Thembalitsha | Guest House base in Somerset West

Thembalitsha, which means “new hope,” reaches out to the poorest of the poor in South Africa.
In a nation that has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the world, ThembaCare cares for infants and children who have been diagnosed as terminally ill with AIDS.

Somerset West is the closest large towns near Grabouw (Themba Care) and volunteers working on the Thembalitsha Project in Grabouw can consider Mooring House Guest Lodge as their base for accommodation purposes whilst assisting with the project. With affordable rates the guest house offer 8 rooms all with own entrance and private en-suite bathrooms and is therefore suitable for teams or small groups helping at ThembaCare Grabouw.

During June 2008, Mooring House Guest Lodge in Somerset West hosted 2 teams from the Dallas Trinty Church in Texas (USA). The 1st team stayed for 2 weeks and the 2nd team for a week, both teams consisting of 7 volunteers each who assisted with the outreach programmes in the Thembalitsha Project. Mooring House offers reduced rates for groups involved in volunteer mission work offering suitable and spacious accommodation for the volunteers during their stay. By offering reduced rates, the guest house ensures it's contribution to the programme ensuring more funds are available for the actual cause rather than spent on accomodation.

What the team had to say:


"Our team of 7 ladies spent 2 weeks at Mooring House. The rooms were so spacious and daily cleaned excellently. We had plenty of hot water for all of us to shower at once. The view and grounds are beautiful and located very conveniently to sites, mall, etc. Garry and Miriam prepared wonderful breakfasts for us and coordinated with our schedule just as we needed. The hosts also gave us excellent recommendations for shopping, laundry, eating out and they personally aided us when two of our group became ill. Their service to us went beyond the "call of duty". They provided help and answers for our every need. I hesitate making this review only because I hope Mooring House won't become so popular that I won't be able to get a reservation in the future. I would not stay anywhere else when visiting the Cape Town area. We all hope to return."

Accommodation in Somerset West for Cape Epic mountain bike riders

5th May 2008, Mooring House again provided accommodation to 5 Cape Epic Mountain Bikers, (and their families) after the off track race from Knysna which finishined at Lourensford Estate in Somerset West. Mooring House Guest House is roughly 6 minutes away from the entrance to the Lourensford Estate and provides tasteful accommodation and tranquility mixed with smiling hospitality - a much needed therepy after the grueling and tiresom race. Although the weather conditions during the first 2 days were hot, the final day was a lot cooler and the competitors seemed to arrive at the Guest House later than the previous year - last year they were all lounging by the pool. This year when they left the guest house around 8am, the heavens opened and water cascaded from above and bikes were being loaded on vehicles in the pouring rain.

A nice thing about the guest house is that there is adequate on-site parking for vehicles, bikes and trailers and the rooms are spacious so equipment (bikes) can be taken into the room for safe keeping and there is still more than enough space to enjoy relaxing accommodation.

Email Feedback received from Kevin Record - Cape Epic Mountain Biker 2008
"Just a quick note to thank you for making our very brief stay such a nice and pleasant one."

Mfuleni Township Project | Accommodation in Somerset West | Guest House stay close to Mfuleni

Mooring House, Guest House in Somerset West provides suitable accommodation for volunteers assisting with the Mfuleni Township Project. Easy access to and from the N2 route to the Township roughly a 20 minute drive away.Just off the N2 and cllose to Blue Downs.

The build will take place in Mfuleni which is a relatively new township about 40 kilometres from Cape Town, South Africa (about 1 hour by bus). It is a predominantly "Black" (African) township, although there are also some "Coloured" members of the community. [Wikipedia]The area got its name from the Xhosa word meaning “by the river”. People started to settle there in the 1960s. In the beginning it was a transit area for migrant labourers.The first houses were built in 1976 and most of the dwellings are houses or brick structures with a yard (44%), however, there are also many informal shacks without water and electricity supply (36%).Founded by Irish property developer and philanthropist Niall Mellon in 2002, the charity began building houses in its first township, Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, in 2003.Since then, Mellon's volunteers have built over 600 quality homes in Imizamo Yethu and a second township, Netreg off Cape Town's N2, where the organisation started work in April 2006Every year the charity organises a building blitz where Irish volunteers are asked to raise €4 000 each and travel to Cape Town for a week-long intensive build.As the 350 men and women prepare for the 2006 volunteer blitz in Mfuleni, NMTI's third township, the organisation has already started recruiting what it hopes will be a massive 1 000 volunteers for "the largest ever exodus of Irish people to a charity event overseas" in November 2007

Harold Porter Botanical Gardens and Kleinmond Harbour

Kirstenbosch

It was the last day of the Easter long weekend and we were taking my daughter and a few of her friends the the Kenilworth race course to be dropped off at the MY COKE FEST (set to be the biggest rock festival in SA).

As we were already almost on the foot of Table Mountain, we decided to take our boys to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens - a place my wife and I had last visited some 8 years ago. We forgot how busy the place could be (especially considering it was a public holiday) and we had to queue to pay before entering the gates. Both my wife and myself had bladders that were about to burst so as soon as we were through the entrance gates we made a dash for the toilets.

Feeling much relieved, we made our way to the restaurant for lunch. The service was appaling and advice to those ordering a hot chocolate - please don't - it was a bitter and dark thick syrup drink and for a tourist attraction, the menu itself was nothing out of the ordinary and have frequented coffee shops with a wider range to choose from. Nevertheless, we ate and then began strolling the massive estate.

The lush green gardens are still as majestically beautiful as I can remember but the public facilities had definitely changed. Kirtenbosch is now a main venue for evening concerts where you sit on the lawns with your picnic and enjoy whatever concert is arranged for a particular day. More parking has been designated, the garden nursery is much bigger and there is another restaurant at the bottom of the estate - the one we discovered towards the end of our walk. This particular restaurant is less crowded, there is more space by the outside tables and the indoor venue is divided into 2 portions - the al-la-carte side and the self service side, the latter side also provides patrons with the option to buy a picnic selection and take it to the gardens and enjoy your own old fashioned picnic on a blanket ( bring your own).

Anyway, our roaming around the estate took us right up under Castle Rock and tot he entrance of Skeleton Gorge ( from here you can climb Table Mountain by foot on the footpath).

The views from beneath Castle Rock over a portion of the Cape Peninsula was absolutely wonderful.

Eventaully our little one was complaining that his legs were tired so we sat down on the nearest lawn for a rest and just absorbed the wonders around. It was on this piece of lawn that my kids tucked in their shirts and did rolly-polly down the grass slopes. My wife thought this was great fun and decided to do it aswell and then dad had to have his turn too. I'm just sorry I had no more space on my camera to take a video of my wife rolling down the embankment, but managed to capture the kids.

Mooring House Guest Lodge on outing to Robertson and the Kolgans River Restaurant

We left the Guest House in Somerset West on Tuesday (01/03/2008) shortly after morning breakfast was finished, taking Barclay and Kathleen (our Scottish guests) on an outing to the Kolgans River Restaurant in Robertson. We had never done this before so it would be a new experience for all - not to mention, the weather was not the best, it was a wet and rainy day we had chosen for this outdoor South African experience. Nevertheless, we (our Scottish guests or should I say friends, my wife, my parents and myself ) and off we headed along the N2 over Sir Lowry's Pass. The route we were taking would be along the N2 from Somerset West, driving through the apple orchards in Elgin and then past the Theewaterskloof dam (the largest dam in the region and main source of water to Cape Town), through Villiersdorp and on into Robertson.

After roughly just under an hours drive we reached the town of Villiersdorp and on the outer outskirts of the town we stopped at the Kelkiewyn coffee shop and enjoyed a quick cup of coffee and scones.

The remainder of our drive was spent hoping for the skies to clear but on reaching Robertson it seemed to get progressively worse. It took a little time finding the right turn off to the River Restaurant as the road markings were not particularly clear, but eventually landed up at Nerina Guest Farm in Robertson, the entrance to the Kolgans River Restaurant.

We drove down a short dirt road, my parents car in the lead resulting in my mother having to get out of the their car to open the farm access gate. With rain drops still falling she was not impressed with this exercise and we all had a good chuckle at her expense - the looks say it all.

Nevertheless, we got to the river, parked our cars and boarded the somewhat primitive resmblance of a river raft - it was floating and offered a canopy to shelter us from the rain and that was all that mattered so on we climbed.

The engine started, the rain was pouring and off we set for a river cruise. The table was already set so it wasn't long before we started eating - we first tucked into the home baked bread with butter whilst sipping our wine and enjoying the scenary (despite the rain). The remainder of the luncheon consisted of pumkin soup (which I found a little sweet bit the others all loved it) chicken pie, spinach quiche, roast potato's, pumpkin pie, salad and chocolate pudding with custard was served on the way back. The cruise lasted for roughly 2 hours and despite the weather it still proved to be an enjoyable experience - well. taking the weather into account, it definitely beat spending time in a shopping mall.

With the river trip over and having paid our fare for the event, we thanked our "Captain" and decided to visit van Louvern wine estate (also situated in Robertson), their rose bottled under the Four Cousins label is an all time favourite of my wife. So the slight back-tracking through the town of Robertson was more to satisfy her curiosity. The wine tasting area was humming with people tasting wines but we found a spot a sampled a few of their wines. With wine tasting over, it was back in the car and time to depart for home, stopping briefly in at the Affie Plaas farm stall (a shop on hte road-side selling odds and sods and curios, small gifts and food. The weatehr was still miserable and so as a last stop we decided to have a coffee break at the Rooiberg Winery (Bodega de Vinho restaurant) just outside Robertson.

We left after coffee and took the wrong turnoff and landed up driving through Worcester and then backtracking a little.

It was another long, but enjoyable day.

A trip to the Southern tip of Africa

Struisbaai and Cape Agulhas

(THE SOUTHERN TIP OF AFRICA)

DAY TRIP FROM MOORING HOUSE GUEST HOUSE IN SOMERSET WEST 01/03/2008

We served breakfast as per the morning ritual to those of our guests who were not self catering and were at the Guest House on a B&B basis. As soon as the breakfast run had been attended too, my wife, kids and myself together with a Scottish couple (Kathleen and Barclay who have been visiting our guest house in Somerset West for the past 3 consecutive years and have become family rather than guests) clambered into my car and we set off for the Southern tip of Africa. Cape Agulhas is roughly one hour and 45 minutes from Somerset West and the drive would take us along the N2 over Sir Lowry's Pass on to the town of Caledon. Leaving the N2 highway, we would drive through the town of Caledon, pass Napier then Bredasdorp where one would have the choice of either going straight on to Arniston or veering off right and going to Struisbaai and a little further Cape Agulhas.

Our first stop was at the Moerse Farmstall found just as one enters Napier. We have on occassions stopped here for coffee whilst en-route to Struisbaai, but this time it was purely a toilet stop and to buy cooldrinks for the kids.














From there we headed off to Bredasdorp and had coffee and toated sandwiches at another one of our favourites - a guest house and coffee shop at Bredasdorp Square Guest House



Here we lingered a little, the ladies browsed through the gift shop and clothing shop within the Guest House until the food arrived. We walked back to our car and headed for Struisbaai.

On entering the town of Struisbaai we found it to be a hive of activity and only later found out that it was the 2008 Yellowtail Festival. Whe we reached the boardwalk and the Nostra Restuarant we were amazed at all the cars in the parking area.


We found parking on the sidewalk and walked towards the restuarant hoping there would be a table. The deck of the restuarant was filling up quickly but we managed to find a table. Unfortuantely it was a hot day and our table had no umbrella. We ordered drinks, watching the many people and the beautiful sea and beach scenery, but our eyes were constantly scouting for a table with an umbrella who's patrons were ready to leave and as luck would have it, such a table became available about 30 minutes later.


With the warm weather, the calling of the ocean and the vibey beat of music and atmosphere at hte restuarant, Barclay (our adopted Scottish guests/family) could not resist the temptation to go swimming in the sea. He took Vaughn (our youngest) with him and Cameron (2nd eldest son) joined them shortly afterwards.





We ordered lunch and after that we had ice cream with chocolate flake in cones and then headed towards Cape Agullas - the southern most tip of Africa where the 2 oceans meet ( Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean). It was windy as usual at the point, but Kathleen and Barclay could now say that they had stood on the tip of Africa.

We left the chilly southern point (which is thanks to the Benguela Current) and headed back home. We past the Cape Agulhas Light House, but having already climbed to the top on a previous occassion, we decided to give this a skip.

En-route home we made a slight detour into the Caledon Hotel and Casino where we had a leisurely coffee and the kids went to play coin operated game machines. Having had a full daywe finally reached Somerset West and the Guest House where the beds looked so inviting.