Our Story

Our simple wooden house has always been special to us. The panoramic views, the sweet-salty smells of this unique part of southern Africa, the sound of the sea on one side and the song birds on the other, the family memories... And of course the gulls that float past at eye level. We're glad to share all this with you and hope you have a wonderful stay.

The land used to be part of Truter's farm, long before the settlement of Keurboomstrand was founded. Our father, Roland, bought the plot from the Truters when he was the principal of the Healdtown teachers' training college outside Fort Beaufort, in what was then the Eastern Cape. Healdtown was a Methodist mission station with a high school and a training college. It was where Nelson Mandela went to school as a teenager. It was where my father met our mother, Daphne.

A local builder, whom we called Oom (Uncle) Gert, built Gulls' Way from timber grown and milled in nearby Knysna. That was in 1954. The house and its outsize water tank (there was no piped water or electricity then) has stood ever since with little need for repair. The roof is the original and has withstood fierce gales and torrential downpours for over 60 years.

We (Mark, Peter and Margaret) used to spend all our holidays here, travelling the 480 kilometres from Healdtown in a rather unreliable Austin A90. After our father died in 1963 and we moved to Grahamstown, we continued to make the journey on narrow bumpy roads, always accompanied by at least two cats and, for a short while, a long-haired collie dog called, yes, Lassie.

Our arrival was always exhilarating. This was partly because we had to keep the car windows closed to confine the cats, but mainly because we had arrived at the place we loved. Finally released, the cats would leap from the car and immediately sniff their familiar territory before heading off for adventures in the bush. We would spend a few moments drinking in the view and inhaling the smell of the sea before unpacking and making ourselves at home in the wonderful expectation of lazy days ahead.

We always considered Keurbooms to be our real home and got to know every part of the magical coast - the rocks and the Matjies River to the east, and the vast sandy beach to the west. We caught magnificent fish, dived in clear pools, experienced our first teenage kisses, and, of course, swam in pounding surf until the salty water came out of our ears.

Daphne moved here permanently in 1976, teaching at the junior school in Plettenberg Bay before retiring and spending 30 years living on her own with her cats and dogs, tending her garden, walking for miles on the beach, and worshipping in her beloved St Peter's church in Plettenberg Bay.

She loved every moment she lived in Gulls' Way. We're sure you will too.

Margaret & Sally (your hosts), Peter and our late brother, Mark.