BabylonSTORIES
BabylonSTORIES invites you into the heart of Babylonstoren through the voices of the makers who shape the farm. From the garden and cellar to our kitchens, workshops and wild open spaces, each episode reveals the people, passions and expertise behind this extraordinary place. Filmed in the environments our team calls home, BabylonSTORIES offers intimate conversations and vivid glimpses into daily life on the farm, a chance to see, hear and feel Babylonstoren in a fresh, compelling way.
BabylonSTORIES
Warren Sameuls - Tour Guide
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode of BabylonSTORIES, we head for the mountains to explore some of the spectacular sites reserved exclusively for guests of our Farm Hotel.
Beyond the beautiful architecture and indulgent comforts of the hotel, the foothills of the Simonsberg reveal crisp mountain pools for swimming and fly fishing, romantic picnics and secluded gatherings in the natural splendour of the farm.
This one is worth watching as well as listening to.
Beyond its formal garden and historic farm buildings, Babylon's Turin stretches into the foothills of Simonsburg. Join tour guide Warren Samuels as we venture into the mountains to discover some of the farm's lesser known natural treasures. Warren, it's a beautiful crisp morning and we're at the lower viewing deck on the mountain ride. Thanks for bringing me here. It's my first time.
SPEAKER_00You're welcome.
SPEAKER_01Can you tell me a little bit more about where we're sitting and what we're looking at? I mean it's very misty, but hopefully the sun's gonna burn all of this off in a few hours.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we're still in the farm, so we're still in Babble and Studen, still the perimeter of the farm. Yeah. And we're now at the lower deck, as you said, of the mountain drive. So this is where we bring our guests during the day. Hotel guests? Hotel guests, specifically, yes. Okay. This is one of the activities for the Hotel Guest exclusively, and this is called the mountain drive. So here we have a little bit of Pinot Noir that we planted here. And of course, this is under Volca, where we are now. Because that we see the uh in the clouds, and this is what undervolka means.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And this is also the name of the wine after being produced from these vines.
SPEAKER_01So we are roughly at what elevation are we now?
SPEAKER_00At about 600 meters above sea level. This is how high we are.
SPEAKER_01And this is our highest vineyard, if I understand.
SPEAKER_00These will be the highest vineyard blocks we have on the farm, yes.
SPEAKER_01That's why you have that nice cool climate, which is exactly what Pinot Noir wants.
SPEAKER_00Needs, yeah. So this specific vineyard, these ones were planted in 2014. And uh from 2014 till 2020, these guys had to be irrigated with water coming from down below a tractor. So we didn't have any reservoirs here in the mountains to give automatic irrigation here. So in the beginning we make use of this method, and it's called the Talya method, right? And it's this plastic almost accumulating all the water in the duty in the evenings and nights, and this is how they were fed or irrigated. And then only in 2020 we built the first reservoir, and now they're being irrigated automatically. They can see all the irrigation lines here. But it is indeed a unique way of planting vineyards, and it's called stick by vine. Is this a method that you can use here in the mountains where the slopes like this are steep, right? And the patches is small. You can now imagine planting your normal method with your spaces even rows and the trellising in between. It will give you a much smaller yield in this case than these guys will do, right? So for more density and a bigger yield in the mountain where you have small spaces, we use this specific method here. Stick wine.
SPEAKER_01Stock by pol.
SPEAKER_00Stock by pol, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And delicious wine is growing here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and this beautiful plant underneath is also something very, very beautiful, right? It's uh carpo barotus edelis. This feichi. The feghi, yeah, the carbs of Feiji, Valdefi or the wildfic or the ice plant, or we even call this one the Cape Doctor, which is beautiful medicinal benefits.
SPEAKER_01Seriously, like what are the medicinal benefits?
SPEAKER_00For when it's very, very hot during the days, you use this as your sun block. The sap of this is like it's like pull up pull up sap inside, and then also earaches, toothaches, you chew on this. So throat, you use the sap of this into lukewarm water to hoggle your throat for that. And then also stomach cramps as well. There's a little fruit coming from this, either with a purple flower or yellow flower. And then you squeeze this, but also the puts inside, and you drink this with stomach cramps. And this is why it's called a cake doctor. But in this case, over here, we plant this here, preventing erosion, number one. Yes, but then also for the other reason, whenever there's fires, especially in spainboss, right? And this is so full of sap, so wet that it doesn't scort easily, so it gives beautiful hiding places for smaller reptiles on the toilet.
SPEAKER_01So very necessary.
SPEAKER_00So there's beautiful benefits in this specific part.
SPEAKER_01Stunning, thanks for that. You're welcome. Tell me, Warren, when did you start working at Bob and Stuarin? Um, how long have you been part of the team?
SPEAKER_00So I started here 2013. I think it was the 12th April 2013. This is when I joined Barbara and Stuaring. And when I started, I joined the team of security. So I worked with them for about two and a half years, and then I moved from security towards the hotel reception, and there I spent a couple of years as well.
SPEAKER_01So you were first outdoors and then indoors at reception for a few years. Yeah. Got to know the whole mechanization, everything how the hotel works.
SPEAKER_00Indeed, indeed. But remember though, at the reception, I work first during the daytime, and that's about three years. So your normal reception is made, as I may say, like this. And then afterwards, a couple of years as well, doing the night order for the reception as well. So I work during the day, and then for a couple of years also during the night only. And then from there moved to this department, which is now being outdoors and doing all the activities for all the guests.
SPEAKER_01So you moved from the hotel to the garden team. Um, did have you always had an interesting nature? And did you know much about uh because the garden is a very varied and wonderful place with a lot of plants and insects and things. There's a lot of knowledge that goes with it. So, how did you make that jump from standing behind a desk to basically telling people about the fascinating world of the Bob Little Sturm Garden?
SPEAKER_00As a nature, nature has always been something I was very interested in. I think from small age, though, there's there used to be this television program that was called 5050. I think I told you about this, right? It's 5050, and at the end of 5050, there was this little insert called Fial Focus.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00So my grandfather just used to keep me glued in front of this, and this is where I learned a love for nature. So going into the garden was a little bit intimidating. They literally give you like just stick hands with all the text and all the Latin names of everything, and you have to learn this. But then, of course, if you know you need to learn the English Afrikaans and the Latin names, yeah, English Africans, your common names, your Latin names, Greek sometimes as well. But yeah, at the end of the day, it came naturally afterwards, and then I just stuck over here laughters.
SPEAKER_01So you did garden tours, which is for the day visitors and the hotel tours.
SPEAKER_00And OCIS, and that will start at 10 o'clock during the morning. Yes. So then we take you through the garden, explaining to you the history of Bobalist during the farm, how the garden came to be in existence. Because remember, when the owners bought the farm in 2007, no gardens existed. Like literally, and they had to they had to bring somebody in from France whose name was Patrice Taroviala just to do the layout and the formal structure of the garden. And then between 2007 and 2010, they were busy with that. And only 2010 they were finished, and then they opened the doors for the public. It's a big garden, 3.5 acres, and there's more than 300 species of your your vegetables, your herbs, your fruits, and all the pieces are edible. And everything's edible. Everything is edible.
SPEAKER_01And you can name every single one in in at least three languages. I think so. That's phenomenal. That's uh that's a very nice shift from uh from from um from um reception. Tell us a day in the life of Warren.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so your morning usually starts about seven o'clock. This is when you need to clock in. Seven o'clock on time. And then it was your first tour will start at 7:45, which will be the water buffalo tour, right? So the water buffalo tour, we take you from Bobby School and then across the road towards our sister farm called Ritflay, all owned by the same owners. And over there is where we keep all of the livestock, like those Youth Ki and Lina cows, right? Kianina's for the for the beef, and the Asiatic water buffalo for the milk, and chickens, ducks, and quills. Everything is kept over there. So there's there's two of those tours in the morning. One is at 7.45 starting from Richetzen, the other one is at 9.30, and those two are only for the guests staying with us.
SPEAKER_01The hotel guests.
SPEAKER_00Yes, and then there's another tour at 2.30, 2.30 p.m. And this will be for the one that's for the guests who's visiting the farm for the day. And then, of course, we have the garden tour after that. And then between the two, we have the farm walk also. Now, the farm work is also exclusively only for TL guests, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so what does that entail, the farm walk?
SPEAKER_00So the thing about the farm work is that walk we do just before breakfast. So you first do the farm walk, and then you're in time to go and enjoy your breakfast. Now the farm work will only be for the for the guests who's staying with us, the in-house guest, right? And it is an hour or less long, and we take you on a couple of routes. So one being towards the top of Babylon Student Coffee, the little tower, which is about uh 230 meters above sea level. And there's a couple of other roots taking you through the farm. One being through the wetlands, and then going through the indigenous forest, which is the wild olive forest, and after that, you're coming through where we make all the compost.
SPEAKER_01We want to do all of these. We can't do all it all today, but it is the most definitely. They are all beautiful roots, and what a fantastic way to start your day. And then you have a barble breakfast, which is a phenomenal breakfast. Like you really earn your barble breakfast with that pork.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and that's most definitely the meal you shouldn't miss when you're staying here with us. So the breakfast in the morning at Balma restaurant is out of this world. Yeah, that's one of the best meals I would say. Unfortunately, we're doing the tours though, can't go with the guests, enjoy the breakfast, but we see it.
SPEAKER_01We have wonderful Bobby Reserve and biscuit and coffee to keep us going in Boltong and all the other goodies that we create on the farm. Okay, great. So that's uh the walking tour on the farm. So, what what are the driving tours that you do?
SPEAKER_00So, one of the driving tours will be including uh the water buffalo tour, right? So we use the vehicle going to the sister farm. The other one will be the essence of oils. Essential oils is where we take you out to the field and we show you the leaven, uh the rosemary, healy crisis.
SPEAKER_01Is that also only for hotel guests?
SPEAKER_00This one is only for hotel guests as well, right? 11:30 during the day, it's also about an hour long, and after the field we go into the center room or the lifestyle center, and then we show you how we extract the oils from the plants, and at the end of the whole activity, me and my kids we make our own scrub, exfoliating scrub. This is what we do, right? And put a little bit of essential oils in there.
SPEAKER_01Sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Also very, very nice to what we do.
SPEAKER_01From the soil to the scrub.
SPEAKER_00From the soil to the scrub, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Excellent. And then in terms of your outrides, like the one that we're doing now, the mountain ride or Barschret in Africa.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so the Bergret or mountain drive is twice a day, two o'clock and four o'clock now during winter, and then in summer it will change to three o'clock and five o'clock, right? In the day, and this will be the other ones that we do on the vehicle or with the vehicle, and then of course we have the Bergpool, the Bergpool, the mountain pool.
SPEAKER_01Which I've never been to because it's so exclusively for hotel guests. I'm so looking forward to seeing that because the it looks absolutely spectacular on the it is amazingly beautiful, and this one is different though.
SPEAKER_00Remember, the other tours that we do will basically be like the mountain drive, it's almost two hours, right? An hour 45, hour 50 minutes. But this specific tour here, the mountain or the mountain pool is where you book this for you and your family exclusively. So we're going with yeah, we're going with this vehicle from Reception. It will be you and your family, and we take you to the mountain pool, a pool in the mountain. And this pool is being filled by a stream flowing from Simonsburg Mountain the whole year. So the water stays nice and crisp. So it's a beautiful.
SPEAKER_01Warren, how big is Babylon's Turin? It's obviously a lot bigger than what people see when they come and visit the garden and the hotel. But how big is this area that you drive through?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so basically our TL and Gardens is a small part of the farm. The farm altogether will be now about plus minus 2,600 acres. It's about 1,065 hectares, so it's huge. If you enter Babylon Student towards the main gate, or from the main gate, towards where we are now, is only half the farm. The other half stretches across the road downwards. So it's a big farm though. But it wasn't always the case though. When the owners bought this farm in 2007, it was much smaller. Much, much smaller. I would say less than 500 acres back then. And of course, owned by a lady, and her name is Karen Ruiz. And then as the years went on, the farm just evolved and just expanded and neighboring farm support. And this is when Babylon Student became as big as it is now.
SPEAKER_01I think the the tours that you offer hotel guests and day visitors, but especially hotel guests, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people check in without even realizing that they have all of these amazing nature experiences waiting on them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's one of the big surprises for a lot of guests staying here with us, right? So they will basically book every two or three nights. And then they will be joining the first tour. Now they get to chat with the guys, either at the reception or the guys doing the tours, us. And now we explain to them what all the activities there are on the farm that they can do, and then immediately they say, listen, then we don't have to leave the farm at all. Because we can literally spend a couple of days over here without leaving it.
SPEAKER_01It's a lot more than just the uh uh hotel where you kind of think you just have to relax and eat and drink and swim or whatever in the pool.
SPEAKER_00Almost definitely. This is this this is the farm that you come to, come and stay here, but also be engaged. You and your family can be engaged in everything on the farm. You can literally the farm walks, the garden tours, there's fly fishing for people who are fly fishing.
SPEAKER_01We're gonna we're gonna we're gonna talk about your fly fishing, your love for fly fishing, and then we are.
SPEAKER_00A couple of dams of that we have. One is stocked with uh largemouth bass, and that's usually for a summer month. And days like today, we have this one nearby and it's stocked with trout, brown trout and rainbow trout. It's amazing experiences to do.
SPEAKER_01Are you still okay for coffee?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm still perfect.
SPEAKER_01Would you like a rask? Yeah, a nice cutting mark escape, a nice I'm gonna have a little rask, and then we're gonna pack up and we're gonna head off to the beautiful Bachpool.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, let's do that.
SPEAKER_01Bring the kids to the farm this school holiday. Explore the Byzanthium, our ode to bees, marvel at the miniature tree art in the Puff Adder Walkway, and tuck into a buttery pastry in the lacquerkamer. Oh Warren, what a treat to be at the Bach Pool, the mountain pool, finally.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's a beautiful settings, isn't it? It's a beautiful view, just a beautiful place to be at.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely incredible. Has there always been a pool here? Or what is the story? What is the history of the of the mountain pool?
SPEAKER_00So there's been a pool here before, previously, with a previous farm manager. He built this pool specifically for irrigation, but not this style though. It was more like a small dam than he built, right? Yes. And then we found this idea or thought about this idea of having an activity to do for the guest here in the mountain. So we literally had to demolish that old dam. Yes, threw everything down, and then after about 19 months of work, this then came about.
SPEAKER_01I must say, at first glance, it looks like a natural mountain pool, but obviously everything is done with incredible attention to detail, as always at Bobinal Sturin. Beautiful river stones that have been used, I believe, also for the for the uh bottom of the of the dam.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01And decking and the most amazing uh landscaping, like all these lovely lilies and uh indigenous plants along the verge. How did all of that come about?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so remember though, the spool where we bowled this is in the middle of the Feenbus, right? Endemic vegetation of us here in Western Cape. So then uh we had this idea of uh actually asking one of our experts, expert in the field of Feenbus and all of these plants, Dr. Erens van Yartfeld, to just do the layout of all the plants and plant different types of flowers, like those autumn lilies, all of these different ones. And actually, at this fountain over there at the back, there's this beautiful, beautiful fan aloe growing. And we have the same fan aloe standing there that we have standing in front of the door in the reception.
SPEAKER_01Right? Where I met you this morning.
SPEAKER_00Yes, but a very different one. That one there is more accustomed for heat and sun. Where this one here, then more for shade. And this is why we planted this one over here, you see. So this is all the things that Aaron's vanity also had to think of when he planted all of this, because everything has to literally flow into nature, flow with the flame books, right?
SPEAKER_01And be sensible.
SPEAKER_00And be sensible as well, yes. And inside this point also we have small little fish flowing inside here or swimming inside here. And this is just the output of water, keeping the water clean and all of this. But small little trout, these beautiful ones. You can hear and they see one popping up.
SPEAKER_01I I hear a little pop every now and then.
SPEAKER_00Because of the fact that the water stays so cold and trout, they they laugh that water, the temperature and water, and this is why they thrive over here and can survive.
SPEAKER_01So this pool is full of pristine mountain water that just runs in.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, this little stream over here comes from the Simonsburg Mountain, right? So it flows through out to here the whole year. Of course, during winter it will be a little bit stronger, summer a little bit more slower, but it fills this pool with nice and crisp water, right? And then when this pool is filled over there on that side, there's a little overflow, and then the water flows downwards towards the big dam where we do the fly fishing and all of that. So, yeah, this is the one filling this pool. And this pool is about, I think, is about three meters the deepest.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00It's beautifully done, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01Beautifully done. Um, a fantastic place. It's it's giving engagement party. It's giving back imagine having maybe three generations of a family that and this this is really the most exclusive uh experience for hotel guests if I'm correct. But before you say anything, would you like another coffee? Because I know you love your coffee. Please, please. So now tell me what exactly can guests expect when they book uh a ride to the mountain pool.
SPEAKER_00See, I guess you say that this most definitely one of the more exclusive activities for our hotel guests to do. Because remember, at this point, only hotel guests can do this, right? So we take that vehicle over there, and that people can take about 10 people. So me being the driver, nine more people. So familiar altogether, nine people can come up here. Or group. Yes. Yes. But we don't limit it there because remember, if you are a group coming to stay at Bubbling Store, and you 20 people, we just organize two vehicles. Exactly. And then you will stay here from 12 o'clock all the way up until 3 o'clock, and you have this beautiful view. And then we have a nice bubble storing picnic.
SPEAKER_01So you bring whatever they desire, whatever their hearts desire, you know.
SPEAKER_00Everything with your eyes, your picnic, and also your wines as well. And you you just enjoy the day here. That this is how this works.
SPEAKER_01I can think of no better place to spend a beautiful builder summer's day. We've got just off-camera behind us, we've got two like inner tubes, which is such a like a typical South African palm, uh fun way of enjoying the water. Like you've got your inner tractor tube that's uh pumped up, and the kids can pile on and half, yeah, yes, they've yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00Remember though, it's a swimming pool. It is beautiful, but we're in nature, so we would like to keep this as natural as possible. And this is why we've decided on this specific style. The beautiful thing about this activity is so popular, right? And it's such an amazing activity to do. Whenever we as guides we bring the guests here, the time they need to leave from here, they don't want to leave. They literally ask, Listen, can we stay perhaps half an hour longer? This is how it usually goes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I can I can't blame them. I would be hard pressed to leave as well. So, what are some of the things that guests generally find super enjoyable, besides just the mouthful, but in in your experience uh many years in the garden and doing tours farm and gardens, what are some of the things that guests really enjoy experiencing?
SPEAKER_00The first thing that guests usually observe when coming to Bob is touring, being exposed to everything on the farm will be the gardens, most definitely. The 3.5 acres of gardens and 300 species of plants, and that just overwhelms them immediately. And except for that, remember also though, the gardens, yeah, but then also diversity of birds that we have on the farm. So we have the most beautiful diversity in birds, and and every day there's something new. Like for instance, a couple of days ago, I spotted an eagle on Bobner's tour, and we don't see how we don't often see, and this is called a long-crested eagle, right? So that's a beautiful sighting. And currently now, for the past two weeks, there's been this spotted eagle owl sitting there in the garden, one of the towers. And this is also something that that guests love to see, especially when you when you take them on a garden tour. They just love seeing things like this.
SPEAKER_01Because it's unpredictable, and it's just nature doing its thing. It's not a schedule that people can sign up for.
SPEAKER_00And that's another thing, also, guests love a lot about Bobby and Stewartin, is we have certain times or certain activities, right? But not everything is strict to that time slot and that rule. There's a lot of flexibility in everything that we do, right? And then this is what gets love.
SPEAKER_01Warren, do you have any guest experiences that stand out? I mean, you've been with uh with Bobby Lunsturen for 13 years. You must have experienced some amazing and some really joyful moments with guests.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, most definitely. In a couple of experiences, I can think off the top of my head will be two actually separate fishing experiences. So one being at the lower dam, at the Feinbos Dam. I had a family staying here, and they they wanted me to teach their son how to do fishing, right? And fly fishing. So I did. But the end of my shift near came near, and then I told him, Listen, I needed to leave in about an hour's time, so I will teach you and I will set everything up for you, but then I need to leave. And they said, Oh no, Warren is perfect, it's perfect. When you need to leave. So he was about 11 years old, 10, 11 years old, this boy needed to teach. Yeah. So we went out with this bass hunter on the dam and doing a little bit of fishing, and now he got the hang of this, and his father also. So now they they they told me, Listen, Water, now you can leave if you need to. So half an hour after my shift ended, I then went home. So then I went home, but the next morning when I came in, the reception guys were calling me and said, Listen, Listen, Warren, that that family you took yesterday to the flight to the dam to do fishing, right? Remember that? I said, Yeah, I do. Now that family ended up catching four fish, and they took those bears with them towards their room and they put this in the bathtub because they wanted me to see this. So that's one of the experiences that stood out for me. Seriously. Yeah, there is a largemouth bear, so they they survived quite quite long, though.
SPEAKER_01Did you return them to the dam?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we did. We did. So they just wanted to show me that they actually caught something, right?
SPEAKER_01Well, well, if you don't brag about the catch, even the fishermen.
SPEAKER_00Exactly, yeah. They wanted to show me the evidence. And then the other experience I can remember is another gentleman went with me to the fly fishing dam, which is the one down below. Yes. So over there we have trout, rainbow trout and brown trout. So on the way there, he asked me, listen, Warren, what are we going to be fishing for? So I told him we're going to be fishing for trout, rainbow trout and brown trout stocked in a dam. And he said, Listen, Warren, will it be catch on the lease? And I said, Yeah, catch on the lease. This is usually what we do. So then we went out, and within the first 15 minutes, this gentleman caught a nice big fat brown trout. So immediately when he caught this, he immediately told me, Listen, Warren, I know you said it's catch on the lease, but I'm taking this one with me to the restaurant because I'm gonna be having this for dinner.
SPEAKER_01You take it to Boble to have it cooked.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I spoke with the executive chef over there, Skalk, and I asked him, Will this be okay? With you because uh the guest said nothing fancy, just better and salt and a little bit of an ocean perhaps. Why don't bring the fit and I'll sort them out?
SPEAKER_01Africa is South Africa, but Africa in general is famous for it's a big five, and there's also a little five, um, which we don't necessarily have um at Barbados Durham. But what five creatures are you when you when you get in your car and you you head for the mountains? What do you hope to see? What do you hope to show again?
SPEAKER_00So often though, we spoke about the birds earlier, right? And I just left this natural love for birds of the avian species. But very often we see the most amazing birds flying in Bobby Student. Like, for instance, this Christopher eagle that I saw a couple of a couple of days ago. You spotted eagle house. But then whenever we go to the mountain, I'm always hoping to see a lot of our antelope species. So we've introduced our Babylon student, Martha Bucker, waterbox, and then also earlands. And we, I think we started with about two of these earlands, and now there's a family of six of them.
SPEAKER_01They are majestic.
SPEAKER_00They are beautiful. So it's always a great seeing them on the farm, right? And then, of course, we have those huge, huge Kialina cows, especially when you drive past there on your way to the mountain, and you have guests on the vehicle. And those guys are so young, but still they're very big. When you're sitting in this vehicle and you're sitting at that level, those cows will be standing. When you're in the first or middle of the road, those cows will be standing level with you. Yes, they are big. Very, very new. So guests love seeing that in me too. And also, we have this beautiful tortoises roaming around on this farm, right? Our uh our indigenous African tortoise, the leopard tortoise, there's always a treat seeing them as well.
SPEAKER_01Is that also the the very big one that one frequently sees on the way to Sitblock Fay, that's the mountain tortoise.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. There's a couple of them on the farm, yes. The bear skull pad, yeah. The leopard tortoise we're talking about. And it is indigenous to us here in Africa, and these guys can live up to 18 years old, so it's always a treat seeing them roaming around on the farm. Yeah, so those are the those are the animals I usually look out for and would like to see. And then very often, though, but very not often, very see how them you get the glimpse of a caracle here and there. All right, so that's always a nice thing to see, especially when you're turning a corn on you with your vehicle with a gas on it, and now you spot it, and you immediately have to show you guys, listen, look there, but look fast because he'll disappear in the next couple of seconds. Also pleas to see.
SPEAKER_01Warren, I can't help but notice throughout our conversation fishing pops up and your love of fishing and trout fishing and the trout dam. So before we call it a day, I think perhaps is it okay if we go to the trout dam and you can just tell me when when we're there, what you love about it and what what happens and what guests can expect when they go there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, most definitely. Before working, coming to work here at Barbara Stuart and Hagsley used to be a commercial fisherman for a while. So I used to work out on the yeah, on the Troll Devis at sea. So yeah, we can't.
SPEAKER_01You are a professional fisherman.
SPEAKER_00I just love it.
SPEAKER_01Okay, let's go. Excellent. Embrace the slow season on the farm until the end of August. Stay three nights for the price of two, with all activities included, and full use of our hot spa facilities. Relax, refresh, and restore. Oh, that's the leaflock. Look at that bird over there, Warren. What is that?
SPEAKER_00Cormoran, great Cormoran.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I the Cormorans I know don't look like that.
SPEAKER_00It's uh just a nice bigger one as well.
SPEAKER_01It's the oversized one. I can understand why this is one of your favorite places.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and on the farm, my happy place.
SPEAKER_01Your happy place, my happy place. So um you grew up fishing, I presume, as well.
SPEAKER_00We grew up on the farm nearby, me and my brother and sister, and usually this is this is where we spend our days, near the rivers or next to the dams. After school, we will head out to the rivers. There were two rivers near that farm, and we could literally walk till there from our home. So we will come from school and then go to those rivers and be there up until the time mom comes from away from home from the factory. So this was the the way we spent our days.
SPEAKER_01Fishing.
SPEAKER_00Fishing the whole day. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01This dam is also only available to hotel guests.
SPEAKER_00For yes, excuse me. For hotel guests, yes. Fly fishing, preferably. This dam is stocked with uh brown trout and rainbow trouts. And uh with our boathouse and all of our gear being inside there, and these little bass hunters we have, and then we just go out and explore this whole for this whole dam.
SPEAKER_01So if somebody had to book a fishing session with you, like for how many hours would you how much how much time would you spend on the dam? Well, it depends on how many fish.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. If the fish are how successful we are. Yes. Usually it's like this. But what I usually do is though, you do have a certain time because all of the tours are scheduled like this. But it's usually from about 9.30 to about 11:30, right? But this all depends on your guest and also on you being the guide. So you might have tours after this specific one. But then what I usually do is I just ask my colleagues to do my tours after this specific one, then I stay longer on this dam.
SPEAKER_01Suffice to say, it's your favorite activity on the farm, for sure.
SPEAKER_00My my favorite activity by far. Yeah. Just being out here, being on the dam, and then being able to listen to everything that you can hear here. There's there's no loud noises. The things that you do hear some of the birds, you see some of our beautiful birds, you hear the sound of the kidney fowls. Year and year, you will get uh like that guy flying over there, which is our jackal buzzard and making this beautiful noise. You see, this is the kind of things that I I tend to find to like a lot.
SPEAKER_01So, in terms of age, um, are there any age restrictions? From what age do you um help? Do you assist with the fishing ear? Kids as well?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, most definitely. Families, uh, fathers with the sons, moms with the daughters, anyway.
SPEAKER_01Grandpas and grandkids.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I think no age restriction, but you need to be able to hold the rot, though. So when you when the kids are grown enough to hold the rot, and then I can I can teach them then afterwards.
SPEAKER_01Do you fish off the deck or do you fish from the little boats?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we have these nice boats. Those guys we equip with a little battery and a propeller, and then we will go out with them on the lake. Then you have a little electric engine. You can stand here as well, and you can stand on that pontoon over there where that great cormorant is standing. You can fish from there also, but I just love being out on the waters and sailing with the boat.
SPEAKER_01So it's always catch and release, except for the one guy who got his truck to cook that barble restaurant for him.
SPEAKER_00So that's one of my more favorite memories that I'm remembering, but there's there's been a lot more guests that have done that. You see? So it's not him only. A lot of times when you catch a nice big fish of the year, rainbow or brown, it is very tempting for you to you would like to take this to the restaurant. And of course, Babylon Student, being who we are, we have this option for our guests.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Guests can do this.
SPEAKER_01If you could schedule your perfect summer or sunny day at Babylon Student, what would you do from the moment you open your eyes until you go to sleep at night? What would your perfect sunny day look like on the farm?
SPEAKER_00So mine will start with fishing and in with fishing. But I always recommend our guests doing this. Whether it's beautiful days, right? Do the farm walk in the morning. Choose between the farm walk and the water buffalo, right? And then after this, you have the option of the garden tour that you will that you can do and also then you have your breakfast first. Oh, yeah, then you have breakfast after those two tours, yes. And then you have the option of joining the garden tour or the fly fishing. But remember though, there's also wine cellar tours throughout the day, the olive and balsamic vinegar tours throughout the day. And there's a wine museum you can also visit, right? And if you do if you don't want to do any of those, book the mountain pool, and then you stay there from 11:30 up until 3 o'clock. And from there you can come back, perhaps book a nice massage in our spa, and take a dip in our swimming pool there, have dinner at one of our restaurants, and then you uh relax for the night in your room. This is what I will do during summertime.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and winter.
SPEAKER_00Wintertime I will always say. Any two that you can do, whether it's raining or not, do this.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00If you would like to do the wine tasting, which is always always under roofed and enclosed, do that as well. All right? Oliphant balsamic to us also. But then go to the spa also, because not only for the treatments we have there, we have this swimming pools there, right? The heated pools there, the heated pools, the vitality pools that we have there with the steam room and the sauna, and this is always something amazing to experience.
SPEAKER_01I must say today is quite misty. Um, so you don't have the long views that you would have on a clear day, but what a what a lovely atmosphere it creates as well. And it's everything is so soft, and you can you can see and the birds so clearly and hear them. So it's it's such a quiet, serene day. But I think I I can I can tell that despite all the activities, the you would probably just cancel the lot and go fishing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Just look at the surface of the water now. There's no wind. And this literally looks like a murder. You're looking into the murder and seeing everything above this. This is gorgeous. This is beautiful, right? Now you just imagine coming out here, getting on the bear sunter and sailing out into the water, and see whether you can see a trout surfacing and trying to cast over there and catch a nice, nice trout for the day.
SPEAKER_01This is not the only fishing spot. What else? Uh where can people and what can be caught? Because I know we also have a very interesting conservation project.
SPEAKER_00Down below, we have a dam near our Fenbus cottages. And that dam is stocked with largemouth bears. So there's largemouth bears in there, and that bears are mostly active in summer and heated days. Except for the bears, there's canoes over there, and also bear hunter and a normal spinning rod. So you can literally just walk there or take your bicycles in front of your mountain bikes in front of the room. Yeah. Explore the farm up until the dam, take a canoe, go out on the dam and do some exploring.
SPEAKER_01Warren, thank you for sharing all these very special, very beautiful, lesser-known parts of Babylon's tourism. It's really been a treat. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_00You're so welcome.
SPEAKER_01Warren, before we say goodbye, I'd like to end on a quick QA, just a short shootout to discern some of your favorite things about the farm. Are you up for it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm up for it.
SPEAKER_01What is your favorite scent or smell on the farm?
SPEAKER_00The smell of Feinbus. That will be my favorite scent on the farm since I've I've been spending so many time outdoors, like literally all the activities that we do. The smell of the erocephalus, the wild rosemary, right? The smell of that and also the brittle bus, the sweet smell of the brittle bus as well. So I will say, yeah, most definitely the smell of fainbus.
SPEAKER_01Oh, fantastic. Do you highlight these scents to people when you're driving? Like do people do people often pick it up and ask you questions about it?
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, most definitely, especially on the mountain drive. When you're driving down the specific part of the mountain drive, we call this slung put. Right?
SPEAKER_01Snake is the snake road.
SPEAKER_00The snake road, yeah, because it makes a couple of turns as you go downwards.
SPEAKER_01Not because they're snakes.
SPEAKER_00Not because they're snakes at all. But there's a lot of those blombos or white brittle boos standing on either side of that.
SPEAKER_01They've got like a lovely sweet smell.
SPEAKER_00Sweet scent, yeah, almost like honey something you're smelling somewhere, right? And that often comes up. And then I usually stop over there and I let them smell this. Grab a handful of this, press this between your hands, and smell what you're smelling. Get them engaged with the nature. This is what's important, I think.
SPEAKER_01This might be quite difficult for you. What's your favorite plant on the farm?
SPEAKER_00Plant a tree, right? So, right? So I'm gonna say pudacarpus. Pura carpus, ilungata specifically, the yellow, the yellow wood.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Rederefield yellow wood, that will be my favorite one.
SPEAKER_01Okay, stunning. And where on the farm, can one see them?
SPEAKER_00So you will find a couple of those puddarpus on your farm walk, but you will always also find them near our tea fields where we plant the Ray Bus and Honey Boos tea, opposite to that. There's a couple of them standing over there as well.
SPEAKER_01What is your favorite view on the farm? I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm looking at it.
SPEAKER_00This is my favorite view on the farm.
SPEAKER_01Okay, that makes perfect sense. This is probably this makes the next question obsolete. What is your happy place on the farm?
SPEAKER_00This is my happy place on the farm by far.
SPEAKER_01Okay. That's uh surprise, right? No, I think the next one is also quite obvious, uh, Warren. Um, you are you have very distinct tastes, and that's good. Um, what is your favorite animal on the farm?
SPEAKER_00My favorite animal on the farm, I'm gonna have to say the fish eagle, African fish eagle.
SPEAKER_01Once again, we're in the right place.
SPEAKER_00In the right place. This is normally where I spot the fish eagle just in the corner over there, sitting on one of those branches.
SPEAKER_01Not today, but next time.
SPEAKER_00Not today, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And then we have so many, we we create, grow, and produce and make so many amazing products. What is your favorite product? And it it could be a fresh vegetable or something that is created from it, could be from the lifestyle or the seller, or what is your favorite bobblin' sort of product? What do you enjoy consuming or perhaps enjoy gifting someone?
SPEAKER_00So, what I buy the most, and I would say my favorite product will be the buffuccino.
SPEAKER_01Buffuccino.
SPEAKER_00Baffuccino, that's my favorite product I can find.
SPEAKER_01It's the buffalo milk cappuccino.
SPEAKER_00It's the cappuccino with the water buffalo milk. That's my favorite by far. I love the butterlecker as well, but buffuccino any day.
SPEAKER_01That's an interesting one for a man who drinks black coffee. Thank you so much, Warren. It's been awesome seeing all of these secret places on the farm. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_00You are so welcome. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01Are you gonna go fishing now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think I will do that.
SPEAKER_01Lucky you