed so many years ago.
Admiring the view at the bushman paintings
Our week at Lowestoffe was a time where time stood still. Life is slower on a farm – the only decisions to be made were what to eat, and in which direction to walk that day. There is no TV, just a large lounge with grand fireplace and several oversized dining tables – perfect for enjoying each other’s company, and playing the occasional game of cards.
A magnificent sunset at Lowestoffe’s Trout dam
Thank you Lowestoffe for the most amazing, relaxing, beautiful and memorable week. We returned home happy, refreshed, relaxed and ready to face the final school term, dreaded exams and the year-end wedding season.
Watch the video highlights of our week at Lowestoffe Country Lodge:
Click here to watch on YouTube if it does not display correctly on your device
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