From Seaside to Countryside: Our Unexpected Farm Adventure

Moving to the countryside

I grew up on a farm, and the idea of swapping our cosy house in the Strand for the wide-open spaces of the countryside had been brewing for a while. My lovely wife, Alicia, and I would often find ourselves gazing out at the ocean, planning on restaurant napkins and dreaming of greener pastures. One evening, over a glass of wine, I casually mentioned that it was time to make that dream a reality. And so began our whirlwind search for the perfect country retreat.

Over a period of a year, we visited a lot of towns. In some we lingered and in some we just drove through. My mother-in-law also started to help us in our search, and she was the one who found the advert for a small farm in the Montagu area. We phoned the agent and that Saturday we were on our way to Montagu.

On 3 February 2018 we met the agent at the Padstal restaurant, just as you enter Montagu from Ashton. At that stage they were still working on the road between Montagu and Ashton. We were super excited, and the beautiful mountains of Montagu only heightened that feeling.

The farm was about 16 km from Montagu on the R62 towards Barrydale.

Arriving at the farm on that sweltering Saturday, we were met with a scene of stark desolation. The once-verdant landscape was a parched, cracked canvas, a testament to the unrelenting grip of a six-year drought.

The labourer's cottage, our only potential shelter, looked more like a relic than a home. Its weathered exterior and broken windows mirrored the farm's overall state of neglect.

As we ventured deeper into the property, the full extent of the drought's devastation became apparent. Fences were broken and sagging, once-lush fields were barren, and the absence of any water source was a stark reality check.

Our initial excitement began to wane as we questioned whether we could transform this desolate place into our dream country retreat.

The only highlight was the hectare of Chenin Blanc on the farm. It was the only green, cultivated area, and the only part that looked like a farm.

But somehow the "farm" spoke to us, and we decided to come for a second visit.

On our second visit, we discovered a borehole. The farm is only 16 hectares, and we decided to walk every inch of it. So it wasn't by chance that I saw the telltale sign. As I mentioned, I grew up on a farm, and when I saw the piece of sinkplaat with a stone on it, I knew there was a borehole hidden underneath. It turned out I was right.

I think that was the turning point for us, and we signed the purchase agreement.