Accommodation: Greenlea, Pretoria

Greenlea – Irene

If I were to ever move back to Gauteng, I would move to Irene. What a lovely suburb. Generally when I fly up to Gauteng I stay with my Mom in Val de Grace, but this trip conflicted with other guests staying with her,  and knowing that I would have a lot of work pressures and would have been tempted to socialise at my Mom’s house, I booked myself into a guesthouse. After a quick Google search, Greenlea popped up – I liked that they are very “green”, their response time to my email and booking was super quick and they did not break the bank – R500 per night including breakfast.  After a long day of an early morning flight, and choc ‘n block day of meetings, I was eager to settle in for the night. The walls are quite thin, so the sound does tend to carry a bit – my next door neighbour fell asleep with the television on while watching soccer, and only turned it off at 05:20 (!)  – I raised this with the host the next morning, and it was all sorted out. 

I went for an early morning run on two mornings – jeepers, I had forgotten how icy cold Pretoria can get as we head to winter – the kind of cold that goes straight to the bones. What a lovely area to run in – I loved jogging around “The Oval”. Apparently Irene has quite a serious running club that meets every Tuesday evening – would love to try and fit that in next time.

The breakfast was pretty standard – different cereals to choose from, and a hot breakfast of bacon, eggs, and grilled baby tomatoes (I prefer baby tomatoes) –

The rooms are very spacious, firm pillows – I prefer softer pillows, but it was comfortable. The room does not come with a hairdryer, but one was easily and quickly organised.

Bathroom – there was not much space to put out cosmetics – just a funny wire shelf, the towel (only one for showering was provided and one hand towel) – seemed a bit thin, especially for a four star establishment, but it did what it had to.

I did comment in my feedback form as well – that it would be good to let guests know what specific greening initiatives they have in place – they use it as a marketing tool, but other than saying that we need to save electricity there is not much information on it – e.g. if there is a reason each guest only gets one towel – give the reasoning behind it.

All in all it was a pleasant experience, and I will stay there again.

Recommendable 8/10

Accommodation - Khaya iBhubesi in Parys

Khaya Ibubezi Parys

I was fortunate enough to join one of my clients at their team building and leadership course in Parys. The venue was Khaya Ibubezi.

What a lovely venue, I think they cater predominantly for teams and corporate functions.

The food was incredibly tasty, with a wide selection at each meal, and each dish delicious; unlike other places that make food en masse where everything starts tasting the same. 

There are a number of different room options. I stayed in “Pumba” – a lovely room right on the water. What a treat to get into bed and find a hot blanket! The décor is very stylish with a lot of carefully selected details.

A cherry on top of the experience of the venue was my morning jog – it was incredibly misty, but you could see the silhouette of the trees over the river. Running in the mist is wonderful, there is a peacefulness and calmness to it – it was quite a flat run, with very few cars or anyone on the road. I was transferred back to my childhood with the early morning smell of khaki-bos from the small holding we had when my Dad farmed with roses, and the smell of an early morning fire took me back to my Grandparent's farm in Northem, where we used to heat up a “donkey” (a contraption built outside where you make a fire to heat up water for the house). 

What a wonderfully serene way to start the day. 

The venue is great, I am actually tempted to host out next team building / strategy session there!

Lodge - Clifftop Exclusive Game Lodge Safari - Limpopo

19 - 21 March 2014 - Clifftop Exclusive Game Lodge Safari is located in the Waterberg area about two and a half hours outside Johannesburg.

We were welcomed at the Main Gate by Gibson our guide. From the main gate to the lodge was another 45 mins (usually it is quicker, however due to major storms the previous week, many roads were washed away so we had to take an  alternative route to the Lodge). We arrived at 14:00 and was welcomed with a glass of champagne in hand by our hostess Ursula, and presented with two cool facecloths by to eager butlers. After showing us the lay of the land and overview of the itinerary by our host Nardus, we were shown to our room, one of only eight on the property. (I was a bit worried when I heard the word 'itinerary' - but felt a lot better when it entailed doing very little else other than eating and game drives).

The light white colours used throughout is refreshing, different from the typical 'African' browns and oranges. All the décor is incredibly tastefully put together.

Each 'house' is very private, with its own outside pool, shower and deck to sit on and relax. There is also an inside shower and huge bath. All the doors slide open so it feels like you are having a bath outside.

LUNCH DAY 1 - We were given a choice between lamb chops and spicey prawns. Mark went for the chops, as I could not make up my mind, they were more than happy to combine the two for me. It was delicious! The prawns were huge and succulent. I was worried that they would burn, but the spiciness was just mild enough to be very tasty. The chop was also cooked well. This was served with a Niscoise salad, it was huge - a meal on it's own. I was very hungry, so cleaned the plate. Dessert was chocolate mousse, with bits of chocolate in it.


SUPPER - after a four hour game drive, during which we had meatballs (nogal heated up by Gibson), biltong and a peppermint-crisp /Cremora tart, I was not that hungry. Supper started with potato and leak soup followed by a palate cleanser of berry sorbet. We had a choice between oxtail and chicken Kievs. We both opted for the oxtail. It was 'fall off the bone' delicious. It was served with rice, spinach and cauliflower, I really tried finishing it as I hate wasting food, but it got the better of me, actually the both of us. So much so we could not even fit in dessert (apple parcels). We both had red wine, the house wine, which was a pinotage / shiraz blend served in the biggest wine glasses I have seen (apparently they can hold a litre of wine!)

What was great is that all the guests sit at different spots so it is very private, you don't have to see or interact with any of the guests, except during breakfast, lunch and the game drives.

BREAKFAST - started with a continental breakfast of yoghurt, homemade muesli, fruit, croissant, biscuits and cheese. After this a full English breakfast or omelette was on the menu! I opted only for some decadent crispy bacon and Mark the omelette which he described as 'awesome'.

GAME DRIVE 16:00-20:00 - each game drive was about four hours long - I went on two and saw kudus / impalas / gnu / blue wildebees / zebras / rhinos (one got very interested in us during our sundowner stop), kwêvoëls / warthogs / two rabbits / jackel / brown eagle - sadly the leopard alluded us.

Clifftop was fantastic albeit them either forgetting or choosing to not to recognise my birthday (I did indicate that there was a special occasion when asked when I made the booking), is a pity - there was an attempt made at 21:00 a night with a dry cupcake and candle, but a 'happy birthday' in the morning at breakfast would have meant a lot. The other issue was that I had forgotten my jacket in the room and it has been quite a task to try and get it back but I have now been assured that they have found it and that it has been posted (not received at time of posting this entry 04 May).

Besides that, it is a highly recommendable establishment, beautiful surroundings, attentive staff, huge delicious portions and a break from the city that the soul needs.