FAQs

You won't need a 4x4 to get here but if you drive a very low car please do take is slow on the farm road. It's tar all the way to our main gat and then up to about 2km of dirt depending on which cottage you stay in. For directions please visit the Directions page.

We include a fair amount of wood in every stay for the fire places, braais, hot tubs and pizza ovens (depending on what your cottage has to offer). If you manage to go through all your wood we can top you up for R200 per large wheelbarrow. Please either let the housekeepers know that you'd like more wood  or pop us a WhatsApp. We don't, however, sell wood to take home. Please also bring your own fire lighters and charcoal if you're staying in Wisteria or The Oaks, we provide fire lighters for Nightjar and Sugarbird and they have gas braais.

There is absolutely no signal on the farm at all. Nothing. Not one bar of anything. There is a communal Wi-Fi area shared by Nightjar, The Oaks and Wisteria where you can touch base with home, catch up on emails and do anything else that needs to be done. Sugarbird has Wi-Fi in the unit. To contact us please use email or Whatsapp.

We welcome dogs on the farm and there's no limit to the number or size in The Oaks or Wisteria, but if you'd like to bring your dogs to Nightjar or Sugarbird please get in touch. Here's the link to more FAQs about bringing your dogs with you.

All of our cottages are fully self-catering. Please bring everything that you need with you, including tea, coffee, salt and pepper. We do offer a few extras for Nightjar and Sugarbird which you can add to your booking. The closest place to grab a meal is Milly's, which is about a 30 minute drive and they're open for breakfast and lunch. We recommend that you bring everything you need with you and take advantage of the fully-equipped kitchens and not having to do the dishes.

We run off power from Eskom and from time to time (especially in summer) the storms can damage the line that comes up to the farm from the badplaas valley. We have incredible local technicians who work day and night to fix faults on our line so the power is usually restored within about 3 hours. If there are longer outages we do have a backup generator that we'll put on periodically to cool down fridges, heat geysers etc. There are also backup lights in all the cottages and  gas stoves with stovetop kettles.

There is so much to see and do on the farm and in the area if you're with us for a longer stay and fancy an outing. Check out a few recommendations here.

To get an accurate weather report for your stay you can check out our personal weather station on the Weather Underground App, if you look up Katrinasrust Country Estate.

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Summer is usually lovely on the farm, in the high 20s and low 30s mostly, with thunderstorms in the afternoons and the occassional misty cold snap of a few days. Winter can get very cold, especially at night. Highs are usually in the high teens and low 20s with lows going close to freezing at night. We do occassionally get cold snaps where the temps stay in single digits for a few days.

The water on the farm is all safe to swim in and drink, including that water that comes out the taps in all the cottages. We're very lucky to have the source of water coming from our mountains.

Each unit has its very own housekeeper to make sure you're well looked after during your stay. The housekeepers don't have set working hours, it's up to you to decide when you'd like them to come in and what you'd like them to do for you. Please just make sure you communicate this to them so that they know when and where they're needed. They'll do dishes, make beds etc. but they can also light the fires for you, set the table etc.

There are no TVs in any of our cottages. This is a conscious decision on our side to encourage our guests to take a step back from tech for a few days and enjoy the company they're with and the great outdoors. We do, however, have DStv in our home and if there's a sporting event that you just can't miss you're very welcome to come and watch it with us.

The check in time for all cottages is from 14:00 and the check out time is by 11:00. If you'd like an early check in or a late check out please get in touch. We're happy to accommodate providing we don't have guests departing/arriving on that day.

Trout fishing is included in all stays, there's no extra charge, and is strictly fly fishing. We encourage catch and release (especially if you catch a very large trout, it's only gentlemanly to put it back for someone else to catch too) but if you'd like to keep a fish or two and put it on the braai or have it to eat while you're here please do. Any fish caught to take home with you are charged at R130/kg ex vat. We do have fly rods to rent at R100 per rod per day.

There is a great butcher in Machadodorp, Machado Slaghuis, just as you're leaving town after the last stop street on the left. Marina makes hands down the best droewors that we've ever tasted. We can also highly recommend her biltong, rump steak (ask for a nice thick cut), fillet, lamb and pork. For special cuts you can phone ahead and order on 0132560323.

If you need to cancel your booking or change dates please get in touch with us as soon as you can. We understand that sometimes things happen that are out of your control and do sometimes make exceptions to our policy given extenuating circumstances.

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Booking cancelled/postponed  with more than a months notice, no penalty.

Booking cancelled/postponed with less than 30 days notice, forfeit the 50% deposit

Booking cancelled/postponed with less than 7 days notice, forfeit full value of the booking.

When booking you'll need to pay a 50% deposit to confirm the booking, and the balance is due before arrival. You'll recieve an automated email a week before your booking with the relevant information but if you have any questions or would like to settle an outstanding balance sooner please get in touch.