Night
3: Off to a Moroccan inspired house, Akasha, in the high hill country behind
Heidelberg
Everyone
who had been here said to us we would absolutely LOVE this place and we did. We
were invited to stay for two nights, which is always a good period to review a
place properly. One night means you arrive, stay the night and leave the next morning
giving you very little time to explore the place and the area it is in, get to
know the locals and the staff and experience some of the differences, the
drawcards and activities on offer to visitors. Akasha had lots to show us and
we had time to wind down and stop a while instead of moving swiftly along to
the next place
We
agreed to be in Heidelberg by 2pm, where we would met the owner Chris van der
Walt at Delish Deli so we could follow him to Akasha. In fact we arrived there
just before one, which enabled us to have some lunch. They make great pies and
you can order these to take away to enjoy on your trip or where ever you are
staying. See link here
When
Chris and his wife Elana arrived, we followed them through the outskirts of
Heidelberg and then up the dirt road for approximately 12 kilometres, climbing
all the time. It's a good road and you don't need a 4x4 . We came to the top of
the hill and the countryside opened up before us. The hills slope down steeply towards
the large dam below and then climb again beyond it towards the far Langeberg mountains.
You can see no houses, no people, only nature
The
house is concealed a little way down the hill and is magnificent. It is in a Cape
Maroc style (the owners term) and built for relaxed living and casual
entertaining indoors and out
Parking is above the house
The entrance. The whole house is
painted a shade of warm desert sand
What a view to enjoy from a hammock
slung onto the fruiting mulberry tree. We had some of those with our breakfast
Into the lounge with its built in
divans. They are made of concrete and fitted with comfortable foam mattresses.
There is a small library of books and games but no television. As the owners
say on their website, an ideal off-grid location in which to "disconnect from
digital & reconnect with nature". There is a Bluetooth/analog speaker for
your iPod/phone. And there is also a cell phone signal, so you won't be cut off
entirely. But you should be, this is a place to come and de-stress and relax
Wonderful views from every window and
small Moroccan touches everywhere. The Sanskrit word Akasha means space or sky
or "to shine or radiate". In Hindi it's the ether, the basis and essence of all
things in the material world. There is a bed of mint in the front garden and
the first thing Lynne did on arrival was make a refreshing pot of mint tea
The house is full of mineral samples
and crystals because Elana van der Walt has a very good collection and uses
them for healing
A shelf for crockery
One of the two bathrooms in the main
house with the handmade Moroccan style tiles they had made locally
One of two mosaic glass windows made
by a local craftswoman
A Moroccan painted cupboard front used
as artwork
A painted chest, a shuttered window, a
lamp and a decorated mirror all add texture to the house
A lamp which casts magical lacy
shadows when lit. All the ceilings are of reeds locally known as spaansriet
The wonderful view from our bedroom
Interesting quartz crystals with inclusions
The Langeberg
mountains in the evening mist
Our bedroom doors
The cutlery shelf has everything you
need
and so do the coffee and tea shelves
Another view of the lounge with the
dining table
Look either side of the console table
at the two enormous tree trunks which support the roof
There is a Dover stove for traditional wood-fired baking and extra heating in winter
The kitchen is filled with light. It
is a very Green house. The stove, hob, fridge and the water heating all run on
gas. The lighting is all solar powered from batteries, which are re-charged by
photovoltaic panels on the roof. There is a large granite chopping block so
visitors don't wreck the countertops by chopping food on them. One did. And
there is a singing kettle. And clean fresh spring water for drinking is piped
into the sink through its own tap
One of the two bathrooms has a huge
walk in shower. The water is brown and smells a little of sulphur from local
tannins and minerals in the water, but is perfectly safe
Our bedroom
Good crisp linen, huge, comfortable
bed and lots of storage
Our en suite bathroom also had a huge
Cleopatra bath. They are not that easy to get in and out of and use a lot of
water, but are great to lie in for the view
and it also has a shower
The second bedroom
is also very comfortable and has views
The third bedroom has single beds
The humidity and rainfall are high in
this area, so the land is green at this time of the year
There is a huge outdoor 'lounge' at
the side of the house with a table and chairs, a divan and an outdoor shower
The front lawn
At the back of the house is a separate
suite being the villa’s 4th bedroom with bathroom en-suite. Great for older members of a large
family staying here?
It also has magnificent views
On the second evening we were joined
by Chris and Elana after supper. They are well known as they used to own a very
successful hand painted clothing business in the V&A Waterfront called
Elana
Elana
We lit a fire in the fire pit and sat
out in the warm evening air
And sang along softly under our breath
to the songs we knew. Thank you both for a wonderful stay. It was just what we
needed, a chance to decompress and properly relax
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor
& Bacchus 2015
