By Roxanne Reid
Stand outside the grey-and-white limewashed building that is Hantam Huis in Calvinia, Karoo, and it’s as if you’ve dropped through a wormhole into the 1850s. Except for that plaque that declares it a National Monument. That wouldn’t have been there 160 years ago when it was first built. Don’t hurry past; stop and explore like we did.
Stand outside the grey-and-white limewashed building that is Hantam Huis in Calvinia, Karoo, and it’s as if you’ve dropped through a wormhole into the 1850s. Except for that plaque that declares it a National Monument. That wouldn’t have been there 160 years ago when it was first built. Don’t hurry past; stop and explore like we did.
Ouside the Hantam Huis a three-wheeler bicycle outside has a blackboard that lures us inside with its promise of moerkoffie, gemmerbier, melktert, pannekoek. What we find is a building that has been lovingly restored by Erwin and Alta Coetzee. They have an eye for Karoo classics, whether it’s authentic reed ceilings, handmade nails and bricks made of clay and straw, or period furniture, old tins and signs.
They also have a sense of humour, which becomes apparent when you wander around the interior – an eccentric but entirely appealing combination of working restaurant, museum and curio shop littered with memorabilia and oddities.
They also have a sense of humour, which becomes apparent when you wander around the interior – an eccentric but entirely appealing combination of working restaurant, museum and curio shop littered with memorabilia and oddities.
The grey Hantam Huis building dates back to 1854. It and the gabled building on the left have been restored
Here, a muddle of naked celluloid dolls in a glass-fronted cabinet, engaged in Hieronymous Bosch-like shenanigans. There, a row of enamel cups, glass preserving jars and pots of gingham-topped jam, old tins that once held syrup, biscuits or tobacco, fly-swatters in fluorescent colours and a basket of ostrich eggs.
Lace shelf liners, antiques and old-fashioned wall effects in one of the rooms that makes up the restaurant
A bedroom, complete with crib and commode, forms part of the museum-like interior of the Hantam Huis
A shop mannequin dressed in long-forgotten fashions for a trip onto the high street, an old wood-veneer radiogram the size of a small coffin, a wood-and-wicker wheelchair. A christening dress in a glass frame hung on a wall like a painting, an orange plastic elephant that doubles as a watering can, and a mannequin’s naked torso wearing a hat where the head should be.
These are the sort of things you’ll share space with as you order coffee or breakfast. Or you could sit outside among the cobblestones, pot plants, herbs and watering cans that dot the small courtyard. Whichever you choose, you can be sure your experience will be out of the ordinary.
These are the sort of things you’ll share space with as you order coffee or breakfast. Or you could sit outside among the cobblestones, pot plants, herbs and watering cans that dot the small courtyard. Whichever you choose, you can be sure your experience will be out of the ordinary.
I couldn't help feeling that Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout would love to nick this woman's boa
More fashion and furniture from a bygone era, with the air conditioner a modern essential in the Karoo heat
The restaurant serves traditional breakfasts and boerekos like bobotie and bredie, as well as coffee, rooibos tea and cake. Not to mention the milk tart, ginger beer and pancakes announced by the bicycle blackboard outside. We had the chicken pie and salads, which didn't live up to the promise of its environment, but we were still glad we’d stopped to enjoy the quirkiness of the Hantam Huis.
The shop displays an eclectic mix of decor items you don't know you need until you see them
You can buy rusks, nuts, olives, jams and preserves as a reminder of your short visit to the 19th century
Calvinia makes a good stopover point between Cape Town and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park or Augrabies Falls. If spending a night in a museum has always been on your bucket list, the Coetzees are the people to talk to because they own and let out a number of other restored properties in the dorp, each unique.
You’ll get authentic restoration and period pieces to trick your senses into believing you’ve stepped into a previous century. No wonder the Coetzees snatched the Cape Times Centenary Medal for outstanding achievement in preserving Cape buildings in 1993. When you need the bathroom, however, you’ll be thrilled to discover that you’re still very much in the 21st century.
You’ll get authentic restoration and period pieces to trick your senses into believing you’ve stepped into a previous century. No wonder the Coetzees snatched the Cape Times Centenary Medal for outstanding achievement in preserving Cape buildings in 1993. When you need the bathroom, however, you’ll be thrilled to discover that you’re still very much in the 21st century.
The courtyard is is fresh and inviting for those who'd prefer to sit outside
An authentic Karoo kitchen complete with wood stove, bakoond, coffee grinder, candle mould and washing board
Other attractions in and around Calvinia include the wildflower displays in spring, a museum housed in the old synagogue, dinosaur footprints, an annual meat festival at the end of August and the biggest red post box in the world (it started life as a water tank and yes, you can post a letter there, if anyone still does such things these days).
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Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za
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Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za
