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UK: 01473 890499Rating: Mid-range
Your hosts, Richard and Mouse Pynton, will give you a warm welcome to their spendid country house retreat, Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse. Set in the Kamberg valley near Giant's Castle in the stunning Drakensberg Mountains, this is an ideal base from which to explore this fascinating area. There are walking trails in the 500 acres of grounds plus more opportunities for walkig and hiking in the Highmoor Nature Reserve, adjacent to the farmhouse. Game seen here includes eland, reedbuck and jackal and the birdlife is prolific. Horse riding is available nearby for both experienced and inexperienced riders. Other activities include swimming, rock climbing, fishing and helicopter rides to Giant's Castle. Various excursions and day trips can be arranged, including to see Bushman rock art, to the Sani Pass and to a Crane Rehabilitation Centre.
After all the activity and fresh air guests will have built up a hearty appetite, so will fully appreciate the magnificent 6-course dinner, based on fresh local ingredients and the finest produce. The food is complemented by fine wine from Cleopatra's extensive wine cellar. Food is Richard's passion and guests are sure to enjoy the whole culinary experience at Cleopatra.
Accommodation is in comfortable rooms, suites and cottages, all with ensuite bathrooms. Each room is tastefully furnished and designed to be cosy in winter and light and airy in summer. All rooms have views of the surrounding mountains, streams and waterfalls. There is a comfortable guest lounge, complete with log fire in winter, to enhance the country house experience.
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UNESCO heritage site 
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0"We got exactly what we had asked for - a place to chill out at the end of the holiday. We spent the time lazing on the lounge verandah with binoculars and cameras wathcing the weaver birds build their nests and being plied with coffee, tea etc. We had booked half-board, but since this includes a 4-course breakfast (different hot dish every day) and 5-course dinner we weren't really worried about lunch. Cheese, crackers, scones, fruit and chocolate cake are laid out between 1.00 and 5.00pm, so in practice half-board is full-board. It was great fun going into the wine cellar to choose our bottles, although the house wines are perfectly drinkable. The dinner menu is explained at 7.30 (where the ingredients come from, how they're cooked etc) which is again great fun. A word of advice - take advantage of the 'licence to leave' policy, otherwise you will eat a Very Great Deal. Each night Phillipa emphasised that the chefs were basically interested in texture and flavour, and invited us to 'nibble round the edges' if we wanted to."
Tribes Travel, The Old Dairy, Wood Farm, Ipswich Road, Otley, Suffolk, IP6 9JW. Office hours: Mon - Fri: 9am to 5.30pm Telephone: 01473 890499
