As the days of October get less and the temperatures edge towards the 30 plus degrees of summer, we screech in with our Spring Scribblings with seconds to spare.

Seasonal confusion is partly to blame for said screeching, the early spring-style wild flowers of June, July and August left us feeling somewhat springed out, yet we do owe spring her due - she delivered a more demure flower display in the months assigned to her, we cannot lay blame on her entirely considering winter decided to steal her flower thunder.

Conflicting seasons aside, we are grateful for those winter flowers that kept us smiling through dire times - in our Winter Words we lamented the road-closure induced eerily dead months of May, June and July that brought with it flashbacks of Covid quiet. Our indefinite Meiringspoort road closure is still resulting in reduced visitor numbers, but happily our European guests are back and tackling the beauty of the Swartberg Pass, not because they are forced, but because they feel compelled. This alone brings warmth to our hearts and a spring to our step as we look forward to welcoming many happy Swartberg Pass traversers over the next few months.

Please read on for snippets of spring and general tidings of the goings on at the Hof.

Sending love together with sprightly spring-bridging-on-summer greetings,

Albert, Inga, and the DKG Team to include Ferdinand and Ella xxx

We did make mention of our most recent accolade in Winter Words, but subsequently the physical award arrived making our team’s faces burst into smile.

Thank you once again our dearest guests for each and every beautiful Tripadvisor review that awarded us The Traveller’s Choice Best of the Best recognition four years running, placing us in the top 1% of hotels in the world!

The cherry on top - we moved up from the Africa rankings to the World rankings:

⭐️ 2023 voted 11th best: BnBs and Inns - Africa ⭐️

⭐️ 2024 voted 9th best: BnBs and Inns - Africa ⭐️

⭐️ 2025 voted 6th best: BnBs and Inns - Africa ⭐️

⭐️ 2026 voted 21st best: BnBs and Inns - World ⭐️

None of this is possible without our dream team that put in the hard work, smiles and warm hospitality, dankie julle!

“The charming Karoo village of Prince Albert should be included in any well-planned Cape road trip, and this is the most delightful place to stay. The historic 1835 Karoo whitewashed farmstead has been sensitively renovated, tastefully furnished, and is personally hosted by owner-managers Albert and Inga. It’s rustic luxury at an unbeatable rate.”

The opening sentence of a fabulous 9/10 worldwide rating by The Telegraph’s destination expert, Pippa de Bruyn - we cannot but glow and be thankful.

The season brings with it the first balmy evenings that make sitting outdoors a pleasure. Not too hot, not too cold, not too windy - just right. Thank you Madame Spring for playing your weather part, we have our inviting seating nooks prepped and ready for guest enjoyment.

Although the winter wild flowers put on a wondrous show that was hard to top, spring did her best not to be forgotten. Her comparatively toned down flower theatre would normally have stood on a world stage had winter not crashed the flower production with her loud colour carpets and vibrant displays.

September brought us 71mm of rain manna, rinsing clean the dust bowl that was starting to take shape. The oasis surrounding our breakfast deck with the leiwater gently gurgling beneath belies its Karoo setting, instead intense green foliage and a steady stream accompanies our peaceful breakfast experience.

Our fruit plates have also been looking rather cheerful to coincide with the season, complementing the breakfast setting idyll. Berries are back in force, we are thrilled to be getting beautiful strawberries and blueberries from farms near George - breakfast berries, like our European guests, not being afraid to make their way over the Swartberg Pass.

Spring brings with it beautiful moods. Every afternoon the sky is utterly instagramable with vibrant splashes of oranges, purples and reds, the colour interplay dispersed between the dramatic clouds commanding immediate attention.

Our Grand Old Dame can certainly hold her own in the foreground though, no wall-flowering here.

(Oven) spring is here!

Our 2IC baker showing off his perfect loaves - when the head baker is away the 2IC will play, quite successfully it seems. We always love the moderate seasons of autumn and spring, the temperatures for temperamental sourdough are so much kinder.

Based on these results, the head baker might do just as her title suggests and ‘head’ off more often!

The Ridgies have had to get used to a bit more water than what they are comfortable with. The Dorps River has been flowing since March, something the whole town is amazed by. The scene above is normally sand and stone, no hint of H2O in sight. Water averse dust dogs, Ella and Ferdinand, are not too sure about the wetter version of their home, the rest of us rejoice.

Prince Albert hosted another fabulous Vino Camino middle August - the town was packed to capacity, proof that people will travel for good wine, even if it is on the road less traveled. We had a fabulous time hosting Kobus and Jurie from Mondvol Wines (the best Chenin ever!), Peter Bayly, and Hartenberg. Cheers to next year, and on a side note, our accommodation is fully booked 2027 and 2028, the event is somewhat popular!

Another fabulous Prince Albert Open Gardens has come and gone, and again it was super having a town full of visitors. The gardens perhaps not as much of a pull as the wine, but a relaxing weekend wandering some of Prince Albert’s most gorgeous and sustainable ‘dry’ gardens (after buckets of September rain), fun was had by all.

We hope you join us in 2027, dates to be announced soon.

To end, a peaceful image of our beautiful Great Karoo town taken before the September rains with the aforementioned demure smattering of spring flowers sprinkling the foreground.

We are thrilled to once again have many happy visitor’s footsteps traipsing our streets, book your stay and come stamp your print on our Karoo earth.