Rudi Oosthuyse
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
The Mountain Cabins
Building a log cabin
“All things unique begin with a gutsy idea. Sometimes these ideas come to light while sitting around a fire, enjoying a few beers and having a laugh with good friends. Walking through a pine tree plantation inspired me to build my own log cabins, from felling the trees to building an actual lodge.
The log cabins were constructed using mostly alien vegetation such as pine, poplar, blue gum and black wattle trees, all from the land that KolKol Mountain Lodge is situated on. We selected the big old straight ones and of course… timber!!! These logs were then cut down to length, loaded onto the F250 (with a great deal of effort) and debarked with shovels. Using only a chainsaw, I levelled out all the bumps and dents and then grooved and dipped the logs in a heated container to prevent wood decay. The logs have to dry for about six months. So I let them lie while I got work laying the foundations of the cabin and laying the floor by hand.
That is how I built my first log cabin, it was a unique experience that I can highly recommend. I have since built another eight cabins for the Lodge, my own mountain escape”
FYNBOS
Fynbos is the name given to the hard leaved scrublands and heath lands found in the coastal plains and mountains of the South Western and Southern Cape of South Africa. The name is derived form the Dutch word, fijnbosch, meaning fine leaved bush and is the term given to a collection of plants.
It is also the major vegetation type of the small botanical region known as the Cape Floral Kingdom. Only five other floral kingdoms are recognised, and these cover huge areas such as the whole of Australia and most of the northern hemisphere. The Cape Floral Kingdom is both the smallest and the richest floral kingdom, with the highest known concentration of plant species: 1 300 per 10 000 square kilometers! The nearest rival, the South American rain forest has a concentration of only 400 per 10 000 square kilometers. Fynbos has very high species diversity – more than 7 500 species crammed into 46 000 square kilometers.
KolKol Mountain Lodge is situated in the Kogelberg Biosphere reserve. This biosphere encompasses the entire coastal area from Gordon’s Bay to the Bot River and inland to Grabouw and the Groenland Mountains. The Kogelberg Nature Reserve forms the largest part of the core area of the biosphere reserve. This reserve, known as the “heart of the fynbos”, is home to an incredible 1 600 different plant species, making it one of the world’s richest sites of plant diversity!
Kolkol (Berzelia Langinosa)
Of the world’s six floral kingdoms, fynbos is the smallest and richest per square area. KolKol is a type of fynbos (naturally occurring vegetation) and is abundant on this farm. This fine-leafed re-seeding shrub reaches a height of 2 meters and has short-stalked, soft-textured threadlike leaves on soft, drooping branches. The round, cream coloured flowers are grouped into heads 5mm across with characteristic red tissue at the base of the stalks. See if you can spot the KolKol on our farm!
Why a tree?
We are passionate about creating all things natural, earthy and easy-going. From our mountain lodge log cabins to our wood-fired hot tubs and unique furniture we get inspiration from using wood. The elegant tree reminds us to keep things simple and to never let go of our individuality, creativity and the pure pleasure of life!