The headquarters of our bird observatory is at Vondeling Wine Farm, 65 km from Cape Town International Airport. It is an hour’s drive from the airport, and from the city.
We have comfortable accommodation on the farm, in a cluster of six cottages surrounded by vineyards. Chef’s Cottage, which we also use as our main gathering place, sleeps five: two bedrooms each with a double bed, and one with a single bed. Monty’s Cottage sleeps six people in two bedrooms for three people each.
Both Chef’s Cottage and Monty’s Cottage have recently been renovated as accommodation for guests. We are using them as the base for bird ringing events, and as the centre of focus of our bird observatory. There are many good ringing sites within a kilometre of our accommodation.
Lounge : Chef’s Cottage 
Bedroom : Chef’s Cottage 
Bedroom with double bed : Chef’s Cottage 
Bedroom with double bed : Chef’s Cottage
The kitchens in both cottages are well-equipped: gas stove, microwave oven, fridge and freezer, and even a dishwasher and washing machine.
Kitchen : Monty’s Cottage 
Bedroom with three beds : Monty’s Cottage
We have done lots of bird-ringing here! There is a blog report on the most recent trip.
Position
On the Google map below, Vondeling Wine Farm is marked by the arrow. It is on the eastern edge of the block of mountains known as the Paardeberg. It is northwest of the towns Paarl and Wellington. The N1, the national road between Cape Town and Gauteng, passes through Paarl.
