Karoo Secret Farm Stay

Karoo Secret is a working farm on the Plains of the Camdeboo in the Aberdeen district, with the Sneeuberg range filling the horizon and 212 bird species recorded on the property. Margot and Chris Hayward let two restored buildings on the farm, both fully self-catering.

Secret House is the old manager's house, built in the 1950s for Oubaas Weyers and left empty for decades until Margot restored it. It sleeps nine in four bedrooms, three of them en-suite, with a full kitchen, a lounge and dining room, and a wide voorstoep looking at the mountains. The rooms are furnished with heirloom pieces, the kitchen and living-room light fittings are made from ox yokes off Margot's family farm, and the trunks and suitcases in the bedrooms are boarding-school memorabilia. A slab of concrete in the Springbuck room is the floor of the original kitchen.

Lark Cottage is the restored farm school, now two self-catering units sleeping two each.

Linen and towels are provided, there are indoor braai facilities, fans and electric blankets, and a hairdryer. Braai packs, roosterkoek and homemade apricot jam can be ordered ahead, braai wood is sold by the crate, and meals can be arranged. Pets are welcome by prior arrangement.

There are marked walks of various lengths, including Kudu Creek, jeep-track cycling routes, a sundowner spot to walk or drive to, and a Karoozie, a dip pool that cools you in summer and can be heated by a donkey boiler in winter. The birding is exceptional: the farm list runs to 212 species and includes Ludwig's and Kori Bustard, Blue and Karoo Korhaan, Sclater's Lark, Cinnamon-breasted Warbler and Verreaux's Eagle.