Cape Town - In a kloof at the foot of the Limietberg behind Paarl, Cascade Country Manor is a place of happy returns for me.
The core of the icing-white pile is some 200 years old, but during World War II the 12th Duke of Bedford (of Woburn Abbey fame) called it home.
In his biography, A Silver Spoon, he said: “It is a lovely part of the world. There is a big waterfall, as the name suggests, tumbling down the mountains at the back. Over the years we have turned it into a sort of American colonial-style house with plenty of bathrooms.”
The duke sold it to a buchu farmer who also cultivated marijuana, and by the time present owners Volker and Maika Goetze acquired it in 2002 the place had gone completely to pot.
The Volkers transformed it, adding to its plentiful character. They had done a lot when I visited them over three years ago, and have done more since. Cascade Manor now offers abseiling down the waterfall in summer – and abseiling down Paarl Mountain – and there are challenging downhill mountain bike trails through the buchu and 900 olive trees.
Maika has impeccable taste in décor and design. The 15 guest rooms are individually decorated in some style, seamlessly blending modern lines and classic furnishings. Volker – chef and olive oil expert – has impeccable tastebuds and the food, served in the delightful dining room with its massive chandeliers or on the huge terrace, was delicious.
In the spa I enjoyed the surprising strength and exceptional technique of diminutive Edwina Suse.
It was with reluctance that I continued on my way with so much left to see and do in this historic area, but I had four more destinations within the Cape Country Routes portfolio to experience started in 1997.
Regret became delight as I headed on a simply wonderful drive over the mountains and toward Montagu – the only town in South Africa with a cat crossing sign – and the Montagu Country Hotel.
Behind the façade and art deco main building, the hotel presents other dimensions, with different accommodation options in a lovely garden setting – including dog- friendly rooms, a spa with healing mineral waters, and two swimming pools (one solar heated).
I’ve visited plenty of small country towns but few have grabbed me like Montagu. Plenty of friendly waves and greetings, and I was charmed to be invited to a tiny farm school for a school play that evening. I declined, instead enjoying a fine dinner in the hotel’s elegant dining room, while a pianist glissando’d at the baby grand. Some guests sat before the fire, some propped up the period bar, while others enjoyed their meal before the cast of the play – kids, teacher and parents, with hotel manager PJ Basson still in pantomime costume arrived for a snack, chat and nightcap.
It dawned on me that many friendly waves had been for Basson, partly because we had been cruising in the hotel’s baby blue ’56 Cadillac – the kind of car people smile and wave at – and partly because he’s the kind of guy people smile and wave at.
As is Gert Lubbe, the hotel owner and “father to many”. Lubbe and Basson are passionate about Montagu, ringed by mountains with vertical, organ-pipe rock striations, amazing vistas, with little farms within the town itself. Montagu where, as one resident put it, no walk is a short walk as there is bound to be a conversation or two.
“I could live here,” I thought as I plonked smiling onto my bed.
l Visit www.capecountryroutes.com to plan your Western and Eastern Cape adventures.
Adrian Rorvik, Sunday Tribune
First car is first for the Cape
First Car Rental is proud to be the car hire company of choice to drive Adrian Rorvik to experience the best in luxury lifestyle.
He stayed at Cascade Country Manor, a welcoming Mediterranean-style hotel in the Paarl winelands, and Montagu Country Hotel, the only original art deco hotel in South Africa, exuberating the old-world charm of the 1930s. Experience Paarl and Montagu with First Car Rental. See www.firstcarrental.co.za