The West Coast of the Cape is wild, certainly, but with a reticent and austere beauty which stems from sand, sea and sky, the patterned mosaics of fynbos, and the rolling inland hills. Some Jakkalsfontein mornings are made magical by banks of early fog, through which loom the dimly perceived dune-shaped roofs. These drifting mists leave behind them sparkling spider webs like diamonds in the salvias, and a sudden sight of vast blue sky. Our evenings may glow with the brilliance and splendour of scarlet sunsets, dissolving into the cold, green sea. In due season, the not-so-distant desert heat burns into bush and beach, with shimmering mirages trance-dancing over Dassen Island and stunned stillness in the veld.

The scents and sounds of Jakkalsfontein add other dimensions to the pleasures of place. There is the sharp sensuality of breeze-borne shore smells, all salt and seaweed, contrasting with the gently accented perfumes of sun-warmed fynbos. The nights are filled with frogsong, and the changeless yet ever-changing roar of the restless sea forms the background of our days.

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