There was much to see and appreciate in Africa. We enjoyed a couple of nights at the Wakkerstroom Country Wetlands B&B. As usual, we arrived late, after a short flight followed by another long and tiring drive with South African fast food for dinner. Before showing us to our rooms, the very European South African proprietors introduced themselves and the facility setup. Our hostess kept referring to the “Sheshays” in which some of us would stay. My muddled brain kept searching for an interpretation of sheshay. What in the world is that? Why don’t I know what a sheshay is? I think it was the next morning before I figured out that a sheshay is, in fact, a sheep shed that has been converted into private lodging suites, aka Sheep Shed.
Prying open sleep-bleary eyes the next morning, we marveled at our location in a lovely garden with wild-ish open space across a creek from the buildings (where sharp eyes picked out grazing deer), and early morning light shimmered off nearby Martin Reservoir. Breakfast offerings were as abundant as the on-site birding opportunities. Each morning we were treated to a cereal, porridge, and fresh fruit bar, plus cooked to order hot breakfast, and individually crafted cups of coffee.
From the B&B we explored winter grasslands that, again, looked remarkably like Southern Idaho—Owyhee County in particular. Cattle, sheep, goats, and horses were abundant, and we passed a couple of blesbok farms that raise game animals for hunting safaris—and for commercial game meat. We traveled backroads that lead to small bird sanctuaries in the midst of local farms, and to small villages, that according to our local guide have expanded rapidly during the past few years.
The housing stock was everything from windowless, mud huts to corrugated tin, with a few nicely tended adobe houses that had windows and architectural highlights.
In addition to the vast grasslands that we toured, we also visited the bird-rich wetlands of the town of Wakkerstroom, which gets its name from the Zulu term Uthaka, or lively, wide-awake stream—Wakkerstroom is Afrikaans for wide-awake stream.
Counting your sheep in the sheepshed! Wakkerstroom looks like Dutch, but it’s all Greek to lil ole mois.
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Brilliant observation, Karen. Afrikaans actually evolved from Germanic/Dutch early settlers. Even the term Afrikaans has that telltale double vowel thing going on. 😉
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I love the coziness of the sheeshay. Sitting on that bench with that view would be a joy and that looks like a sunrise but yes, a sunset, too. Fantastic light and great hosts from the look of it.
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Yes, you would love this place, Jane. It is sad that we had only 1 night here because the setting was gorgeous and the birds right on the property were amazing. The downside of highly structured travel with a group. But, w/o all that structure, there’s no way I’d have discovered this little hideaway.
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Love the stonework inside and outside the sheshay.
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It is really lovely, isn’t it?
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Hello
The photos are beautiful, I enjoyed traveling via my screen
However, as I have not yet taken my breakfast, at the sight of some images, I must admit that I’m hungry
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It was a lovely place and the food was abundant and extraordinary. Thanks for dropping by.
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This brings back fond memories of my native continent. Looks like you had such a marvelous time over there. Thanks for sharing!
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Thank YOU, Michael, for stopping by and leaving a note. It was marvelous. If I could afford to, I’d do it again, maybe a little closer to the ground. 😉
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Looks like a lovely place to stay … too nice for sheep! 😀
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Baaahhh. What’s wrong with sheep? It was a pretty cool place. I’d have liked to stay a bit longer and, of course, had more free time to explore the environs…
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