Primrose Cottage

Having travelled around the world together, Denise and her husband David, amateur astronomer and retired tour manager at the Observatory, now welcome you to their stone cottage on grounds dotted with fruit trees and grapevines. Private lazer star gazing can be provided on request.

There is a double room en-suite and a twin bedded room with private bathroom. All rooms are equipped with heaters and electric blankets for those cold winter nights. We also have undercover parking for all vehicles to shelter them from the frost. There is an excellent music collection and an extensive library for those who want to relax and experience the snow in comfort. An authentic English breakfast is provided in the yellow wood dining room.

Take time to relax on the drive from Matjiesfontein, enjoy the Karoo scenery and stop occasionally to listen to the silence. The climb through the Verlatenkloof pass is stunning, after which the telescopes at the observatory can be seen quite clearly on the eastern horizon. Sutherland has become well known for the Southern African Large Telescope, inaugurated in November 2005 at the already world-famous observatory. Visitors should take advantage of one of the regular, extremely interesting tours of the observatory telescopes including the visitors centre and the SALT project.

For those interested in history, there are military graves in the Boer war cemetery and a tour of the NG church where the soldiers were billeted is a must. A door containing graffiti written by the soldiers can still be seen. Sutherland is also the home of the Louw brothers, well known Afrikaans authors. Their house is now a museum.

For the birdwatcher, Sutherland has a species count of 191, more than 20 of which are endemic. Most of these endemics can be seen within the grounds of Primrose Cottage at the right time. Let David and Denise identify these birds for you and of course point out the constellations visible in the incredibly clear night skies over Sutherland.