{{futureEnquiries.length}}
Cindy recently enjoyed a great weekend away at Kloofzicht Estate Country Guesthouse in Tulbagh with some friends to celebrate her 30th Birthday!
About a month ago I celebrated adulthood by turning 30. Instead of the usual big party, we took 4 of our favourite couples away with us to Tulbagh for the weekend to celebrate. Tulbagh is a little country town in the beautiful mountainous winelands of the Western Cape – only an hour and a half’s drive from Cape Town.
We had the pleasure of spending the weekend at Kloofzicht Estate. This self-catering accommodation includes the Main Farm House, The Loft and two Cottages in a tranquil setting surrounded by mountains on all sides. The double storey thatched Main House sleeps 8 to 10 people. All the bedrooms downstairs have double French doors opening onto verandas and the beautiful lush gardens and the main bathroom opens onto a secluded courtyard with an outside shower.
Tulbagh does seem like it’s a little town in the middle of nowhere, but I think that this is what makes it special. It has that old school charm, with sturdy farm houses and beautiful farmlands wherever you look. The town itself has a couple of good restaurants, and both the Main Road and Church Street are full of historical buildings.
Enough about the town, let’s get back to the country house at Kloofzicht. When we got there we were totally taken aback at how beautiful it was - one of those amazing old houses, where the walls are so thick they have little window seats in them for a reading nook. Another great thing about these old farm houses is the abundant space. Each room was so big that they often had their own lounge in it. There are 5 bedrooms (with double beds in all) and en-suites with either a shower or bath. The lounge area is so massive that it contains a dining room area that has a 12 seater table! The kitchen is kitted out with a gas stove and a huge fire place to keep you warm during those chilly winter months.
We also kept finding doors that led to secret little balconies overlooking the patio and the dam – the perfect place to watch the sun go down. Outside there are more tables for lounging around, a braai area, a pool and a magnificent dam. Although I wouldn’t swim in the dam myself, other people do regularly ... apparently. There are boats if you’d prefer to go out and paddle amongst the ducks.
After we stashed our bags, Seth and I headed into the town to find a nice restaurant for dinner the next day and breakfast on Sunday morning. We walked up and down Church Street and found chocolate tasting (that you pair with coffee, tea, wine, port, brandy or juice), a couple of little museums, decor/antique shops and at least 5 restaurants. Our verdict? Tulbagh is not as small or uninteresting as some people make it out to be.
We enjoyed a lovely braai out on the patio that evening and because it was rather cold the next morning, a hearty breakfast in the kitchen in front of the fire. (All wood was included and the awesome staff even lit it for us). Another thing that I really liked is that you can arrange for someone to come and wash the dishes for you. So, you can really have all the fun without having to wash up all the mess – which is totally my kind of holiday.
Later that morning we popped in to try the chocolate tasting, then went through to Rijk’s wine farm for a wine tasting and lunch. It was delicious and easily the best looking place in town with the most stunning view! The next morning we went to The Tulbagh Hotel for breakfast which was really great.
It was really sad saying goodbye to that old house, but I’m sure we’ll be back to explore some more soon!
