The chilly weather has just passed by and it’s the first time we’re going on a family holiday since my Dad passed away in July of 2022. It was exactly a year ago that I was last at Bergsicht Country Cottages – and when the realities of losing him set in.
Often, one would image that avoiding a place with such sad connotations would be the expected, but Bergsicht is beautiful, humble and safe – everything our Dad taught us to value! So there was no better place, in my mind, to go back to than Bergsicht in the heart of Tulbagh valley.
Ruby Star
With the apricot pitted roads, mid-sized trees lining the gorgeous purple mountains, Bergsicht remains one of our favourite places to stay in Tulbagh. This time, we’ve booked Ruby Star and African Delight as they neighbour one another and makes for easy accommodation for a larger family.
Ruby Star is a great choice for family as it has a covered outdoor braai area (good for stormy weather) as well as indoor fireplace. There are 2 single beds behind the lounge area and a baby’s cot in the main bedroom. There is also a large shower and bath, helpful to reining the kids in at 5pm.
African Delight
African Delight is a much smaller cottage and perfect for family of 3 as the creaky floorboards reveal all your movements (hint – yes we did hear the neighbours last time!). It worked perfectly for us though as granny stayed downstairs (no stairs, direct access to WC and shower) while Al-John and I stayed upstairs (en suite with bath tub) and enjoyed the treehouse feeling of the room.
In total, we were 5 adults and 2 children so this configuration worked well.
The Centrality of Bergsicht
On Friday evening we headed to Reader’s Restaurant, a cat-mad eatery perfect for us. Why? Because we’re cat mad too! On Saturday we explored the greater Tulbagh area as Mom (granny) had never visited before so we indulged in the olive oil tasting at OakHurst, MCC tasting at Krone (shout out to Sontach, who is always such a great hostess!) and wrapped up with a little red wine tasting at Mont Pellier. (Be sure to check out Taste of Tulbagh if you’re keen to buy Tulbagh wines online.)
This was followed by a lovely potjie back at Ruby Star, which my brother kindly created while the kids hit the hot tub and we savoured the Mont Pellier shiraz. After dinner, it was music conversation (usually in the top 5 topics for a family chin wag) and a snuggle around the indoor fireplace.
The fog lifted on Sunday morning and we made our way towards the Namibian border. Loving the bright green fields and fresh blue skies before the week of crazy storms arrived in the fair Cape.
Thank you so much to Bergsicht for the collaboration. Their winter special is now on (which we also took advantage of) so be sure to book and enjoy a fantastic family mini-break!
Final Tip
African Delight also has its own private hot tub, however, we didn’t fire it up as we were mostly gathered at Ruby Sun. Should you find yourself hiring the cottage without connections next door, this is available for your use (as well as an indoor fireplace, microwave, kettle and small kitchenette).
