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NATURE

View from the walkway Relaxing down at the river

I was not surprised to find scattered in the separate braai facility with a sheltered
veld hundreds of pieces of Stone Age tools inglenook – and an elaborate outside
– broken scrapers and discarded cutting shower with a facility for washing dogs
tools, left over the past million years and muddy, perhaps, from rolling in the river
more by the world’s first humans. Some which is some distance below the cottages.
scientists now believe our predecessors,
the ‘man-apes’ (Australopithecus africana) Each cottage’s amenities include a
which abounded in this region, used stone solar geyser, DSTV, electric blankets,
tools. air conditioning and a fireplace. The
kitchen has everything one can think of,
Not far away are the fossil-rich, world including many thoughtful little touches – a
famous caves of ‘The Cradle of Humankind’ welcoming sherry and, in a small box, a
where our ancestors lived and developed souvenir piece of quartzite from the hills.
their skills and tools. Sunken into the kitchen wall is a brilliant
arrangement for waste-disposal - three Shetland ponies
There’s a mysterious group of 10 overgrown chutes with covers labelled ‘paper’, ‘plastic
mounds near the crest of Stone Hill - unmarked and tins’ and ‘compost’. There’s also Old Mill - which has 12km of ‘dog-friendly’
Boer War graves. Mark and Caroline are hoping a powerful rechargeable wall light and walking trails and an environmental centre
some knowledgeable visitor will one day another portable light for when Eskom fails. with a fungi house, a butterfly house and an
work out what happened there. educational zoological exhibit.
Caroline (who owns several dogs and cats)
Apart from the exhilarating walks and can arrange a dog-sitter for those who want When we paid for our Stone Hill
wayside benches, it was the design of the to go out. There’s even a mobile dog spa accommodation, I was pleasantly surprised
cottages that intrigued me. Caroline put a that will come to one’s cottage. how affordable it was.
lot of thought into it.
Although we did not have time to visit it, For more information, contact Stone
Each timber-built cottage has a large, there is an adjacent farm - Happy Acres Hill on www.stone-hill.co.za.

One of the charming bedrooms in the cottage Stone Hill sherry and quartzite souvenir
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DPL