Cottages:
The 4 twin bedded cottages were built by local craftsmen, in the traditional style of the area. Everything is handmade.
Materials (stone, building clay, thatch) come from the Reserve. The poplar frames for the roofs come from Matjiesrivier. However, cement was used for all the floors because clay floors don't last well - and not at all in the bathroom areas. In the olden days the cottages had no floors - just the pure sand.
The doors and windows are handmade from whatever planks were available. The door frames are from Cederwood fence poles that were recovered when the inner camp fences in the Reserve were taken down. Incidentally, one of main reasons why the Clanwilliam Ceder is so threatened today, is because its wood was so popular and thus severely harvested, mostly for building materials and furniture. These old pieces of furniture are very prized and scarce today. The Cederwood fence posts are not prone to borer beetles and seldom rot, especially not in the drier Karoo and were therefore used whenever possible.
The rows of stones between the cottages are to cover the drain pipes, which lead to proper underground drains, which were built strictly according to Nature Conservation regulations.
The corrugated zinc we used for roof caps and in the bathrooms, is typical re-used zinc as you would usually find in the area.
The 4 cottages were placed on as small a footprint as possible, but still with enough room for maximum privacy. Each cottage is in front of a klipkoppie (rocky outcrop) and faces east. In earlier years all buildings (also farm houses - remember they were mostly built with clay bricks) faced east, presenting the narrowest part of the house to the cold northerly winds and to protect them from the winter rains. At Bakkrans this also means that all cottages have a view into the Great Karoo, with the Roggeveld mountains approximately 150 kilometres away.
The bathrooms were designed and placed in such a way that you can have grand view and experience a sense of freedom, while having a shower.
Furniture:
The furniture in the cottages is typical of what you would have found in such settings - especially because the women of the households would also stay here in the olden days.
It was quite a struggle to find the right furniture for these cottages because most furniture is nowadays "restored". In some cases the pieces of furniture in the cottages at Bakkrans are even more scarce and valuable than restored or new furniture. The beds are typical of the metal "katels" of earlier years. However, beds in the old times were often flat on the ground, just with an underlay of reeds.
Nearest petrol stations:
Ceres - 95 km - south
Clanwilliam - 95 km - north
Petrol can also be obtained at Farm Dwarsrivier
