Thomas, chef, owner manager, (born 1965) his passion: braaing, race drone flying, 3D printing and definitely a hard-working handy manElke, the right, left and fifth hand (born 1965) hobbies: reading, nature, chocolate Rachel: the security guard - German Sh...
- Thomas, chef, owner manager, (born 1965) his passion: braaing, race drone flying, 3D printing and definitely a hard-working handy man
- Elke, the right, left and fifth hand (born 1965) hobbies: reading, nature, chocolate
- Rachel: the security guard - German Shepard, lovely manner and does not bite. We got her from the animal welfare in April 2018 and she is approx. 6 – 7 years old.
Our dog is very good with people and children. She is not allowed into the guest rooms and you cannot take her home. You can find her food bowl at the entrance to the main house (if you want to give her a treat). - The current crew:
Chris: eager gardener, who started in January 2020
This is our story about a holiday to South Africa in January 1996 that led us to the decision to move and to change our lives. In order to make sense of such a decision, we have included a brief background as to how it begun. We hope you enjoy the journey!
We, Thomas & Elke emigrated in September 1997 from Germany to South Africa after we visited the country twice before. During our first holiday we decided to check what it takes to work and live in South Africa. We did our homework, came again for 2 weeks in November and thought we are well prepared for the big move. Ha, we couldn’t have been more wrong. Our application for a temporary residence permit with a work permit for Thomas took
1 ½ years to be denied in the first instance but after re-submitting more documents and certificates it was approved.
We arrived with lots of overweight luggage, due to Elke’s deurmekaar (muddled) thinking, which cost us the amount of another flight ticket. First we stayed for four weeks at Bergzicht Cottages. Then we moved into a 3-bedroom house a couple of days before the container with our furniture and belongings arrived. We rented a bigger house because some people were under the impression that they wanted to visit over the summer period. As you can imagine that didn’t materialise.
One of the best decisions we made, was to buy this property in January 1998. We heard about the sale of the house from our hairdresser and late friend Bruno; and have been residing here ever since. Apart from a time back in Germany in 2002 because our savings depleted quicker than the rivers in the Karoo. We became frustrated with the situation and had to regroup in our home land with our ancestors.
Philip was born in 2000 (hobbies: soccer, gaming, his friends).
Thomas arrived back in March 2003 in South Africa and started with the conversion and building works. Elke and Philip followed four months later. In November 2003 we opened the guest house. Initially we had five guest rooms and we thought that it will be a good idea to rent out the rooms in the main house. The newly built L-shaped flat was our new home but we soon recognized that we rather move back in the first floor of the main house and rent out the self-catering apartment to guests. The first guest at the newly established Bed & Breakfast was vinnige Fanie.
We had three rooms completely furnished but room 4 and 5 lacked bedding and curtains. The income of the first guests enabled us to rectify this situation and all the rooms were ready to be occupied.
Tatjana was born in 2004 (hobbies: sport, her friends).
From the beginning we wanted to grow an accommodation establishment that will generate income during the entire year and not only for the summer season. The plan was to extend to seven or eight rooms. Out of the necessity we started renting vehicles to guests because there was a shortage of rental cars. We extended the vehicle fleet and in 2007 we built the first floor with guest rooms 6 and 7. The house became a brand new roof spanning over the complete surface. From then on the business was work.
We applied for permanent residence permit and received this status in December 2009. All four of us are German citizens and very happy to live in South Africa.
Why SA?
There is more than just one reason. The most important one was the challenge of working and living in a foreign country and secondly because South Africa has a very good infrastructure. Also the climate and landscape, the friendliness and welcoming of the people are high on the list. A good friend of us but it in a simple sentence: “In Germany one lives to work; in South Africa one works to live.”
What else do we do besides the guest house?
As mentioned before we established a second leg to the business where we rent our cars and therefore offer shuttle service. Thomas sets the breakfast table and Elke fetches fresh rolls from the local shop on the way back from dropping off the child at school. Thomas being the handyman always finds something to invent, maintain or repair.
And a guest house is definitely a 7 days per week job, not 24 hours per day, but one has to be available. There are many things to be done and organized after the breakfast table has been cleared.