Weekend escapes: Stopover with an equine treat

11 December 2014 - 18:32 By Elizabeth Sleith
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Carlene Bronner with Willow, a Dutch Friesian, on the Old Kilgobbin Farm in Dargle
Carlene Bronner with Willow, a Dutch Friesian, on the Old Kilgobbin Farm in Dargle

On a long drive home from the Wild Coast, Elizabeth Sleith finds a charming Midlands stopover with a special equine treat

After two weeks on the Wild Coast, we'd seen a lot of cows. At our beachside resort, they'd tippy-toed on the hillsides across the river and assembled suspiciously on the beach at dusk. On our drive towards Joburg from Port St Johns, they'd marked our progress, hunkering at seemingly regular intervals on the road.

But as the Eastern Cape's forever hills, with their pastel polka-dot rondavels, gave way to lush meadows, neat pole fences sprang up, whole forests sprouted, the rain came down, paddocks rolled out and we knew we were in horse country now.

It was in these mist-cloaked Midlands that we would be spending the night, at the Old Kilgobbin Cottages in Dargle.

The working farm on which they sit, the 160ha Old Kilgobbin, dates back to the 1870s, when it was settled by an Irishman, who named it after a castle back home.

Slumbering between an enormous indigenous forest and the Dargle Valley, it occupies a magically bucolic moment in the Midlands, amplified by the fact that its owner, Carlene Bronner, breeds a magnificent type of horse here called the Dutch Friesian.

With hides the colour of shiny, black pools, they are physically massive and muscular but gentle in spirit and elegant and nimble of foot, with long manes, thick tails and "feathering" - the long hair around their fetlocks. Their ancestors were favoured by knights of the Middle Ages, no doubt thanks to their noble bearing and also their immense strength - the weight of a full set of armour could hardly have made them blink.

Bronner herself is sometimes called a "horse whisperer", a deliciously evocative term but one to which she gives little credence. Really, it's a reference to a system of training she follows, known as natural horsemanship, which is based on the principle of observing the animals in free-roaming environments and cultivating trust to have them do your bidding, while rejecting abuse as a means of control.

These kind principles and those splendid Friesians combine to form Bronner's other business. Called Horseplay, it is an "equine-assisted learning programme", where corporate groups come to learn something about leadership by spending the day trying to coax these fine beasts to co-operate with them - happily.

They are among the inhabitants that wandering guests might encounter on the farm, along with other horse breeds (Anglo-Iberians and Quarters); Australian cattle dogs and Amstaffs; reedbuck; oribi antelopes; samango monkeys and duikers; plus a host of birds and butterflies and wildflowers. And then there's Finn, the SPCA cat and "boss of all the dogs".

For sleeping, there are two cottages here, Gobbin being the larger one, a charming double storey under a green roof with a front and back verandah, sash windows and a veggie garden outside its back door.

It was occupied that night, however, so while a little girl twirled an umbrella on its vast front lawn, we headed to its neighbour, the Coop.

It's so called because of its proximity to the chicken coop, but it's also fitting to its size - it's a cosy Victorian-style bedsitter with a Biggie Best-ish heart. With antiques dotted about between walls covered in cow cartoons, it has two single beds squashed into the main room with two comfy chairs and a wood stove in the corner. An enclosed verandah houses the kitchenette and a third single bed for the boy.

Bronner left us at the cottage door, sighing about "that damn critter" - one particular porcupine who'd been munching the tulbaghia. He'd already eaten all the arums on the farm, she said, and the duiker eat the roses - "only the aggies and clivias seem to be animal proof!" Ah, the frustrations of country life. We empathised but still felt brightened by the beautiful garden as, having unpacked, we wandered through it later towards the farm road.

Bronner had said a short walk would take us to about 40 horses milling about in a field. And milling they were, in indifferent clusters chewing lazily on the bright, wet grass and not much interested in saying hello to us.

So on we wandered, up a road and into a forest, a hushed and eerie fairytale space where pale pockets of sun broke through the tangled canopy and the odd bird whistled as raindrops dripped from low-hanging leaves into the mud.

We sat there a while, wondering about witches, but it was as we were wandering back to the Coop that we had our horsey moment. As the boy wheeled his bike through muddy puddles, suddenly he hit a rock. Blonde hair flew over handlebars. Naturally, he wailed. But as I bent to pick him up, suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by horses, four of them in a semi-circle, gazing with big, curious eyes.

"Look, the horses are worried about you," I said. Instantly, he smiled.

They lost interest and trotted off. But the smile remained as I tucked him in that night to the deep comfort of his antique bed, a sweet little Victorian, iron affair, to drift off sweetly to the sound of rain on the roof, those chivalric horses reassuringly somewhere out there in the dark.

 

WHY GO THERE

For a taste of cosy country life. Think mist-cloaked meadows, horse-filled paddocks, roaring fires, G&Ts and an excuse to wear your wellies on rambling walks. It's also a good base from which to explore the myriad offerings of the Midlands Meander. You could spend days poking around the stores that cluster the route, for pottery, ceramics, wrought iron, woodwork, leather goods, antiques and art.

WHAT IT HAS

There are three accommodation options on the farm. Gobbin Cottage, which sleeps six; the Coop, which sleeps three; and the Cairn, a converted barn where they now host rustically romantic weddings, which also has a bunkroom with four single beds and showers for extra guests.

WHAT IT'S LIKE

Surrounded as you are by bric-a-brac and antiques, open green spaces and animals, it's easy to pretend you're an Irish farmer in days of yore. It doesn't hurt that your host is wonderfully welcoming - and unobtrusive. "Don't feed the animals" is pretty much all she asks.

AND THE FOOD

There are facilities for self-catering in both cottages - a stove, oven and microwave - plus farm-fresh milk in the fridge. If you're shopping, Howick, 15km away, has a Spar and a Woolies but the Three Fat Pigs deli at the Piggly Wiggly Country Village (8km) has fresh artisan breads, local cheeses, biscuits, pickles and more. Karkloof Farmer's market on Saturdays (7am until 10am) is a great spot for veggies, chickens, ducks, fruit and baked goods.

For breakfast, Bronner calls the Farmer's Daughter in Tweedie "a wonderful foodie haven" where Jen Pretorius makes tarts, salads and "amazing puddings". If it matters, she also offers Noaks's Banting bread with hummus. Definitely not Banting, we had divine pizzas for dinner by the fireside at Il Postino, up the road.

RATES

In peak season, Gobbin Cottage is R455 per person for two to three people; R400 for four to six. The Coop is R400 pp for two, a third person pays R100 per night. The Cairn is R345 pp for two, R300 for three to four people.

LOCAL ATTRACTION

Kilgobbin is about 7km from the Nelson Mandela Memorial, off the R103, marking the spot where he was captured in 1962 by the SA police with a steel-rod sculpture that magically reveals his face.

CONTACT

Call Bronner on 082 807 7772 or visit oldkilgobbin.co.za.

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