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08:28 Dawn

Lookout · a one-room stay above the dam

# One room.
The whole day.

A stone hut on a grass hilltop, nothing between you and the water but wind. The view is the reason. Scroll and the day goes by.

Check dates Take the day ↓

Every picture on this page is this hill, photographed on one day in August.

08:43 · Sunrise

## Where you are.

Eighteen hundred metres up on the Free State side of the Drakensberg, on a hill the dam wraps around on three sides. The sun comes up over the water and straight through the window wall. The nearest town is twenty minutes by car and a small line of light after dark.

Altitude
  1,780 m
To the water
  40 min on foot
Nearest town
  22 km
Sleeps
  2

12:05 · Morning

## The room.

Six by four metres, stone walls, and a window wall the length of the room facing the water. A bed for two. A wood stove with dry wood stacked. Gas hob, kettle, two pans, enough plates. A deck with two chairs. A hot outdoor shower behind a wall. No wifi, patchy signal, a landline for emergencies.

18:04 · Afternoon

## The walks.

Three ways off the hill, all starting at the door.

0 min from the door

1. Down to the water. 40 min down, 55 back up. Swim from the flat rocks.
2. The ridge loop. An hour and twenty, no climbing, all view.
3. Along the shore to the boat shed. Two hours each way. Take water.

19:09 · Sunset

## Dinner is what
you carried up.

The stove is going by five. A box waits in the cool room when you arrive: bread, eggs, butter, a bag of oranges, coffee, a bottle of red. Bring the rest and cook it slowly. The sun goes down over the water while you do.

20:06 · Dusk

## Then it gets dark.

The town becomes a line of lights. The rest is sky.

21:41 · Night

## Book the hill.

R2,400 a night for two, two nights minimum. Arrive after two, leave by eleven. The last six kilometres are gravel; any car manages it dry.

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