KWAZULU-NATAL ON THE ROAD
Where I Stayed Where you choose to stay in the Southern‘ Berg shapes the rhythm of your time here.
Penwarn Farm My first night was at Penwarn Farm, and it set the tone for everything that followed. The property stretches across a vast wilderness, with numerous grazing cattle and rustic yet modern cottages scattered across the landscape as if they had simply always belonged there. The mist hangs low over the hills in the mornings, and the birdsong is the kind that makes you lie still for a while rather than reach for your phone. You adjust to farm living by the second morning and spend the third wishing you had booked for longer. Make sure to ask Babsi to take you on a Land Rover trip to see the rock art; squeeze in the waterfall hike, and spend a lazy afternoon by the rock pools. If you’ ve never seen snow before, you might be interested to know that this area actually gets heavy snowfall. But if you happen to arrive during a proper snowstorm, you can get completely stuck there for a couple of days, with no way in or out until the snow melts. I saw photos on Babsi’ s phone and it looked like a white Christmas in July.
JoyWood Cottage With a generous continental breakfast available on request, the JoyWood Cottage Woody’ s Cabin, where I stayed, is warm and well-considered. The surrounding mountain scenery is the kind that greets you through the window before you are fully awake. More than anywhere else on the trip, JoyWood felt like staying with someone, rather than just staying somewhere. That distinction matters more than most accommodation checklists. Joy, the owner, also runs an on-site beauty and health salon, and if you have any sense, you will book a massage or manicure before you leave. It is exactly the kind of extra touch that turns a good stay into a great one. Three accommodation options are available, catering to groups, families and couples, so there is something here regardless of how you are travelling or who you have brought with you.
WINTER 2026 • rovesa. co. za | 19