Bartholomeus Klip Farmhouse
BARTHOLOMEUS
KLIP FARMHOUSE
- ELANDSKLOOF MOUNTAINS, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
 Where rolling wheatfields meet pristine
fynbos at the foot of the Elandskloof Mountains, you will find Bartholomeus
Klip. Here Eland graze in timeless peace and the Fish Eagle calls
overhead, while shepherds and their dogs herd flocks of sheep across
the wide open farmlands and tractors plough the fertile soil.
Situated on one of the biggest wheat
and sheep farms in the Western Cape and a 4,000 hectare private nature
reserve, Batholomeus Klip offers guests the opportunity of to experience
gracious country living and the thrill of evening game viewing from
an open landrover combined with the excitement of the daily operations
of a large working farm.
Traditionally
attractions to the Cape have been Table Mountain, Cape Point and
the Winelands,
but
with this increasing influx of tourists
the need for new and varied experiences has arisen. Bartholomeus
Klip Farmhouse is 75 minutes drive time from Cape Town and half
an hour from the winelands of Paarl and Stellenbosch and offers one
of the
most exciting new options for travellers to the region. Accommodation  For
images of Bartholomeus Klip, click Bartholomeus
Klip
Images
The beautifully appointed Victorian farmhouse
has been luxuriously renovated in true Victorian style. The homestead,
located on the hill overlooking
the farm and private nature reserve, has four en-suite bedrooms, a private
suite, comfortable reading room, large lounge with fireplace, intimate
bar, cozy dining room and spacious verandas to relax on and enjoy the
country air.
Rose-filled gardens and ancient oaks
surround the house, with benches tucked away in quiet places - perfect
for absorbing the peace
and relaxed atmosphere. Nearby, the deck of the salt-water swimming pool
is ideal for sunbathing or sundowners, and the boathouse, where the
wonderful brunches are served,
has a spectacular view over the dam.
Comfort is the keynote in the bedrooms: specially made
pure cotton bedding, luxurious toiletries, towelling gowns. No TVs to
spoil the country feeling (although there are two in the main rooms for
essential viewing).
Special Features of Bartholomeus Klip
• Maximum
of ten guests at a time
• Exceptional food and wine
• 16,000 acre private estate
• Game drives - over 1,000 head of game
• Fynbos nature reserve
• Farming activities
• Salt-water swimming pool
• Windsurfing, boating and canoeing on the huge dam
• Walking and hiking in the reserve
• Mountain biking
• Conservation projects
• Birdwatching
• Close to Cape Town and the winelands
Dining & Cuisine
The cuisine is exceptional and reflects
the many virtues of country life. Afternoon tea is a grand affair served
in the heirloom family silver whilst lunch time picnics are a feature of
living in the country. Wherever possible meals are prepared using as much
farm fresh produce as is available with ingredients and dishes being sourced
from the surrounding areas and complimented by wines from local estates.
The food is prepared in the French tradition
but with a local flavour and is one of the highlights of a stay at
Bartholomeus Klip. Dishes such as salmon trout layered with
fresh coriander and ginger and wrapped in phyllo pastry, with a lemon
beurre blanc, and
chocolate truffle cake may be on the menu.
Tea is a serious affair: scones with thick farm cream
and home-made preserves, pecan meringues, apple tarts, prune and ricotta
cheesecake, savoury bruschettas - the selection changes daily.
Bread, scones, cakes and pastries are baked fresh every
day, while milk, cream and butter come from the dairy and lavish bouquets
of herbs from the garden. Brunches are served at the boathouse,
with a bountifully laden table. Fill your plate and take it outside
to the
deck overlooking
the dam,
then drink in the view of the mountains opposite with your coffee.
Bartholomeus Klip is surrounded by the
famous winelands of the Western Cape, so the wine list reflects the
achievements of its
neighbours.
Activities
Experience the unique Bartholomeus Klip blend of farm living and game
viewing from an open vehicle. Spend a morning watching the farm at work
or go birdwatching or walking through the fynbos. Climb the mountains,
cycle through the farmlands or the reserve, canoe or windsurf on the
lake-sized dam, swim in the spectacular circular pool, play croquet under
the oaks or, perhaps best of all, allow yourself the pleasure of relaxing
in the peace of this breathtaking setting.
Game Drives
Late afternoon game drives in
the well-established reserve (over 1,000 head of game) introduce guests
to
Black and Blue
Wildebeest,
Bontebok,
Burchell’s Zebra, Cape Mountain Zebra, Eland, Gemsbok, Red Hartebeest,
Springbok, Grey Rhebok, Duiker and Steenbok. Guided walks in the mountains
reveal a superb array of birds, including Fish Eagles, Black Eagles and
the endangered Blue Crane, which can be seen in flocks of up to sixty.
The Nature Reserve is one of the most ecologically important conservation
areas in the country and conserves the last example of a unique type
of fynbos.
Daily guided excursions expose guests
to the variety of features associated with a large and diverse farming
operation.
Watch the sheep dogs working with a flock of over 5,000 Merino sheep,
observe the skill and speed employed in the shearing of the wool sheep,
or visit the lambing pastures where, if you wait a while, you may
see lambs being born. Walk in the fields and experience first hand
the cycles of ploughing, fertilizing, sowing, harvesting and spraying
of the various grain crops grown on the farm or stop in at the dairy
and watch the daily milking of the Freisland dairy herd whilst sampling
fresh farm milk or home-made butter and cream. In addition, guests
gain an understanding of how large scale commercial farming and long
term
conservation work together for mutual benefit.
It takes only half an hour to reach the charming country
towns of Wellington, Tulbagh or Riebeeck Kasteel from Bartholomeus
Klip, with the larger centres of Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl
not much farther away.
Wellington
There are several museums in this historic town, as well as the Redemption
leather factory and the South African dried fruit co-operative. With
three local wine cellars (where tastings are free), Wellington is definitely
worth a visit.
Tulbagh
After an earthquake in 1969, much of the town was restored and is today
a showpiece of Cape Dutch architecture, with one of the oldest museums
in the country housed in the Old Church, built in 1743. There are other
museums with interesting collections, as well as four famous wine estates,
in the area.
Riebeeck Kasteel
There are in fact two towns, Riebeeck Kasteel and Riebeeck West, situated
within a few kilometres of each other on a mountain slope with views
out across the valley to Bartholomeus Klip. Both have picturesque buildings
and excellent wine estates, including one famous for its port and another
for its olive oil, and the simple farmhouse where General Jan Smuts
was born is now a fascinating museum.
Flora
and Fauna
The Bartholomeus Klip private reserve
encompasses some very rare habitat - West Coast Renosterveld
(Renoster is Afrikaans for rhino, because of the
black rhino
that used
to occur here) is a rare type of
fynbos vegetation containing a number of endangered plant and
animal species. The largest remaining population of the Geometric
Tortoise, one of the world's most endangered reptile species,
occurs on the reserve. In addition, Bartholomeus Klip has over
650 plant
species and a spectacular diversity of spring flowers and bulbous
plants, many of which are endemic to the area and exist nowhere
else in the world.
Bartholomeus Klip offers guests
a wonderful opportunity to experience the Western Cape in a way
not
previously possible. Guests can
enjoy the winelands, wheatfields and beautiful countryside of the area
combined with the thrill of game viewing from an open landrover, complete
with all the necessary luxury, personalised attention and fine cuisine.
Conservation
Projects and Breeding Programmes
The following summarizes the conservation projects
and programmes ongoing at Batholomeus Klip and are an introduction
to the special conservation issues facing this important natural
area as well as a few of the management challenges. The resident
trained conservation staff are more than qualified to introduce
visitors to the various aspects of the programmes and specialist
guides and experts in charge of the projects are also available
upon request.
Quagga Breeding Project
The Quagga occurred south of the Orange and
Vaal rivers and formed an important component of the Karoo environment
of the Orange Free
State and the Cape. A number of quaggas were exported to Europe during
the 18th and 19th centuries. Quaggas became extinct when the last female
died in captivity in an Amsterdam zoo on 12 August 1888. The last
survivors of free living quagga, which occurred in the Orange Free
State, became extinct in 1878.
Quaggas were essentially stripeless
zebras, although they displayed a great deal of variation between
individuals. The
front parts of their
body were clearly striped, with the markings fading towards the rump
area. There exists uncertainty as to whether the quagga was a dark
zebra with light stripes or a light zebra with dark stripes. Generally
the quagga’s stripes are darkest on the head and neck where the
interspaces are the lightest. Progressing backwards along the body,
the stripes become lighter and the interspaces between them darker
until they eventually merge. The stripes were therefore limited to
only on the head and neck and were faded on the legs and hindquarters.
In March 1986 a Quagga breeding
project was officially launched after extensive research revealed
that the extinct species was closely related
to Burchell's zebra. Burchell's zebra showing a natural stripe reduction
were sourced from around Southern Africa and in December 1988, the
first foal was born. The project progressed well for a few years,
but
due to financial limitations, was subsequently curtailed. It
was then that the project was moved to Bartholomeus
Klip, which,
because
of its favourable habitat and large grassy plains, was a natural
choice as a home for the breeding programme. At present
over 30 quaggas are free roaming within the reserve.
African Buffalo Breeding Project
African buffalo are carriers of a number of
diseases such as Corridor disease, Foot & Mouth disease and Tuberculosis.
As buffalo are gregarious, often occurring in large herds, disease
spreads rapidly
from animal to animal, and although the diseases may not kill animals
out right, their weakened condition renders them susceptible to other
illnesses which may in fact be fatal. There have been episodes of disease
out breaks in the large buffalo herds of Southern Africa over the last
300 years that have almost wiped out entire populations. This poses
a concern for conservationists as the rapid spread of TB amongst the
herds of buffalo at present may be the beginning of a new population
decline.
Bartholomeus Klip has, as a result
of careful breeding and strict quarantine, managed to produce a herd
of disease-free buffalo, making them the
only herd to carry this status in the entire country of South Africa.
Isolated in the Western Cape, they are potentially free from the
risk of contamination
and will be used as a breeding herd to stock areas that are disease
free or to restock areas where buffalo may have died out as a result
of infection.
The breeding programme is managed
along basic farming principles and is a superb example of the combination
of farming and conservation.
The original founder herd, which numbers 20 animals, will be increased
in size to approximately 60, at which point the herd should breed
at a sustainable
rate. Youngsters will be raised on the milk os dairy cows as their
rate of growth is far more rapid under such conditions and offspring
will be sold
to areas that need restocking. This breeding programme provides a
wonderful insight into the successful combination of modern farming
and conservation as well as allowing you the chance to get up close
to view these beasts, the least known of the “Big Five”.
Geometric Tortoise
The Cape is rich in tortoise species, with 9
of the worlds 40 species occurring in the Western Cape; possibly
the most
spectacular and definitely
the rarest is the geometric tortoise. Geometric tortoises occur only
in the low lying Renosterveld habitat of the Cape lowlands, and that
of the Worcester/Tulbagh and Ceres valleys. Habitat destruction due
to extensive agricultural activities throughout its range has led to
the distribution of the tortoise being characterised by small isolated
populations. Agricultural development has largely been responsible
for the replacement of more than 97% of renosterveld with wheatlands,
vineyards and large heavily grazed areas. Bartholomeus Klip with its
nature reserve comprising 1,400 hectares of renosterveld is home to
the largest concentration of geometric tortoises to be found in any
habitat and the only remaining ecologically viable population. Bartholomeus
Klip is home to 3,500 members of this, Africa's most endangered
reptile, and is considered the only place where their survival and
long term conservation is assured.
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