Kunje Guest Farm Review – A Peaceful and Beautiful Retreat

After our last family getaway to Da Pakhuys I searched online for beautiful mountain areas with scenic walks and stumbled across an article about the Koue Bokkeveld being the most beautiful area in the Western Cape. I then started searching for self catering accommodation when I stumbled across Kunje Guest Farm and it looked perfect.

***Full Disclosure – This post is not sponsored in any way. I am simply sharing a lovely night away with my family*** 

The drive to Kunje Guest Farm put us in the perfect mood for our night away. In my booking email it was suggested that we take the road from Ceres rather than use the gravel road from Citrusdal. However after discussing it with my husband we decided to take the gravel road anyway and we are so grateful we did.

The Middelberg Pass To Kunje Guest Farm

I can see why they recommended not to take this road – it was 20km of gravel road with lots of twists and turns, steep inclines and sharp downhills. I think perhaps a lot of people are in a rush to get to their destination… however for my husband and I, the drive is part of the fun. We love exploring new roads and we love scenic routes.

This little road was absolutely stunning! We stopped the car a few times on the way there and on the way back to take photos but they just don’t do it justice. It is times like this that I wish I was a professional photographer so I could get really share the experience with you!

Now just a few warnings, if it is raining then I suggest you don’t use that road – I can see how it could be quite treacherous! Plus drive very slowly because the road goes from tar to gravel without any warning, there are also patches of tarred road along the way making you think that the gravel has come to an end when it suddenly goes to gravel again! It does this a few times and like I said there are no warnings.

So if you love adventure and stunning scenery take the Citrusdal route and if you don’t like gravel and driving slowly rather go through Ceres.

Kunje Guest Farm Cottage 3

We booked cottage number 3 with 2 bedrooms both with en-suites and an open plan kitchen and lounge. It was such a lovely set up with a fireplace inside and an undercover braai on the stoep. The cottage is fully equipped with bedding and towels supplied. It has a TV with DSTV and an aircon which is a blessing in February heat!

It was nice to see that they have recycling bins set out for tins and glass which will encourage visitors to recycle.

On the kitchen counter was a box with some farm produce we could buy – homemade buttermilk rusks, breakfast biscuits, apricot jam, kerribone and beetroot. There was a little book to fill in if you buy anything and you just leave the cash when you leave. We bought the buttermilk rusks for my father in law.

There is also wood at the cottage which you can buy at R20 a bag.

On arrival the cottage was so inviting, with sweets on the beds which made my kids incredibly happy. Behind the cottage is a car port. The mountain is directly behind the cottage and in front is a lawn and then an orchard with pear trees.

You can pick fruit to eat while you are there but if you want to pick fruit to take away with you then you need to contact the office to make arrangements and pay for it.

Right outside the cottage is a huge rock, which my kids absolutely loved. They spent hours climbing it and jumping off – nothing like a natural jungle gym right on your doorstep.

Cottage 3 is R280 per person per night for 3 to 7 guests. Children 2 – 12 years old are half price. So for our family of four it came to R840 for a one night stay which is a steal for what you get!

Monster Ants and Devil Thorns

Make sure to bring hardy shoes for yourself and your kids, as soon as we stepped off the lawn to go anywhere there were devil thorns and huge ants that bite! I made the mistake on the first day of going for a little stroll towards the pear trees, wearing my flip flops. Big mistake! I had to run to safety and when I got back my one flip flip had ants lined all around the edge that had bitten my shoe and were hanging on!

So yes warning, those guys are nasty! However you can’t really expect to go to a farm and not have any insects or thorns, so just be prepared.

Whenever we ventured away from the cottage we made sure to have our takkies on and we had no more nasty encounters.

Dry River

One of the things that looked so attractive about Kunje Guest Farm when I found it online was the river and paddling in rock pools. I didn’t think about the fact that there is a drought and only when we got there and walked to the river did we realize that there was not a drop of water.

There were two spots on the map for walking to the river and we went to both, just in case but there was no water, which was so disappointing especially since it was so hot on Saturday when we arrived.

Peaceful and Beautiful Evening

When it was a little cooler my husband took to the mountain to climb some rocks before he started the fire. While my husband handled the braai my kids played outside. As the sky darkened it became so still and peaceful. I love being somewhere remote at this time. No sounds of traffic, no noise from anywhere and such complete darkness.

Lovely Variety Of Walks

Kunje Guest Farm has eight different walks that you can do, which are provided on a map. Some are just 15 to 30 minutes long, while others are 4 to 5 hours long. Each walk has different attractions.

We were up early on Sunday morning, and we were off by 07h25 so that we wouldn’t be walking in the heat. We took the Sewejaartjie Hiking Trail. It stated on the map that it was 15 to 30 minutes long, but I think that is from the start of the trail. We decided to walk from our cottage.

It took us an hour and 25 minutes, bearing in mind that we took it very slow to accommodate for my recent operation (I am still not allowed any exercise for another 2 weeks)  and our two small kids (4 and 6 years old). Plus we had lots of stops to take photos and look at things like animal tracks.

At the end of the trail are San-paintings on the rocks which my daughter was so keen to see since she is a budding artist. I still have to look up how they made their paint because I couldn’t answer all her questions.

It was a beautiful walk, we saw an anthill – the home of those vicious ants! We saw the largest ant ever on the road to the start of the trail, I couldn’t believe how big it was. We saw plenty of tracks and spoor from animals but we didn’t see any wildlife other than the ants. According to the Kunje website there are Cape Mountain Leopards so I wonder if any of the tracks we saw were from them, that would be so exciting!

Along the walk were Protea bushes – the flowers were already dying though. I can only imagine how incredible it must be when they are in the prime of their flowering.

Screen Free Time

There was no reception at our cottage which was perfect. I have to be honest I am loving these quick getaways where there is no reception, being a blogger and online marketer I spend so much time connected . On the drive on the way home all my messages started coming in… 8 sms’s, 43 emails and, I kid you not,  336 Whatsapp messages. I have some catching up to do!

There was a TV in the cottage with DSTV but we chose to keep it off. We can watch TV at home any time and we wanted to have screen free family time.

Late Book Out Time On Sundays

Booking in is from 2pm daily and booking out is by 10am daily – except Sundays which is awesome. On Sundays you can book out by 3pm. We usually are ready and happy to leave early anyway but it is nice to not have to stress about getting packed and out by 10am. This made our morning walk relaxed and more enjoyable than if we had to leave early.

Final Verdict For Kunje Guest Farm

This is the ultimate in outdoor beauty so if you enjoy hiking and like spending time outdoors this is going to be an absolute treat. We had an amazing time, our only complaint is that it was too short but that was nothing to do with Kunje. We have decided now to not do one night trips anymore, it is not quite enough time to unwind and enjoy our trip to the fullest.

This farm has been in the Hanekom family for generations and you can see that they take great pride in what they do. The accommodation was comfortable and perfect for a relaxed family getaway.

I highly recommend you visit Kunje Guest Farm, it is definitely a special place to be and we will be returning to visit again – hopefully the river will be running soon.