So, I’m sure that you recognise the title of this blog post (Alanis Morisette sung something similar). For us however; it was a pretty big issue having no forks in a self catering unit where we were staying (luckily for only 1 night) on the way home from Umhlanga. The name was Mount Everest Game Farm and the pictures online looked great.
Most of the time, we are pretty lucky with our online choice of accommodation, but occasionally we pick wrong. This was one of those times.
For me, the view and animals walking around were amazing, but there were a few things I didn’t like about the way the cabin was constructed. That and the fact that we were originally booked into the unit next door and while we were unpacking got told that we were actually booked in wrong and had to move (it might have only been next door but the decor and how it was laid out felt completely different and much tighter).
When we arrived I couldn’t stop laughing because I saw a bakkie driving around with a whole bunch of people standing at the back, I joked and said it looked like a cheap game drive; as it turns out, when Luch checked us in, the guy did offer us a game drive (so I was actually right all along).
Without going on the game drive however; we managed to see quite a few animals just walking around our unit. Young bambi’s (not sure what kind of buck this was), a whole lot of wildebeest which we almost ran from as they were only 50 metres away, a few cows (one of which was extremely pregnant) and we also made friends with a beautiful farm doggy.
What I seriously didn’t enjoy about the cabin was the fact that they had basically joined two units together and you had no privacy if you wanted to sit outside on the veranda. You basically have to share the veranda with the people staying next door, luckily for us no one ended up staying next door (what was the point in moving us?) and it actually got left unlocked which is where we managed to borrow forks and tongs from. What decent self catering place only has spoons and no tongs? If you were going a whole bunch of friends, then this setup would have been just fine, but they really should warn you if you’re just a couple travelling alone.
I have included a few pics below, but I actually didn’t take any of the accommodation, mainly because I was so disappointed. I should have taken of the unit next door though (much prettier).
That night, I was looking forward to braaing (Jen suggested take away food) as this is a South African tradition when it comes to being in the bush. The braai might have been huge (like at least 10 people could have cooked on it), but it was so far away from our cabin and if anyone had stayed next door we would have had to share it. I also only had one bag of wood, so we ended up having to put the oven grid on two bricks on top of the small fire to actually cook our meat.
Eventually though, we got our meat cooked and went inside (by this point it was starting to get freezing). We dug around in cupboards and found every available blanket to throw on the bed to keep us warm. I’m sure that it actually went down to minus temperatures in the evening.
When we went to check out the next morning, I was fully prepared to give the manager a piece of my mind about making us change cabins for no reason and then having no forks or knives (at least there was one sharp knife to cut the meat with); only to find that he wasn’t even there. All I could think was, what a typical ending to a stay that was incredibly disappointing (and it had so much potential).
Also, to the people who stayed in the cabin up the hill behind us, have you ever heard of just being quiet in nature and enjoying the silence? I somehow don’t think so because you were blaring your music from when you arrived to late into the night.
I suppose that just like movies, sometimes when it comes to accommodation, you can accidentally pick a dud. It does make for incredibly funny stories afterwards though. 🙂
For me, the view and animals walking around were amazing, but there were a few things I didn’t like about the way the cabin was constructed. That and the fact that we were originally booked into the unit next door and while we were unpacking got told that we were actually booked in wrong and had to move (it might have only been next door but the decor and how it was laid out felt completely different and much tighter).