Durban - What happens when you run out of road? All things good(erson) in the case of Gooderson Leisure’s Drakensberg Gardens Golf & Spa Resort, which is about a three-hour drive from Durban. The scenery just gets better and better once you leave the N3 and wind up and down (mostly up) the road.
At the resort, there are gorgeous views of the Rhino Horn which, at 3 051m above sea level, remains safe from poachers.
The setting was perfect and the welcoming smiles from general manager Peter Muil and staff boded well.
The place bore little resemblance to the hotel I had visited decades earlier, but Muil explained that it had been rebuilt after a fire. The three-star hotel has 82 rooms, plus self-catering units and timeshare options. The rooms – standard, superior and deluxe – have private bathrooms, a shower and roomy bath, a television, telephone, tea-and coffee-making facilities and heaters.
Some have interleading doors for larger groups and the deluxe rooms include underfloor heating for cold winter days.
It’s not really the place to be indoors, although the Peacock Lounge is lovely in inclement conditions. Set in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, the great outdoors beckons. Choices included horse riding, golf on the Southern Drakensberg’s only 18-hole course, and fishing or boating on the dam. Hiking trails abound and there is a BMX track and mountain bike trails aplenty.
It pays to bear in mind that the hotel is 1 850m above sea level – as I soon discovered once I’d hired a bike. I didn’t head off the road much, but if you’re serious about hitting the trails, you could sign up for the inaugural Gooderson Drakensberg Gardens MTB and Trail Running Challenge on July 19 and 20.
The entertainment programme at the leisure desk offers a full programme of activities for children from the minute they arrive. These include rock painting by the Mlambonjwa River, riding Jelly the pony, visiting the mini farm, putt putt or badminton. There are tennis courts, a squash court, a lovely pool with a slide for summer days and, for winter days, a heated pool overlooking a bowling green.
The resort has a wellness centre which levies a nominal fee for use of its facilities, unless you are booked for a Cellu-Beauty treatment. I recommend a massage or pedicure and then lounging on the deck in warm weather overlooking a large pond fringed by shrubbery and fir trees, with mountains beyond.
In winter, lounging in a steaming Jacuzzi or the hydro-jet pool is a marvellous way to raise a glass to the sunset. There are also steam rooms and a sauna.
The resort is popular with day trippers and caters for conferences and weddings. Large groups are easily accommodated and five restaurants cater for the masses. We didn’t sample all of them – or even make it to the Buck and Trout or Wildcat pubs – but did enjoy dinner in the intimate Bergview Restaurant.
If you go, try the carpaccio and deep-fried brie starters. Also good are the breakfasts and evening buffet in the Eagles Roost Restaurant. - Sunday Tribune
l Call 031 337 4222 or visit www.goodersonleisure.co.za
To enter the challenge, visit www.roag.co.za or contact Dave Ward on 082 492 1995/ 031 563 5645 or [email protected]