“I love trees, so I planted 500 of them when I moved here from Pretoria in 2013 and began the restoration of Hemelsbreed,” says Estelle van Loggerenberg, a professional photographer and now hotelier.
With the charming village of Greyton less than 15 minutes’ drive away, the beauty of a stay at Hemelsbreed farm, aside from the delightful views promised by the name, is that it offers the best of both worlds: rural idyll and a charming village with excellent restaurants, markets and shops nearby.
From the deep, covered veranda in front of the one-bedroomed Witpeer cottage (where Farmer’s Weekly stayed), the eye is drawn over the Iceberg roses, beyond the pink and white gaura, past the nasturtiums, around the fruit trees, horse paddocks and sheep, and across the valley.
From here, it is swept up again, far in the distance, by the mountains. Yet from the vine-covered pergola and over the low-walled back of the house, the Riviersonderend Mountain peak seems just a short distance away.
ACCOMMODATION
Hemelsbreed offers three accommodation units: the large farmhouse, named Wildevy, Witpeer cottage nearby, and Olienhout cottage, a little distance away.
Olienhout is the most affordable option, providing accommodation for four guests in two en-suite bedrooms and asking R1 500 per night for four people.
The farm was purchased in 2012 and there are photographs on Hemelsbreed’s website of the huge restoration project that turned once ramshackle buildings into luxury accommodation.
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