I ♥ Kamberg Because ...

I ♥ Kamberg

Hi, I’m Gerhard from Qambathi Mountain Lodge in Kamberg.

Kamberg IS BEST KNOWN FOR its Bushman Rock Art, fly-fishing and breath­tak­ing moun­tain scenery.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT Highmoor or on one of our game drives with Giant’s Castle in the back­ground. The views are really some­thing spe­cial with Mount Eskirne and Mount Cleopatra very dom­in­ant every­where you look.

THE BEST nature PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN by just driv­ing around Kamberg. There are so many treed lanes, wild flowers, cloud shapes and Berg views for that per­fect picture.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT the trout dams or at the Bushman Rock art which is the best pre­served in the coun­try. Continued

I ♥ Mkuze Because ...

I ♥ Mkuze

Hi, I’m Nicky Kinnell from Leopard Mountain Game Lodge in Mkuze.

Mkuze IS BEST KNOWN FOR Game Reserves and Conservation. The vil­lage of Mkuze is a mere 18km’s from the entrance gate to the Mkuze Reserve, in the shadow of the Ubombo Mountains.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the reserve — the bird and animal life is spec­tac­u­lar. There are also over 700 plant spe­cies Continued

Rawdon’s Restaurant – Good old fashioned service and hospitality in the Midlands

Rawdons Estate

Situated in the heart of the Midlands Meander and only a five minute drive from the N3 high­way is Rawdon’s Estate, prob­ably one of the old­est hos­pit­al­ity estab­lish­ments on the Midlands. The first thing that struck me about Rawdon’s was its unique, old world charm.

Closely resem­bling an English coun­try estate of a bygone era the estab­lish­ment is fur­nished with a vari­ety of prize antiques that cre­ate an atmo­sphere of class and soph­ist­ic­a­tion. Walking through its numer­ous hall­ways and invest­ig­at­ing its many nooks and cran­nies was an abso­lute delight and I espe­cially enjoyed the count­less, anim­ated framed sketches that adorned the walls. Continued

Gunther’s – A little piece of Switzerland in the Midlands

Gunther's

I’ve never been to Switzerland, but I got the chance to exper­i­ence just a taste of what that might be like when I vis­ited Gunther’s on the Midlands Meander recently. Gunther’s is not really a res­taur­ant in the tra­di­tional sense, serving only light meals of German / Swiss saus­ages washed down with your favour­ite draft or glass of wine, but even without a formal menu it cer­tainly is a venue that has a lot to offer.

The secret to its suc­cess is the hands on approach adop­ted by owner Gunther Janz, a man who clearly has a pas­sion for the hos­pit­al­ity industry and a love for tra­di­tional German / Swiss cuisine. Born in Switzerland, Gunther moved to South Africa at a young age and quickly fell in love with its stun­ning, nat­ural beauty. He decided to stay and, together with his wife Carmen, estab­lished Gunther’s some years ago.

Billed as ‘a little piece of Switzerland in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands’ Gunther could not have picked a more beau­ti­ful spot for his beloved cre­ation. Situated high on a hill over­look­ing the per­en­ni­ally majestic Caversham Valley, Gunther’s resembles a set­ting straight out of the pages of an inter­na­tional travel cata­logue and in the winter months, where snow­fall is com­mon in the Midlands, it cer­tainly must be an awe­some sight to behold. Continued

I ♥ Shelly Beach Because ...

I ♥ Shelly Beach

Hi, I’m Karin Müller-Nedebock from Ilala Holiday Home in Shelly Beach.

Shelly Beach IS BEST KNOWN FOR its quiet hol­i­day atmo­sphere, even though you are at the centre of everything.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN bask­ing on the beach, rid­ing the waves, abseil­ing in the Gorge or white river raft­ing down the Umzimkulu River.

THE BEST sun-filled PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the Blue Flag beaches.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT the C-Bali res­taur­ant over­look­ing the sea.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO sit at he beach, watch­ing people and nature.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO shop in our shop­ping malls: Shelly Centre and The South Coast Mall are both situ­ated in Shelly Beach. Continued

Butcher Block Restaurant in Pietermaritzburg – A review

Butcher Block Restaurant

When my good friend Mary-Anne invited me to join her and her par­ents for din­ner at The Butcher Block Restaurant in Pietermaritzburg recently I didn’t hes­it­ate on tak­ing up their offer know­ing from past exper­i­ence that the food at this estab­lish­ment is gen­er­ally pretty good. Situated at the Liberty Midlands Mall, The Butcher Block finds itself in a com­pet­it­ive envir­on­ment with a num­ber of sim­il­arly themed res­taur­ants loc­ated close by.

The Butcher Block copes with this com­pet­i­tion by deliv­er­ing fast and effi­cient ser­vice and great tast­ing, afford­ably priced food in a relaxed yet uplift­ing atmo­sphere that makes you want to relive the exper­i­ence time and time again. Although essen­tially a meat and chicken lover’s para­dise The Butcher Block menu offers a wide selec­tion of starters, salads and main meals that cater for just about every pal­ate, no mat­ter how particular.

Mary-Anne opted for the chicken wrap (chicken fil­lets filled with moz­zarella cheese and herb and gar­lic but­ter wrapped in bacon and topped with a mush­room sauce) and thor­oughly enjoyed it, mainly because of the “deli­ciously tasty mush­room sauce that com­pli­men­ted the dish to per­fec­tion.” At R82 the meal was also well priced, espe­cially when you con­sider, as with all the poultry dishes on the menu, that it included a serving of fresh chips or sea­sonal veget­ables. Continued

I ♥ Pietermaritzburg Because ...

I ♥ Pietermaritzburg

Hi, I’m Sharon Clarke from Gecko Hill in Pietermaritzburg.

Pietermaritzburg IS BEST KNOWN FOR its vibrant cul­ture, nat­ural beauty and his­tor­ical Victorian archi­tec­ture.
GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the Rosehurst Café, because of its quaint, man­i­cured Victorian garden. Situated at 239 Boom Street, the café serves deli­cious light meals for either break­fast or lunch.  They also have a shop filled with gor­geous things to take home!  The garden at Rosehurst Café was estab­lished almost 30 years ago and are some­thing to mar­vel at.
THE BEST scenic PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the National Botanical Gardens. Pietermaritzburg's Botanical Gardens were estab­lished in the 1870’s and are is famed for its avenue of plane trees which were planted in 1908. At the end of the avenue is a bell tower com­plete with a bell from the ship HMS Princess.
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT Alexandra Park Cricket Oval.  The park was named after Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII and the 65 hec­tares of park­land was estab­lished in 1860. The annual Art in the Park is held here as is Cars in the Park.  The Cricket Oval and its Victorian Pavilion is a national monu­ment. Continued

I ♥ Dargle Because ...

I ♥ Dargle

Hi, I’m Carol Fynn from Tillietudlum Guest Farm in Dargle.

Dargle IS BEST KNOWN FOR rolling green hills in sum­mer, snow in winter, wild flowers, crys­tal clear springs and rivers, abund­ant bird­life and peace!
GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN with your trophy trout catch from Elands Dam on the farm or with our beau­ti­ful Nguni cattle.
THE BEST scenic PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN while walk­ing through the herds of Eland or cap­tur­ing the magical and abund­ant bird­life.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO walk or ride around the farm.
WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO spend a day on the Midlands Meander pop­ping in to the many craft shops and farms on the way — it's more than just the Dargle as it incor­por­ates Curry's Post, Lidgetton, Nottingham Road; all part of our Midlands Meander fam­ily. Continued

I ♥ Balgowan Because ...

I ♥ Balgowan

Hi, I’m Rosemarie from Enniskerry Self Catering in Balgowan.

Balgowan IS BEST KNOWN FOR its scenic beauty and friendly people.
GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT ... well actu­ally any­where in the area, because the scenery is your back­ground and it's amaz­ing.
THE BEST PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN any­where you choose.
WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO take a lazy stroll up to the crest just before the dairy farm or pop into Peter's Gate Herbs for a cup of cof­fee and a chat.
WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO pop down to Piggly Wiggly and have scones and the best cap­puccino in front of a log fire.
I THINK THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT IS April and May, BECAUSE the worst of the heat is over and the col­ours in the Midlands are spec­tac­u­lar with the chan­ging sea­sons. Continued

Zinkwazi Photographs

Zinkwazi is prob­ably one of my most favour­ite places in South Africa.  A small sea­side vil­lage on the Dolphin Coast of KwaZulu Natal, it hasn’t changed much since we star­ted vis­it­ing it thirty odd years ago.  In fact the only growth is Prouds Pizza on the beach and the Magohany Reef beach bar – and this is just the way I like it!  I’m lucky enough to have fam­ily that now resides per­man­ently at Zinkwazi so the vis­its continue.

Zinkwazi has beau­ti­ful beaches with the main beach equipped with shark nets and life­guards mak­ing safe swim­ming pos­sible.  One of the focal points of the vil­lage is the 7 kilo­metre long lagoon that meanders its way through sugar cane fields and offers spec­tac­u­lar bird­ing.  Some 600 spe­cies have been recor­ded put­ting Zinkwazi firmly on the Zululand Birding Route.

Although hot and humid dur­ing the sum­mer months, Zinkwazi in the winter is a pleas­ure.  The days are nor­mally warm and sunny and although slightly chil­lier than nor­mal, a swim in the sea can be achieved!  Continued

I ♥ Howick Because ...

I ♥ Howick

Hi, I’m Nicky Wallis from Sunbird Guest House in Howick .

Howick IS BEST KNOWN FOR being the the hub of the Midlands and water­fall coun­try and of course its know for its approx­im­ately 100m high Howick Falls, and its prox­im­ity to the Midmar Dam (home of the Midmar Mile swim) and nearby out­ings like a drive through the fam­ous Midlands Meander and the Umngeni Footprint Route or the Umngeni Nature Reserve.

There are many other falls to view in the area such as Karkloof Falls (approx­im­ately 105m), the Shelter and Cascade Falls as well as the Forgotten Falls. For the more adven­tur­ous there is the Karkloof Canopy Tours and Guided Tours to the bot­tom of Howick Falls. You can also make arrange­ments to swim and pic­nic below the falls.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT either the Howick or Karkloof Falls, with spec­tac­u­lar views in the back­ground, or in front of the monu­ment at the Mandela Capture site on the Midlands Meander. Continued

Crocworld, a complete wildlife experience

Crocworld

Crocworld, situ­ated on the out­skirts of Scottburgh on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, is one of the more inter­est­ing ven­ues to visit in this part of the world. Opened in 1985, Crocworld was ori­gin­ally built to farm Nile cro­codiles to pro­duce cro­codile skins for the European mar­kets. Over time some mem­bers of the pub­lic wanted the oppor­tun­ity to observe these pre­his­toric rep­tiles in sur­round­ings that closely resemble their nat­ural hab­itat. Their calls were heeded and a second sec­tion called “Croc tour­ism” was opened ... Continued

I ♥ Umhlanga Rocks Because ...

I ♥ Umhlanga Rocks

Hi, I’m Jack Hogan from 8 Wedgewood Terrace in Umhlanga Rocks, KwaZulu Natal

Umhlanga Rocks IS BEST KNOWN FOR the great hol­i­day vibe, swim­ming in the warm Indian Ocean and hav­ing one of the most beau­ti­ful coast­lines in the world.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the light­house, with one of the most beau­ti­fully scenic views up the coast and with views of Durban.

THE BEST view PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT sun­rise with the sun rising over the sea.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT the Umhlanga Pier — look­ing back at the coast­line. Continued

I ♥ Southport Because ...

I ♥ Southport

Hi, I’m Jean from Cosy Cabins in Southport on the KwaZulu Natal South Coast.

Southport IS BEST KNOWN FOR its relaxed, laid back atmosphere.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the main beach.

THE BEST pic­tures of the sun­rise over the ocean CAN BE TAKEN from there too, espe­cially if you man­age to incor­por­ate the inter­est­ing shapes of the milk­wood trees.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO swim in the sea under the watch­ful eyes of our exper­i­enced life guards.
WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD ... hey this is KwaZulu Natal; we don't have bad weather, just rain some­times to keep every­where lush and green. Continued

I ♥ Umtentweni Because ...

I ♥ Umtentweni

Hi, we're Jean and Carl from Mdoni House Guest House in Umtentweni.

Umtentweni IS BEST KNOWN FOR it’s beau­ti­ful tree lined roads and gar­dens, which the tran­quil atmo­sphere only obtained from a garden sub­urb nest­ling on the shores of the Indian Ocean.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN from the top of Port Shepstone Lighthouse, with its fant­astic views over Umtentweni with its surf fringed beaches. The light­house is over 100 years old and is still an invalu­able aid to sea­men tra­vers­ing this coast which is renowned for its shipwrecks.

THE BEST sun­rise PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the beach off Shad Lane, with rocks in the fore­ground, and a red glow­ing ball of the sun rising over an azure and white sea.

For OTHER HAPPY SNAPS enjoy your­self on the Umtentweni beach, surf­ing, body board­ing, swim­ming or just play­ing in 'gran­nies pool'. The beach has beau­ti­ful soft sand slop­ing into the ocean and is a great fam­ily beach. Continued