Voorbegin Bosveldverblyf is 30 kilometres from Bela-Bela, en route to Thabazimbi. A flatlet with two bedrooms (one double bed and three single beds) and a cottage with one bedroom (double bed and a sleeper couch in lounge) is available as two separate units. A larger family may rent both units which are approximately 100 meters apart. We stayed in the cottage and the photos you see were taken there.
Our cottage was fully equipped for four people, with a double bed in the bedroom and sleeper couch suitable for one or two children in the lounge. In the kitchen, we found everything we needed to prepare our meals, including a two-plate moveable stove with a small oven. In the bathroom was both a shower and bathtub. The lounge had some comfortable couches but we spent very little time there as we were entertained by the animals outside. We visited during winter so we made most of the sun on the stoep. An umbrella is available for shade but we did not use it. What we did use to the maximum is the braai on the stoep and some of the almost infinite supply of free firewood. We could make use of the swimming pool at the main house but it turned out there were no brave hearts in our party.
Entertainment, as mentioned before, was provided in abundance by the farm animals. Blesbuck, nyala and impala are roaming around freely and so are the European bush pigs and donkeys. Irma managed to get a fairly tame nyala to sniff at her hand. Henk, the owner, explained the basics of recycling to us: There are bins for different recyclable items but any foodstuff goes over the fence for the pigs. And the pigs loved us! We made sure we had plenty of leftovers after each meal to feed to them. Irma, Martin and Delia tried their hand at fishing and had mixed results. It turned out the pigs enjoyed the fishing the most as they discovered Martin’s unguarded bait mix and had a party.
We used Voorbegin Bosveldverblyf as a base to attend a family function in Rooiberg. However, should you get bored with playing with the antelope, taking a stroll through the bush and feeding the pigs, there are quite a number of activities around the area – too many to mention. What makes it easy to visit any of these tourist attractions is that you receive a remote for the gates upon arrival so you may come and go as you please.
Voorbegin Bosveldverblyf is not a graded facility, a bit on the rustic side, and definitely not for people expecting 5-star luxury. This is a working farm/smallholding and the smells (nothing bad to report here) and sounds (roosters doing their early morning wake-up calls and doves chatting on the roof) will confirm that. However, this was perfect for us and we loved every moment of our stay.
We do hope that we eventually will be able to return and feed some pigs again!
