Port Elizabeth - The tedium of a short cut, along a dusty road, between Pearston and Jansenville in the Eastern Cape, was suddenly relieved by a cluster of tall trees shading a green garden.
To pinpoint the area, the untarred R337 cuts the triangle between the R63, which connects Pearston with Graaff-Reinet, and the major R75 leading from Graaff-Reinet to Port Elizabeth.
A sight such as this, in my book, always warrants further investigation – and it proved worthwhile.
Michèle Hobson, formerly from Westville, and wife of the farm’s owner, Graham, whom she met at University in Pietermaritzburg, settled me down with a tray of tea and rusks, after which she and one of her sons took me on a tour of their extensive garden.
As we walked, she related some of the family history. Graham’s ancestor, William Carey Hobson, was just 15 when he and his brother David, 18, came to South Africa along with the 1820 Settlers.
According to Michèle, their mother did not accompany them, but remained behind, trusting God to take care of her sons, who duly landed in Delagoa Bay, and settled first in Salem.
During the Xhosa Wars their home was burned and they suffered many hardships, before moving to the Grahamstown area and finally, in 1840, William bought the farm Ebenezer (meaning “thus far the Lord has helped us”) in the Graaff-Reinet district – where his descendants live to this day.
Older brother David settled on nearby Martyrsford, which, too, is occupied by his descendants, Blake and Pippa.
A beautiful stone cottage, situated in the gardens of Ebenezer, was built on the site of William’s original reed and mud house, and is now a charming self-catering outlet.
Yet another self-catering unit, Cottesbrooke, was part of the original home of Graham’s paternal grandparents, Barry and Vera (known by all as Aunt Chookie) Hobson. It fell into disrepair, eventually serving as a storage area for unused items, until being given a new lease of life. Both units are spacious and comfortably fitted out with lots of well-preserved old furniture.
As to the large, stone main house, where Michèle and Graham live, it was once typical of a fine Eastern Cape home, with a grand wooden balcony and wooden window frames.
When Barry’s sister Gladys married rugby player Bennie Osler, the family decided to brighten up the place by plastering over the stone and whitewashing it.
In the harsh Karoo climate, the balcony and wooden frames began to deteriorate, and Aunt Chookie installed the latest fashion: steel windows. She also established formal rose gardens.
In the 1960s, Ralph and June Hobson (Graham’s parents) moved into this grand old house. By that time gardening trends had changed, and the formal rose gardens were replaced with curved, flowing beds. “June always had a beautiful, colourful garden,” says Michèle.
As we walked near a reed and tree-lined stream, Michèle said that in previous times they used to slaughter sheep nearby and tip the offal into the stream. The otters loved it, but the smell, when the wind blew from that direction, was awful, so this unsavoury habit was put to a stop.
There is a tennis court, a jungle gym for the kids, swimming pool, and lots of walks in the veld. During the shearing season, visitors can watch the labourers clipping the fleece, and sometimes get to bottle-feed an orphaned lamb. The Hobsons farm Angora goats and Dohne merino sheep.
Another fascinating tale is that during the Anglo Boer War, a Boer kommando arrived on the farm. Seeing them coming, the lady of the house chased her children into the veld to hide, but one small girl came back “to see if they were raiding the pantry,” said Michèle. One of them lifted her on to his lap, where she sat happily. These Boer soldiers were often hungry and short of food. “He asked her where her mother had hidden the jam,” said Michèle. “That story has been handed down through the generations.”
A novel “keyhole” braai at the cottage was built by a stone- mason. “One makes a large fire in the round area, which keeps people sitting around it warm,” she explained. “If one wants to braai, one uses a spade (or log) to pull a few coals from the main fire to the rectangular section, where there is an adjustable grid. One can then braai in comfort.”
Rates at The Stone Cottage range from R260pp self-catering, to R450 for d/b/b.
l Contact: 049 891 0416; cell 084 588 8171; e-mail: info@thestonecottage.co.za - Sunday Tribune