Last week I stayed at two lovely getaway spots within an hour (give or take) of Joburg: Farmhouse@58 in the the Cradle of Humankind and the Donkey Dairy in Magaliesburg. It felt incredible to get out of the city after two months of no traveling. The pandemic makes me forget how essential it is to recharge my batteries in nature every once in a while, and I couldn’t have chosen two better (or more different) places to do this. I’m blogging about the Farmhouse today and the Donkey Dairy is coming next week.
Golden-hour view of the Cradle of Humankind in the hills above the Farmhouse.
My room at the Farmhouse, designed in a style called wabi-sabi.
In keeping with the modern sculpture theme at Nirox, which is across the road, there are several interesting works of art on the Farmhouse grounds. This striking sculpture, made with discarded shoes, is by Zimbabwean artist Tawanda Takura.
The current dining space at the Farmhouse, which is lovely and all outdoors. (There are is larger restaurant currently under construction behind this one.)
The Farmhouse is part of a much larger, holistic project called project58, which includes the development of a working farm, a farm-to-table restaurant, various community initiatives, art projects, and more. I was only there for one evening and the project is still unfolding, so I won’t try to explain everything that’s going on. But there’s a lot more information on the Farmhouse website.
During our 18-hour stay at the Farmhouse, my media colleagues and I managed to take a sunset hike through the ancient hills of the Cradle of Humankind, eat a delicious, three-course dinner and hearty breakfast, learn about breathwork at the base of a whooshing waterfall, and sleep to the sound of chirping frogs in the pond beside our rooms. I think every one of us left feeling rejuvenated.
Here are my favorite photos.
Our first activity was a hike (probably about five kilometers) up the hill behind the Farmhouse with Lesego from Epic Hikes.
The golden light during this hike was like a literal balm on my soul.
Lesego leads us toward our destination: a rammed earth sculpture by Moroccan artist Amine El Gotaibi.
I love this sculpture. It’s made of earth so it’s designed to slowly disintegrate, as everything on earth eventually does. Apparently it’s already changed quite a lot since it was constructed a couple of years ago.
Sunset in the Cradle of Humankind.
A tasty breakfast bowl at the Farmhouse: Spicy Mexican beans topped with a fried egg, guacamole, salsa, and cheese. We also had a great dinner the night before, but I was so insanely hungry that I forgot to even think about taking photos. (I’ve also totally forgotten how to act like a travel blogger.) Dinner was fantastic though: I had creamy carrot soup, ricotta cheese gnocchi with rich tomato sauce that melted in my mouth, and a generous bowl of warm apple crumble. Most of the food on the Farmhouse menu is sourced from surrounding farms.
The next morning we walked with Simon from Breathwork Africa to a nearby waterfall, where we took a breathwork lesson. I love the idea of breathwork: It’s like meditation but with less pressure to clear your mind (which I find really difficult). It was especially nice to just sit and breathe next to this waterfall. I’m in the background of this photo — thanks Jared, a.k.a. @jaredincpt, for taking it.
Lauren and Jared, the crazy Capetonians, trying to pretend they’re not freezing their asses off under the waterfall. (It was quite cold the night before.) I’m grateful for their craziness though, as it brought me this picture.
One more photo of me, courtesy of Jared.
I really enjoyed my day at the Farmhouse and would love to go back for a longer stay. It’s a perfect pandemic getaway spot.
Stay tuned for the Donkey Dairy, which I’m insanely excited to tell you about, next week.
My stay at the Farmhouse was courtesy of Curiocity Africa. Opinions expressed are mine.
That area is one of the last and nicest bits of natural Highveld left. So much has gone to urban development and agriculture. It was the “prairies” of South Africa. At this time of year the sakabula birds (long tailed widow birds) should be in full, flowing-tailed breeding splendour.
It’s so subtle but such a beautiful landscape at the same time. I didn’t notice any widow birds but I’ve seen them before at this time of year – stunning.
NIROX is a wonderful place and we try to go there as much as possible. Nature is awesome and I can’t wait for the rest of the project to start………and survive.
I’m an American writer/blogger/photographer living a quirky life in Johannesburg. Follow along as I explore Johannesburg, South Africa, and the rest of the world.
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Pretty funny that you were too hungry to take dinner photos!
I was seriously hangry.
Looks wonderful and so close to Johannesburg!
Yes!
That area is one of the last and nicest bits of natural Highveld left. So much has gone to urban development and agriculture. It was the “prairies” of South Africa. At this time of year the sakabula birds (long tailed widow birds) should be in full, flowing-tailed breeding splendour.
It’s so subtle but such a beautiful landscape at the same time. I didn’t notice any widow birds but I’ve seen them before at this time of year – stunning.
NIROX is a wonderful place and we try to go there as much as possible. Nature is awesome and I can’t wait for the rest of the project to start………and survive.
Yes it seems to be moving forward nicely.