Holiday in the Soutpansberg

 The last time I was on a road trip with my sister was in 1983! Last weekend, we decided to head up north to the Soutpansberg, where the farming side of our family grow avocados, macadamia nuts and pecans. It was our cousin's child's baptism, so a perfect opportunity to catch up with family we had not seen in years. The route is almost entirely on the N1 - Google Maps' route was: "Get on to the N1; drive north for 432km; turn right, then turn left - your destination is on your left".

Spectacular clouds and sunsets in the Soutpansberg

Because so many family members were coming for the weekend, we had to find accommodation elsewhere, so the obvious choice was Pecan Farm Guesthouse, in the vicinity of our family's houses. After we had made our online booking, the guesthouse contacted us to check our needs and preferences - they pride themselves in catering for every dietary constraint or whim. My aunt recalls an occasion when a French group were staying and wanted to taste something uniquely South African, so Charles, the manager and chef, made them Durban Bunny Chow!

Our room was simple, but very spacious, with an open area big enough for a yoga mat, and a generous desk fitting in case one wants to do some work. The bathroom was equally large, with both shower and bath.

View from our room towards the garden

The guesthouse is quite small, with nine double rooms, but while we were there, we encountered few other guests. The outdoor spaces are designed and furnished for the great tropical weather (we were about 100km north of the Tropic of Capricorn). Each room opens onto a paved patio with outdoor chairs and tables for those under cover, and several outdoor spaces in the gardens, including a swimming pool with a generous terrace. Even though we have both been to this part of the world many times, we were awestruck by the size of the plants - a monstera several meters high being visible from our raised balcony.

The garden with a giant Monstera from our balcony.

The public spaces are also generously proportioned, and very modest in their decor and furniture, relying on authenticity over opulence. We loved the dining room in particular, with tables and chairs that reminded us of the ball-and-claw set that was a central part of our childhood. This room also has a fascinating map of the Soutpansberg, hand-drawn by one of our aunt's ancestors who lived in the area.

The dining room with an old upright piano.

The other public rooms are very modest - a lounge (equipped with a complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica - another throwback to our childhood) and a small snooker table. The guesthouse was once part of a pecan farm, as the name suggests, and directly opening off the grounds is the choice of a number of walks, some through the nut trees and others through tracts of indigenous bush. We had sundowners next to a small dam, surrounded on one side by one of the few remaining areas of gum plantations. These were established in the past to supply the mining industry with props, but timber props have been replaced with more reliable and efficient steel. The farmers are gradually replacing these with nut and fruit trees, environmentally preferable in that they need much less water.

Reflections on the lake in the late afternoon

Both of my uncles and their families are avid bird watchers, with one of them a prolific author of bird books, focusing on the birds of the Kruger Park where he has spent most of his adult life. The rich birdlife of the Soutpansberg is legendary, and one of the great attractions of the area. 

Our assessment is that this is a great place for a quiet holiday or writing retreat, with nature walks and drives in the beautiful landscape. The southern and eastern side of the mountain range is very tropical, with a high rainfall, but if you cross over to the northern side, the landscape is much more arid, with very different vegetation. Our only criticism is that the electricity supply is erratic - the guesthouse has a generator, but this is used to run the public spaces and the lighting throughout, but not the plug points to the rooms. This made charging cell phones a bit of a challenge and played havoc with the WiFi, a shortcoming that the owners are working to remedy.