Klipper Rivier Country House

During the time of the Dutch East India tenure at the Cape, the "Kompagnie" as it was known, despatched their representatives into the interior in order to trade with the local Khoi people who inhabited these areas and to secure provisions such as timber from the forests. One of the well-known Khoi chiefs whom they traded with was Hessaqwas.

In 1725, Jan Loots, one of the first 5 Heemraden of the Drostdy held "de Klippe Rivier gelegen aan de Bruintjies Rivier" on loan. This was the beginning of the story of Klippe Rivier, which originally stretched from the Bruintjies River in the west to the Langeberg Mountains in the East.

The Dutch East India Company arrived at the Cape in 1652 with the express purpose of establishing a refreshment station at the Cape of Good Hope. Jan van Riebeek headed up the operation which was intended to provide passing European ships to the East with fresh water, food and general supplies. Naturally, architectural elements which were fashionable at the time in Holland and Europe were transported, and adapted to suit the Cape climate and terrain. Thus the Cape Dutch Homestead was born - an intriguing and visually stunning amalgamation of influences and adaptations, with a distinctive local character which has no identical anywhere in the world. In other words, these Cape Dutch Homesteads are unique to this specific area of South Africa.

Cape Town, was in the 1700's, a port of major significance in world trade, and was visited more often than most colonial towns by governors, commissioners, European aristocrats, and members of the professional classes (including surveyors and architects). The buildings of the Cape were thus fashioned in response to this status, and projected an image of prosperity. The magnificent Cape Dutch Homestead is an obvious result of this glorification.

What makes the Cape Dutch Homestead completely unique are the large rooms and the unusual shapes of the homesteads. The sheer size of the rooms can be directly related to the temperate climate; large rooms were cooler. It is also important to note that the early Dutch settlers, unused to such large plots of land (compared to an increasingly cramped Europe), made the most of the newly found space by building large houses.

The most impressive feature of the Cape Dutch Homestead is, undoubtedly, the ornamental gable. In the case of Klippe Rivier, the gable design is attribued to Louis-Michael Thibault, who studied at the l'Acedemie Royale d'Architecture in Paris, and is considered to be one of the foremost architects in the Cape in the late 1700's. It is generally accepted that the Cape gable was influenced by a similar design trend which was extremely prevalent in Flanders and Holland.

Rooms

• Each of the bedrooms at Klippe Rivier has been named after previous owners.
• The original "Waenhuis" and stables have been converted into six luxury bedrooms preserving much of the original ambience.
• Downstairs, three spacious bedrooms each have an open fireplace, dressing room and generous
• en-suite bathroom with separate shower and toilet.
• Three loft rooms upstairs are under thatch, offer mountain views and have private balconies.
• A secluded cottage is for the more romantic, with its own fireplace and private garden.
• All bedrooms are air-conditioned.