Adventure 11 - New places, new faces

I had work to do in Gingindlovu and so we decided to make almost a weekend of it.  As the school visit I had to do was on a Friday, we looked for somewhere to stay on Friday night - a lot of searching backwards an forwards between TripAdvisor, Booking.com, SafariNow, Rooms for Africa and just general searching on the net, we finally found somewhere that looked good.

So early on Friday morning we set off to drive to Mbali Dlamini's school - Mangoqakaza Primary near Gingindlovu to watch a super Maths lesson and then take a slow drive down the coast back to Stanger where we were going to spend the night.

First, Mtunzini, which is a charming little town with the most astounding views.  We stopped at a coffee shop for an underwhelming cappuccino at a cafe that says it is open 7 days a week - but couldn't serve anything except tea or coffee ( nothing to eat) because it was Friday.  But the view from the verandah made even sachet coffee ok.

Then on down the coast and into all sorts of little towns and resorts.  Zinkwazi is beautiful, with really lovely homes built high on the hills; Blythedale Beach is very strange - it has lots of holiday homes but no easy access to the beach and no restaurants - we had planned to have lunch there but there was nothing to be found; and Tinley Manor Beach has the most magnificent beaches but hardly any development.  We ended up going to Salt Rock to Sage for lunch because all Stanger could offer was KFC!

And then on to Wellvale Resort down in the valley on the Mvoti River.  Resort is a misleading name - to me it conjures up pictures of lots of swimming pools with water slides and golf courses, an entertainment manager and karaoke and kids everywhere.  Wellvale should be called Wellvale Retreat - it is quiet, tasteful, beautifully situated and just exquisite - a retreat from the worries of the world. Five beautifully designed cottages and a family cottage plus a main building and a camp site with a wonderfully equipped kitchen and bathrooms.  All set in lovely gardens where monkeys play, the labrador can run free and birds sing in the thorn trees.  And just beyond the fence, the river and the cliffs.  We spent the evening walking along the mowed paths and then sitting on the little patio outside our room, watching the light fade on the cliffs and the night slowly draw in as we drank a bottle of champagne and nibbled cheer and ciabatta.

We could have gone over to the main house where they might a fire outside and you can sit and have a drink before you have dinner - you can have "one Plate" to "two plates" - dinner or dinner and dessert - whatever is being served.  Next time we will do that.  But this time we just loved the quiet, the moon through the trees and the night sounds.  And then we enjoyed the outdoor shower - oh how I love showering under the stars!

This was something we need to do again - a lovely new place to visit.  I think I need to organise some work down on the coast soon :-)

A leguaan sunning itself just behind our cottage - glad I didn't walk on it at night!