If anybody was ever in any doubt that life was good for the select few during the days of colonial settlement in Africa, then a trip to Gibbs Farm should confirm that it was true.
A stroll through the almost impossibly sumptuous gardens of the famous homestead returns memories of the coffee estate culture of the post war period, and the elegant lives of the Bwanas and Sahibs who enjoyed a brief but glorious reign in East Africa.
This was the time of elegance and comfort that has so inspired interior decorators from Cape Town to the equator, and Gibbs Farm represents a living, breathing relic of the opulent period.
What the Europeans adored about life in the East African colonies was endless sunshine, high rainfall and the availability of dirt cheap labor. While from this resource great commercial estates arose – in this case a coffee estate – great homesteads also evolved, with energetic housewives creating with an army of workers some of the most celebrated flower gardens of the Empire.
As far as a casual visitor to Gibbs Farm is concerned, the fact that the property is a working coffee estate probably impacts less than its astonishingly beautiful setting. The farm is situated on the southern slopes of the Crater Highlands, surrounded by the village settlement of Karatu, and about as close to Hemingway’s precious ideal of The Green Hills Of Africa as modern life permits.
While the farm itself dates to the 1920s the sumptuous floral extravaganza currently the main feature of the homestead was installed in the 1950s by Margaret Gibbs herself. The entire farm is an integrated visitor project with activities and workshops designed to showcase local skills and products, alongside visits to the estate, health & wellness, and perhaps it might be said a rather overstated involvement and integration with local culture.
Hospitality consists of the old farmhouse turned into reception, dining and living areas, with bedrooms situated in 14 dispersed ‘farm cottages’ that are splendid examples of what farm cottages are not. All are comfortably and extremely tastefully appointed, each looking out on a subtly different views, but all awash under cascades of garden flowers. Needless to say all this energy and color attracts a flurry of birdlife, and sure enough birds are an unceasing presence everywhere. Clear mountain sunlight, deep blues skies and this explosion of life and color might seem a restless backdrop for a relaxing stay, but not so. An air of genteel charm, very much of a bygone era, pervades Gibbs Farm, and relaxation is guaranteed.
Peripheral activities can include various cultural exchanges in and around local communities and local community projects, exposure to local arts, craft and traditional practices, and of course coffee roasting. The farm also offers various wider ranging excursions including a hike to the crater rim and village and local wildlife tours and safaris.
Gibbs Farm has staked its reputation on being utterly post-modern in outlook. The careful and transparent cultural integration; its promotion of local arts and craft; its emphasis on traditional healing and health & wellness, all come together to create an expectation of sustainable and Fair Trade practice. All things considered this is so. When surrounded by such worrisome eco-practice as is generally afoot in Tanzania, it is not hard to look good. Gibbs Farm is a work in progress in this regard, but it scores very highly against the heartland of this sort of thing, which is Cape Town and its hinterland.
Wood burning water heaters and solar panels are used to service the guesthouse.
Gibbs Farm is a country guesthouse par excellence, and its hard to imagine how one could improve on the ambience and décor without crossing the line to contrivance. It might seem a bit outlandish to visitors expecting the clichés of Africa, but on closer examination it might turn out to be one of the most authentic guesthouse of its type left on the continent.
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