MISTY MAGOEBASKLOOF
– FEBRUARY 2009
On Tuesday, 3 February ’09, Hein and I decided
on impulse to ‘pamper’ ourselves with a catered weekend. A weekend where I don’t have to plan for a
meal or have to don my yellow plastics to do the wash-up. Just to relax for a bit.
We decided on Magoebaskloof Hotel (www.magoebaskloof.co.za) – we were
there about 5 years ago, but haven’t explored that area yet. Magoebaskloof is just outside, Tzaneen, about
358 km from Johannesburg, in the Limpopo area.
We booked from Saturday, 7 tot Monday 9
February – dinner/bed/breakfast.
Saturday 7 February 2009
At half past 4 on Saturday morning, we woke up,
had some coffee, packed clothes, camera and books and left after 5am. The air was crisp and fresh and traffic
light.
There are 2 routes to Magoebaskloof – one via
Lydenburg and Hoedspruit – the other via Bela Bela (Warmbaths) and Pietersburg.
We took the Bela Bela option. For
breakfast, we stopped at the Petroport
Bridge and had a Steers
breakfast.
In Pietersburg, we were thirsty and wanted to
buy a juice at the McDonalds drive-thru.
The cars didn’t move forward at all.
We stopped, walked into the McDonalds but that didn’t work either – no
service at all! Juices were bought at
the petrol station.
Close to Magoebaskloof, we were amazed at what
looked like St Joseph
lilies. They were everywhere – in the
grass, on the banks next to the road … growing wild. Some of the local youngsters sell them in
bunches next to the road.
We arrive at the hotel after 10 – but check-in
time was only at 12, so we had our first view of the valley. Absolutely breathtaking.
And actually quite chilly! Luckily one of my coffee friends advised me
to bring along jackets. I was actually
so chilly, I had a nice cappuccino to warm me.
A few motorcycle bikers joined us on the patio for a ‘brandy and coke’,
had a few jokes amongst themselves and left again for the next pub.
Magoebaskloof Hotel burnt down in 2004 and was rebuilt
with a few alterations. A lovely mural has been painted on the one outside wall, with ‘doors’ and ‘windows’ and lovely
trees in pots. Also a working water
wheel. Now I grew up with a water wheel
in Paarl, my hometown. But a
20-something lad walked up to the wheel and was totally and utterly fascinated
by it. He reversed the wheel’s direction
– called his mate and showed him the wheel.
He must have stood there for about 15 minutes – entranced.
The pub is called ‘The Phoenix and the
Fireman’.
It’s lovely inside – old
photo’s, copper pans, lovely big fireplace for the cold days BUT you are not
allowed to smoke in there. Now, that
just doesn’t feel right. It’s like you
walk into a coffee shop, order a strong, aromatic coffee but they don’t serve
cakes???
We had a light lunch – I had chicken, brie,
tomato & basil on a baguette and Hein had steak, egg and chips. By that time our room was ready.
There are quite a few different options – some
rooms are all in one building, overlooking the swimming pool and down the
valley.
There are a few big houses and
then there are small 2-storey buildings with only 3 rooms. The luxury rooms. Our room was on the top floor with a lovely
patio and view, although not looking directly down the valley. Big bathroom with a corner bath and shower,
separate toilet, double bed and a sofa.
There were 3 wardrobes, filled with enough
hangers and when we took off the quilt, we found 2 very very heavy blankets on
the bed. Hmmm, do they expect cold
nights?
Also a stern warning to keep all doors and
windows closed when out, since the monkeys love to snoop around.
Tea/coffee making facilities, ice cubes (for
room service I presume) and 4 of the most delightful biscuits. I’m not 100% sure, but think they were Greek
almond biscuits. Filled with nuts and
loads of icing sugar all around – drenching your clothes and carpet in white…
Have you experienced that a lot of hotels/guest
houses are furnished with light curtains – breezy and airy, but not dark enough
for an afternoon nap? So I bought us
both eye masks (used in planes mostly).
Having regular nightmares, waking up and seeing things in the room
(usually a towel over the door), I thought an eye mask might be my
solution. We slept for 3 hours!
Tea and some of those gorgeous biscuits
refreshed us for dinner.
The dinner part of the d/b/b package, was
advertised as 5-course. We were a bit
dubious, but nevertheless…
Quite a lovely big dining room with beautifully
painted canvases, grass plates and some eerie masks. We ordered some red wine and still water and
were handed the menu.
Starters were a choice of:
Garnished mango fan
with shrimps with a lightly spiced sauce of mayonnaise, tomato sauce,
Worcestershire sauce and fresh horseradish.
(That was my
choice). And it came with a cute little heart made of red caviar. It was nice, the mango a bit green still.
The knives were very uncomfortable – the
handles were too thin to hold, so the blade side swivels around (bottom). We asked for steak knives.
Hein’s choice was:
Meatballs in a
delicate white wine sauce flavored with pickled capers.
He loved it and also loved the capers – it does require a certain
palate. (For years I thought capers were
fish …)
The next course was Traditional Bavarian Pea soup with crisp fried bacon. We both ordered that.
It looked lovely and I could see the crispy
bacon – but when I had my first mouthful, it was a bit disconcerting … when I
tasted again, I told Hein the soup tastes of mealie meal. He looked at me and said that he smelled it
when they put it in front of him.
Interesting taste – it made the soup quite thick. When Mignon, the maitre‘d came along, we
asked her – and she absolutely and vehemently denied it. I’m sorry, but we both couldn’t have been
wrong.
Next course was a choice between:
Tender grilled chicken
breasts served on a julienne of garden vegetables with a rich red wine and port
sauce. Hein chose that. He loved it, thought the sauce was ok and
even from across the table, I could see the tenderness of the chicken.
My choice was:
Pan-fried fillet of
trout topped with capers and lemon segments in lemon butter sauce.
Very yummy and tasty.
Lovely!! Both were served with
potatoes, green beans (extremely salty) and glazed carrots.
Dessert and cheese were buffet-style. There were mini lemon meringue tarts, some
creamy, orangey concoction, chocolate mousse and carrot cake. I had a lemon meringue tart and a bite each
of the creamy, orangey and the chocolate mousse. The lemon meringue was very nice, but the
other 2 a bit ‘flat’.
Cheeses were the normal variety of soft, hard
and smelly – served with different biscuits and fresh fruit. 4 Bites of the cheeses and that was it for
me. When we asked for the drinks-bill,
instead of mints, we were given 2 nougat sweets from the Coach House, a nearby hotel
& spa with a nougat kitchen. Yum!
It was quite cold by then – and we were
thankful for the heavy blankets on the bed.
Somewhere during the night, the rain
started. Just a steady tip-tip.
Sunday 8 February 2008
When we woke at 6 on Sunday and opened our
patio door – we could barely see the rest of the hotel. Fog all around and the soft but steady
tip-tip of rain.
Hot chocolate and
coffee warmed us. We got back in bed, I
phoned my mom to wish her happy birthday and we read a bit.
Travel is in my blood, therefore I also love to
read travel stories. Especially the
Tuscan and Provence
ones. Before the weekend, I visited my
library, found 2 novels and browsed through their ‘for sale – R5’ books. And then my eyes fell on this beaut – A Thousand days in Tuscany – Marlena de Blasi. FOR FIVE RANDS!!!!! It was meant to be.
So I started to read my ‘fund’ and at one
stage, laughed so loud, I had to tell Hein.
And I thought I’ll share it with you:
"Marlena and her husband Fernando were married 3
years ago. They stayed in Venice for 3 years, or a
thousand days. Her husband left his bank
job, sold their house and they rented a house in Tuscany:
While they were doing shopping in the small
village, they asked for eggs – and were directed to the henhouse.
“I have never before
gathered eggs from under a hen. Fernando
has never before seen a hen. We bend low
into the shed where perch a dozen or so fat lady birds. There’s no shrieking or fluttering at
all. I approach one and ask her if she
has an egg or two. Nothing. I ask in Italian. Still nothing. I ask Fernando to pick her up but he’s
already outside the shed smoking and pacing, telling me he really doesn’t like
eggs at all and he especially doesn’t like frittata. Both bold-faced lies.
I start to move the
hen and she plumps down from her perch quite voluntarily, uncovering the place
where two lovely brown eggs sit. I take
them, one at a time, bend down and nestle them in my sack. I want two more. I peruse the room. I choose the hen who sits next to the docile
one. I pick her up and she pecks me so
hard on my wrist that I drop her. I see
there is nothing in her nest and apologize for my insensitivity, thinking her
nastiness must have been caused by embarrassment.”
Breakfast was just the normal buffet – lovely
mince, pork sausages, bacon, French toast, preserves, cheeses, pastries, etc.
After breakfast, we wanted to explore a bit. When we were at Magoebaskloof years ago, we
were invited by a company to enjoy an air show.
Our GPS, Suzy, was asked to find the shortest route to the
airfield. Which she promptly did.
And we ended up on a yellow muddy, slippery
road – driving very, very carefully. One
slide and we would end up down the valley.
Magoebaskloof tea was enjoyed to still our
fluttering hearts at Pekoe View.
Very quiet at that stage, but with a beautiful view. Look at my poor car’s tires – all caked in
mud.
A notice for the Debengeni Waterfall was
noticed – we paid R30 entry fees.
Luckily I was wearing ¾ jeans but oh dear – paired with very high wedge
sandals. Not wanting to break an ankle,
I promptly removed my sandals and walked barefoot. What a sight!
Although we were standing about 10 metres away from the fall, we could
feel the mist.
Neatly-maintained picnic
benches, tables and fireplaces were placed underneath the trees. The falls cascaded into a river flowing down
over the rocks. Peaceful and quiet.
Driving back, ‘moss beards’ were hanging from
branches.
Lunch at ‘The Phoenix and the Fireman’ pub was something
light for me (ok, yeah, it was another breakfast - scrambled eggs, mushrooms,
bacon and toast) and a cheese burger for Hein.
By now the fog and rain had disappeared and the weather was mild.
My eye mask was to be tested again. And it worked – again. Although our nap was only an hour or so. The ‘Greek’ biscuits called me, I tested them
and yes, they’re still very fine biscuits.
Still too early for dinner and feeling a bit
restless, we went for another drive.
This time to the Ebenezer Dam. Quite
a drive through a lovely dense forest, past sawmills and then the dam.
Dressing for dinner, I had to admit to not
being very hungry at all.
Dinner was very quiet, so we were giving an a
la carte menu to choose from. Chicken
livers were ordered and it was very good.
Served on a poppadum with some chilli heat and enjoyed with a fresh bun.
Hein ordered a fillet with a Madagascar green peppercorn sauce
and enjoyed it thoroughly. I had a bite
and it was quite juicy and tender.
Having spied a cheesecake at the buffet, I
tried it. Mistake. Very bland, a bit ‘salty?’ and very
gelatine-ish. An apple and pecan nut pie
I tried next – quite nice. But the
cheeses all looked ‘sweaty’ and the biscuits were soft. A Sunday night buffet seemed to be a bit
slap-dashy.
But the coffee was magnificent. Not pot coffee, freshly prepared machine
coffee. Hmmmm.
Monday morning 9 February 2008
We woke with a sunny sky and a
promise of heat. Around 8am we left the
hotel and had breakfast at Café Rossini in Pietersburg.
Arrived home at 1, unpacked, washed clothes and
caught up on emails while Hein went to a Sandton meeting.
And what did we do on Monday night?
We lit the fire to braai chicken pieces and
watch DVD’s.
…000…
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