Heavenly Hilton — Photographs

Hilton, a pretty, misty vil­lage with an English coun­try feel is loc­ated at the start of the very pop­u­lar Midlands Meander. The streets are tree-lined and it’s the per­fect place to live dur­ing the sum­mer months with tem­per­at­ures nor­mally a good five degrees cooler than Pietermaritzburg in the val­ley below. The vil­lage was some won­der­ful examples of Tudor-style archi­tec­ture – the recently ren­ov­ated Protea Hilton Hotel is test­a­ment to that. Old Main Brewery (formerly Crossways) is loc­ated oppos­ite one of the two sets of traffic lights in the vil­lage and is a Hilton insti­tu­tion and a great place to meet loc­als while La Popote serves a deli­cious lunch. On clear days res­id­ents are treated to views of the majestic Drakensberg which is a short dis­tance away. Continued

The Junction restaurant and coffee shop — A review

The Junction

Established in 2000 and situ­ated in Nottingham Road in the heart of the spec­tac­u­lar KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, The Junction res­taur­ant and cof­fee shop is the per­fect place for fam­il­ies to enjoy a great tast­ing meal out in the coun­try. Strangely enough I had never eaten there before until friends Mary-Anne, Peta-Anne and I decided that a visit was long overdue.

For those of you who have never vis­ited this part of the world before, you have been miss­ing out on some­thing spe­cial. Whether in winter or sum­mer the scenery is always spec­tac­u­lar and the revital­ising clean, crisp air is a wel­come change from the chok­ing smog so com­monly found in our cit­ies today. Continued

Il Postino Pizzeria — A little bit of Italy in the Midlands

Il Postino Pizzeria

Although it opened its doors in the Natal Midlands just over two years ago, Il Postino Pizzeria was a res­taur­ant that was unfa­mil­iar to me, that is until I decided to pay them a visit for lunch last week­end. The drive from Pietermaritzburg to Dargle in the Midlands was a famil­iar one, except that on this occa­sion I had to take the Dargle Road off the well worn R103 rather than pro­ceed straight ahead as I had done so many times before.

Even though the route may have been slightly dif­fer­ent, the scenery was, as always, stun­ningly beau­ti­ful. Continued

I ♥ Hilton Because ...

I ♥ Hilton

Hi, I’m Priscilla Rushton from Hilton in the Natal Midlands.

Hilton IS BEST KNOWN FOR its small vil­lage atmo­sphere and misty days!

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT in the gar­dens at the Church of the Ascension – it’s very pretty, espe­cially if it’s a misty day!  The massive hydrangea bushes are beau­ti­ful and add some­thing spe­cial to the gardens.

THE BEST pic­tures can be taken at St. Anne’s School – the red brick school build­ings really stand out in the vil­lage!
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT can be taken at the very impress­ive grounds of Hilton College. The Cape Dutch styled build­ings are worth see­ing. Continued

A train ride with a difference in Pietermaritzburg

PMES

Some weeks ago my friend Connor invited me to join him for a visit to the Pietermaritzburg Model Engineering Society (PMES) and since I had never vis­ited the venue before I decided to take him up on his offer. Located in the quiet middle class sub­urb of Bisley in Pietermaritzburg, the Model Engineering Society was foun­ded way back in 1922, but went through an extens­ive period of inactiv­ity before being resur­rec­ted in the 1970s.

After using vari­ous ven­ues, includ­ing mem­bers’ homes for meet­ings, it was decided that a per­man­ent site had to be found at which a mini­ature train track could be laid and nor­mal club activ­it­ies could take place. After an intens­ive search for a suit­able venue the present site at 78 Rudling Road was iden­ti­fied cul­min­at­ing in the sign­ing of a 25-year lease with the Pietermaritzburg City Council in 1985. Continued

The Strelitzia Room restaurant at the Pietermaritzburg Botanical Gardens

PMB Botanical Gardens

Established in the early 1870s for the pur­pose of con­serving and propagat­ing rare and endangered indi­gen­ous plants, the Pietermaritzburg Botanical Gardens is always a great venue for any­one look­ing to relax and unwind amongst the beauty of nature. Flowers of every descrip­tion birth forth a kal­eido­scope of col­ours and hues while tall trees shade vis­it­ors strolling along the neatly man­i­cured lawns cre­at­ing a sense of uto­pia sel­dom exper­i­enced in any city setting.

These beau­ti­ful gar­dens are home to the Strelitzia Room res­taur­ant, which some friends and I decided to visit for Sunday lunch recently.  Owned and man­aged by well known local res­taur­at­eur Penny Hatting, the Strelitzia Room has a repu­ta­tion for serving great tast­ing food with style and pro­fes­sion­al­ism and I was eager to exper­i­ence these claims first hand. Continued

Tumble Downs Café and Restaurant – A review

Tumble Downs Café

There’s noth­ing quite like vis­it­ing the Natal Midlands in autumn. The hues of yel­low, red and orange are some­thing to behold and the fresh, crisp air is the per­fect anti dote for even the most jaded psyche. Friends Mary-Anne and Curran agreed and we were soon look­ing for­ward to lunch at Tumble Downs Café and Restaurant, a good dis­tance away from the smog and pol­lu­tion of Pietermaritzburg. Billed as a “well estab­lished fam­ily res­taur­ant offer­ing good food and pan­or­amic views of the Kamberg and Karkloof Valley” Tumble Downs cer­tainly lived up to the hype. Situated just eight kilo­metres out­side of Howick on the Currys Post Road, the res­taur­ant was eas­ily access­ible from the tar road with a short 500m drive through an avenue of beau­ti­ful trees the only bit of off-roading required ... Continued

Linga Lapa Restaurant and Butchery — An eating experience par excellence in the Natal Midlands

Linga Lapa

Linga Lapa Restaurant and Butchery situ­ated in Nottingham Road in the Natal Midlands is highly recom­men­ded for its qual­ity steaks, relaxed atmo­sphere and cosy warm fires so I decided to pay the estab­lish­ment a visit this past week­end to see what all the fuss was about. Friends Mary-Anne and Peta-Anne accom­pan­ied me for the trip from Pietermaritzburg to Nottingham Road, which des­pite the wet and misty con­di­tions, took a little less than 45 minutes.

Upon reach­ing Linga Lapa, we couldn’t wait to head indoors to escape the freez­ing cold and quickly made a bee-line for the front entrance where owner Ian Mackay greeted us with a warm hand­shake and a friendly smile. After tak­ing our seats next to a glow­ing fire, we ordered our drinks and began to scroll through the menu, which was packed with almost everything any ded­ic­ated meat eater could ever want. Continued

La Lampara Italian Restaurant – A review

La Lampara

In my most recent res­taur­ant review I penned my impres­sions of a Saturday break­fast at the Piggly Wiggly Coffee Shop in Lions River and men­tioned the exper­i­ence her­al­ded the begin­ning of what was to prove a most enjoy­able and mem­or­able week­end. The good times con­tin­ued when I vis­ited the La Lampara Italian Restaurant for lunch the fol­low­ing day.

Set in an old, restored brick dairy and loc­ated on the breath­tak­ingly beau­ti­ful grounds of the Farm Boschfontein in Balgowan, La Lampara has a quirky ambi­ence unmatched by any res­taur­ant I have ever encountered in the Natal Midlands. Established in 1840, Boschfontein was one of the first farms ever in the area and the dairy formed an essen­tial part of its oper­a­tions for many years. Continued

Piggly Wiggly Coffee Shop – A review

Piggly Wiggly

A recent mid morn­ing break­fast with some friends at The Piggly Wiggly Coffee Shop in the beau­ti­ful Natal Midlands, proved to be the per­fect start to what turned out to be a rather enjoy­able and mem­or­able week­end. The drive from Pietermaritzburg to Lion’s River is more often than not a pleas­ant one and this occa­sion was no dif­fer­ent — the green­ery of the Midlands still in evid­ence, des­pite the approach of autumn and its many chan­ging hues.

Flanked by sprawl­ing vine­yards and rolling green pas­tures, Piggly Wiggly has an allur­ing attract­ive­ness that makes it almost impossible to pass by. Best known for its award-winning cappuccino’s, the estab­lish­ment boasts a var­ied menu that caters for most tastes and pref­er­ences. Patrons can choose between light meals and tasty basics like pas­tas, all made from fresh, local ingredi­ents and care­fully pre­pared for max­imum enjoy­ment. Continued

Quincy’s Café and Restaurant – A review

Quincy's Cafe & Restaurant

Pietermaritzburg has grown con­sid­er­ably in recent years – a by-product of which has been the arrival of a num­ber of new eat­er­ies, café’s and res­taur­ants. Quincy’s Café, how­ever, is not one of them, hav­ing been estab­lished 13 years ago to meet a need for an upmar­ket café in the city.

Conveniently loc­ated in the Victoria Road shop­ping centre, Quincy’s quickly became a pop­u­lar spot for loc­als wish­ing to enjoy a qual­ity break­fast or lunch right on their own door­step. A din­ner menu was avail­able, but it was set at a much lower key and it was not until 2001, fol­low­ing a change of own­er­ship, that Quincy’s began to increase the emphasis on the din­ner trade. Continued

The Bierfassl country pub and restaurant — A review

Bierfassl Pub

The Bierfassl coun­try pub and res­taur­ant, situ­ated in Nottingham Road, the heart of the renowned Midlands Meander, is one of the more well-known estab­lish­ments in the area and just as was the case with my last visit some nine years pre­vi­ously, I wasn’t dis­ap­poin­ted with my find­ings. On this occa­sion, my friend Cally accom­pan­ied me for Sunday lunch and, although the drive from Pietermaritzburg to Nottingham Road was a famil­iar one, the beau­ti­ful green­ery of the Midlands made the jour­ney an abso­lute pleasure.

Upon reach­ing our des­tin­a­tion, we were pleased to find ample park­ing space and the warm greet­ing we received was undoubtedly a sign of good things to come. We decided to sit on the deck rather than on The Bierfassl’s lus­cious green lawns – the bright sun­shine, though always a wel­com­ing sight, being a little to sharp for Cally’s lik­ing. Continued

The Duck Pond Restaurant – A review

Duck Pond Restaurant

I always enjoy tak­ing a break from my often-busy sched­ule in tran­quil sur­round­ings. Not only is it good for the mind, it’s also good for the soul and one’s over­all well-being. The Duck Pond Restaurant in Pietermaritzburg is a venue that fit­ted the bill per­fectly and was my latest port of call on my travels through KwaZulu-Natal.

Situated just behind the pop­u­lar Jesmond Dene Nusery and Garden Centre in Hayfields, The Duck Pond offers vis­it­ors an oppor­tun­ity to enjoy a tasty break­fast, lunch or tea away from the noise and com­mo­tion of city life. Greenery abounds and the establishment’s thatched roofs com­pli­ment the nat­ural sur­round­ings and add to the rus­tic feel of the place. Continued

Corner Post Bar and Dining Room — A review

Corner Post

The Corner Post Bar and Dining room in the small town of Howick was my latest port of call dur­ing my travels in the pic­tur­esque KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and, for the most part, I was rather dis­ap­poin­ted with my find­ings. There has been a res­taur­ant at the Corner Post since 1997 so it’s an estab­lished part of Howick, but it exper­i­enced a change of own­er­ship in August 2008 and has since been extens­ively renovated.

Owners Adam and Katie Robinson state that there pas­sion is to provide great food in a relaxed and friendly atmo­sphere at an afford­able price, so I was keen to sample some of the cuisine on offer. After care­fully scrolling through the menu, I decided to order the potato pan­cake with smoked sal­mon and chives while my friend Curran opted for the homemade tagliatelle with oyster mush­rooms, pars­ley and gar­lic. Continued

Ba Lonkas Bohemian Restaurant and Pub — A review

Ba Lonkas

Some friends and I recently vis­ited Ba Lonkas in the beau­ti­ful KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and, a few quibbles aside, we were rather impressed with our find­ings. Situated just oppos­ite Gowrie Village in Nottingham Road, Ba Lonkas is cer­tainly uncon­ven­tional, sport­ing a con­fec­tion­ary, del­icatessen, a delight­ful curio and gift shop and a snake and rep­tile park in addi­tion to its main attrac­tion – the Bohemian Restaurant and Pub.

The res­taur­ant spe­cial­ises in German cuisine like eisbein and sauer­braten and kloesse, but also offers a selec­tion of ori­ginal favour­ites such as Hungarian lamb stew, roast duck, Moroccan chicken prawn curry, peposo, Thai chicken curry, smoked pork ribs, rump steak and chicken saus­ages. Continued