Lake Naverone in the Underberg

About a 3 hour drive from Durban you will find yourself in a landscape that is majestic. The rolling hills of the Underberg is indescribable. The husband and I want to use our time in KZN as best as we can so a trip to the Underberg was on the bucket list.
 


Smaller lake next to Lake Naverone

 

I booked us a weekend at Lake Naverone, one of the best life choices I made last year :) The Lake is surrounded by a 400 hectare estate that will supply you with space for great outdoor fun or just a beautiful place to relax at. It has its own hiking trails or within a short drive you can hike at surrounding areas. You can book horse riding trips, do some birding or try your luck at catching some trout in the lake.

I was in awe about the beauty of this place. The mountains, the greenery and the thundershowers were perfection. I can imagine during winter time how pretty this place will be with snow on the mountains. Apparently is snows at Lake Naverone itself!


Our weekend view

 

The estate has 22 cottages that caters for small to big families. Check out their website for their rates and which cottage will suit you the best. We stayed at the Flufftail cottage. It's a well stocked self catering cottage with a inside fire place, outside weber and great views of the lake. They service the cottage twice a day so you can actually just sit on the terrace with a glass of wine the entire weekend and appreciate the beautiful surroundings.

We spent a lot of time in the window bay reading during thunder showers. It really was heaven on earth.

 

Flufftail cottage

 


Braai area at Flufftail cottage

 


Finished my book here :)

 

 

Each cottage comes with a rowing boat. You can also rent other boats and fishing equipment. The husband tried his luck with the fishing but I guess it's  fair to say that a few hours in the water won't cut it. (googling fly fishing also did not help :) )
 


Sundowners on the lake



Hoping to catch dinner



He did not catch anything but still looked great trying :)



 

We chose to do a hiking trail outside of Lake Naverone called "Three Pools". You buy a permit at Lake Naverone because you enter the National Park. It's a moderate hike of about 5km.  Great place to swim at is Champagne pool. Its about 500 m away from Three Pools. If you carry on with the trail you will reach the Bushman cave. Pack a  picnic and enjoy brunch or lunch here!
 



Champagne pool

Our weekend at Lake Naverone was the perfect spot to be active but also relax enough so that the new working week was easy to tackle.

There is a store about a 3 min drive from Lake Naverone that is well stocked if you forgot anything but I would say come prepared with all your groceries from your home base or shop at the shopping centre in Underberg. There are about four restaurants surrounding Lake Naverone but we never visited any of them.

 The staff at Lake Naverone were very friendly and helped us with all our questions about the hiking trails and even organised us another boat when a large tour group stole  borrowed ours :)

If you ever venture to the Underberg, Lake Naverone is not a spot to miss!

For more information visit their website
Like them on Facebook
Contact them at info@lakenaverone.co.za

Halfaampieskraal

The motto at Halfaampieskraal is "The perfect place to do nothing at all!" and that is exactly what we did this past weekend.

Welcome to Halfaampieskraal

If you want to break away from the city, your fast paced lifestyle or just want to hang out with your family and friends this is the spot to do it! Situated outside Napier this spot is where you can 'farm' in style. It is 250 years old and still a working farm but you don't have to do anything :) You can just enjoy the beauty and sounds of the surroundings!

The unique aspect of Halfaampieskraal is their décor. It had to be such fun to source and style this place. You will discover something new around every nook and corner. Look out for a stuffed duck on top of the closet, a mirror decorated with springbok horns or even a peacock in the living room! Let me show you around!!

There are accommodation available inside the main house as well as outside. We occupied three of the outside rooms where two people can sleep per room. Each room is different and spoiled with personal touches...




Lounging area




My favourite piece in this room was the map!





How pretty is this shower!




Loved the modern and antique pieces together




Big bed fit for a queen!




Fresh flowers




Saturday evening treat!



So what can you do at Halfaampieskraal? Nothing, that is the best. We went for a walk to visited the farm animals, drank wine, played board games, read and laughed! They have a beautiful bar stocked with all the wine, MCC and spirits that you need. It works on a honesty system so you just write down what you drink and settle the bill later. You can also bring your own wine at R20 per bottle corkage but their prices are really affordable and their selection is great so there is no need.




Farm chickens




Babe!




Happy duck family!




Fireplace where we spent most of our time!




One of my fave board games, Yunomi




Beautiful bar that runs on the 'honesty system'


We were celebrating two birthdays and was treated with this meringue and nut cake in the afternoon!

For dinner we dined at the beautiful candelit dining room table on deep friend feta for starter. For mains we were treated to fillet with a mushroom semi glaze sauce, deep fried potatoes, sweet potatoe bake and  a medley of broccoli and beetroot vegetables. The food was out of this world and that semi glaze sauce was a major hit!

Table set for a beautiful meal



Deep fried feta served with a radish salad




Sweet potato bake




Beetroot, broccoli and baby marrow medley



Beef filet with mushroom semi glaze sauce

Happy diners!



Deep fried potatoes


We then settled in front of the fire to indulge in "fluweel" pudding. This is baked custard topped with orange marmalade and a chewy meringue layer. I am not a custard fan but I finished this and almost licked the bowl! The tanginess of the marmalade and chewiness of the meringue was the best! You can find some of these recipes in their "Halfaampieskraal Celebrates" cookbook.



 Piece de résistance!


After this stunning dinner we slumbered into our large and comfortable beds! The next morning we were woken by the farm noises and the aroma of coffee...

 

 

After a great night of sleep we ventured over to the stoep to sit in the sun and enjoy a refreshing breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice and fruit salad served with honey and yougurt. Breakfast did not stop there :) Scrambled goose eggs from the farm served with salmon, spinach and tomatoes was our final treat at Halfaampies.



Outside pool area perfect for summer!

 

Enjoying coffee on the stoep

 


Look at the beautiful walls!

 

Breakfast set-up

 


Refreshing fruit salad! So happy watermelon is back!

 

Loved the gold teapot!

 


One of the best breakfasts I have ever had! Delish!


Feeling rested and rejuvenated we already contemplated our return. It really is "hemel op die platteland" at Halfaampieskraal!

Rate: R1000 per person per night for dinner, bed and breakfast.
For more information  visit their website
Like them on Facebook
Contact them at rooms@kraal.biz or 028 452 1744

Weekend in Tulbagh

It was one of my beautiful friends wedding in Tulbagh a few weekends ago. The last time I was in Tulbagh was 15 years ago. All I remember was that I ate a huge piece of chocolate cake :)


Wedding time at Morgansvlei

The beautiful bride

I was therefore very excited to venture into mostly unknown territory. Tulbagh has loads of wine farms around the town so naturally they were the main component of my weekend activities!

When you arrive in Tulbagh fetch a map at The Tulbagh Tourism Centre. The map is great and you can easily navigate the surroundings with it.  Alternatively these maps are available at the wine farms as well.


Saronsberg

Our first stop was at Saronsberg. You can't go to Tulbagh at not visit them as tasting their Shiraz is one of the top things to do! I mentioned to some friends that I was travelling to Tulbagh for the weekend and everyone started the conversation with " Oh but your must visit Saronsberg..." and I would interrupt and finish with " I know, I know to try the Shiraz." It has won numerous awards and truly is a great wine to drink.

Statue by Angus Taylor

Welcome to Saronsberg

Beautiful lawn to relax on

To top it all off the tasting venue is beautiful with loads of art you can admire. Our favourite pieces where the sculptures by Angus Taylor. I could have spent the entire afternoon at Saronsberg. You can lounge on their lovely lawn next to the dam with a glass of wine.

Art gallery upstairs

Elegant tasting room

Having an awesome time at the tasting room

Wine tasting is free and there are a lot of wines to taste. My favourites were the following

• Saronsberg Provenance Shiraz : I'm happy to report it lives up to its reputation.
• Saronsberg Seismic 2009: It's a bold and full bodied wine with cabernet sauvignon as the main variety which is probably why I loved it.
• Saronsburg Brut MCC 2009: I was surprised that this Brut actually had quite a sweetness to it that I really enjoyed.

The only wine I did not enjoy  was their Sauvignon Blanc. It seems that the reds are their forte. Saronsberg also offers accommodation with self-catering cottages and they only receive good reviews on Tripadvisor.

You can visit them

• Monday-Friday 08:00-17:00
• Saturday 10:00-14:00
• Closed on Sundays

Tweet them @Saronsberg_wine
Like them on Facebook
For more information visit their website


Krone @ Twee Jonge Gezellen

I love bubbly so I was very excited to enjoy a tasting of only that! I actually enjoyed a glass of the Krone Borelis the previous night while watching the Lumineers at Kirstenbosch so I could not wait to visit the birth place of the lovely bubbles. The tasting room overlooks the vineyards and it was lovely to sit outside underneath the vine leaves. Our wine tasting host was energetic and really friendly.

Beautiful surroundings

Cheers

Outside tasting area

We tasted the following MCC's

• Krone Borealis Brut 2013 - This I would describe as your everyday bubbly :) I has the lovely biscuity/creamy taste.
• Krone Rose (Cuvee Brut) 2013 - This MCC has a beautiful pink colour and lovely apple notes. Serving this bubbles at a party would definitely make a statement.
• Krone Night Nectar (Demi Sec) 2013 -  This was my favourite! It was sweet but at the same time very refreshing.
• Krone Chardonnay Pinot Noir - Not a bubbly but also a great easy drinking wine.

Krone

My purchase of the day!

You can visit them

•  Monday-Friday 10:00-16:00
• Saturday 10:00-14:00 and the cellar tour is at 11:00

Like them on Facebook
Tweet them @houseofkrone
For more information visit their website

Other wine farms in the area that I did not get to but will in the future were Montpellier, Theuniskraal and Waverley Hills .

Tulbagh has loads of accommodation to choose from. We stayed at Rijks Country House which is situated 2 km outside of Tulbagh. You can also enjoy wine-tasting here. It's a beautiful estate where you can walk around and enjoy the surroundings. Service is impeccable and the rooms are equipped with more than you need. My favourite part of our visit was lounging next to the pool with a G&T. We made our booking through Booking.com who has great deals!

Does not get better than this!



Perfect way to relax!



Cottages at Rijks



Rooms at Rijks



Pool area


We spent most of our time outside of Tulbagh but if you have time you can enjoy the museums about the famous earthquake, watch a show at the Saronsberg Theatre or wine and dine at numerous restaurants. A place that looked awesome from outside was Things I Love.

As you can see to enjoy the small-town gem that Tulbagh is you will need at least two weekends away :) I will definitely be back!