White House Cottage

What is White House Cottage like?

White House Cottage is the oldest building on the farm, built in 1920 with the old methods. It has been reworked inside with a modern kitchen and bathrooms while keeping the proportions and thick walls of the original farmhouse.

It is a single-storey house with a grey roof, a lawn in front and young olive trees on the gravel forecourt. The rooms are light and simply furnished, with white walls, tiled floors and a crystal chandelier over the dining table.

Bedrooms and bathrooms

The cottage sleeps up to seven. Master bedroom 1 has a king-size bed, its own en-suite bathroom and a door straight out onto the veranda. Master bedroom 2 has an old Victorian double bed and its own en-suite bathroom. Bedroom 3 is a family room with a double bed and two singles, under a ceiling fan.

Living, cooking and the braai

The lounge has an open stone fireplace for winter and a dining table for six, and the TV room has DStv. The kitchen has a double-door fridge, a gas stove and an oven, and its window looks out over the Goukou River.

The indoor braai sits in the stone fireplace beside the dining room, so a braai works in any weather. On fine evenings the kitchen door opens straight onto the outdoor atrium, where a picnic table and the braai sit under a big old tree.

Outside

The cottage has its own private pool with loungers and a stone braai chimney beside it, a covered veranda that looks over the Goukou River, and a sunroom that catches the morning light.

Who it suits

Families with children, two couples sharing, or anyone who wants a house with real history and their own pool. It is a short walk from Stonehouse Lodge, so it also works as the overflow house for a larger group.

What is nearby

Stilbaai is about 10 minutes away for shops, restaurants and the beach at Lappiesbaai. Riversdale is about half an hour north and Cape Town about four hours west on the N2.

• Stilbaai town, shops and restaurants: about 10 minutes
• Lappiesbaai swimming beach: about 10 to 15 minutes
• Inverroche fynbos gin distillery: Stilbaai
• Jongensfontein tidal pool: about 20 minutes
• Riversdale and the N2: about half an hour

Good to know before you come

Check-in is from 14:00 and check-out by 10:00; ask Alison if your travel plans need different times. A 50% deposit secures your dates and the balance is due on arrival.

This is a working farm with a river, a dam and livestock. Children need an adult with them near the water, at the dam and around the animals. The Goukou is part of the Stilbaai Marine Protected Area, so jet-skis are not allowed on the river and the bass in the dam go back after they are caught.