Bon Accord Farm Cottages 2

 

Early morning view from the patio

Please click on the photos to bring up larger versions.

I recently celebrated my 75th Birthday. My lovely wife, Jacqui, treated us to 3 nights away at what has turned out to be our favourite place away from home - Cottage No 2 at Bon Accord Farm Cottages in Montagu.

It was as, if not more, beautiful as our first visit earlier this year - which you can read about here! This time, however, the effect of the recent rains can be seen from comparing the two main photographs.

This visit we spent most of our time in and around Montagu, except for a short trip out to Barrydale - 62 kilometres away along the R62! I will shortly do a separate blog post on our visit there - we had a specific destination, and spent most of our time there - a fascinating place!

An added bonus for us was that this time we got to meet Elsje, the owner and manager of all the cottages, and she treated us to a delightful extra large bowl of her Mom's home-made soup and a fresh loaf of bread. Totally appreciated and a great help in combatting the cold weather!

Most of the birds that visited were the same as last time, but we did have a visit from a bokmakierie (photo below), whose distinctive call could be heard from a long way away, plus a green sunbird (also below).

Otherwise, here are just a few views of the farm and surrounds to end off with. The photo showing the moon was taken on the Saturday morning after the recent blood moon. The third photo shows a small section of the tango (a late-harvested seedless mandarin) fruit trees, while the colourful vygies just show a very small section of the plants that greet one upon entering the farm.

Bon Accord Farm Cottages - Montagu

 

As part of our annual break, we spent 3 days in Montagu. As is normal when we go away, I used https://www.safarinow.com/ to find suitable accommodation, and went through a large number of possible places to stay. Our normal preference is for a self-catering unit with wi-fi, a shower, and, especially, either a king-sized bed or two single beds.

While it might sound simple, the places available fulfilling these three requirements are few and far between, but at least Safarinow supplies really good descriptions of the properties and what they offer, whereas their competition normally falls short on detailed information.

We decided on a place that we hadn't heard of before. It looked and sounded great, and one of the three cottages at Bon Accord Farm Cottages was the final choice. And that was the best decision we've made in a long time!

We chose Cottage No 2, and it turned out to be where the owners' first lived when they came to the farm. It was beautifully equipped, with everything one could ask for. The photo below shows the living area as one walks through the front door. The patio outside is huge, running the full length of the cottage, with a braai place and complimentary bag of wood and firelighters ready and waiting. The photo at the top of this post shows the magical view from the patio, though it doesn't quite do it justice!

I have not included photos of the rest of the inside, but there are two bedroom with en-suite bathrooms (one full and one with shower only). The main bedroom features a queen-sized bed, and the smaller bedroom two single beds. All are equipped with electric blankets.

I can honestly say that it is the best accommodation we have experienced during the many years that we have travelled locally on holiday. Most of all, I have never felt as relaxed and peaceful as I did during this particular stay.

There are a few landing spots right in front of the patio for the birds that frequent the farm to perch, and shown below is just a few of the birds that visited while we were outside enjoying the serenity.

All photos taken with the Fujifilm X-T4 and 70-300mm lens.

Our hosts at the farm were Anton and Elsje (pronounced "Elsha"), and while we did not get to meet them in person, Elsje was always available for information and queries on 0828541457. She was extremely helpful and accommodating.

We look forward to staying there again.