Molly, the “receptionist” at Klippe Rivier guesthouse, drags herself from the spot where she has been enjoying the early morning sun. Her eyes peruse the breakfast room, where a scrumptious morning meal has just been served, hoping that some scraps remain for the taking. There are none, but her smiling eyes tell you that, despite leading a dog’s life, she never wants to leave this country house near Swellendam.
“I have worked for Klippe Rivier for 10 years and I also would never want to go,” says Lien Satira, as she shoos Molly, a beautiful Irish wolfhound, away from a collection of delicate pottery.
“I have received so many opportunities and this has improved my life dramatically,” she says.
In 1992 Satira’s employer and owner of Klippe Rivier, Liz Westby-Nunn, converted the gracious Cape country homestead, built in about 1820, into a five-star guesthouse.
It was the family home to former Orange Free State presidents Marthinus Steyn and FW Reitz, and boasts a rich history closely connected to the fate of South Africa itself. The original stables have been converted into six luxury bedrooms.
Westby-Nunn says one of the most important things for her is to create a workplace that encourages employees and creates loyalty.
“That is accomplished by paying your people properly and creating opportunities for them to grow,” she says.
All of the staff at Klippe Rivier live in Swellendam, and most were born there as well.
“We have so many long-term employees because they are loyal to the town where they were born and do not move away like other workers in the hospitality industry,” Westby-Nun says.
So when guests return, even after five years, they find the same smiling faces that first welcomed them to the old guesthouse.
It is, however, often difficult to motivate employees to move into management, says Westby-Nunn, because they are happy in their current positions and do not neccesarily want the increased responsibility and a bigger workload that a promotion brings.
Satira is one of the employees who ensures that guests return to Klippe Rivier time and time again.
“I love this place and I have had so many opportunities that I could never even have dreamed about,” Satira says. Klippe Rivier organised several courses for her to learn useful skills and management expertise.
“Also, the guesthouse encourages you to interact with the guests and improve your human-contact skills,” she says. “I have met so many interesting people and have learnt so much from the foreigners who visit the guesthouse.”
A few years ago Satira decided to improve her house in Railton, the formerly “non-white” suburb next to Swellendam. But she says it is extremely difficult getting loans from financial institutions when you live in Railton.
“But Klippe Rivier has a loan scheme where you can borrow money without paying any interest. With that I was able to fix up my house and buy a Wendy house as well,” she says.
Henry Jaftha, who has worked at Klippe Rivier for three years, also benefited from the loan scheme. Before he started at the guesthouse, he worked as a farm labourer and could barely make ends meet. But the farmer appreciated his hard work and, when an opening arose at Klippe Rivier, he encouraged Jaftha to apply.
Jaftha is now responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the yard, a job in which he takes a lot of pride. He jokes that he would never be able to enter Klippe Rivier as a guest, because as soon as he saw something wrong he would feel obliged to jump in and fix it.
“I feel trusted at this guesthouse,” he says. “They trust me with money to deposit at the bank. That, more than anything, is the biggest benefit in working here.”
Jaftha, who has two children, recently saved enough money to buy a car so that the family could take day trips around the rest of the Western Cape. “Our salaries are excellent,” he says. “I really do not know where we will be able to get more.”
It is not only employees who benefit from Klippe Rivier. Local pottery artist Jan du Toit’s stunning vases and “heads” decorate Klippe Rivier.
“If I did not have Klippe Rivier’s support,” he says, “I would still be a struggling potter who can hardly feed myself. As a result of Klippe Rivier, my work is flying all over the world to places such as Ireland and Australia.”
Prices vary from R450 a night per person sharing (off-season) to R895 per person (in season). Breakfast included. For information call Tel: (028) 514 3341 or visit www.klipperivier.com