NIEUWOUDTVILLE
Brandkop Guest Farm
“You have to see the flowers with bees in your hair and pollen on your shoes,” says Elizna Louw from Brandkop. “Not from a car; on your knees in the veld.” Brandkop is between Nieuwoudtville and Loeriesfontein. It’s a quiet, down-to-earth place that trades in silence, stars, campfires and flowers in abundance. Where can I see flowers? On the farm. There’s a 6 km route to the cottage in the veld, flanked by old fields that bloom with white and orange Namaqualand daisies ( Dimorphotheca pluvialis and Dimorphotheca sinuata), jakkalsbietou ( Osteospermum pinnatum) and yellow kleinganskos ( Cotula barbata). Elizna and her husband Pieter like to send guests to other places in the area where locals will show them more flowers, like Matjiesfontein and Papkuilsfontein south of Nieuwoudtville. The Bokkeveld Plateau is world renowned for its incredible biodiversity of bulb species. Facilities: There’s a big farmhouse with a fireplace and indoor and outdoor braai facilities overlooking the Bokveld River. The house sleeps eight in four double rooms, or it can be divided into two separate units that sleep four people each. The cottage in the veld sleeps four in two double rooms, with a big living area, a fireplace and a braai. Both house and cottage are fully equipped with gas and solar power (no electricity). The cosy duvets on the beds are stuffed with geese down from the farm. Rates: From R300 per person. Braai pack R80 per kilogram. ( The sheep in the area eat all the right bossies!) How to get there: Nieuwoudtville is about 350 km from Cape Town via the N7 and the R27 (pause on the spectacular Vanryhns Pass). From Nieuwoudtville, take the R357 towards Loeriesfontein for about 20 km. GPS: S31.24372 E19.20126 (turn-off) Contact: 027 218 1254; 083 635 3147; brandkop@hantam.co.za – Erns Grundling