A little piece of paradise for birdwatchers and trout anglers in Mpumalanga

The Prinsloo family have added five comfortable cottages to their working farm to provide a delightful getaway for city dwellers. Riaan Hattingh paid it a visit, and came away well rested and highly impressed.

- Riaan Hattingh

Only 270km from Johannesburg, and just 13km north of Dullstroom in Mpumalanga, Linger Longer is easy enough to get to, but secluded enough to feel like a real escape. Only the last 6km is on gravel, and this is easily driven in an ordinary sedan.

On arrival, you’ll find you’ve escaped civilisation, but not civilised living: Linger Longer has earned itself four stars from the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa, so you can unwind in comfort and tranquillity.

The property, Palmietfontein, is a fully operational farm with a long history. The Prinsloos have been here since 1941, and a fourth generation is now living on the farm. Andries Prinsloo, father of the current owner, Tom, purchased the land in 1941. Tom took over farming in 1971, followed by his son, Hannes, in 2008.

The Prinsloos farm Drakensberger and Beefmaster cattle and Merino sheep. About 50ha are planted to weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) to provide feed for the animals in winter.

Hannes recently expanded into hunting and blesbok, grey rhebok, zebra, red hartebeest, and gemsbok are on offer.

TROUT FISHING

In 1983, the Verloren Valei Nature Reserve was proclaimed in the area and the Prinsloos lost some land, now part of the nature reserve. Tom then started building trout dams on their remaining property with the idea of supplementing their income.

He also began purchasing additional land, and today the family owns 2 500ha and have 18 dams stocked with trout. Annual membership provides access to seven of these dams via two syndicates, namely Lunsklip 10 and Critchley Common.