Thorsten and I recently spent three days in Suurbraak, a tiny town in South Africa’s Overberg region. Thorsten (who is an architect) designed a holiday house there several years ago; now he’s designing a second house for the same clients. I was lucky enough to get invited along on his scouting mission.
Suurbraak can be translated from Afrikaans to English in multiple ways: “Acid River”, “Acid Vomit”, or “Heartburn”. The name comes from the color of Suurbraak’s Buffeljag River; the water is the color of rust. (Apparently it has something to do with tannins.) Suurbraak’s indigenous name, !Xairu, means “Place of Paradise”, which has a much nicer ring to it. (If you’d like to learn more about Suurbraak, check out this nice little video by the African Travel Crew.)
Suurbraak is about 30 minutes from Swellendam and 45 minutes from Barrydale – two larger, more touristy towns. Suurbraak is sleepy by comparison, with just a couple of small stores and a quaint café called Paradise Organic.
We got to Suurbraak by flying from Joburg to Cape Town and then driving about three hours east. You can also fly to George and drive about two hours west.
A cool perk of dating an architect, at least my particular architect, is that we sometimes get invited to stay in the houses he designs. I love getting to see and experience the spaces Thorsten creates, and “the Timber House” is a special one. Please humor me while I show you a series of photos and wax lyrical about my boyfriend’s work. I realize I’m biased but I suspect you’ll agree that this is a pretty bad-ass little holiday house.
Wooden houses are uncommon in South Africa and the Timber House has a unique vibe, with a huge wooden deck and a glass-enclosed living space that completely opens up into the landscape around it.
Suurbraak is the kind of place where one aspires to do as little as possible. We spent most of our time lazing around the house, working a bit, and going for strolls up and down the “road”, which is more of a cattle track. One afternoon we walked into town, which takes about 30 minutes, and had lunch at Paradise Organic.
When it rains heavily – as it sometimes does this time of year – it’s possible to get briefly stuck at the Timber House, which is on the opposite side of the Buffeljag from town. The water usually recedes within a day.
This happened to us one day while we were there, so we couldn’t walk into town for provisions. We hardly minded though. Thorsten scrounged together what we had – flour, parmesan cheese, olive oil, chillis, peppadews from the neighbor’s garden – and made an incredible focaccia in the pizza oven. We had wine and coffee for the next morning. What more could we want?
The waters receded the next day and we left Paradise, reluctantly. I was sad. I can’t wait to go back.
What to know before you go: As I already mentioned, the Timber House is available for rent on Airbnb. Book well in advance as it’s very popular. The Timber House is solar powered and completely off the grid, so no loadshedding! Bring gumboots and plenty of food in case it rains. The house is usually accessible in a regular car – Bridget and Maggie drove us there in a Corolla – but a high-clearance vehicle is preferable during the rainy season.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
Given this week’s political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I’m hoping you’ve have had enough of the U.S. election horror show – I know I have – and are ready (at least temporarily) for some wholesome American travel adventures. If so, please read on about my four-day visit to Maine, the northeastern-most state in the lower 48, with my sister, Susanna.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.