I ♥ Hogsback because ...

Hi, I’m Ingrid from Granny Mouse House Guesthouse and self-catering Cottages in Hogsback in the Eastern Cape.

HOGSBACK IS BEST KNOWN FOR for its high alti­tude, 27 awe­some water­falls, moun­tain views, walks and hikes, clean air, indi­gen­ous forests, artistic com­munity and afford­able, friendly hos­pit­al­ity.
GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT The Arboretum (Collection of rare trees in a wood­land Park set­ting) because it is beau­ti­fully land­scaped, has an eas­ily access­ible water­fall as a back-drop and com­mands views of the 3 Hogs moun­tains).
THE BEST SNOW PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT Kettlespout water­fall, which over­looks the val­ley below and moun­tains oppos­ite.
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT The Edge look-out point and labyrinth and at The eco-shrine ...

 

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD IN LIKE TO be work­ing in my gar­dens, which are open for view­ing by the gen­eral Public 9 months of the year (Closed 15 May-15 August).
WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD I LIKE TO rest indoors beside a crack­ling fire sip­ping sherry, or curl up with a good book, or write, or have friends over for a meal.
I THINK THE BEST TIME TO VISIT IS May, because the Autumn dis­play of col­our­ing leaves is quite spec­tac­u­lar, the weather has usu­ally cooled a little, the weather is mild and clear, which lends itself to invig­or­at­ing walk­ing in the fresh moun­tain air.

MY FAVOURITE BREAKFAST SPOT IS The Edge res­taur­ant.
FOR LUNCH I SUGGEST The Enchanted Treehouse.
MY FAVOURITE RESTAURANT IS Nutwoods Park, but do phone a few days ahead, they oper­ate by appoint­ment only.
MY FAVOURITE SUNDOWNER SPOT IS The Microwave Tower look-out Point.
FOR A NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN TRY Away with the Fairies back­pack­ers Pub.
IF YOU WANT TO MEET LOCALS, GO TO The Hogsback Inn Pub.

 

HOGBACK'S BEST KEPT SECRET IS that it feels like being in another Country. A set­tler vil­lage perched high up in the moun­tains, with its own “English cli­mate” and wood­land atmo­sphere, which comes as a sur­prise as one ascends the Pass, after driv­ing through arid scrub-land and Xhosa Villages dot­ted around the flat­lands lead­ing to it.

MY FAVOURITE THING TO DO WITH FRIENDS IS to have a braai and dis­cuss local issues!
FOR SOME CULTURE I LIKE TO GO TO The Rose at Starways, which peri­od­ic­ally fea­tures song and dance or opera.
TO RELAX AND RESTORE MY SOUL, I LIKE TO walk with my two beau­ti­ful Rhodesian ridge­backs in the mountains.

IF YOU'RE FEELING ADVENTUROUS, TRY Abseiling at Hobbiton or drive the 55km 4X4 Trail (in a suit­able vehicle)!.
MY FAVOURITE HIKE IS The 3 Waterfalls hike, on the way to keiskamma­hoek.
MY FAVOURITE KNICK-KNACK SHOP IS The Hoggest shop adjoin­ing The Happy Hogs Restaurant.
MY FAVOURITE BIRD WATCHING SPOT IS my own garden.

 

IF YOU'RE HERE IN If July, join in the fun at the Annual Xmas in July week­end. (week­end closest to 25^th).
MY FAVOURITE GALLERY IS The African Art col­lec­tion at Fort Hare University in Alice.
MY FAVOURITE BUILDING IS The Arminel Hotel, for its beau­ti­fully restored thatched facade and taste­ful decor.

TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN? A FUN OUTING IS Hobbiton on Hogsback or  horse-riding at Lowestoffe.
BEST CHEAP AND CHEERFUL OUTING IS a stroll through the Village or a drive around the Arts and Crafts Trail.
WHEN MONEY'S NO OBJECT I LIKE TO buy a water­col­our paint­ing from local artists, Carol Neith or Terry Andersen

 

THE MOST UNUSUAL THING I SEE HERE IS the rare and endangered Cape Parrots, and the rare shrubs and trees to be found in private gar­dens, most of which admit the Public for view­ing in October
MY FAVOURITE WEEKEND GETAWAY IS ... still to be discovered!

WHEN I WANT TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY, I serve on vari­ous com­mit­tees, run a free domestic-animal track­ing sys­tem to recover lost local pets, raise funds for animal rights groups and char­it­ies through the sale of my book “ How to live in a pack, when you’re a human” pub­lished in 2007 (sale price R70 per copy , orders to ingi@iafrica.com) or view­ing of my gar­dens at R5 per head.  Striving for ser­vice excel­lence in my own 4 star rated accom­mod­a­tion estab­lish­ment (www.grannymousehouse.co.za)  also reflects well on the rest of the Community and leaves vis­it­ors with won­der­ful memor­ies of their visit to Hogsback.

 

A FEW USEFUL TIPS:
1). Snowfalls have been recor­ded in every month of the year, except February.
2). Hogsback is a Summer rain­fall area
3). Before embark­ing on hikes of any dur­a­tion, it is advis­able to inform someone of your inten­ded route and expec­ted return time.
4). Always wear suit­able foot­wear and carry water­proofs when hik­ing in the moun­tains
5). Leave only foot­prints, take only pho­to­graphs. It is illegal to remove any­thing other than wattle and bug­weed from Indigenous forests.
6). Remember that oth­ers vis­it­ing and those liv­ing in the area do so to com­mune with nature and enjoy the peace, please do noth­ing to dis­turb that (in par­tic­u­lar, please do not bring your quad-bikes — but your moun­tain bikes are wel­come everywhere).

I ♥ HOGSBACK BECAUSE I feel priv­ileged to live peace­fully in a pristine envir­on­ment sur­roun­ded by mag­ni­fi­cent nat­ural beauty and love to share the peace and tran­quil­lity with clients.

Granny Mouse House

Granny Mouse House is a full-service Guest House. Guests may book Bed & Breakfast or Dinner Bed & Breakfast. Self-catering cot­tages are also avail­able. We are situ­ated in Nutwoods Drive, on the Bluff in Hogsback, within walk­ing dis­tance of many sought-after tour­ist attrac­tions. Granny Mouse House enjoys the accol­ade of being the first catered estab­lish­ment in Hogsback to be awar­ded a 4 star grad­ing by the Grading Council.

Visit Granny Mouse House
View Rates or make a Booking

Desirable Digits

Granny Mouse House +27 (0)45 962‑1259
The Eco-shrine +27 (0)45 962‑1136
The Edge Restaurant +27 (0)45 962‑1159
The Enchanted Treehouse +27 (0)83 773‑6908
Nutwoods Park +27 (0)45 962‑1043
Away with the Fairies back­pack­ers Pub+27 (0)45 962‑1031
Hogsback Inn +27 (0)45 962‑1006
The Hoggest Shop +27 (0)45 962‑1393
Lowestoff (for horse-riding) +27 (0)45 843‑1716

Useful Links:
Hogsback Attractions
Things to Do in Hogsback
Hogsback Accommodation
Hogsback Guest Houses
Eastern Cape Hotels
Eastern Cape Accommodation