ULTIMATE ANGLING - the Ultimate SA Fishing website
FRESHWATER ANGLING => FW Hotspots/locations => Topic started by: krissi on June 02, 2014, 05:22:18 AM
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Hi Everyone
We are starting a self catering cottage on our farm in Underberg. Admin has kindly taken me on board as a sponsor - thank you so much. I would like some feedback/advice from the members please, so that I draw up my advertising brochure. It will also help me make sure the cottage has everything that a guest would need to be comfortable and most importantly, come back again and again.
1. What do you expect from accommodation?
2. What do you look for in a self catering unit?
3. Are you prepared to pay extra to have the cottage cleaned on a daily basis?
4. When planning a trip, what are your priorities eg activities in the area; easy access to shops, restaurants, etc - basically what would make you choose one place above another?
5. Is DSTV a priority? We will have a TV and decoder but guests must bring their DSTV card - is this a good option?
6. We will be pet friendly.
Your input will be very valuable to ensure the success of our new venture.
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1. What do you expect from accommodation? Comfortable bed! Clean, maintained, homely feel, decent furniture, lekker stoep to drink morning coffee (nice view makes it better)
2. What do you look for in a self catering unit? Kitchen with all the necessities and the basic appliances. Comfy lounge. Braai facilities a must if self-catering. Cappuccino machine will be a bonus w;k
3. Are you prepared to pay extra to have the cottage cleaned on a daily basis? Should preferably be included in the price
4. When planning a trip, what are your priorities eg activities in the area; easy access to shops, restaurants, etc - basically what would make you choose one place above another? Never been to this area, what is there to do here? I personally don’t mind if the nearest shop is 500km away, the further away from noise and traffic the better. Activities to keep the little ones entertained a must, don’t want them to become bored.
5. Is DSTV a priority? We will have a TV and decoder but guests must bring their DSTV card - is this a good option? Definitely need dstv in case there is sport to watch. Bringing own card not a problem. Only problem with bringing one’s own card is that, with the pvr functionality these days, you can’t record your favourite shows while away from home.
6. We will be pet friendly. In that case we will be booking with you if we come that way. Good pet friendly accommodation is hard to find.
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Good luck with this Krissi, sure it will be a great success.
Tell me a bit more about the area, what is there to do here? Never been to your part of the world.
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For me, clean, serviced, a good braai and a sharp knife, DSTV for me - no thanks. Good luck Krissi (can we fish your dams?? w;k)
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Saw a few pics of the interior of your cottage on FB, must say it looks very, very nice!
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Thanks Guys - looking forward to more feedback, especially regarding negatives you have encountered elsewhere so that I can make sure I avoid those.
What to do in our area? Firstly, the Sani Pass to Lesotho - sad thing is the gov has given the go ahead to tar it, which will totally spoil the experience. Hopefully it will take many, many years for this to materialise.
There is an animal farm/café about 6km from us for the little ones. The enclosed garden is all grassed and pretty big.
We have a bass dam about 50m from the cottage (with a few trout lurking) which will be available for guests - strictly C&R as my son is trying to grow trophy bass. We also have my "duck pond" were we keep our "pet" trout (we feed them every evening) but we will allow guests to fish it - also C&R. We have some river frontage on our bottom farm and can organise other river frontage or private dams (for a rod fee). The trout club is in Underberg to book their stocked dams and river beats in season.
There is a mountain bike club/track, horse trails, hiking trails and nature reserves. There are also 3 beauty salons for the ladies. We have an excellent Spar and butchery in Underberg.
Sharp knives - yes! (Also my pet hate) The kitchen has a gas stove, microwave, kettle, toaster and hostess trolley. A braai is provided - looking at a weber as well.
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Krissi, will you please pm me your rates and availability from 27/12/14. We will be in KZN until 27th and would love to stay over for a few days before heading back home.
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Krissi, post some pics of the interior, that will help I am sure.
My negatives' of a place, is things not working or broken, dirty and uncleaned accommodation, uncomfortable bed and cold water. (quad bikes (bat)
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Here are pics of the interior
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Bathroom and view
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:cgrts: Krissi wish you all of the best. The place looks beautiful and the fact that it is pet friendly is great. (clap)
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(clap) Looks great Krissi.
I think Zetti covered it all.
Cleanliness is not negotiable and cockroaches a big no no. A proper fumigation at regular intervals will / should take care of them. Rather include the cleaning in the price and have the rooms cleaned daily.
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Krissi, the place looks fantastic, will have to bring the wife up for a weekend. Pet friendly is one thing allowing them to sleep on the bed and furniture is another.
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Krissi, the place looks fantastic, will have to bring the wife up for a weekend. Pet friendly is one thing allowing them to sleep on the bed and furniture is another.
Yes, I know - our dogs sleep on our bed :blush: . Luckily I have a Kirby, so after pets have been there everything will get a good vacuuming including the furniture and mattress/es.
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Hi Krissi
Can I sleep there Friday 13th. Rates please! Love it!
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Hi Krissi
Can I sleep there Friday 13th. Rates please! Love it!
Hannes, daars nie spoke op de plaas nie, :crzy
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Are you guys planning to build more cottages in future? Will be a lekker venue for an annual UA fly fishing getaway if there is accommodation for a group of well behaved UA folk.
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Rates: R250 per person per night. At the moment the bedroom has a queen bed, but we will be putting in a bunk bed. There is a sleeper couch in the lounge - so we will be able to sleep 5 max.
I know most of you have advised cleaning be included in the price, but I have opted to make it an additional charge of R80/day. The choice is yours. Some people may not want a maid intruding in their space during the day, while others don't want the schlepp of cleaning/dishes/making beds.
Thanks for all the compliments and interest! (clap)
Please pm me an email address Mal Hannes :-)
@ Zetti - there is another cottage 30m above this one. It is empty now and we are considering letting it permanently but ... if the bottom one takes off, then we will furnish it as well.
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Congrats Krissi !!!!
Lets hope I see you there soon !!!!
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Good Luck with new Venture - I am sure it will be a success.
I am with Zetti on all your questions. Remember with DSTV - you will have to pair your Decoder and the Card - so if someone brings a Card - they should bring their Decoder as well -
I hope to use your facilities maybe next winter.
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Hi Krissi,
That looks really nice! I hope it goes well! I think the key points have been made but my selection process starts with finding a superb trout fishing venue, then accommodation (clean, comfortable, cosy, no. of people, proximity to people - I like the peace and quiet and thus avoid any place that I wouldn't have sole use generally) and then proximity of fishing to main house (so the wife can wake up, walk down, teach me to fish and head back within 10 minutes).
Good luck!
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How far is the nearest river from this cottage?
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plus lots of fire wood for winter
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How far is the nearest river from this cottage?
:-) as the crow flies the Umzimkulu is roughly 3-4km but far as I know that particular stretch of water is club water. We have about 5km of river (Ngwagwane) on the other farm, which is about 20km away on the tar road. Photos are taken at either end of our stretch.
I am working on a brochure which I will post.
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Looks great , Sani is on my bucket list before I kick it. Queen bed is ok but a bed that can separate is better if I travel with my flatulent hunting & fishing pals. I agree make the cleaner optional .
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So how far are you then from Miles and Inge Divett's farm?
And how far is your section of river from the upper reaches?
By the looks of it, it looks relatively lower down. The water seems deeper than just your thigh? When last was this water fished? Does anyone fish it at all?
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So how far are you then from Miles and Inge Divett's farm?
So you know Miles and Inge (clap) They are good mates of ours who we don't see often enough :-( They are about 30km further along the Bushman's Nek road from our home farm.
And how far is your section of river from the upper reaches? By the looks of it, it looks relatively lower down.
Yes it is - it is crossed by the R617 to Swartberg - we have about 2km on either side of the road.
The water seems deeper than just your thigh?
It is pretty deep at the pump house which is the longest deepest stretch - the weir goes all the way to the road. On the other side of the road it has pools and small rapids. Don't forget this river is heavily irrigated from higher upstream, so the water drops substantially from now to spring.
When last was this water fished? Does anyone fish it at all?
I really don't know when last this stretch was fished. The neighbour (across the pump house/Richard) used to fish it but we haven't seem them up here for ages. We don't fish it at all and very, very occasionally the previous owner's nephew fishes it but he has to get permission from us first. Last must have been 2 years ago. The Lockharts don't fish either that I know of anyway. There are trout there - because Richard used to stock the river with trout and my boys have caught when they used to fish it a few years ago.
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My plans of fishing the Berg this year got ruined by deadlines, both work and rod builds.
I have an open invitation to go and fish the river and tribs on the Divett's farm.
I think I should make a plan and come down September or October and fish Miles's water and make a plan to get out to you too. I have a hunch about that stretch on your farm w;k
I will stay in touch.
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hi krissi, I know derrick nic and ryan mac have caught some nice fish on their stretch. I think derrick got a 2kg one fairly recently. When garth was here early last year they got quite a few by lockharts. Rhett quinn also says there's great fishing there, we went with him one afternoon we got some 8-10" fish, beautiful condition
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Thanks Kev, that's great to know (clap)
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krissi is that the pump house just up from the lockharts ?
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krissi is that the pump house just up from the lockharts ?
No - that is on the opposite side of the road to the Lockharts - the other photo has the Lockhart's on the right - their picnic spot is slightly behind and to the right of where I took the photo and there is a pump house a little further upstream.
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years ago i got fish on the locharts beat
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(clap) nice one Krissi , looks great , DSTV... nah , nights are meant for sitting round the braai/fire drinking wine or OBS and planning the next days fishing / adventure . :frid
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(clap) It looks really awesome, Krissi. It is a bit far from Knysna but I am planning to take my family on a trip around the country some time. Your place will be perfect to stop over for a couple of days. How is the road conditions, will my Golf 7 make it or do I need a bakkie? Definitely a :win:
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Hi Herman
:hehe: if you asked me that question 2 months ago, I would have said the district road is only accessible by 4 x 4!! They are resurfacing the road now and doing a great job. I can actually use 4th gear on the road now whereas in the past one was lucky to get out of 2nd and drive over 30km/h. Luckily we only have 3.5km of dirt so your golf will be no problem.
I believe snow is predicted for this weekend :-( Although it is very dry here at the moment and we desperately need moisture, snow is great while it falls, but afterwards it's really miserable for the farm animals.
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:hehe: Thanks Krissi, my son would love it there. Good luck with your venture, I am sure it is going to be a big success.
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years ago i got fish on the locharts beat
With a Mepps lol
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no one asked how
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Thank you all so much for the positive feedback and compliments. A really big thank you to Admin for allowing me to advertise on UA :resp: .
Attached is the official brochure. Please feel free to contact me for any more information. Reefs, this one has GPS and directions which I forgot to add to the one you attached :blush: . Thank you so much for all your help. :+ cred:
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It is great Krissi when I come to visit I bring my Gertrude and Prudence with my two chickens :hehe: