"What do you mean you don't take credit cards?" was my alarmed response to the proprietor refusing to accept plastic to pay for armfuls of provisions and knickknacks. 

“This is Hogsback,” she announced, enunciating each word as if to make the point.

In other circumstances I would have pirouetted on my toe and headed for the door but, in Hogsback, on a Monday, options for things like food and drink are as thin as the village’s claimed link to Lord of the Rings.

After enlisting the help of my mother and JP who emptied their wallets with mine, we had, at least, something to accompany dinner.

The Hogsback Inn which makes a hullabaloo about being the area’s original, was under refurbishment when we walked down the steep pathway to the reception.

Our suggestion of coming in for coffee was quickly put aside by the management. Check out the gallery here.

So far not so good.

Hogsback is a village in the Eastern Cape’s Amatola Mountain Range with Alice at one side and Kingwilliamstown on the other.

Visually, especially in winter, it has the charm of a densely forested fairy-tale world. They’ve capitalised on this and named places a cutesy Middle Earth and Fairy this or that.

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Actually named after three hills that look unmistakably like the backs of warthogs, it’s hilly greenness makes it truly beautiful.

There are many walks and hikes in the area and for someone as unfit as I am, a meander through the Aboretum up to the 39 Steps Waterfall was all I could manage.

A lot is said about the challenges of the Madonna and Child waterfall and hike but amazingly not much about the fact that it is very easy to drive there and just take a few steps to the viewing site.

Diane Graham’s auburn hair glows with an uncanny shine. Perhaps her Voice of the Earth Shrine, built at the foot of her home, energetically conditions her hair.

She is a local artist who as an expression of the scientific interconnectedness of everything on earth has built from cement and decorated with mosaics for her oil on timber panels that insert into the frames.

It is something worth seeing especially as she offers visitors a tour and explanation of the shrine for the R20 fee. It is also an especially beautiful vantage point.

Our accommodation at The Edge self catering was charming and comfortable but even with a roaring fire and heater, we were cold.

For Capetonians and Durbanites who are not used to a chilly near zero, the cold will come as an unpleasant surprise if not properly dressed against it.

The Edge is so named as the lawns in front of each cottages lead to a rocky outcrop on which one can sit, legs akimbo, hoping not to fall to the death below when distracted by a swooping eagle.

Inside, at eye level sitting on a floral-print rocking chair by the fire, just the forest-topped mountains are visible.

We selected Stargazer Cottage as it had two en-suite bedrooms on either side of the sitting room which perfectly suited our needs. Everything we needed was provided, even a heavily ripe lemon tree within reach of the kitchen window.

An attraction at The Edge is a 1.4km stone labyrinth modelled on one in the Chartres Cathedral in France. Although the intention is to be meditative, I found my mind wandering and only after completing a few crescent-shaped paths, stepped over the low walls to get to the end sooner.

Tea Thyme is the restaurant at The Edge worth eating at. They also have board games and two huge dogs which add to the charm of life in the mountains.

On a future visit rather than opt for self catering (given that provisions are low) we will stay at The Arminel, which is similarly priced but also serves breakfast and dinner.

We stopped there for delicious tea and scones and were moved that even though we were the only guests at the time in the large, double volume thatched lounge area, they built a fire for us.

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