Namaqualand is regarded as a biodiversity hotspot boasting the richest succulent flora on earth. Paardekraal Kliphuis puts you right in the heart of this remarkable landscape.
The self-catering stone cottage is nestled on a working farm between Springbok and Kamieskroon, where the rhythm is slow and it is easy to breathe. There are no crowds, no infrastructure to lean on and no shortcuts.
The land asks something of you and in return it gives you silence, strangeness and beauty of a kind that stays with you long after you left.
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The cottage sits low against the land, at the foot of a mountain. Built from the same rough granite that litters the surrounding hillside. The stone is sun bleached, mortared together by hands that knew this landscape intimately.
The veranda faces North-East to catch the winter sun, with a braai-area to the one side and a simple wooden bench where you can watch the extraordinary light change over the plains.
When you step inside the thick walls announce themselves, keeping you cool in summer and holding warmth on cold winter nights. The fully equipped kitchen occupies one corner, with a built in fireplace for cooking or keeping warm, that leads to the comfortable couch in the lounge and glass doors that open onto the landscape.
The bedroom with an en-suite bathroom is unpretentious but deeply comfortable with a woodstove and a view of the rising sun.
Book Your StayThe cottage has a queen size bed and sleeps two.
Bedlinen and bath towels are provided and housekeeping can be provided upon request.
The kitchen is fully equipped and has a fridge/freezer and a gas oven/stove.
Indoor and outdoor braai facilities.
Meal kits can be pre-ordered before arrival.
Please note that the cottage is completely off the grid. There is enough solar power to run essentials — lighting, refrigeration and phone charging.
There is no cellphone signal and wifi is available at the main farm house.
A vehicle with sufficient ground clearance is essential.
No smoking and no pets allowed.
This semi-arid land is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots and the bird community reflects this richness. A mosaic of micro-habitats support a surprising diversity of species.
Namaqualand however is not a place of easy ticks and dense flocks. It rewards the traveler who slows down, tunes their ear to the silence and learns to read a landscape that hides its riches in plain sight.
List of BirdsThe hiking landscape consists of open plains which are seemingly featureless from a distance, but alive underfoot with quartz pebbles, dwarf succulents, lizard tracks and plants that have learned to survive on almost nothing.
Rounded boulder-strewn rocky outcrops punctuate the plains. Scrambling between boulders worn smooth over millennia, you will find cool shade, surprising plant life clinging to cracks and from the top panoramic views across a landscape that seems to go on forever.
The road network is any gravel cyclist's quiet dream. The gradients on the plains are gentle and generally rideable on a gravel bike or mountain bike.
The scenery shifts slowly as you move through it. Cycling gives you something driving never can: the smell of the shrubs, the sound of wind and larks and the full physical experience of the scale of the landscape. The rewards in solitude and scenery are exceptional.
There is no agenda. The nearest town is an hour away. Your phone has no signal. The bread is freshly baked, the coffee is hot and the world in front of you is ancient, enormous and unhurried.
Breakfast on the Namaqualand plains is less a meal than a quiet ceremony — a way of greeting a landscape that has been here long before you and will remain long after you leave.
Book Your StayPaardekraal is situated on the R539 Droëdap road, roughly between the two towns of Springbok and Kamieskroon. The Droëdap road is a quiet gravel road that peels away from the main N7 and you will find us where the Buffels River crosses the road.
Kamieskroon to the South, lies at the foothills of the Kamiesberge, at an elevation of approximately 800m. Springbok to the North is the largest town in Namaqualand, with roots dating back to the 1850s. It provides all vital amenities like fuel, shops, restaurants and it is an easy drive from the farm.
Guests are advised that a vehicle with sufficient ground clearance is essential as the road to the cottage is a gravel road with rough and rocky sections.
R539 Droëdap Road
Between Springbok & Kamieskroon
Northern Cape, South Africa
stay@paardekraalkliphuis.co.za
083 477 5303