Melkhoutkraal’s Weblog

Upgraded accommodation!!!

melkhoutkraal — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 08:25:06 +0000

I have added a new shower and

a kitchenette

The Apple Express arrives!

melkhoutkraal — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:01:30 +0000

It’s like a kid’s toy train – bright green carriages with a postbox red engine pulling it all and puffing away.

And if you look closely at the carriages you can see this is one of the most beautiful old trains in the world.

Just look at the style of these antique seats! It’s from another era….

Accommodation ready for guests!

melkhoutkraal — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:06:58 +0000

My barn sleeps three people, and the caravan sleeps 4, so I can easily accommodate parties up to 7. The barn was originally a milking shed and has old stone and clay walls half a metre thick.

You can see the barn in the background behind the caravan .

Wake up under the oak tree to the sound of birds. My caravan is now ready. It sleeps 4 people and has a working stove.

The double bed folds out from the sitting area and is not visible from this side.

Route 62 goes past Melkhoutkraal just outside Kareedouw

melkhoutkraal — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:19:15 +0000

Apple Express to chug along to my part of the world

melkhoutkraal — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:31:22 +0000

One of the world’s most charming steam engine trains is due to get back on track again. The Apple Express travels along the Cape’s old apple farming route, where it once travelled to collect the fruit. Now, the train is a wonderful experience for tourists, who want to experience an old world of steam and steel. It also goes over the world’s highest narrow guage bridge at Van Staden’s. Here’s what an old Herald Report says about the train trip:

Some of the most attractive mountain and forest scenery in the Eastern Cape can be seen from the train. It passes the Groot Winterhoek Range
with its impressive Cockscomb rising to about 2 000 metres. The train climbs west until it reaches the Van Stadens gorge, 43km from Port Elizabeth.Here the train crosses the highest narrow-gauge railway bridge in the world.This steel girder bridge is over 78m high and 195 metres long.

The “Apple Express” then, begins its descent to the Loerie valley, where the village of Loerie is the turning point for a normal day’s excursion. It stops at all
the small stations on the way and returns to Port Elizabeth about 5 p.m

Hello world!

melkhoutkraal — Sat, 03 May 2008 10:48:03 +0000

So this is Melkhoutkraal. Read about my adventures on this quaint little farm with a river running through it.