Between traffic, deadlines and our crazy lives at home, anyone who lives in Joburg will tell you that a weekend getaway is a much-needed rejuvenation to keep your sanity intact.
My secret recipe to a fun, relaxing, weekend away includes friends, a braai and a large portion of laughter. To start the concoction, add seven parts friends. Add one part destination which will comfortably sleep seven parts friends. Mix in a fair sprinkle of good food, blend in several parts of alcohol and add loads of gossip after adding the alcohol, of course. For good measure, stir in an adventure-packed activity and a drop of shopping.
I manage to shake up this concoction a few times a year and, to date, every single holiday has been memorable. When the time comes around for a friends’ weekend away, the first question is, where? Hartbeespoort Dam, 40 minutes from Joburg, seemed like a close enough destination for our last getaway. The grapevine has delivered much about the great restaurants in the area and reasonable accommodation, and it seemed like the most sensible plan.
After many a website search Fires Mountain Lodge was the winner. It was an eight-sleeper log cabin overlooking the dam against a breathtaking backdrop of the Magaliesberg. The view was spectacular, especially at dusk when the colours intertwined to form hues that don’t really exist in reality. The Magalies mountains are not given enough credit for their beauty. Other than the view, the cabin was nothing to write home about but when you are in the company of good friends it doesn’t seem to matter.
Following a late night of braai meat, politics, relationships, Juju and work, we were up early and braaing again. We stand by our motto that you can never ever braai too much on holiday.
Lunch was a snack en route to Segwati Safari Quad Trails and quad-biking on a game reserve was the adventure we had chosen to end a lazy afternoon. Quad-biking looks a lot easier than it is in reality. Once I had mastered the art of it, everyone behind me was literally eating my dust. We saw wildebeest, giraffe, springbok and kudu. The guide held our attention with the details of the animals and the area.
I was surprised to learn that the dam was built on a farm owned by General Hendrik Schoeman. Only in 1912 did the government take ownership of the land and surrounding areas to construct the dam, with the surface area of 20km2 being fed by the Crocodile and Magalies rivers.
Although the dam water is a beautiful turquoise and is set among the scenic Magalies mountains, the water quality is questionable due to the extremely high levels of phosphates and nitrates from the Crocodile River. So be warned, don’t drink it.
Supper at O’Hagans was loud to say the least, and for a change we were not the culprits. A troop of drunken sailors fresh from battle dropped in. We had to move outside to hear ourselves think. okay, so they weren’t really drunken sailors, they were guys enjoying a bachelor party a little too much. Harties, as it is fondly known, is a big drawcard for the “last night” of freedom. There are several pubs in the area so hiring a party bus to go bar-hopping is one of the attractions. The nightlife, apart from the bars, is non-existent.
A karaoke night at our cabin, with no background music and far too much squealing, ended a relaxing spring evening.
The following day we did what most people in Harties do on a Sunday morning – we trekked off to Jasmyn, a Dutch supermarket cum flea market cum restaurant in a windmill.
I must admit, I get the hype. The freshest fruit and vegetables, fine Dutch confectionery and the best local cheese I have tasted in a long long time will fill up your trolley for the fraction of what it would cost normally. Breakfast in the windmill was of the freshest ingredients and of the highest quality service. I have concluded that Jasmyn will be at least a once-a-month treat for us – trust me, it is worth the drive.
There are so many activities at Harties and the rates are pretty standard. Visit the elephant sanctuary or the bush-baby sanctuary, go hot-air ballooning, sky-diving or book a party boat cruise. White-water rafting and zipline tours will satisfy the more adventurous.
A road trip or an early morning drive to Harties is the answer to the Sunday blues if you are not planning a weekend getaway. It is just what the doctor ordered to reboot your system. Try the concoction when it all gets too much. - Saturday Star