Feature: Non Malarial

Lythwood Country Hotel, Lidgetton, Natal Midlands

The English Countryside comes to scenic Natal Midlands

This is an exclusive country lodge set on a 275-acre estate surrounded by forest. The lodge has 11 luxuriously appointed rooms, one honeymoon suite and there are also a selection of self-catering lodges for families. Fine food and wine is a feature of the lodge and we particularly like the flexibility provided by the a la carte menu.

About the Location

The extensive grounds provide a pool, croquet and numerous walks to soak up the peaceful atmosphere while this is also a bird watcher’s paradise. There are many activities and excursions that can be provided including a 4X4 day trip up the breathtaking Sani Pass over the dramatic Drakensbergs into Lesotho. Many cultural activities can also be provided giving guests a unique insight into the local communities, some of which are direct descendants of the original San inhabitants. There are many excellent craft shops along the Midland Meander and here you will also find the home of South African made Tsonga shoes and leather goods.


Drinkwater Guest Farm

Drinkwater Guest Farm, Southern Mpumalanga

Drinkwater is a  great stopover with wonderfully friendly hosts between The Kruger region and KwaZulu-Natal

Drinkwater is the ideal stopover on a journey from the Kruger Park to KwaZulu Natal. This is approximately four-hours’ drive from the southern Kruger, Johannesburg and Cathedral Peak in the Drakensbergs and the Isandlwana Battlefield. You are assured a very friendly welcome on this working sheep farm. You will enjoy real home cooking with an excellent and inexpensive dinner – if you like good lamb this is clearly the place for you! Accommodation is in 10 comfortably appointed rooms some in the main house and others in separate buildings nearby. Although there is no pool, the grounds are wonderfully relaxing with a shady pool, exquisite plants, ducks and two black swans that are great characters.

About Drinkwater’s Location

The town of Ermelo, to the north and the area to the south is based on coal mining and power production but Drinkwater is a veritable, and welcome, oasis. Ideed, the name dates back to the Boer War when it was named for the clean springs that are found on the farm.


Royal Hotel, Pilgrim’s Rest

Royal Hotel, Pilgrim’s Rest

A living museum with style

This is a step back into the past. The whole of Pilgrims Rest is a living museum dating back to one of the earliest gold rushes in South Africa. The Royal Hotel has 50 bedrooms beautifully decorated in the Victorian style that harks back to its origins as a miners’ hotel. The accommodation is comfortable rather than the height of luxury and where possible some original touches have been maintained – particularly in the miners’ cottages which form part of the hotel. A feature that has changed very little over the years is the hotel bar that is a national institution reputedly with the greatest variety of scotch anywhere in South Africa.

About the Location

The entire street is a national monument and there are a number of interesting buildings in the area dating back to the 1870’s. Pilgrims Rest is close to the Panorama Route and Blyde River Canyon and there is fishing in the innumerable mountain streams nearby. The hotel has a pool and can arrange horse riding and golf. The Kruger Park is an hour’s drive away so this can be incorporated as an interesting stop over from Johannesburg.


Avondrust, Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape

Avondrust is a Victorian style  property right in the centre of this pretty, historic town

Avondrust is a great, owner run, Guest Lodge located in the centre of Graaff Reinet.  There are  11 beautifully appointed rooms, all decorated in cottage style.  Most rooms are set in the quiet and relaxing garden with a pool and distant views of the surrounding mountains.

About Avondrust’s Location

There are a number of reasonable restaurants within walking distance. Graaff-Reinet is one of the gems of the Karoo with plenty of whitewashed cape dutch houses and a beautiful church based on Salisbury Cathedral in the UK! The dramatic Valley of Desolation is a 10 minute drive and here you will get a sense of walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs. In fact you are! This region is one of the top fossil locations globaly where numerous dinosaur remains have been found. Sleepy and slightly eccentric Nieu Bethesda lies approximately 25 kms outside the town and here you can amble around and view the incredible Owl House which is literally full of strange sculpures from the life of eccentric artist Helen Martins. The village also boasts an excellent micro brewery where you can lunch on home made goats cheese and kudu salami. This is a great location for just exploring this fascinating region which is almost entirely off the international tourist route.

Swartberg Hotel, Prince Albert

Traditional style in the Victorian gem of Prince Albert

The Swartberg Hotel has been operating for 150 years, is a national monument and has been fully refurbished and updated.  This is a great country hotel offering  accommodation in reasonably sized en suite rooms with air conditioning and many with beautiful antique furniture complimenting the beautiful wood floors. The restaurant is well regarded locally and in the warm summer evenings a cool beer on the stoep dripping with colourful bougainvillea is a must.

About the Location

Prince Albert is the town where time has stopped. Established in the Victorian era, the area specialises in rearing Karoo Lamb (also a local delicacy), citrus fruit and olives. The town boasts an excellent, small, leather shop and an outlet, which specialises in hand made rugs and other woollen items all made in Prince Albert. You are close to the spectacular Swartberg Pass and Meiringspoort Pass.


Saxe Coburg Lodge

Saxe Coburg Lodge, Prince Albert

Old world charm in a comfortable lodge with excellent service

We love the hospitality at this small seven-room lodge – almost opposite the Swartberg Hotel. Some of the rooms are in the historic old house and four are in cottages in the grounds overlooking the distant Swartberg Mountains. There is also the possibility of accommodating a family in a suite of 3 bedrooms with two bathrooms, a small kitchen and a room housing memorabilia from the Boer War. A sumptuous breakfast is served by the owners either in the dining room or on the stoep overlooking the gardens.

About the Location

In the grounds you will see the property’s own dam, which stores water for irrigation purposes. This is fed by the interesting channels which go down each side of the main street and once a fortnight a sluice is opened allowing the owners to replenish their dams. As this indicates this is a very dry area with limited rainfall. The owner can arrange guided hiking tours into the Swartberg Mountains and into the mysterious Gamkaskloof (called ‘The Hell’ locally) which is a valley cut off from the rest of civilisation until the early 1960s. Alternatively you can enjoy the local produce based on Karoo Lamb, Olives and citrus fruit.


Queen’s Hotel, Oudtshoorn

Queen’s Hotel, Oudtshoorn

Traditional South African Country Hotel with a regal history

A delightful oasis set in the centre of hot, dusty Oudtshoorn. This is a timeless, if slightly impersonal, hotel frequented in 1947 by the British Royal Family on their trip to the, then, Union of South Africa. The hotel has  undergone extensive renovation and the 40 rooms are clean cut with extensive use of cooling white most with en suite bathrooms. The lounge and dining room are beautifully decorated and the reception area with its black and white floor tiles and rich yellowwood staircase is a local landmark. There is a small pool in a very private garden.

About the Location

This is a good base from which to explore the sights of the region including Ostrich leather workshops and retail outlets, Cango Wildlife Ranch where you can stroke Cheetah (5 minutes drive), Ostrich show farms (a number within 10 minutes’ drive), The Cango Caves (20 minutes’ drive and the Swartberg Pass (45 minutes away).


Rosenhof, Oudtshoorn

Rosenhof, Oudtshoorn

Luxury Boutique Hotel in Oudtshoorn

This is a charming, and popular, small hotel on the outskirts of Oudtshoorn. The 12 bedrooms and two executive suites are mostly arranged in small cottages around a central, gassy courtyard set aside from the principal Manor House. This has the beautiful dining room and lounge as well as the reception area. As you can see from the pictures the rooms are of a generous size with big bathrooms.  The emphasis is on luxury and this shown to great effect in the two bed roomed executive suites, which are complete with their own plunge pool. There is a pool for general use. This is a property, which continues to get very good reviews from our clients and this is in part to the great hospitality shown by the staff.

About the Location

The lodge is on the edge of Oudtshoorn in a quiet residential location. The Cango Wildlife Ranch is a 5 minute drive and the Cango Caves are 15 minutes away. There are several ostrich ‘Feather Palaces’ within a short drive as is the great headquarters of ‘Ostrich International’ for an amazing variety of ostrich leather goods.


Eight Bells Mountain Inn

Eight Bells Mountain Inn, Robinson Pass, Garden Route

Eight Bells Mountain Inn is great for families in a beautiful location

Eight Bells is a charming, well-established country inn in the midst of the beautiful Robinson Pass over the Outeniqua Mountains between Mossel Bay (30 minutes’ drive) and Oudtshoorn (20 minutes’ drive).  Accommodation is very comfortable mainly in cabin style rooms and suitable for children. The Inn is unusually well equipped for children with a good pool, snooker table and horse riding. For the energetic, the surrounding countryside is good for hiking particularly in the spring and autumn (September / October and April / June). The restaurant provides good food and we recommend trying their milk tart.

About Eight Bells’ Location

The inn is close to two Ostrich show farms. These are based on two ‘Feather Palaces’ built at the end of the 1800s and  you will be able to experience these intriguing birds up close. In the nearby town of Oudtshoorn you can find some excellent outlets for goods made out of ostrich leather. You are also fairly close to the beaches between Mossel Bay (rather industrial) and Wilderness (approximately a 30 minute drive). If you are feeling energetic, drive the Swartberg Pass. The pass is a mainly gravel road approximately 45 minutes’ drive from Eight Bells. Just before you arrive at the pass, you will see the world renowned Cango Caves which are definitely worth visiting. Once on the pass, at the summit (in Afrikaans called Die Top) you will see a road to Die Hel. You can drive 2 1/2 hours into a valley that was left undisturbed by modern life until 1962. At the far end of the pass, you will arrive at pretty Prince Albert. A shorter drive will take you to Calitzdorp which is the centre of South African port production. You will be able to visit some excellent port wineries.

The Retreat, Groenfontein, Nr Calitzdorp

The Retreat is one of our favourites for getting away from it all

The owners, who live on site, have developed this property as a farm and a haven for guests who want something a little different. The atmosphere is very relaxed and The Retreat is located along the quiet and almost timeless Groenfontein Valley.  There are 8 rooms including two sizeable suites. 5 of the rooms have wood fires for those cooler winter nights. They are beautifully appointed with the decor harking back to an historic farmstead. The lounge and dining room lead onto a stoep (veranda) overlooking the sweeping gardens and the majestic Swartberg Mountains. Food is a specialty at The Retreat and the owners pride themselves on very high standards of local cuisine. There is a very welcoming pool in the luxuriant gardens that is a haven after the heat of the day. Rates include a three-course dinner and a traditional hearty South African breakfast – vegetarians are particularly welcome.

About The Retreat’s Location

The well-maintained gravel road runs between Calitzdorp and Schoemanshoek. You will be welcomed by the owners who can arrange hiking of all grades in the Swartberg Mountains that dominate the horizon. At certain times of the year, spring and autumn, they can also arrange a three-day hike into the mysterious, hidden valley known as Die Hel!   Calitzdorp is approximately 20kms away and is renowned as the unofficial ‘capital’ of South Africa’s Port industry. The Cango Caves are close by and can afford a worthwhile excursion. The caves can be hot and humid and there is an extended excursion for the adventurous that include some real, if fairly modest, caving. Note that in mid summer (January & February) this location can be exceptionally hot although very dry.