woodenstairs,outsidechambersanda servants
block.Theyboughtvarioussurrounding
propertiesandaddedstables,theestate
eventuallycovering 700 hectares,including
fourmountains,a forestanda river.
Aftertheretirementofhisparents,Nicolas
Behrtookovertheestateand,in time,added
a sawmillanda brickfactorythatnowliesjust
acrosstheN2.WhenI firstarrivedin Nature’s
Valleyin the1970s,thelegendofNicky
BehrwasalreadyastallastheTsitsikamma
Mountains.
Hewasa characterofnoteaswewereto
experiencethroughourfriendshipwithhim
overtheyears.Nickyaddedmorecottagesto
theoak-dottedlawnsthatextendfromthemain
manorhouse.A numberofpolofieldswitha clubhouse and numerous paddocks now
grace the estate. When photographing here
I would suddenly stop, and look around,
wondering if I was on some estate in southern
England.
After Nicky’s passing, Kurland was turned
into a boutique hotel and is now managed by
his son, Peter Behr. I remember, during Nicky’s
living years, the tremendous parties we had
there, many beyond explanation, usually
awfully decadent.
One afternoon, a gathering of us had
a fish braai of full-size snoek pegged on sticks,
slowly grilled over a large fire. There were
five-metre-long pine tables that had been cut
in single slabs at the Kurland sawmill. Getting
into his riotous stage then, when the wining
started to surpass the dining, Baron Behr threw
Russian vodka on the tables and we all ran,
jumped and then slid down the tables, falling
off the other end like Trolls.
As the fire grew into a grand-finale bonfire,
accompanied by thunder over the mountains,
the Troll rabble cheered wildly. At least, by
then, all the spirits of Latvia and the English
country poopers, had fled. Holy Moses. ■Handy Contacts
Premer Hotel Himeville Arms, Himeville
033702 1305
premierhotels.co.za
The Historic Pig and Whistle Inn, Bathurst
046 625 0673
pigandwhistle.co.za
Kurland Hotel, The Crags
044 534 8082
kurland.co.zaalready been for a run and a shower. “How did
I get here?” I grumble. “Well,” she says with
a mean little smile, “a kind Missus Sarah Hartley
brought you upstairs, said you were grabbing at
the pretty barmaid and the past.” Holy Moses.
After two days we are home, just over the
Blaaukranz River, in the Western Cape.
On my list of old hotels, a few real classics
remain, thriving on into a changed world,
but I decide to photograph one so unique, so
incredibly English country, just up the pass
from us. The Kurland Hotel, originally a simple
farm dating back to 1885.
When Baron and Baroness Peter Behr,
Russian émigrés from Kurland in Latvia,
bought the farm in 1941, they added gables,
did extensive alterations, including lofts with
ABOVE: The dining room at Kurland Hotel is set in fine style with silver cutlery, wine glasses and roses as
Lady Illingworth is coming to dinner. ABOVE LEFT: A setting sun strafes the horse paddocks and tree-lined
avenues of Kurland. BELOW: “Tea will be served on the veranda, sir,” the steward said. So I lifted my right
pinkie and toddled off to the hotel’s fancy stoep.
http://www.countrylife.co.za 047 September 2019