Between a rock and a hard place

Undeterred by a remote location with rough terrain and no electricity, a couple built an eco home below an overhang in the Gifberg mountains where they can ‘unplug’ and unwind.

- Marian van Wyk

Tucked away in a remote location with pristine scenery, an enduring silence and no cell phone reception or electricity – this is what Johan and Anette du Preez envisioned when they started searching for a holiday home. The couple were lucky enough to find what they were looking for in the Gifberg mountains north of the Cederberg.

But the roads in the area were terrible and one builder after another told them their project was “impossible” as the building site could only be reached by four-wheel drive vehicles. Six years later, their dream became a reality and their home now sits below a rocky overhang. Once you’ve turned off the N7 on the other side of Klawer, the last leg has to be driven in low range.

Johan, a professor of electrical engineering at Stellenbosch University, collected the Home team from Klawer in his bakkie; just when we began to wonder how the builders managed to transport materials, Johan pointed out a spot near a drift where everything was transferred to a tractor and trailer for the last leg.

Johan and two friends purchased a 50% stake in this 2 700ha working rooibos farm in 2014. The spot in which he and Anette wanted to build their house had only a basic structure with a sand floor, an overhanging rock as the walls, a roof held up by treated poles and three rooms (see photos on page 29).

The terrain was perfect for building something more permanent, but Johan first wanted to experience all the seasons and weather conditions. “For the first two years, we camped around and under that old structure,” he says. Only then did they start planning their weekend home.

The planning stages