After an incredibly long and arduous drive through from Clarens, we drove into Underberg with a bit of a sinking heart. It was a tiny little town and there weren’t very obvious sign posts or road names anywhere. Thankfully we had our satnav and once it had taken us to completely the wrong place, it reset itself and lead us to at least the right road that we were staying on.

We drove slowly down the road and eventually found Over The Edge Cottage. It wasn’t exactly as I imagined because there are three ‘cottages’ in the same building. I had thought it was a bit more remote than it was. I didn’t say anything though as we had been in the car for so many hours that as long as I had a bed to lay flat in, I considered it a win.

All the disappointment disappeared the moment we stepped through the front door. It was such a lovely little apartment!

You walked in and there was a kitchen/dining area, with the bathroom off to one side.

A couple of steps down lead you to the lounge area…

… with a cast iron fireplace, and to the left was the bedroom area.

If you weren’t convinced by this point (which I totally was, btw), the floor to celing windows overlooking the mountains would win you over.

I imagine on a clear day the view is breathtaking. I however think there is an eerie beauty with all the rain and clouds and mist though, and may actually prefer it! Its beautiful, but mother nature does some amazing things and so to witness it, especially when living in a desert country, is just spectacular.

I couldn’t tell you how long we stood there looking out over the hills and mountains. It was quite a long time though! It was hard to tear your eyes away. I defy anyone to not feel the same way.

We eventually dragged ourselves away to have some dinner (I’ll link it here when it’s published!), and stopped off on the way back for some more fire wood. I really struggle with the cold being so unused to it, so we decided a roaring fire all night was the way forward. Armed with a giant bag bought from the crazy lady at the gas station, Albert set about making the fire. He is so good at that kind of thing. Within minutes the whole place was toasty.

We didn’t last long after that. The exhaustion from being up at 4am and driving for a good 10hrs had truly caught up with us. By 9pm we were in bed, and probably asleep minutes later.

The next morning we woke at 6am feeling very refreshed. We had left the windows open a little to get the beautiful mountain air and it appeared to have worked. We were in a great mood, totally ready for our day, and after lighting the fire again, nice and warm!

There was one small hiccup though… we had no water. None at all. Thankfully when you book through Airbnb they send you the host’s contact number. Given it was so early, we popped her a text message. We weren’t planning on moving right away, and if worst came to the worst, we could manage until the following night at the next hotel.

Incredibly, within a short time of sending, Brenda replied and asked for more details. Because the mobile network is spotty in that area to say the least, she called too in case it didn’t go through. She was abjectly apologetic. It turns out that there is a bit of a drought in the area and Underberg routinely runs out of water. This time they hadn’t been notified though so hadn’t had anyone checking their reserve tanks. Not normally an issue, but they had been fully booked over the holiday period.

Within half an hour of that initial text message, we had water on again. It turns out that there was water in the reserve tank, but something had knocked the pump out. She had called someone in the area who came straight away and sorted it. I am so impressed giving it was still pre-7am!

I honestly would very happily return to Over the Edge Cottage without hesitation. I also would completely recommend anyone who was having to stay in the area to stay there.

We are so lucky to have started our trip on such a high note.