Verlorenkloof Estate

The trout dams and the views across the valley to the mountain cliffs are stunning. You can take gentle walks or tackle the harder route up the kloof, along the mountain top and back down to the lodge. We also enjoyed the outside braai area in the evening, and the houses are spaced far enough apart to give you privacy. They have what you need, and the lodge offers a restaurant and frozen meals. There’s a small jungle gym for kids and two rock pools for a dip in the fresh mountain river. You can also visit the dairy for milk, yoghurt, cheese and more. It’s a quiet place to switch off and recharge. There are no TVs, and cellphone reception isn’t great, which suits the peaceful setting. Just heaven for relaxing and taking in what’s around you.

A beautiful spot for resting and spending proper time with the people you love. There’s horse riding, hiking and fly fishing too.

The chalet was far smaller than the ads made it look, and the directions we were given were outdated. It’s in a very remote area, with basically no shops nearby apart from garage shops. The nearest real shops are 100km away, through an expensive tollgate and back. Inside, we found no coffee mugs or steak knives, and ants had taken over the apartment. There’s only safe food storage in the fridge, but nobody warned us about the ants, so a lot of our food was contaminated and our money wasted. The hiking trails aren’t marked properly either. We spent a whole day trying to find our way back to the chalet. There’s no games room or entertainment area, despite them being able to afford 3 fancy pool tables given what they charge for a week in a ten sleeper chalet. I’ll never go back. Just an absolutely awful experience.

It’s a beautiful, peaceful place, with excellent trout fishing and friendly staff.