The Farm

Saturday morning, we grabbed some coffees, hot chocolates, and croissants at the deli a couple blocks away from our flat. We returned to our flat to finish packing and that’s when…Taylor burst into tears. Huge, heavy sobs. She confessed that she left her retainers bundled in a napkin on the deli counter. 

We loaded our bags into Dexter’s car and then Taylor and I sprinted back to the deli. By this time, it’d been about 30 minutes since we were there – and the deli was packed. We talked to the woman who cleared our dishes; she had not come across any retainers. They were probably deep, deep in the trash, and we didn’t have time to dig; we had to get to the airport. (#goodbyeretainers)

Dexter drove us to the airport and we once again passed by the Langa township. The extreme poverty and inequality are so, so visible in Cape Town, and I know it’s similar all around South Africa. The entire car was quiet driving past Langa.

At the airport, we said our goodbyes to Dexter and the kids gave him a baggie of Jolly Ranchers and Starbursts. We will 100000% be keeping in touch with Dexter. We’ve gotta see him make his chicken farm happen!

We flew Airlink to George. It was a 38-minute flight and we were served lunch! AMAZING. The solo flight attendant handed out sandwiches (which were good!) and bottled drinks to everyone on the flight. Ummm, more Airlink, please.

Once in George, a charming city in the heart of the Garden Route, which is a stunning region of mountains, forests, and coastlines, we picked up our rental car (hi, Toyota Fortuner) and began the hour-long drive to our next stay. Appropriately enough, we stayed in a town called Wilderness, which felt like…the wilderness. Specifically, we stayed at Oakhurst Farm Cottages, literal cottages on a farm. Oakhurst Farm was so beautiful – and so cool! There were tons of cows (it’s a working dairy farm), some chickens, 12 horses, a few cats and dogs, two donkeys, and a crazy amount of baboons. 

Wyatt in front of our cottage.

Just a small sampling of the baboons at the farm. They liked hanging with the cows.

Taylor was in heaven, as she could feed and groom and blanket/un-blanket the horses twice a day – in the morning and afternoon. There were also trail rides we could participate in. I joined for the first trail ride; Taylor uninvited me on the next one (“you’re too slow, Mom”). 

In horse heaven.

Heading out on a trail ride.

The kids could also feed the two donkeys on the farm. Wyatt did just that…and promptly got bit. Poor guy; that bite did not help his low-level fear of horses and donkeys.

Because you’re in the middle of nowhere when you’re at Oakhurst, the farm offers “braai baskets” for purchase. We opted for a braai basket our first night there. The braai is a huge deal in South Africa; there’s even a national Braai Day in September. Think BBQ, but so much more important. You can braai any kind of meat, vegetables, a special bread called braaibroodjie, and more. Packed in our braai basket was lamb, pork, root vegetables, potatoes, the braaibroodjie, and a salad. Let’s just say it would have been helpful to have a South African guide us on that first night. Turns out we should’ve used a lot more wood than we did…

That's the braai getting going on the right. And on the left, that would be the wood-fired hot tub that took two hours to get hot. (See those trees in the background? That's where the baboons live!)

Oakhurst Farm has a few miles of forest trails on its property. Our first morning there, Sunday, I decided to run the trail loop. About two minutes into my run, I heard a huge commotion in the forest – baboons were jumping through the trees and onto the ground. I was instantly terrified (I mean, those animals are strong! Have you seen their claws?) and turned back around. Then, just as suddenly as the commotion started, it stopped; everything was still. I walked for a couple of minutes and then began running again. For the duration of my run in the forest, I made grunting sounds every few minutes…I just wanted the baboons to know I was coming through!

We loved, loved, loved our time on the farm. The kids played on the farm playground and so enjoyed being surrounded by the animals. Wyatt ended up warming up to the horses on our last day there. Taylor begged him to feed and groom the horses with her, and like the dutiful brother he is, he went along…and kind of liked it. Tim tried the braai a second time and was a bit more successful. I enjoyed my runs in the trails and along the dirt driveway. It was a perfect few days, and a complete change of pace from our time in Cape Town.

Feeding the chickens our compost bucket.

On the back deck of our cottage.

Taylor and the horse caretaker/guide, Catherine.

Had to stop my run to let the cows cross.

The beautiful dirt road at the farm.

Tim and Wyatt are going baboon chasing. 
Just kidding -- they're going fishing.