Uniondale Hotels

Mountain Pastures: Mountain Pastures

It simply doesn't get much better than this. Although graded as three-star accommodation, the hospitality and welcome of the Hodgson family just cannot be expressed in stars.
The Hodgson's make everyone feel truly at home and it is a wonderful place to lay up for a few days or longer. With seven chalets overloking a wide grassy lawn and a reed-fringed pool, the farm area is just sheer relaxation: sit under the shade of the jacaranda, the mulberry tree or the pines and let the kids swim among the red-knobbed coots and the croaking bullfrogs; wander among the fields of lucerne and salt-bush; wander with the horse; snooze in the shade adn watch the setting sun bathe the mountain ridges a deep red colour. For the more active there is fishing in the small dams, target shooting, messing around on quad-bikes and hiking in every direction into the hills.
There are 42 species of wild animal on the reserve, although most are less regularly seen (5000 heactares is a lot of space!) but close encounters with ostrich, eland, blue and black wildebeest, springbok and Cape buffalo (in a separate secure reserve) is assured; the more shy gemsbok, grey rhebok, dassies and red hartebeest are always visible, while klippspringer and common duiker are more elusive, as are caracal, common genet, porcupines and leopard tortoise. 142 species of bird have been recorded here, and many of these can be seen and heard just by sitting on the grass at the farm. The Hdgson's bought the reserve in 1991 and have spent 14 years restoring the previously degraded and overgrazed hillsides, in what has mainly been a labour of love. The countryside here is - and always has been - mainly dwarf upland shrub, and the restoration efforts is demonstrated by the impressive biodiversity now seen: this is not just rhinobush, snake bush and 30 species of grass - there are glades of protea, upland pelargoniums, many species of daisies, honeybush shrubs, and an incredible variety of sedums, aloes and others.

The highlight is the simply staggering array of !Xam rock art in the area. Although the main cave sites are not on the reserve itself, but on an area of land rented from a neighbouring farmer, the drive over the pass and then the walk up the valley is simply stunning. There are two main cave sites, including a very special 'observatory' cave, the operation of which is still not fully (and may never be) understood - certainly the experts (and, intriguingly, a visiting Native American shaman) consider it to be a place of significant spiritual significance, the way today's world regards a major shrine, mosque or cathedral.
We loved Mountain Pastures, and despite all the activities, events and places we visited in South Africa, our three-night stay at Mountain pastures remains a highlight of our three-week holiday. Note that the observatory cave requires considerable agility to access it, and is on a ledge above a 15 metre cliff-face.
The cost is difficult to state, as a lot depends on what you do and what you want to eat. The basic accommodation is around R1500 per night for a chalet (sleeps two in one room, but there is also a proper full-size bed in the lounge area). The lounge has a wood fire, necessary on some evenings even in summer, as this area is quite high up (around 1020 metres above sea-level), and tea and coffee making facilities. Each meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) is priced separately, as are the various activities, and all are reasonably priced.

In early 2006, the Hodgsons will be selling up and moving to another reserve a few kilometres away, but are adamant that the feel, the hospitality and the welcome will remain the same.

• Opinion of Price: most expensive
• Written January 28, 2006

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