Magic Hills Private Collection

The holes had already been dug and were just waiting for us to plant our little seedlings into them. Overlooking the plains of the Great Karoo in the Eastern Cape, they would grow, adding their amazing carbon sinking abilities to the thousands of other spekboom trees clustered around the reserve – a long lasting legacy of our stay at Magic Hills Private Collection.

Hmm, not there,” I said looking at the hole in a very non-distinct patch of the garden. I looked around and pointed, “There!” I planted “Nicky Spekboom” in the centre of three pinkish aloes. They would shelter her from the wind until she was bigger, and more importantly, I would be able to recognise her when I came back to Magic Hills one day – because Magic Hills is definitely the kind of place one wants to come back to.

A passion project for owner Eric and Alexandra Kovacs, the reserve is made up of a patchwork of wild, rocky slopes, euphorbia-dotted plains, and a collection of old farmland that the Magic Hills team is working tirelessly to rehabilitate and re-home with the kind of animals that used to call this part of the country – a leisurely three-hour drive from Port Elizabeth International Airport, or a short 30-minute Cessna charter flight – home.

As more and more fences are dropped, the springbok, impala, oryx (a rare sight) and other antelope have increasingly bigger ranges to roam, while watching out for lion and leopard, and perhaps sharing a drinking hole with some elephants and giraffes. The area is vast, and many of the more recently introduced animals are still shy of game drive paparazzi, but it means that an encounter with any is a muchlauded cameo appearance.

The landscape itself is the true star of the show here, though, and you can’t help slipping into almost a meditative state as your game ranger drives you through the reserve, it’s wide open spaces giving your worries perspective; the sheer amount of life – trees, flowers, insects, grasses and little creatures – that abounds from this seemingly desolate place giving your heart hope; and bright blue skies dotted with clouds giving you inspiration to dream.

A Landscape of Stories

The land is also covered in stories, the leftover sentences and words of people who once lived here. An old windmill still stands sentry over the ramshackle remains of a previous farmworker’s cottage. Scatterings of stones mark out old kraals, and bricks, old foundations.

Smuts House still stands – albeit minus its doors and windows, with its floorboards worn away in places so that the sand underneath peaks through. This historic house is evocative of days gone by, simpler, though tougher, days when working the land was a lifetime calling. Magic Hills offers guests an opportunity to spend the night in this rustic setting, reliving these days of old, complete with gas lanterns and fireside tales.

Dotted along the cliffs – hidden from all except those with a sense of adventure and a well-trained eye – is evidence of even older inhabitants, who have left their mark, in paint, on the rock walls. One of the most picturesque morning drink stops is set up on a shelf of rock, looking down into a valley, sheered up on both sides by rocky cliffs.

After your requisite coffee with a dash of Amarula, and a home-baked muffin, those keen for exploration are led along the top of the cliffs and then down under

an overhang, where the faint traces of San paintings can be found on the walls. They were discovered by chance by food and beverage manager, Bryon Hartung, who has a long time interest in San rock art, and after this discovery, the Magic Hills team are hoping to find more art sites.

Hilltop Luxury

That said, hoping to find more of… well pretty much anything your heart could desire from a hospitality standpoint, is a foreign concept at Sky Lodge, as it is all already there! Perched like an eyrie on a hill 920 m above sea level, Sky Lodge is certainly not short of picture-perfect views, whether on a sunny day while lounging in the infinity pool, watching the clouds roll in as you go on a “Juniper Journey” of gin tastings on the main deck, or gazing at the stars after dinner.

Magic Hills will eventually boast four accommodation options, including a manor house, and safari lodge-type accommodation, but undoubtedly Sky Lodge is the jewel in the crown. Beautifully decorated, dripping with luxury, yet somehow also comfortable and inviting, it is impossible not to be won over by its charms – especially when those include a selection of homemade biscuits from one of the local “tannies” and a jar of Speckled Eggs in every room!

The rooms are located on two wings that jut out from the main lounge and dining area, which is handy as nothing is ever more than a three-minute walk away – whether it’s the spa where the resident massage therapist, Rudi Hartung, works her own kind of muscle-relaxing magic; the restaurant for a buffet breakfast or light lunch; or your room for when you waddle to bed after stuffing yourself with exquisite three-course dinners, the chef being particularly adept at making any cut of venison an epicurean delight.

Wraparound decks encourage you to catch some sun from your lounger, while floor to ceiling windows mean that you can enjoy the view right from your bed… or your bathtub for that matter. Sky Lodge can be booked only on an exclusive-use basis and can accommodate between two and 18 guests at a time.

Moments to Remember

On our first evening at Magic Hills, we stopped at a lookout deck perched high above a river valley below, the edges of the reserve stretching far out into the distance. As we toasted the evening with champagne in hand, the sky turned on a display unlike any I have ever seen before. The setting sun dyed the clouds – blown by high winds into ruffles of fluff resembling big bunches of candy floss – various shades of peach, pink, orange and red.

As we exclaimed over the sky, far off on the horizon, purple thunder clouds let down their sheets of rain, while bright flashes of lightning caused “oohs and ahs” from the gallery. Soon the delicious smell of rain – so precious in the Karoo – mingled with the sparkling aroma of the bubbly in my hand and I thought: “Wow, this really is something special.” Magical, one might even say.