Wheatlands Country House (50 km From Graaff-Reinet)

• Graaff-Reinet

Living in history

There’s no longer any wheat at Wheatlands but there is loads of nourishing sunlight, fresh air and space that the Karoo is renowned for.

Wheatlands can sleep 12 people in 6 ample bedrooms. High ceilings, stained glass and substantial furniture hark back to a bygone era. Back to 1912, in fact, when architect Charles Bridgeman from Oudtshoorn was hired to build a grand home in the Karoo. It was the height of the ostrich feather boom and mansions reflected personal fortunes.

It was also the height of the Arts & Crafts period, and many features at Wheatlands indicate the decorating tastes of owner and designer. Wood panelling, brass handles on the generous double doors, light fittings and paintings provide an authentic period backdrop to a farm stay worth remembering.

The Short family and their Parkes ancestors have been on Wheatlands since 1849, when the first family members arrived from the Argentine. Brandy was made on the farm until the turn of the last century. A century-and-a-half and 8 generations of family history suffuses every room, and surrounds your stay.

Sepia school photographs of cricket teams line the wall of one of the wings. Many of the rooms open onto verandahs, some looking onto the verdant garden (where old roses from the original garden still grow). There is a pervasive peace that makes Wheatlands a place of nostalgia, with memories to cherish.

The wheat, however, has been replaced by more suitable goats and sheep. At shearing time, guests can take part in the life of a working farm.

For a short while, staying at Wheatlands means living to the beat of a different era.