Eco Lodge Schoemanskloof - Indabushe Eco Lodge

The wonderful part of always being on the lookout for new places - worthwhile paces that is - for a quick weekend breakaway in good old South Africa, is that you continue finding rare gems just when you think there are none left!

Indabushe Eco Lodge is one such gem. Dewald and Nelie really go all out to make you feel at home and comfortable, and Nelie prepares meals that will have you begging for more! The steak she prepared for us this past Saturday was a work of art! Oh my, I just started drooling.

Nestled between the surrounding mountains and hills, with a great view over a part of the valley from the homestead, you can just feel how your overworked, overstressed, hyperdrive city conditioned body starts unwinding the moment you step out of your car. The first thing you hear is water rushing over rocks in the stream right next to the house - it's exactly like a muscle relaxant, only better!

Do you need this? Trust me - you do.

The farm offers a variety of activities to cater for everybody. Hiking trials in the mountains for the fitter nature lovers amongst us. Quad bike trials for the more laid back nature lovers. And if you are just a totally lazy nature lover - nothing wrong with that - you can simply relax and enjoy the scenery and birdsong and that soothing stream.

Quad bikes. Lets talk about quad bikes for a bit. Not being a regular quad biker, I have always felt a little bit out of place on one. Lucky for me, Dewald first takes you for a little training course before escorting you into the mountains. And it really helped me - I felt totally at ease afterwards! So I could just enjoy myself. Safety first is the motto here.

When I think quad bikes, I think ugly, beatle like machines, noisy, bumpy and uncomfortable.

But boy oh boy, certainly just about the most fun you can have on 4 wheels! The exception might be my carting days (wonderful times, when I actually managed to fit into a super fast go-cart) and occasions when I was lucky enough to take a Ferarri F360 and Porsche 911 Turbo for a spin around a race track. That was fun - and FAST!

At Indabushe the focus is not on speed - rather on enjoying the capabilities of the quad bike to the max. In the mountains, in 4x4 mode, with you hanging on for dear life. And the route we did was apparently the easiest one. I have a feeling Dewald was probably just being nice to me so he kept me off the difficult tracks, up to a full day long quad bike trek through the mountains. So if you like quadbiking in the bush - you really need to come and try this out.

So once again Schoemanskloof serves up a very nice surprise. Small wonder then that it is fast becoming one of my favourite spots. Great people, great accommodation, great food. Perfect.

Thanx to Dewald and Nelie for making our stay one to remember. Will we be back? You better believe that!

To visit their website, click on this link - eco lodge acommodation schoemanskloof

Schoemanskloof - a great destination

Well well well, it has been the longest time since I last managed to get away! I suppose one can berate this, but if the business is going great and that has been the reason for not geting away, then who am I to complain.

This past weekend I managed to get away to Schoemanskloof again. For the uninformed - to get to Schoemanskloof from Gauteng you take the N4 towards Nelspruit. Just after the Machadodorp tollgate you will be confronted with a choice of roads - straight on you go past SAPPI, and if you fork left you go via Schoemanskloof. It rejoins the N4 again closer to Nelspruit.

Beautiful area. You are surrounded by mountains in this unspoiled valley. It is very definitely worth the drive, but even better if you decide to stay over at one of the places available. Come on - treat yourself, just one night on your way to the Kruger National Park maybe. You will not be sorry.

Old Joe's Kaia, Indabushe Eco Lodge and Kilmorna Manor. All 3 places offering unique experiences to travellers.

Next time you go to Mpumalanga or the Kruger - do yourself a favour and sleep over for a night. It will be well worth your while!

Old Joe's Kaia - accommodation in Schoemanskloof Valley

Mountains. What is it about mountains that has such a magical power. To fascinate. To enchant. Literally, to hold you spellbound.

The sheer size of these behemoths of Mother Earth is always sufficient to remind us of exactly how small us humans really are in the overall scheme of things. Imagine, they wil still be there in another million years! Where will we be?

If mountains can cast this kind of spell on you, then you need to imagine a magic little hideaway in Schoemanskloof Valley in Mpumalanga - directly on your route to the world renowned Kruger Park - where you will find yourself totally surrounded by the breathtaking Drakensberg Mountains. The mountains tower over you with such splendour that you can but watch in awe.

As you sit on the wooden deck just outside the lounge of Old Joe's Kaia - sipping on a really good red wine of course! - you are faced first with a huge, lush garden filled with a small forest of towering trees. In summertime bird watchers will really kick themselves if they forgot their binoculars!

There are currently 5 wooden cabins - nicely tucked away in the woods - 3 rondavels and 3 semi-detached "kaia rooms". Neat, comfortable and spotlessly clean. As for the food. Oh yes, my favourite topic! The food at Old Joe's, lovingly prepared by chef and co-owner Marian Cottle, is downright dangerous. Well, to the fast food industry at least! With sufficient meals like those you will enjoy here, the fast food industry might well find themselves scrabbling for business. You will eat like a king.

You can expect a very warm welcome and to be made to feel totally at home by the hosts, Marian Cottle and Paul Drews and their son, Damian. So often, your whole experience can be decided by the hosts of an intimate accommodation set-up like a guest house. Here, you can rest assured that the hosts are totally focused on their guests, and they add positively to complete a really worthwhile stay.

So, if you are planning that trip to the Kruger Park sometime soon - spoil yourself and leave a day earlier so that you can stay over at Old Joes Kaia. You really need to include it on your list of overnight destinations in South Africa.

You will leave with fond memories.

To visit their website, click on this link - accommodation schoemanskloof

Phalaborwa Acommodation for Backpackers

Visit us at Elephant Walk and be pleasantly surprised at this small homely "home from home" backpackers and Bed & Breakfast. Situated in the Limpopo Province of Southern Africa, less than 2km from the Phalaborwa Gate to the Kruger National Park.

The Bush Was Calling Again

Last Friday we did our yearly "pilgrammage" to Sun City to watch the Nedbank Challenge golf tournament - a selected handful of golf's biggest names playing for the largest winning cheque in golf today, $1,2 million! Well done to Jim Furyk for lifting the trophy for the second year in a row after some wonderful golf!

Anyway, with Sun City - itself a good place for a weekend breakaway - being only 102 kilometers from the Madikwe Game Reserve, we thought it to be a good time to revisit one of our previous destinations again - Mosethla Bush Camp.

And what a good choice! Keeping in mind that this is definitely NOT another one of the myriad of luxury 5 star type of lodges. Oh no, this is the type of place you go to when you require a much more down to earth type of experience, less all the luxuries. So, if you want a little bit of adventure to mix in with your bush experience in order to go home with a feeling of having really achieved something worthwhile, then THIS is the place for you!

No electricity. No running water. No fences around the camp except a high one to keep the elephants from taking a shower with you. Purely an economic decision, according to Caroline Lucas, as apparently elephants use enourmous amounts of soap!

At night, parrafin lamps will light the way and lends an almost fairyland feeling to the camp. To shower, you heat your own water in a very nifty little "donkey" boiler before using the bush shower. Be honest, when last have you had an INTERESTING shower?! And they are totally effective! If you don't want a cold shower, then you won't have one. Oh, and we have been told in confidence that no donkeys were harmed in the making of these boilers.

Of course, any experience can be spoiled if the people are not with the program. Well, we can now - again - assure you that at Mosethla, the people are very much WITH the program. Friendly, efficient, good food, good gamedrives, and really good service. You really go home feeling pretty good about your weekend.

We saw lions, elephants - one actually came right up to the vehicle! Let me tell you something about elephants - they ALL can do with a good couple of botox injections! You have never seen so many wrinkles in your life! But they are so beautiful.

We also saw cheetah, giraffe, kudu, impala and a leopard tortoise which ran away from us. Half an hour and he was just GONE. For bird lovers - be warned, you are going to be mighty busy! All in all, very rewarding drives.

An interesting bit of information about Impala. They have babies during late November, maybe early December every year. As such, they got their name from a Tshwana word - Phala - which means November.

So, if ever you feel the need to really get the dust of Africa under your feet, break away to Mosethla bush Camp in the Madikwe Game Reserve. You will WANT to go back.

We love this place.

Diving with Tigers!

The tigershark. Beautiful. Surreal. Huge. Awesome. Big. Breathtaking. Scary!

Now imagine diving with them. Actually swimming in the ocean, right in between them! The question you need to ask yourself is this - do you feel adventurous today, punk?

Ok, sorry, I just HAD to bring in that line, didn't I. There is ONE similarity though, between the Dirty Harry movies and diving with sharks in open water. Yes, open water - no cages allowed! And that similarity is the fact that you will probably feel as scared as the criminals at the wrong end of Old Harry's .45!

Luckily, you are in wonderful hands. Mark Addison of Blue Wilderness (look for them at www.bluewilderness.co.za) knows sharks intimately well, an experience gained from 8 years of diving with these amazing creatures.

I slipped into the water as quietly as I could and descended. You try to prepare yourself beforehand. Try telling yourself it will be ok. YOU will be ok. Mark knows what he is doing. The sharks won't bother you. But NOTHING can ever prepare you for the feeling of descending into a tranquil blue ocean and then suddenly finding yourself surrounded by a group of tiger sharks!

You are at the same time experiencing terror AND wonder. Because as you descend and you start making out their forms around you, you simply cannot help but be awed. These are breathtaking creatures. And they got so close that we could actually count the stripes on that very coarse skin! Your lungs can't get enough oxygen into them as the fear paralyses you!

But pretty soon you start to relax as you realise that they have no interest in you at all. As prey they would rather avoid humans due to our size, and as it happens tigersharks are scavengers who prefer to eat stuff that is already dead instead of hunting living prey. I wouldn't advise trying this with a Great White though...

And even though the fear probably never leaves you totally, you soon find yourself admiring these gentle 4 meter long giants as they effortlessly glide around you. Admiring their great size, their gracefullness. Whilst being very aware of that huge mouth full of razor sharp teeth!

If you are very lucky, you might manage to grab onto a dorsal fin and hitch a ride. One lady in our group did just that - she was giggling all the way back to shore! I guess that says it all.

We spent three wonderful hours with "our" tigers. Three hours that I would give anything to have all over again. Three hours that are indelibly imprinted on my brain as being one of the most awesome things I have done in my whole life!

And the most amazing thing - when we finally had to leave, I felt sad. It felt as if I was breaking a very unique bond between me and those sharks. And I experienced a tremendous feeling of calmness. My body and soul felt relaxed and cleansed.

If you ever have a need to expand your "horizons", then diving with these tigers will add a dimension that will leave you awestruck and wanting more.

Interesting fact about sharks:

The do not suffer from cancer and they can detect 1 single drop of perfume in an olympic sized swimming pool. And they deserve our respect and admiration. Not our loathing.

An Unforgettable Bush Experience

Hello friends. Long time no see! Some personal stuff kept us busy for a while, but being travellers at heart, we decided to drop everything and get out of the city. We needed to get out into the African bush, hear a lion's mighty roar, the symphony of the bush, and some fresh air.

For a while now we have been discussing a trip to the Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West Province, as it offers abundant wildlife, some great lodges and is also malaria free! Then we were told about a very quaint bush lodge, or eco lodge as they prefer to be known, by the name of Mosetlha Bush Camp.

Must be honest, we like the finer things in life, and Mosetlha has none of those. No electricity, none of the fancy trimmings you have come to expect at the typical South African lodges. So we had our doubts whether this was going to be good for us. Still, the friend who told us is of the same mindset as us, and he was really raving about their experience, so we decided to give it a try.

As it turns out, it was one of the best decisions we have made in a very long time! What a wonderful place, and wonderful people! Not to mention some brilliant sightings!

You check in at the gate at half past 12, leave your car at the admin office and then a guide takes you to the camp. Very secluded, private and QUIET! Isn't that the most wanted requirement when in the bush? No noise, only the natural sounds of the bush. Music for a tired soul.

We got to the camp, and was greeted by the friendly staff, and then had a very welcome lunch served. Being an experienced Lodge visitor, the day is very typical, and true to form, you take your places on the open game viewing vehicle later that afternoon. 4 hours later we were back, tired, dusty and smiling from ear to ear! The first game drive - elephant, lion, buffalo, wild dog! 3 of the big 5 in that bunch. What a start to an unforgettable weekend.

If you are a bird watcher this will be paradise for you. So be sure to bring everything you need in that regard. With more than 340 bird species, you are going to be busy.

Dinners are always the highlight of the day, with the focus being on traditionally cooked food. And then, to end the day, a smooth single malt Johnny Walker Blue Label, staring into the fire whilst making smalltalk, under a pitch black sky covered with a blanket of stars. Then off to bed. The fresh air really gets to you! Bliss.

Early morning wake up call, coffee and off we went again, intrepid explorers in this vast and untamed reserve. Thank goodness for extremely informative guides, who do their best to unlock the secrets of the bush for us city dwellers.

You can also get right down to it and do a guided walk. Not being of the very fit variety, we again had some doubts and could imagine ourselves stumbling through the bush, gasping for breath and making such a ruckus that no animal would come within a mile of us! Surprise! No such thing. Hardly broke a sweat. Well ok, thats not true, I sweated like the proverbial pig, but that is due to the heat. So make sure you take water with you. This walk allows you to experience the bush in ways you never can do from the back of a vehicle. Try and find the Small 5 for a change. Heard about them? This is true! Amazing little creatures - the Elephant Shrew, the Leopard Tortoise, the Rhino Beetle, the Buffalo Weaver and the Ant Lion. Just when you thought you knew it all! Ever watched a colony of ants hard at work? Try that sometime. The bush is about all the things living in it, not just the Big 5. It will open up a whole new world for you.

Then breakfast, shower, and relaaaaaaax! I love reading, so being able to sit quietly in the bush while reading a good book has always been one of the better ways for me to relax and unwind. Of course, an afternoon nap always comes in handy as well.

You sleep in one of the nine raised wooden cabins, set nicely apart, right in the bush around the central camp area and lapa. Note - the camp is not fenced, so if you like walking in your sleep, rather tie your leg to the bed. That way, you might very well save yourself from a nasty surprise. Animals rule here, and great care is taken to make human intrusion into their world as small as possible.

Showering in a typical safari shower is definitely one of my new favourite pasttimes! Never thought I would say that about a communal shower block, with the water being heated in a donkey boiler (no real donkeys were hurt in this little exercise) but I have now changed my mind.

When it became time to leave again, we did so with very heavy hearts. This is one place that will see us again!

To sum it up in a sentence - a truly wonderful experience in a truly wonderful place, made even more so by people who have really made it their mission to make you feel right at home.

The Natal Midlands

Well now, it's been a while since my last post. Even us lucky people who don't really have to work anymore, must do our bit sometimes. Luckily, this past couple of days we got back to what we do best now - travel Southern Africa!

We decided it is time to explore a part of Kwa-Zulu-Natal that we haven't been to before. Less than 4 hours drive from Johannesburg, on the edge of the Karkloof Hills at Curry's Post, you will find a wonderful haven by the name of Mulberry Hill.

We booked in at the Mulberry Hill Guesthouse. It offers 6 large en suite rooms, with stocked trout dams - so guess what kept me busy for quite a while!

Surrounded by breathtaking gardens where tall trees abound, our room also offered a view over the Karkloof hills, but only once the mist clears! Imagine waking up and the whole place is covered with dense mist. The only sounds you hear are the large variety of birds, all twittering away to their heart's content. Breathe in the freshest air you can hope to find and just feel all your tension drain away. Once the sun starts melting away the mist, gentle rays filters through the trees and paints amazing scenes all around you, reminding you of all those stories you have read about enchanted forests and elves and fairies. Magical stuff indeed, and so good for the soul!

We treated ourselves to a trip through the indigenous forest canopy. Now this is something you simply MUST do. What an unreal experience! With Karkloof Canopy Tours you can be certain of an adrenaline rush par excellence. Experience the forest as you have never seen it. You can actually call it a monkey's point of view, as you literally fly between elevated platforms high up in the tops of ages old stinkwood and yellowwood trees. We have already added this to our list of "things to do - again, and again, and AGAIN!"

Other than that, there isn't all that much to do, but then again, you certainly don't come here to keep very busy. At least, I should hope not. You can visit the Herbal Centre where you can find out everything you have ever wanted to know about herbs. Or if you are a dog person, especially a Jack Russel lover, you need to visit the Jackie Brown shop. This delightful little store is dedicated solely to all things Jack Russel.

Enjoy a palate teasing pancake at The Bistro and Pancake Place, during the day only though. After dark I would recommend the lamb shank. Oh my goodness, that certainly will get your taste buds tingling.

After a most delightful 3 days stay, we very reluctantly packed our bags and came home, ready to plan our next little getaway, but also absolutely certain that this little peace of heaven haven't seen the last of us.

Phalaborwa - Gateway to the Limpopo Transfrontier National Park

Hello friends. Trust you had a relaxing weekend.

We just couldn't stand the cold anymore and went looking for warmer climates! Decided to try something new this time, so we combined an in town lodge with a spot of game viewing in the world renowned Kruger National Park.

We saw an ad for a lodge in the town of Phalaborwa itself - African Lily Lodge - and made a rather short notice booking. What a pleasant surprise we got. It is a 3 star graded lodge and the wonderful couple who owns it will really make you feel at home! If you have yet to experience true, warm hospitality, coupled with a wonderful sense of humour, you need to meet Zena and her husband Daan.

It is a tranquil haven in town which offers lush gardens, the songs of hordes of birds to wake up to, and all within easy walking distance from various shops and restaurants and less than 2km from the gate of the Kruger Park. How good can it get!

The units are well equipped with a Dstv bouquet, telephone, internet access and offers breakfast on request. With us not being your typical self catering guests - after all, our idea of roughing it is slow room service - we settled to eat breakfast in the communal dining room. I'm not going to tell you how well we ate - instead I urge you to go and try it yourself!

While you're in Phalaborwa, treat yourself to a very rare and spectacular sight. No, not an honest traffic officer. I am referring to the largest man-made hole on the planet - it is actually visible from space! View one of the world's largest open cast mines from a special lookout point - it is awesome.

For the adventurous golfers, Phalaborwa offers yet another unique feature, other than the big hole and of course the Kruger Park, and that is the chance to mix your golf game with a couple of African animals. Yes, at the Hans Merensky golf course, the odds are real good that you will run into some sort of wildlife. If you play like I shoot claypigeon, the odds are even better! There is of course a fence between the golf course and the Kruger Park, but fences have never meant anything to the African Elephant. In fact, they trample fences so readily one won't be blamed for assuming they actually like the tingling feeling of 10 000 Volts tickling their mighty feet!

So, you HAVE to play a round at this beautiful course but be warned - don't try to fetch stray balls from the waterholes! If this course doesn't improve your game, start playing the fool instead.

We also did a 3 hour long sunset cruise on the Olifants River with Jumbo River Safaris. We saw hippos, crocs - one of which might well have been an honest to goodness lab experiment gone awry it was so big - lots of antelope and the crown jewel of sightings, a leopard drinking water in the river!

On Saturday afternoon we managed to make an appointment to take the 10km drive out to the Amarula Lapa, where we were introduced to the birthplace of the world famous Amarula Cream. Afterwards, we partook in a tasting session which turned out to be very tasty indeed. Less so the nasty hangover, but this IS Africa after all, and one needs to be strong to survive here!

What can one say about the Kruger Park that hasn't been said already? It's just such a wonderful place to be. No visit to this part of South Africa would be complete without at least one day trip into the park to drink in the ambience, the silence, the multitude of animals and the overall magic of one of the world's treasures. Even if "the bush" isn't your scene, you cannot help but be touched by this magical and mysterious place.

The bad part about my travels and excursions is always having to come home, and this was no exception. Go experience it for yourself, you will be pleasantly surprised and want to go back.

More on Dullstroom

I just had to say more about Dullstroom. Have you booked yet? Let me give you more reasons to do so!

We stayed in the elegant Critchley Hackle hotel. It overlooks dream inspiring trout filled lakes with a truly relaxed, rustic atmosphere. Spoil yourself - book one of the tower rooms! Double bed large enough even for me with a fireplace in the bedroom. You even get a private patio although admittedly in winter the fireplace is THE place to be. Dullstroom isn't the coldest town in South Africa for nothing you know.

Tried my hand at a spot of the old fly fishing, both at Critchley hackle and at Elandskloof, about 15 km out of town on the way to Machadodorp. It normally doesn't take very long before you find yourself immersed in an epic battle with a rainbow. Ahh, the sound of a screaming reel, the splash as it jumps, how much more fun could you possibly ask for.

The hotel itself serves delicious meals. Mouthwatering to the point where you might just start looking really foolish. Do try it. No, not the mouth water part, the food! Or put on your warmest jacket and brave the cold for the world's best pancakes! Yes, Harry's Pancakes draws crowds from near and far. It is just so mouthwateringly good. Do you prefer it flat, sweet or filled with something savoury? You'll get it here! When in Dullstroom, you need to spoil yourself at least once. Or twice. Or a lot of times!

Feeling adventurous? Take a 7km drive out of Dullstroom on the Kruisfontein road to Valleispruit. Here you can test your clay pigeon and trap shooting skills or play modern day Robin Hood with a bow. Great fun! Even better if one can actually hit something of course! Well, there's always good wine afterwards. After a couple, the misses become hits, the hits become bullseye's and suddenly you are the BEST shot ever, with only your level of intoxication between you and an olympic gold medal.

Spend some time talking to the locals. Meet them in the Dullstroom Inn. An interesting lot indeed! Enjoy a hearty meal and a draught beer or some fine wine in front of a roaring fireplace. What a nice way to spend an evening.

If you are interested in architecture, you will find many delights in Dullstroom. An interesting mix of 19th and 20th century designs to keep you busy.

It also offers a host of different shops for the browsers amongst us. From linenware, gifts and bathroom items, to REAL mampoer if you're brave enough, to trout pies and hand painted glassware and beautiful art pieces.

And the best part of it all is that it is only a 2 hour drive from Pretoria and Johannesburg. Ideal for a weekend breakaway or even just a day trip to enjoy Dullstroom's delights. Try it and get hooked.

Till next time, keep travelling!