I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard the phrase “Let’s spend a weekend in the country, or let’s go to the country” in British series and movies more times than I can remember. Living in South Africa, this phrase never really made sense to me. That was, until two weekends ago when we decided to spend a weekend in Magoebaskloof.
I’ve always loved Magoebaskloof and all of the forests and waterfalls that surround the area. It has this magical glow about it and I can’t really explain it very well to someone who hasn’t been there before, except to say that it is really a hideaway from the craziness of city life. In Magoebaskloof, you can wake up some mornings and have the whole area be shrouded in mist, so you feel like you’re actually up in the clouds. It is really just incredible.
I spent many hours trying to decide between 3 different accommodation options, but eventually decided on Magoebaskloof Getaway. I had seen their awesome log cabins online and knew it was my ideal getaway. Being 3 and 1/2 hours away, we had to leave relatively early to get there before it got dark and we barely made it. Luckily we did, because the road going in was slightly tricky. The sign boards are slightly misleading and you think you’ve definitely gone the wrong way when you end up on this extremely steep gravel road leading down into the forest.
I’m always so happy that even though I have a tiny Ford Ka, it at least has high ground clearance. The road was worth it though, when you finally lay eyes on the accommodation. It was a lovely, cosy log cabin with a double bed, dstv and a fantastic view of the dam and surrounding forests.
Getting to the accommodation so late, we decided to make pizza in the oven and just have an awesome few hours sitting around the fire on our wooden veranda and appreciating the quiet.
We slept really well with the blackout curtains and woke up the next morning to birds chirping and a lovely cup of tea made in a whistling kettle on the gas stove. Our morning was spent hiking on the property and trying to find the 3 waterfalls. It was a great hike, but some parts were quite steep and had a few obstacles (like giant tree branches). I ended up using Luch’s foot as a place to step on my way down, because I couldn’t step on the steep slope or tiny rocks that would have had me on my face at any moment. Points to Luch, he managed to calm me down when I became scared by the heights and froze trying to climb back down the mountain. At one stage there was even a wooden ladder with broken cables barely holding together and I’m not at all sure how I made it up that, let alone back down again. Needless to say, I’m really not sure that I can do the chain ladder hikes in the Drakensberg, even though I’ve always wanted to.
The manager, Beth was so friendly and helpful throughout our entire trip. Shame, she even phoned me to make sure that we had made it back from the hike, because she hadn’t seen us walk back again.
After our hike, we were starving and ended up having a picnic in the warm winter sun of the little island between our cabin and the dam. We spent most of the afternoon just lying and relaxing under the trees, before jumping in this little old boat that was left next to the dam for a quick paddle.
We got to see the most beautiful wedding venue on the same property, also right on the water and then we had a braai and spent the evening trying to enjoy the quiet again. On the first night, we had been so lucky and were the only ones on the property; but the second night not so much. Staying right next to us, was a couple with their son who liked to scream at the top of his lungs and run around like a crazy. Now, I realise that most parents know how to tune out and ignore your kid when they make so much noise, but think about the people around you who can’t in fact do that.
Soooo loud and in such a peaceful and quiet place. It just didn’t fit. That was literally the only thing that was a bit frustrating the whole weekend. Otherwise, it was just the perfect place to relax, read a book and just put your feet up. I will definitely be back!
On our way back home, we were going to visit a cheese making place, but after 2 km of gravel, we got there to find that they don’t do a tour everyday at 10 like it says on their website; and we should have booked. We actually found a flyer for them and on the flyer it says you can book, but it isn’t necessary. Clearly that was a lie. Just wish the lady giving the tours had offered us something else. Like she could have said: “have a cheese platter or come and pet the baby cows”. Then we would have stayed and actually told our friends to go there when in the area, but instead she was actually incredibly rude and just didn’t give a dam. We would have paid R110 per person to watch the cheese be made which is quite expensive in my opinion, but instead we drove down another gravel road for no reason whatsoever.
Instead, we ended up going to a restaurant that is a Magoebaskloof staple. I’ve been there years ago and it still looked exactly the same. Lekwar Restaurant definitely makes some amazing Eisbein! I ended up eating it for three meals. At least the last day wasn’t a complete fail after our mishap at the cheese place.