If you are happy to venture out a little bit further whilst you are staying at Macadamia Lodge, take a look at some of our tried and tested ideas for inspiration

 1.Visit Mkhuze Game Reserve, part of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, fantastic birding and game viewing and never too crowded

 2.Venture out to Eshowe and go on the Dlinza Forest Aerial Boardwalk to get a bird’s eye view of life above the trees ;then take in a few of the hiking trails

 3.Combine your Eshowe hiking with a visit to Fort Nongqayi Museum Village, learn about Zulu arts and craft and some Anglo-Zulu War history. On Sundays, Adam’s Outpost restaurant does a fabulous Sunday buffet lunch – bookings are necessary

 4.Visit Richards Bay for some retail therapy at the Boardwalk, followed by a leisurely lunch at the marina watching the boats come and go.

 5.Divers should not miss Sodwana Bay, reputed to be one of the top 10 diving destinations of the world

 6.Spend the day at Umlalazi Nature Reserve, near Mtunzini, the northern section of Siyaya Coastal Park, with lovely hiking trails.

 7.Take a day trip to Charters Creek for a spot of fishing

 8.False Bay near Hluhluwe also has some easy walking trails taking you through the sand forest and alongside Lake St Lucia. Nature lovers and birders will not be dissapointed. 

 9.Interact with Elephants at Bayete Zulu, a must for elephant lovers.

10. If you fancy a pamper day and don’t’ mind the drive then look no further than Lavender Lane just outside Mtunzini. Massages, beauty treatments, natural herbal body products, delectable lunches all available through this community based project helping to empower local women.

Here are just some of the activities that you can enjoy around here.

1. 1.Visit Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, South Africa’s oldest game reserve
2. 2.Go horse riding on St Lucia’s beaches or combine with a bush ride
3. 3.Enjoy some yoga at The Yoga Hut at Macadamia Lodge
4. 4.Go on a night drive in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park
5. 5.Take a boat cruise on St Lucia Estuary and get up close to the crocodiles and hippos
6. 6.Walk through our Macadamia orchard and through the secret forest
7. 7.Enjoy lunch at the ski boat club listening to the sounds of the hippos snorting
8. 8.Play a round of golf at Monzi
9. 9.Do plenty of bird watching – from your patio, whilst out walking, not to mention around St Lucia
10. 10.Get even closer to the crocodiles at the crocodile centre
11. 11.Go whale watching
12. 12.Visit the iSiphaphalazi butterfly dome
13. 13.Take a walk, along the beach, around Monzi – just enjoy the fresh air
14. 14.Spend a day at Cape Vidal, be sure to protect your food from the monkeys though
15. 15.Sit on your patio and enjoy a few sun downers and a braai/bbq

And there are many more things to do

How do you market a property and location? How do you try to explain to others what you see about a product? I decided to list all of the reasons why I love it here, and decided to summarise them here for you. If nature, space and quality time with loved ones is how you like to enjoy your holiday or short break, then carry on reading.

1.So much space around you to explore

2.Golf on your doorstep

3.Very hospitable hosts – even if I do say so myself

4.Wonderful birdlife

5.Near Hluhluwe/iMfolozi – the oldest game reserve in South Africa

6.Near iSimangaliso Wetland Park – a Unesco World Heritage Site

7.Wonderful star gazing opportunities on a clear night

8.The Yoga Hut – our small yoga studio overlooking the macadamia orchard

9.Yogi Pat, our resident Yoga teacher.

10.Delicious breakfasts

11.Surrounded by trees and nature – great for children and nature lovers

12.No TV , so that you can enjoy your surroundings and each others company

13.Tennis courts at Monzi Club

14.City break – get away from people, noise and stress

15.Macadamia Trees and nuts – learn about the farming of macadamia nuts

16.Fruit trees – There are mangoes, litchis, citrus, avocadoes all on your doorstep

17.Peaceful

18.Canerat crafts – a craft shop in the country with local crafts

19.We offer dinners in the winter months

20.Butterfly garden - walk through the garden to enjoy serenity.

21.En route to and from Swaziland and Mozambique – perfect stopover

22.Baby friendly - we have baby baths, cots, high chairs and toys

Gales, rain, hailstones, sunshine, blue skies, grey skies ….. You name it; we’ve seen it here in Monzi this spring. According to Farmer Timmy’s little measuring pot, rainfall for the month is 110 mls.   Today we’ve been experiencing winds in the region of 55 kms/hr. No need to prune the trees; the wind is doing a fine job of lopping off the branches.

Work has begun in earnest on the butterfly garden which has now been cleared and is ready for design and planting. A delightful chap by the name of Radio has come up from a local nursery and will advise on what plants to put in and the Butterfly Centre in St Lucia have been helpful in suggesting host plants. All in all, once the work is finished, the pecan lawn should take on a brand new perspective and entice guests out into the garden to observe nature.

The macadamia trees have blossomed and been visited by Jeremy Kirkwood’s bees who have been in residence for a few weeks and were removed last week after, hopefully, their work was done. No honey badger visits this year to huff and puff and knock the hives down. The baby macadamia nuts are now beginning to show. Fingers crossed for a good crop.

The mango season is not far away and the trees are heavy with young fruit. Better finish up last year’s fruit still in the freezer. Looks like November will be the month of mango crumbles and smoothies.

The vegetable patch to date has yielded our own potatoes, spinach and lettuce – all delicious. Waiting in the wings are beetroot, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, peppers …… the herb garden looks healthy and flourishing in the rain. This weekend, Farmer Timmy and Yogi Pat are going on an organic kitchen garden workshop so will return home full of ideas and enthusiasm for home organic vegetable production.

Finally, let’s not forget the worms that are still happily chomping away on kitchen scraps and beginning to multiply. Hopefully they will soon be peeing for England.

Life in Monzi is a real learning curve...

We can’t help ourselves; we are always talking about the weather. I even have weather forecasts emailed to me twice a day and often find myself checking for a “latest latest” update in between the emails. Is it because we have a farm? Is it because people staying here on holiday like good weather and going to the beach? Is it because we often have droughts and no water supply? Is it because we have more time on our hands to appreciate nature as we are away from the hustle and bustle of life? Or is it simply just because I’m English?

Since moving to Monzi we’ve all become “those people “who discuss how many millimetres of water they’ve had every day or week. We have a rain gauge with its own little pathway leading to its resting place. It is a race each morning between me and Farmer Timmy who gets to check the rain gauge after rainfall. In fact one night I went out at midnight to empty it as we had already reached 90mm and Ronald the rain gauge was not big enough to capture 8 more hours of heavy downpour. Farmer Timmy likes to keep records as it is important for the irrigation of the Macadamia Trees; I just like checking the rain gauge because I can. It has become one of those little pleasures in life that had evaded me before I moved here.

I love seeing how green and luscious our plants and trees are after rain. I love feeling how springy the grass is. I love hearing the birds singing and watching them fly from branch to branch when the first rays of sun come out after rain. I love the sound of the frogs at night when it’s raining. I love going out on my bicycle the morning after rainfall as the sand is so much easier to cycle over and I love it even more if it’s still drizzling. I’ve learnt to love the rain because I hate seeing the rivers run dry knowing that we are about to suffer with no water for weeks at a time. I love the rain because it brings much needed water to animals and humans who depend on it for survival. It is true what they say, there really is something very special about the rains in Africa. Only on this continent can I smell the rain coming before seeing it and only on this continent do we find ourselves sitting on the veranda watching and admiring the rain come down, something I never seem to do in other parts of the world.

I love the sun too, and I am petrified of thunderstorms and flooding, but that’s another story.

Written by Rebecca Williamson

As a mother of 3 young children, I know that travelling with children is not the easiest thing to do, whatever their age. They just seem to come with so much necessary “stuff”. Even if you can drive rather than fly to your destination, you still manage to fill it to the brim with things - just in case.

Well luckily now there is Macadamia Lodge to remove all those packing requirements. From babies to teenagers there is everything there that you could need - from car seats, baby baths, potties, cots and toys to a swimming pool, DVDs to borrow and acres of grounds to explore and build camps in. Family friendly meals can be cooked to order and there is always the microwave to feed children whatever time of day or night they demand their food. Macadamia lodge will also do your shopping in advance of your arrival so that all the essentials like nappies and formula are then when you check in. If you need some adult R&R, why not try a yoga class or send the kids off to the crocodile centre with daddy whilst you enjoy a massage in St Lucia or have a Thai Yoga massage done at the lodge.

So if you would rather fill your car boot or your suitcase with lovely South African wine rather than nappies make sure you check out and check in to Macadamia Lodge

There aren’t many places in the world when you are almost guaranteed sunshine all year round, and whilst I can’t promise that the weather in Zululand and along the Elephant Coast will be perfect all the time, we do get pretty close.  So whether you prefer hot lazy days at the beach or the cooler alternative of sitting on your veranda appreciating the beauty of nature around you, there is something for everyone. Follow our guide below on the best times of year to visit us at Macadamia Lodge.

• January – The weather is hot and humid, perfect for beach or lazy days at the pool. If you want to avoid the crowds, we suggest visiting during the 2^nd half of the month
• February & March – Getting more humid, you’ll spend most of the day in the pool or at the beach. Also quieter so no big queues to get to Cape Vidal
• April & May – Our personal favourite time of year, cooler weather but still sunny. Feast on our avocadoes and pecan nuts if the monkeys don’t get there first. Enjoy the colourful show of the late blossoming shrubs and trees as we move towards autumn.  It is also an important time of year for us as it is our Macadamia Harvest time.  Join Timmy’s tours of the orchards and learn about our nuts
• June – Autumn colours all around, beautiful sunrises through the morning mist, cooler temperatures and the perfect time to come and play some golf or tennis at Monzi Club. My favourite time to see the hippos on the St Lucia Estuary boat cruises as they are often out basking in the sun with their babies. Our gardens are ripe with citrus trees; enjoy freshly squeezed juices everyday for that added Vitamin C injection.
• July & August – Our winter, cold mornings and nights but warmish days. If you enjoy outdoor activities such as cycling, walking, tennis and golf this is the time to come. August is the windy month; enjoy some bracing walks on the beach. Also a great time for game drives in Hluhluwe/iMfolozi, not to mention iSimangaliso Wetland Park
• September   - Springtime, temperatures rising a bit but still cool enough to enjoy being outdoors. MTB fans should come and enjoy the Monzi Hippo Challenge bike race.
• October/November – Summer is coming, rainy season bringing some fabulous and sometimes scary thunderstorms. If you like your birdlife, flowers and butterflies, now is the time to come. We are also inundated with mangos from our garden.
• December – summer is here, hot but still not too humid. Busiest month of the year though so if you don’t like crowds, stay away.                                                                        

Since moving to South Africa and opening up Macadamia Lodge, The Yoga Hut and developing the Macadamia Orchard, we find that our we no longer have days out as a family as there always has to be somebody on duty. A few weeks ago though, I decided to throw caution to the wind and suggested that we should go out for the day “en famille”. I had recently read about iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority reintroducing the wild dogs to Mkhuze, and wanted to see if I could find them as I have never seen them in the wild.

We got up at 4.30am, prepared our breakfast for the trip, packed our camping chairs, locked up all the doors, checked all the windows, set the alarm, unset the alarm, went back in, checked again, gave the dogs their water bowls, shut up the house again and reset the alarm before finally heading off (as you can see, we don’t’ make a habit of going out very often).  It was still dark outside and we were hoping to catch some wildlife just after sunrise.

We headed up the N2, past Hluhluwe eventually turning right onto the dirt road and drove to eMshophi gate, an easy hour and a half from home.  It wasn’t long before the wafts of Yogi Pat’s breakfast forced us to stop at the first picnic site where we munched away listening to the birdlife. We spent the first few hours in the park following the roads, visiting the information centre where I found out about the guided fig forest walk, (must book for next visit). We didn’t see much game, but there was plenty of birdlife to keep us occupied and the vegetation and landscape was stunning. I decided that maybe this wasn’t a park for great game viewing and chose to just enjoy the views and birdlife whilst keeping a beady eye out for those elusive wild dogs. We took another break at the Nsumo Pan, admired the distant Lebombo mountains, wading birds and then a couple of us had a snooze and just enjoyed the beauty and calmness around us.

We debated whether or not we should go home or see more and quite rightly opted to discover more of the park. We headed south and took one of the loops, and there we came across a family of rhinos. Mama Rhino was very jittery as her baby was nearby and too close to the road, and more importantly us, for her liking. We sat there for what felt like an hour whilst she mock charged us before we were finally allowed to slowly move past. So excited were we after our near brush with death (slight embellishment here), that we almost drove past the giraffes on the next bend. They were all standing close to each other looking at something in the grass. On closer inspection we realised that there was a family of cheetahs sitting there watching the giraffes. Well, what excitement, I couldn’t believe it and what made it so much more special was the lack of cars and traffic, this was our moment alone.

The rest of the afternoon flew by with more and more sightings of wildlife and eventually, we sadly left this beautiful park at Ophansi Gate and took the slightly longer route home. We never did see the elusive wild dogs, but I will be back for more. Mkhuze truly is another hidden gem in KwaZulu-Natal. Needless to say, when we got home, we found a burst water pipe and empty water tank as punishment for us going out for the day, but it was worth it just to discover Mkhuze.

                                                                                                                         

My students seem to be falling away from their regular classes with varying ailments.   What’s going on?  The relentless Zulu Summer heat taking its toll or perhaps the beginning of the change into Autumn and Winter?  Whatever it is, students seemed to be in need of more than just my classic yoga class of standard postures. I’ve been practicing yoga for over 30 years but only teaching for 5 and I’m a long way from being a yoga therapy teacher.  I need to find my way through the challenge of  backaches, muscular aches and strains, stomach bugs, stress, strain and general malaise and I definitely need more ‘me’ time on the yoga mat.  Where to find my own teacher, my own guru in this part of the world ?  Sadly, I seem to be suffering from ‘lonely yogi’ syndrome!   When the student is ready, the teacher appears.  That’s what they say, so I shall sit on my mat and wait, not lose my focus or my sense of balance and keep the door to my yoga space wide open, ready to receive whatever comes along.

Visitors coming to stay at Macadamia Lodge and nearby St Lucia normally come here to visit the beaches, the game reserves, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and to enjoy activities such as horse riding, whale watching, boat cruises, fishing, birding and many more. Instructions to get here go along the lines of “exit the N2 and drive through Mtubatuba, and follow the signs for the R618 to St Lucia”. If guests need information on shopping for groceries prior to their arrival we will usually recommend PicknPay, but after that, no more mention is given to Mtubatuba.  This, I suddenly realised yesterday, is a bit short sighted of me.  Mtubatuba doesn’t have beauty of the wetlands, or the Big 5 of the game reserves but it does have people which is one of the key assets of South Africa, and is also an extremely vibrant and bustling town.

When we were first moved to Monzi, we thought that we would do most of our business errands in St Lucia. We opened a bank account and post box at the local branches, we took up the services of the local accountants and insurance brokers to help set up our company, and popped into the local supermarkets for our shopping. Most of this was done purely for comfort and ease. It soon became apparent though, that in fact Mtubatuba was more than likely going to be the town that would supply us with most of our hardware, farming, veterinarian, medical and general merchandise requirements.  My first day to Mtubatuba took me back to Arusha, in Tanzania which I had just recently left after 7 very happy years and made me feel for the first time since moving to South Africa that I was in Africa. The only difference here was that the roads weren’t full of pot holes or covered in dust and I wasn’t being called “Mzungu” every 30 seconds, in fact most people took no notice of me at all as everyone is occupied getting on with their own business.

Yesterday morning I headed to Mtubatuba to run some errands and I suddenly had an urge to go to the market area and visit all of the nearby retail shops to see what this little town had to offer. I manoeuvred my car around the collection of vehicles parked everywhere with people negotiating space as they loaded or offloaded their good and eventually I found a spot. I then walked through the food market, listening to the exuberant chatter and realised what a central social hub this market was to everyone.  I watched the variety of dishes and meals being prepared, many of which reminded me of food served at my school in Ghana and another wave of nostalgia hit me. People come from far and wide to do their weekly shopping, sell their goods and deal with banking and administration in Mtubatuba. Livelihoods depend on this town and the town’s economy depends on the people trading there.

As picture perfect as this all sounds, I have also experienced Mtubatuba town in the blazing Zululand summer, around pay day, stuck in traffic in the middle of the day trying to finish my errands, people and noise everywhere. The trick is to visit Mtubatuba at the right time, and you will have a completely different experience.

For those of you interested in history “Memories of Early Matubatuba and District” by E.R Harrison can be purchased at Canerats Craft Shop in Monzi.

I will upload photos of Mtubatuba next week.