Schoone Oordt and Swellendam Day 3


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If you want to experience an amazing weekend in Swellendam like we did, Schoone Oordt is having a Winter special until September! 2017 Any 2 nights for R3k, that's a R1400 saving! This includes delicious 3-course breakfasts and delightful afternoon teas. Quote #loveSwellendam when enquiring.

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Day Three!
We woke up to snow covered mountains!
But before we skuzzlebutted our way up to Marloth, we filled up on the gloriousness that is the  3-course breakfast at Schoone Oordt. The breakfast is so next level. A full buffet of cereals, cheeses, cold meats, rusks and jams. The first course alone is amazing. The second course is always a treat. Usually, a poached piece of fruit such as pears or apples on a pouffe of fresh yoghurt topped with granola. The third and final course is a hot breakfast. On this day, croque madam. Flippen delicious.



Once filled up on divine glorious food, we darted up to the dam to take photos of the snowy caps. The air was so crisp and fresh on our faces. It was that cold morning air that gives you a sense of clarity.


Thay had organised us a horse riding day, so we went off to Equine Encounters at Appelsbosch Farm, it's about 10 mins out of Swellendam. I haven't ridden a horse since high school, so I was a bit nervous but confident in the horse they were putting me on. His name was Vasco and he was a magical white horse with a beautiful white mane. I brushed his coat to get to know him and establish a connection. The handlers then took us, (especially me) on a refresher obstacle course and gave me all the information I needed to communicate with Vasco. He was extremely responsive and I felt very comfortable on him. We then went into the mountains, on horseback!


We booked the "Scenic Travel Ride" for R300pp. The farm used to be a pine tree farm, so once they had harvested all the trees and sold the land, the pine trees self-seeded and has created a beautiful young pine forest. Riding a horse as an adult is far scarier than when you're a child. I feel like if I fell, I'd definitely break something serious. I put my confidence in Vasco as this was his job, so I basically let him take me on the trail. I had one or two scary moments, but remaining calm and keeping my legs soft, I got control over him with the reigns and talking to him.



The whole experience was very magical. I can highly recommend the service at Appelsbosch. Very kind, lovely people with very happy horses.

After horsing around (aaah lol, couldn't resist), we found ourselves lusting after a little something something. We went back to the guest house for high tea and had a scone with a bottle of red wine by the fire in the Schoone Oordt lounge.



I took this opportunity to catch up with Richard, Alison's husband who is an old family friend. Our parents were next door neighbours just before I was born and my mother often baby sat Richard for them. He was busy with the renovating with the builders to convert one of the spaces into a family suite. Richard and Alison lived in Schoone Oordt when they first bought it. They did a lot of the renovation themselves and put so much attention into all the details of the guest house. It shows from the small little touches, like the beautiful antique or antique inspired furnishings, the care put into maintaining the original furnishings in the house, to the old school service. Like the truffles next to our bed at night, the staff members offering recommendations on where to visit in Swellendam as well as even booking a restaurant for you for dinner.


Speaking of dinner, Alison organised us a table at De Companjie. Beautiful interiors followed by cocktails and a delicious meal selection. We sat right by the fire in the dining room. The atmosphere is cosy with beautiful lighting, the decor has a lot of jungly aspects. Monkeys, deep green walls and plants. This is all entangled with antiques, trophies, glass decanters and lush furnishings of velvet.



We started with pitas with chimichurri. #SOTASTE
That's when I knew the food was gonna be radcore.
I opted for a steak this time, the "Black Beast fillet" I mean...
There were so many Lauren friendly options on the menu, like prawn pasta, bacon carbonara pasta, mushroom burger with avo, Spanish beef burger. Ah! All so good.
Thaya opted for the matured beef sirloin with more of that amazing chimichurri.



We were so full after our dinner, we couldn't take on the desserts. We were, however, treated to tea cups of Amarula.
Our stay in Swellendam was sublime. It left me wanting more mountain time. It made me want to experience new things. It's amazing where a little trip out of town can take you. You don't have to go to India or Italy to find yourself. You can even play tourist in your own city. All you have to do is give yourself the space to be free.
xx


I captured a lot of what happened on Instagram stories, but since I couldn't save the whole stream as one story, I cut each of the videos into 1 second clips. Enjoy my staccato performance.

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