Jean and I have a 20 hectare plot of heaven in the middle of the Winterberg in the Eastern Cape. The dirt road between Adelaide and Tarkastad leads you there. On the plot we built a tiny, but cozy off-the-grid timber cabin where we have spent many weekends and extended periods of time to relax, attempting to grow cherries, and practice our stargazing and astro-photography. We have a well equipped home-made observatory. We also have a mountain stream fed by three springs that runs through the plot. Usually the stream flows quite strongly, but for the first time in decades the current drought has, hopefully only for the time being, put a stop to this. We love it there – it is a safe and beautiful place where we can escape to, away from a world that has gone crazy – it is a sanctuary that we yearn for more and more, particularly as suburban life becomes increasingly irritating and complex. We have outgrown our small timber cabin and, for many years now have dreamt of building a bigger off-the-grid house with local materials. A log cabin was the ultimate solution!
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