2012 Weekly Summary #19: 13 May 2012 – Pilgrims Rest to Piet Retief

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Week 19…A quick tour of Mpumalanga

7 May 2012

Day 128

Pilgrims Rest

Arrived at the picturesque town of Pilgrim’s Rest and at our first Forever Resort. Mount Sheba was beautiful, our room had a roaring fire and we felt right at home. That afternoon we had a wander around the resort before an early (and delicious) dinner at the hotel restaurant.

8 May 2012

Day 129

Pilgrims Rest to Sabie

Rog had a good talk with the general manager while Maddy took some photos of the resort. Great news-we were going to be featured in the June edition of their very interesting magazine. Had a nice filming shot of our departure –all the staff waving and cheering as we drove off. On to Sabie, full of adventure companies and beautiful mountains and waterfalls. We checked into Lone Creek River Lodge which had stunning views over the River Sabie.

9 May 2012

Day 130

Sabie to White River

One night again only in Sabie, this time on to White River. Mornay from Tours de Mornay had been in touch with us after spotting us on Twitter and we happily agreed to meet him for lunch. Our lunch spot was incredible; Jatinga Country Lodge. We had a lovely lunch and some great discussions as well as some invaluable information on the area from Mornay. That evening our stopover was at Pelenechi Manor and despite the relentless geese and ducks, we had a pleasant stay.

10 May 2012

Day 131

White River to Nelspruit and Kaapmuiden

It was time for Chris the car to have a service so we drove him to Nelspruit, the biggest town/city we have been to the entire trip. He spent the day in the garage while we headed off to the mall, browsing the shops, buying some books on South Africa and having a coffee. We met up with Stuart, our host for the evening who was kind enough to wait around until Chris was finished to show us to Boondocks. A wonderful stay at his beautiful lodge; a delicious meal, great conversation and a comfy bed.

11 May 2012

Day 132

Kaapmuiden to Barberton

We said goodbye to Stuart and Ann and headed to Barberton, a very sweet little town, famous for its oldest mountain range in South Africa and the ‘Jock of the Bushveldt’ statue. Tonight’s stop-off was Royal Sheba Guesthouse, a 4* establishment where unfortunately we were given the most basic room (bunk beds and all!) We had a picnic lunch in our room before heading out into town to visit the museum, the statue and the rest the town had to offer.

12 May 2012

Day 133

Barberton to Badplaas

Drove the 2 hours to Badplaas and to our next Forever Resort of the trip. Not quite as impressive as the resort in Pilgrims Rest, this one reminds us more of a Butlins. But nevertheless, we had an enjoyable stay and our large apartment-style chalet was more than sufficient! After a bit of a mix-up with restaurants, we ended up in the family restaurant where we had quite a disappointing supper, only to be told afterwards that we should have dined at the river restaurant (a much more elegant place). Whoops.

13 May 2012

Day 134

Badplaas to Piet Retief

We said goodbye to Badplaas and hello to Piet Retief where we stayed for 2 nights at the gorgeous Welgekozen Lodge (and even slept in the same bed as President Zuma had done a few months back; don’t worry we didn’t sleep in the same bed with Zuma). Piet Retief sadly didn’t have too much to offer so our stay was confined to the lodge, catching up on the pile of admin and mounting emails.

…of the week:

  • Towns visited this week – Pilgrims Rest, Sabie, White River, Nelspruit, Kaapmuiden, Barberton, Badplaas, Piet Retief
  • Accommodation sponsored this week – Mount Sheba, Lone Creek, Pelenechi Manor, Boondocks, Forever Resorts Badplaas, Welgekozen
  • Food sponsored this week – Mount Sheba, Jatinga Country Lodge, Boondocks, Forever Resorts Badplaas, Welgekozen
  • Highlight of the week – Link up with two Forever Resorts and our time with Mornay from De Mornay Tours
  • Lowlight of the week – Chris (our 4×4) in at Westvaal in Nelspruit for a service!
  • Accommodation of the week – Boondocks
  • Meal of the week – Welgekozen

See you in a week…

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