Bridget Hilton-Barber : Unspoilt places
There are some places, to coin a clich, where you walk through the door and feel instantly at home. As if youve returned to mommy or granny or a good, old friend. Places that are all hugs and warm fuzzies. Where strangers trepidation is immediately swept aside by the smells of fresh ironing and stoep polish, by the wet-nosed welcomes of farm dogs and the sight of cats flopped over in the shade.
Papkuilsfontein Farm in Nieuwoudtville is one of those. Lesser hosts would have recoiled in horror, but Mariette and Willem van Wyk seem genuinely pleased at the arrival of our party of 12 endorphin- charged mountain bikers. With much ceremony they extended the hand of friendship a dozen sweaty times and seemed quite unfazed that wed doubled the village population in one visit.
A couple of hours from Cape Town, Nieuwoudtville is a tiny village consisting of little more than a cluster of houses, a church, a few windpumps and a handful of beautifully preserved sandstone buildings. Wed approached from the northern Cape, from the dry and surreal plains of the Knersvlakte, up Van Rhyns Pass that climbs the side of the Bokkeveld mountains in a series of dizzying hairpin bends and feels like the tarmac version of Elviss pelvis.
It adds greatly to the sensation of reaching the top. In contrast to the burnt- toast landscape below, this fertile, high- rainfall plateau is dressed in green and richly carpeted with spring flowers the colour of jelly babies.
They call Nieuwoudtville the Boland of the north-west and the jewel of the Hantam (a nearby mountain range, and also the Khoi-khoi name for the flowering bulbs). Of course many a desperate young farmer may have called it something altogether less pleasant as he watched the last of his buxom would-be brides depart for the more peopled attractions of the region. But having spent the afternoon frolicking like lambs in the nearby Glen Lyon Flower Reserve, we were happy to settle for euphemism.
It was also deeply hospitable, we thought, of Papkuilsfontein Farm to arrange one of those perfectly lit golden afternoons that turns a gentle cycle into a gorgeous chapter of some French art movie.
The crunch of golden gravel under deep blue skies, the sun falling like honey on the ruins of an old sandstone farmstead. Acres of ochre grasslands dotted with juicy yellow flowers, the acid flash of pink- lycra thighs. Even inhaling clouds of miggies as you cycle takes on a romantic overtone.
Of course you dont have to do Papkuilsfontein on a bike. Theres a 12km hiking trail for those who prefer walking, cave paintings for the anthropologically inclined and lots of short, picturesque rambles for those wielding picnic baskets and wine.
A major highlight of the farm is the dramatic 200m-high waterfall that plunges into a vast, sculpted gorge where eagles dare and the wingless sit quietly in open- jawed amazement. Nieuwoudtville is the northern end of the Cedarberg, and the farm abounds with those characteristically eroded rock formations.
And the Papkuilsfontein accommodation is completely charming. There are two guest rooms in the main farm homestead, and two self-catering thatched sandstone cottages nearby, set amongst boulders and poplar groves that exude a soothing rush when the post-dusk breezes blow.
The first cottage, De Hoop, dates back to the last century and was part of an old farmhouse that now lies in artistic ruin, inhabited by fast-flying swallows and daisies. De Hoop sleeps four. Its got a large open-hearth fireplace and wooden ceiling beams, and is all antique furniture, rustic paraffin lamps and Provence-type ambience. Nearby, the six- sleeper Gert Boom is a more recent but similarly delightful cottage, named after a tall bywoner called Gert Steenkamp, once known as Gert Boom. Which one presumes was a reference to his height and not his smoking habits.
Another irresistible attraction of Papkuilsfontein Farm is that you can order dinner, and join the owners in the main farmhouse for a three-course feast of traditional regional fare, including bobotie, home-made bread, plump vegetables and lamb. One of the reasons lamb tastes so nice around here is that the poor darlings unwittingly impart to themselves a delicate flavour by nibbling daily on an endemic wild rosemary-like herb.
Capetonians in particular should consider themselves blessed to be within weekend distance of Papkuilsfontein Farm. The rest should book now for next years Cape flower season. Its one of those truly special places where theyve cracked the right combination between warm, beautiful, homely and wild. Give yourself into the arms of Papkuilsfontein and trust that she will not drop you.
For information and bookings: (02726) 81246. Prices from R110 for the cottages, R145 dinner, bed and breakfast in the main homestead