A thought from one of the Kuhn daughters

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I grew up on Haakdoorn. To me this palace is the definition of paradise. There is something about growing up in nature that instills morals and values that run as deep as Camelthorns roots.

 

Every season in the bushveld has its beauty. Early morning in the summer and the grass is dressed in water droplets. In winter sunsets draw silhouettes of bare trees and dying grass. The constant between the seasons are the sounds and feelings. You will always hear the iconic call of a Crested Francolin; the air will always run straight through you and everything linked to society fades away.

 

The beauty of our farm is the balance in which everything lives. Nature has taken over and as a result birdlife, animals and vegetation thrive. Everything fits together like a piece of a puzzle to form that word balance that so many people strive for.

 

Growing up with a large variety of animals I was allowed to observe and incorporate different qualities from many. It is difficult to explain the pride with which a kudu bull walks, or the virulence an impala has in those alert eyes and sharp ears. One of the most humbling experiences is looking into the piercing eyes of an old dagga boy. He looks through you and you quickly realise if superiority had a face, it would be his. 

 

December is one of my favourite times. It is lush and green. But the highlight is the babies. You learn so much about innocence from the wildebeest calf and so much about self-confidence from a warthog piglet. There is definitely something about seeing a herd of zebras run through the trees, a stallion with his mares. He struts and snorts, and gallops off into the distance. It’s a performance practiced over years of showing off, and claiming his right to arrogant grace.

 

Having been away for a while I started to wonder what I was craving. I finally realised I missed it all. Something as simple as a marula tree and something as small as a Woodland Kingfisher. I have learnt to appreciate the little things in life.

I cannot explain everything the bushveld has shown me but you can interpret the experience it will offer for yourself.