River Magic Cottages - Base Huis, Vermaaklikheid, Cape Town

Vermaaklikheid lies between Heidelberg and Witsand, about 300 km from Cape Town.  So what to expect when planning a weekend at Vermaaklikheid? Loads of relaxing, limited cellphone reception, loads of bird and fish life, canoeing or just reading your book.

Things to keep in mind:

• Bedding and hand towels provided
• Bring your own wood
• If you need to go back into town, extra ferry costs will be added to your stay
• Limited cell reception unless you take a short stroll up the hill

www.vermaaklikheid.co.za

therobandrew@gmail.com

Our Adventure

K-9 Adventures’ next adventure was to Vermaaklikheid.  Vermaaklikheid lies between Heidelberg and Witsand, about 300 km from Cape Town.  So what to expect when planning an exciting weekend at Vermaaklikheid? Loads of relaxing, limited cellphone reception, loads of bird and fish life, canoeing or just reading your book.

Getting Started

As always our journey started on Friday afternoon after work, Dogs were eager to go on a road trip after not having one for a few months. We could constantly see either Bella or Storm with their head out the window taking in all the beautiful sights as we drove along the N2.  We reached our first stop at Rolandale Farm Stall, and let the dogs stretch their legs and grab a quick coffee.

Only the last stretch of the trip was on a well-maintained dirt road that does not require a 4×4. The dirt road took you past beautiful sheep and ostrich farms causing the weekend mood to kick in early.

Here at Last

On arrival, we pulled into our secure under-cover parking alongside “Base Huis“, one of the four houses on offer. Kyle was there to meet us and give us our Ferry ride to “Glory Be“, our Home for the weekend.  The only way to get to “Glory Be” is by Ferry. Make sure that you are prepared to carry everything you bought to the Ferry and up to the house afterward (tip: I always prefer packing light on occasions like this). The ferry is big enough for 12 people with their luggage, although we managed to fill it to the brim between the 7 of us and 4 dogs (I forgot to follow my own advice). The ferry trip lasted about 10 min, before arriving at our Jetty overlooking the large lush lawn leading up to our Home for the weekend.

The home “Glory Be” is a 12 sleeper divided into a few small yet spacious cottages surrounding a central entertainment area comprising of an open-plan well-equipped kitchen, lounge, dining room with a large fireplace, this area leads onto a shaded stoep with an outside braai area with beautiful river views.

We had a braai on our first night there before moving to the lounge for a few board games (supplied) in front of a roaring fire.

The next morning Michael was woken up before the sun by two eager dogs, he restoked the fire and made coffee before waking me and the two sleeping dogs up.  After coffee, while Michael was fishing I went for a very gentle jog with the dogs, leaving the puppy to supervise the fishing.  The run was on a  jeep-track, going up, up, and more up. I eventually turned around at 6 km to make it back in time for breakfast.

With your booking, you also get 2 paddle boats.  After breakfast, I decided to go for a gentle row down the river enjoying the amazing views and birdlife in the area.

That night after yet another Braai we all crashed early, only to be woken up at the crack of dawn by the dogs waning another walk.  The setup of the house allowed us to relax on the stoep while the kids and dogs entertained themselves on the lawn in front of the house and in the river.

Once we were ready to head back “to reality” we Whatsapped Kyle who was there with the ferry 20 min later taking us back to our cars at “Base Huis“.  This is a great place to book if you have a big group, a family get-together, birthday party, etc, the rooms are set apart so that the early risers don’t disturb the late sleepers. Although the yard is not fenced we felt safe during our stay.  Luckily our dogs do not wander far out of sight.

Things to keep in mind:

• Bedding and hand towels provided
• Bring your own wood
• If you need to go back into town, extra ferry costs will be added to your stay
• Limited cell reception unless you take a short stroll up the hill.

In a nutshell 

All I have to add is that we will be back the first chance we get, and with a bit of luck and good planning will try and stay longer next time.