A gracious comeback for Limpopo hotel

Published May 30, 2006

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By Lindsey Sanderson

Glenshiel Hotel, just outside the village of Haenertsburg in Limpopo, has made a gracious comeback. Revamped and refurbished, the hotel reopened in March under new ownership, with Karien Jordaan at the helm and Karen Ackermann as general manager.

From the moment I walked into the foyer with its cracking log fire and a welcoming glass of sherry, the vibes were good. And they got better as I was greeted at the reception desk by Anna Rakoma and Ackermann and shown to my garden suite.

Again there was a fire burning cheerfully in the lounge area of the suite. Two steps led up to the bedroom. In the bathroom, a gown and fluffy towels were set out. Only Jeeves was missing.

No matter. One of the staff members knocked on the door and offered to add some wood to the fire.

Glenshiel Hotel was built in 1992 on a farm that belonged to John Swinburne, a Scot who settled here as part of Lord Milner's reconstruction plan after the Anglo-Boer War in 1902.

He named it for a glen on the road to Skye in Scotland. It was also here in the original wattle and daub house he built that he entertained author and statesman John Buchan, (Lord Tweedsmuir).

Buchan had dreams of building a house here and described the site as "a piece of flat land from which a long glen runs down to the Letaba... a broad glade in which a salmon stream flows among tree ferns and bracken... (overlooking) a long meadow with the Iron Crown Mountain for the sun to set behind".

Salmon streams there are not, but there are trout streams aplenty. No Highland cattle either, but bushbuck and duiker do roam through the forests, where the samango monkeys hold sway high above the tree ferns and bracken.

I dragged myself from the fire and headed for the Tumble Inn, a cozy pub where a couple of guests and one or two locals where enjoying a chat.

The talk was of farming and the weather, interspersed with a few items of local gossip - about the new shop opening in the village; about somebody's pet dog that had run away and had been returned; about the impending wedding of a local lass.

Dinner was served in a pleasant upstairs dining room. The menu choice offered mushroom and apricot phyllo parcels, butternut and macadamia soup, carpaccio of ostrich, roasted kingklip, fillet with port and mushroom sauce, feta chicken with mountain herbs and honey chili chicken.

I chose snails and feta chicken. Delicious but it left no room for desserts. After coffee - served in the lounge - I ventured out into the misty night and back to my room and the fire.

I fell asleep to the sounds of an owl hooting in the forest and awoke to the twitter of warblers and bulbuls at dawn summoning me to breakfast.

A buffet table offered Danish pastries, croissants, fruit, cold meat, yoghurt and cheese (including some of the local Wegraakbos specialties).

The full breakfast menu included bacon and eggs, sausage, kippers, haddock, omelets, salmon and smoked salmon.

The hotel is designed in the fashion of a country house and most of the rooms open on to a central garden planted to azaleas, fuchsias and roses.

Tea or coffee, served in silver pots and accompanied by a choice of cream scones, muffins, cakes and pancakes, can be taken in the garden.

In the front, the hotel looks on to a meadow and beyond that to the Iron Crown Mountain. In the centre of the meadow, a fig tree has wrapped itself around a chestnut tree, making an ideal picnic spot.

Picnic baskets can be ordered from the kitchen and offer a choice of anything from sandwiches to sliced salmon, caviar and champagne.

The service in all areas of the hotel is friendly and efficient. Joe Malebane and Zacharia Sethosa, who waited on me for dinner and breakfast, were top spot, as they say in this part of the world.

Other attractions in the area include the Debegeni Falls, the Woodbush Forest Reserve, Ebenezer Dam, trout fishing, hiking, water sports, horse riding and the spring gardens at Cheerio, famous for its cherry blossoms, rhododendrons and azaleas.

The Kruger Park and Blyde River Canyon are within easy reach, as is Modjadji's Kraal.

- Glenshiel is on the R71 about 60km from Polokwane. Rates from R372 to R525 per person sharing, including breakfast - pensioners from R325.

- Children under 12 get free accommodation (breakfast R30).

- Phone: 015-276-4335/6/7 or email them at [email protected].

- This article was originally published on page 8 of The Star on May 27, 2006

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