A week before heading to France for the summer, I surprised Roy on his birthday with a three-night getaway to the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, just a 90-minute drive from Umhlanga Rocks and Durban.
Just between you and me, I wasn’t sure how welcome it was – to start with, anyway.
My man seems quite content to while away the days on our balcony, occasionally lifting his eyes from his Kindle to survey the Indian Ocean, assess the shipping situation, contemplate the lighthouse, or call me from one of my various pursuits to admire a pod of passing dolphins.
And, to be honest, it was one of those gifts that benefit the giver at least as much as the recipient – like a couple’s massage at a pricey spa, or a bottle of your favourite single malt.
May is a beautiful time to visit Midlands Meander country – far nicer than summertime. A sunny 21 to 24 degrees Centigrade drops to a chilly 5 or 7 degrees at night. Autumnal trees glow against cobalt skies, and each day is lovelier than the one before.
Piggly Wiggly at Lion’s River is a mandatory first stop. The elegant complex of coffee shops, deli, wine merchant, preloved book shop, artsy boutiques and galleries set on rolling green lawns has acquired quite a few new tenants since my last visit.
Glass Cuttings has some stunningly beautiful works. Glass artist Gill Pryke has been part of the Midlands Meander scene for a couple of decades – she used to sell her work from her home in nearby Hilton.
Zulu Lulu art gallery (below) always has something worth seeing.
Spotted in Meander Fine Wines, which has a fabulous selection of bottles and is also where you can pick up a copy of the latest Midlands Meander map, were these intricately beaded bottles of méthode traditionelle bubbly.
MEANDERING ON
Ardmore Ceramic Art
I’ve been intrigued by Fée Halstead’s Ardmore Ceramic Art ever since our friends Linda and André had their wedding reception at Ardmore Guest Farm in the Drakensberg, many years ago. Each guest received an original eggcup as a wedding favour; we still use ours on the barge in France.
Some eight or nine years ago, Fée moved operations here to the Midlands. The main building houses both a shop and a museum. Around the back, you can see the sculptors at work. The painters work in a different building; we didn’t get there this time.
Fairly new is Ardmore’s range of textiles and wallpaper, inspired by some of the floral and animal motifs in the ceramic artworks.
More photos from Ardmore Ceramic Art
The Junction
Next up is The Junction village centre at Nottingham Road. Roy couldn’t resist a coffee from this wonderful old Italian espresso machine (circa 1920) at Copper Coffee Bar. Its eclectic collection of whatnots is worth a browse, too.
The Road to Kamberg
Interested to see the Poyntons’ Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse, we turned west off the R103 and headed in the direction of Giant’s Castle through the farming district of Kamberg. The drive is worth it for the views of the approaching Drakensberg, though it’s a shocking road.
The last five kilometres to Cleopatra’s is a horribly juddery dirt road, however – one that calls for an SUV, or at least an SEV (Someone Else’s Vehicle). So we decided to spare our Renault Captur the pain, turned around and returned from whence we had come.
Tsonga Shoes
First stop on Day Three (Wednesday) was the Tsonga Shoes and Handbags shop, just up the road from Piggly Wiggly. Tsonga’s rural artisans make top-quality designer shoes and bags that are sold not only here, but in all the best shopping malls. No, I didn’t buy anything. My cupboards are full.
The Gourmet Greek
Close to Lion’s River, the Gourmet Greek makes the most deliciously thick, double-cream yoghurt you’ve ever tried; in fact, we have a couple of cartons of the stuff in the fridge back home in Umhlanga Rocks. This is where it’s made, together with their own handcrafted cheeses.
Its shop also sell other produce from the area, such as Peels honey and nut brittles (est. 1924!), Tasha’s Fudge, artisanal conserves, avocado oil and more.
Best of all, you can relax on the alfresco terrace in the autumn sunshine, enjoying a cup of coffee and baklava topped with Greek yoghurt.
The Nguni Man
On the right day, you’ll find The Nguni Man displaying his wonderful cattle hides at The Platform at Lion’s River station. I would love one of these for our Umhlanga flat, but that will never be… Roy has set his face against the idea. He wouldn’t even get out of the car to pet them.
These chequerboard designs are gorgeous. (Roy?)
This is not The Nguni Man himself, but an employee.
STAYING
“Never book accommodation online!” said our friend Jeff bitterly a couple of weeks ago. He’d just come back with a couple of friends and their kayaks from a Mozambique fishing getaway that turned out to be separated from the actual beach by 500 metres of impenetrable bush.
Booking accommodation on the internet can be risky, unless you already know the place. I’d had a lovely lunch at Caversham Mill with my sister Dale and our bestie Julie in November 2016 (here’s a quick link to the relevant blog), but it’s not a hotel and I hadn’t taken note of the neighbouring Midlands Forest Lodge.
It had generally positive reviews on TripAdvisor and looked okay – but isn’t that always the case? At R3,200 (around A$300) for three week-nights it was a bargain, however. Even more so when we turned out to be the sole occupants of a large house with three suites, a kitchen, two lounges, a library and various decks.
You’ve got oil heaters in the bedrooms, but the shared spaces have proper fireplaces that are well-stocked with firewood. With consummate flair, Roy got this one going on our second night and kept it crackling for hours. On the brochure, it’s described as a “baronial fireplace” (!).
Gorgeous gardens lead down from the back of the house to the river. Baronial fireplaces notwithstanding, this would be a good place to book out for two or three couples, with or without children.
EATING & DRINKING
Though Caversham Mill restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch every day, it serves dinner only from Wednesday to Saturday.
Not much else in the area is open on a Monday night*, either, so we found ourselves driving to the reliable Boar’s Head pub at Rawdons Hotel – a crackling fire, oodles of atmosphere, OK food and good service. For R120, by the way, you can get a litre of the local artisanal G&T on tap – great for a summery day on the terrace. Pork rib belly and mash for Roy; baked melanzane and salad for me; a glass of their award-winning cappuccino porter, a double Black Label and a carafe of red set us back just R400.
(*The Austrian-themed Bierfassl next door to Rawdons is good for dishing up massive portions of crispy eisbein, and has the virtue of being open most of the time.)
Caversham Mill restaurant serves a cracking good breakfast up to 10am – mine’s the supposed-to-be vegan one (R60) featuring mushrooms, spinach and sweetcorn pancakes; I’ve added the non-vegan fried egg.
I’m not generally big on breakfasts, however. You’re still full at lunchtime and end up grabbing something too late in the afternoon and spoiling your dinner. So it was that we popped into Piggly Wiggly again for butternut soup (me) and an indifferent burger (Roy) at 4pm – so late that the only acceptable dinner was Roy’s leftover birthday cake.
On our last day, still full from mid-morning coffee and a Greek dessert platter at the delightful Gourmet Greek, we ordered a couple of glasses of rosé and a quattro staggione (with chilli salsa) at Il Postino Dargle Valley Pizzeria & Wine Bar – just to try the place. Jolly good too, with friendly staff, a roaring indoor oven, and the 25 percent discount for pensioners deducted without our even having requested it. uJebe! (Oh Bearded One!)
Wednesday night dinner at Caversham Mill restaurant was as excellent as I’d hoped, having sung its praised to Roy. We shared a trio of Zulu spring rolls (much like Thai ones, as it turned out), and then a whole trout each – fresh, local, pan-fried to a turn and served with mash and veggies: outstanding! Turns out that chief lady chef Precious heads up a team of five other female chefs.
It’s difficult to imagine getting tired of the Midlands, and I have no doubt we’ll be heading back there before too long.
