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My Olde Home... Lavender Cottage

This was a pinnacle, one of those times when everything just comes together perfectly - and then something goes wrong! Let's just call it a Durch hiccup and an English burp...

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity of setting up a self-catering establishment, 29 beds in all, a total of 5 houses. Bruce and I did everything lourselves more or less and oversaw the labour for the farm management and cleaning. If I pulled 1 Blue gum Tree out I pulled 10 000 and if Ipulled out a whole host of other young alien trees - all the better for the Overberg...

It was a priviledge to have the Common Duiker visit us constantly over the almost 4 years we were there. They got so calm and tame, the dogs could be just metres away and they would be fine.

The last two years of our stay we had turned this unit into the pet-friendly unit and we stayed in the other old house on the new section of farm that Thomas Hendriksen and Stuart Findlay purchased. It's not that funny, but they asked us to help them with the sale of the extra land because we were not only the only ones onsite, but I have 10 years commercial property experience. We gave them Pierre, who bought about 40 ha and also did a deal with them to plant Proteas on their land. What did they give Bruce and I for arranging this for them. Zero, nada, nothing, niks nie. Just like nearly all the other promises made to us over the four years. It turns out they only wanted to go ahead with all this self-catering business so they could illegally get money back from our Govt in respect of the Tourism Grant. Once they got all the money they could, they stopped our business (the only way we had of making money) closed the doors of Oak Grove Farm self-catering, other than their own house when they are not there... and rented out all the other units full term. If you don't believe me, phone the Department of Trade and Industry fraud hotline... I don't care how nice their land is, I was not prepared to be treated in this manner.

It breaks my heart to know that all my 5th wedding aniversary plants, given to me over 8 years ago, are all in this garden... The White Stinkwood tree in the centre of the garden is rather precious, and I can only hope Bruce wants to relocate them all for the 4th time... Oh well, we will certainly be able to collect the protected Cycad given to us years ago, still in it's pot in the back garden of Lavender Cottage.