Boschfontein Mountain Lodge

Boschfontein Mountain Lodge is a double-storey sandstone lodge on Boschfontein Farm, located 18kilometers from Ficksburg, on the Ficksburg-Fouriesburg road. The lodge was built on the side of the Joala Boholo Mountain and has spectacular views of Boschfontein Farm and the Maluti Mountains.

It is a self-catering lodge that can accommodate up to 18 people. There are four units that sleep between four to five people each. Each comfortable unit has two bedrooms (one downstairs, one upstairs) and a bathroom. The downstairs bedroom has a queen-size bed, fireplace, chairs, and an en-suite bathroom (basin, shower and toilet). The stairs leading from the downstairs bedroom to the upstairs bedroom are fairly steep but have a sturdy handrail, and this should be taken into consideration when booking for families with young children and frail/elderly guests. The upstairs bedrooms have two or three 3/4 beds (depending on the unit). Linen and towels are provided. The shared living areas include the kitchen, braai areas, bar, lounge and verandas. The shared living areas and units are cleaned daily. Wood is provided for the fireplaces and braai areas.

The lodge was built using local, hand-dressed sandstone. The wood for the ceiling and some of the furniture was sourced from alien invasive trees on our farm. The lodge is considered ?off the grid? as the water runs directly from a mountain spring and solar power supplies the electricity for the fridge, lights and two plug points for charging cell phones. Unfortunately, the solar electricity system cannot support the surge of a microwave, hair dryer and other heat-based hair styling equipment (e.g. hair straighteners). Gas geysers heat the water in the bathrooms and kitchen. There are indoor and outdoor braai facilities.

Boschfontein Farm is a working sheep, cattle, and game farm bordering on Lesotho. It also has a small, 100 year old cherry orchard that produces the Early Red variety of cherries. Activities on the farm (upon request) include mountain trails and river walks, game drives, fishing, target shooting, clay pigeon shooting, black powder shooting, cherry liqueur tasting and a tour of the Pinedene Small Arms Museum.

There are established routes that can be used for walking, running, and hiking. Some of the routes can also be used for mountain biking. Our 140ha game camp is stocked with waterbuck, springbuck, impala, black wildebeest, zebra, blesbuck, ostriches, eland and red hartebeest. Game viewing is mainly done in a Series II Land Rover. Boschfontein Farm hosts an annual clay pigeon shooting competition and a long-distance gong shooting competition, and these shooting ranges can be used at other times of the year.

There is a gravel road (about 3.5kilometers) from the tar road to the lodge. Low clearance vehicles (e.g. sports cars) may struggle to get to the lodge.