Wild Boar

At Kersefontein the cottages are set up for self catering but when I was there, one of the highlights was dinner of wild boar served by Julian in the main house.The boar was, at that time, shot on the farm by Julian himself to protect his crops from too much damage. The normal food is good wholesome farm fare, the kind of thing a good trencherman would expect in the days of Queen Victoria. You might want to enjoy an aperitif or an after dinner brandy in the Slip Bar or just have a stroll along the banks of the Berg river, or, then again, you may be lucky enough to get Julian to entertain on the grand piano.

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A storehouse of history

Kersefontein is a national monument but is kept going like any farm. On the day I visited, I was lucky the mist hadn't lifted or Julian, the owner having served breakfast to his paying guests, would have  been off on the combine. Having nothing better to do, he showed my wife and me round the house. First the passage with the scull of what I assumed was some kind of large bush pig or other but turned out to be that of the last hippo shot in the Berg river. He showed us into the lounge with its grand piano and furniture from 1690 and the 18th century, all carefully looked after as family heirlooms. Among the many portraits is one of Esau Coetzee who served four generations of the Melcks and taught Julian to ride. The house is a veritable storehouse of history and we were lucky to see round it before the wheat dried enough for the combine.

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Kersefontein

Having finished with Rickety Bridge, I was scratching around in my files when I found a note on Kersefontein farm on the Berg river. I've checked and it is still owned by the Melcks and is still taking visitors. The old house was originally built in 1740 but was bought by Martin Melck in 1770. Martin had emigrated to the Cape in 1740   to work for the Dutch East India Company when jobs were scarce in his native Prussia. He worked on the silver mine scam at Stellenbosch for a while (I'll get to that another day) but did well and when he won a contract to supply meat to the Company, he bought Kersefontein. While the farm is now a National Monument, the present owner, Martin works it as a mixture of farm and cowboy ranch.

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Duncan Spence introduced light lunches served inside or on the terrace but the addition of the restaurant meant it was possible to eat outside on a terrace, which is enclosed and cosy in the winter months. When Duncan Spence took over this was the wine tasting area and was initially converted into offices before the final remodelling into an eatery.

The restaurant was serviced from a bar in the modern cellar, its temperature control installation dating from Alan Tonkin.

Duncan Spence added to the range of wines being produced with a blended red and a blended white, both bearing the name Duncan’s Creek.

Continuing the tradition of prize-winning wines Duncan Spence has won several awards. The winery has competed overseas, winning several international awards and among its accolades is the Decanter UK.
Never mind the prizes, for me the Rickety Bridge Sauvignon Blanc ranks among the best in the world especially when drunk on the terrace looking at the mountans.

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Duncan Spence at Rickety Bridge

Duncan Spence took over the farm at auction in 2000 and made a number of changes aimed at attracting the tourist as well as promoting the sale of wine.

The house was refurnished into comfortable overnight accommodation.

The old sunken concrete tank in front of the old cellar was turned into a fishpond.

The old cellar area was completely remodelled into a conference centre and a consecrated chapel in which marriages can take place turned this area into a wedding venue which attracted a stream of local and overseas brides.

The tasting area was also extended and in fine weather tasting is enjoyed on the verandah looking out across the valley to the mountains.

What to show? The fish tank, the interior and the view?

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Behind Rickety Bridge

Outside, Len pointed to the back retaining wall, which he built mainly with rocks he had taken from the ground he excavated behind the kitchen and house. He also pointed to the water storage dams, which were added for better water pressure in the house and mentioned that he thought the work involved in the wall and the dams with their pumps and equipment were the last straw for Robin Singer.

The rising slope behind the building is a great background, but it is easy to see why retaining walls would be necessary if any extension was being planned. It is also easy to understand how an escalation in mortgage rates adding to the cost of all the work the singers did to Rickety Bridge would strain a budget but the singers put more than money into the project and I think it showed.

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Rickety Bridge kitchen

In the kitchen, Len Raymond pointed to to the nook in the corner beside the old fireplace, saying it would originally have been contained the baking oven, heated by a flue from the fire, with a door through which the bread and other baking would be loaded. The nook would have had a wide shelf above the oven in which a slave, or servant, would have slept. ‘Whichever one the boss was sleeping most with at the time’, according to Len.
It's not so much the structure of the old houses that interests me but what it tell us of how the people lived and worked. Anyway, here is a picture of the old kitchen, minus the old fireplace and after several renovations.

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