I love driving over the crest of Sir Lowry’s Pass and breathing in, with the green lung of the Overberg, an air completely different to the city. It is always the greenness of the Easterly route from Cape Town that is so striking.
In a Woolstone Green Defender, we camouflaged ourselves in the leafy arms of Underhill Eco Farm for a two-day retreat. The farm, like a shire in the Overberg, hums a tune of sustainability and tranquillity off the Van Der Stel Pass, in the Botrivier Valley. Each cottage is a vastly different expression of owner Julian Jackson’s vision of upcycled accommodation and sustainability. Olive groves, orchards and a vegetable garden supply fresh produce to guests and the local community, and each fascinating lodging is built using reclaimed and on-site materials, fundamental to the farm’s commitment to sustainability. While every design is different, the sense of hospitality remains consistent, coupled with the feeling that one has stepped outside of the world for a little while.
The property offers eight accommodation options to suit a variety of needs. All are pet-friendly – and sustainably remains the guiding principle in every design. Avondson Homestead and the Underhill farmhouse are the biggest of the options, existing on the farm before Julian’s ownership. The rest of the quirky lodgings have been built by Julian, using resources made on the farm and materials that would have otherwise been discarded.
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My phone pinged on day two, ‘Would you like to try a farm brew and then go for a tour?’ Over the cloudy goodness of unfiltered local ale, Julian began his story. It starts with many years in finance in the city, and it takes a turn with the purchase of Underhill Eco-Farm in 2020. The story takes another turn as COVID strikes, and, with one disaster seemingly in the rearview mirror, the narrative must grow to accommodate devastating floods that hit the area in 2023. But, as the story unfolds, so does the quiet green landscape that now houses five unique cottages, including the Rivendell Cottage, Hobbit Hollow, Oak Cottage, Greenhouse Cottage and Bacuzzi Blyplek. Each has its own wonderful story of creation, which Julian told us with such obvious passion for the earth on which they have been built.
Our stay was split between two units, the Underhill Farmhouse and the Greenhouse Cottage. The Farmhouse is enveloped in a brilliant tangle of foliage, and to spend the evening braaiing in the quiet emerald hum felt like being bathed by a forest. Firewood from the farm is available with each unit, and as farm manager Ken Sutherland said with such enthusiasm: ‘There is ice in every freezer, something people often forget!’ It’s a touch of hospitality that I very much appreciate, and it’s indicative of the general sense of care at Underhill that complements the privacy and peace that the place lends guests.
Underhill Farmhouse is the original structure on the farm, thoughtfully expanded from a former workers’ cottage into a spacious, character-filled retreat. Set beneath a poplar forest along a stream, it stays naturally cool thanks to its living grass roof. Designed for entertaining, it features indoor and outdoor kitchens and large gathering spaces. The layout includes a loft bedroom, two additional rooms, and a large main suite, with views stretching across the dam and towards the Franschhoek mountains.
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Night two would be spent at the Greenhouse, following our tour of the farm. Set within the same Poplar forests, along the riverbank, the three-room cottage offers privacy at the perimeter of the farm. Built into a south-facing slope with a living roof, it stays cool in summer while capturing winter sun through its greenhouse corridor. Each bedroom has an en-suite, and the cottage has generous indoor-outdoor living spaces, a natural pool, and a riverside fire pit, framed by vineyard views.
Perhaps if we had a full week, we would have experienced the ecological architecture and the curious character of every cottage dotted along the rich grass of Underhill Farm. But two nights enjoying the tranquillity of escape, and an afternoon spent with the generous time of an owner keen on sharing a story of sustainability, were enough to understand the quiet luxury of eco-conscious living between two streams in Botrivier.
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Images: @oliverkeohane_
