South Coast and beyond

Welcome to San Lameer. Take a break where nature, wildlife, and the ocean compliment this prestigious golf estate on the glorious South African coast in Kwa-Zulu Natal.....

We had the pleasure of an early morning breakfast with my Godfather from Cape Town, who happened to be at San Lameer for two days. It is just a stones throw from mums house and we set off early on our last day on the South Coast to enjoy the pleasure of his company and copious amounts of hot chocolate and a buffet style breakfast. It was lovely to see him and I would have loved to linger longer to experience the beauty of this place.

Later that day we headed off to Margate and ended up getting the keys locked in the car...it was unfortunate but gave us the opportunity to explore a well stocked craft shop while waiting for a locksmith to arrive. This shop was very interesting with anything you might need or want when doing crafts, as well as various other bits and pieces. To my delight, I found a little brass bell that was very reasonably priced. I have always wanted a little bell in my home. As children, the bell was always rung at meal times to call the family to the table. Far more pleasing to the ear than yelling for everyone to come to the table! My dear older sister says she is STILL waiting for the bell to ring so that she can just arrive at the table for a meal! She will have that pleasure next time she visits my home!

We visited the beach market at Margate and found more items we had been looking out for and finally we rounded off our outing with a visit to Sabenza Villiage. Sebenza Village is situated in Margate surrounded by an 80 year old tropical garden. Stately rows of palm trees and large shade trees predominate the landscape. Central to the development is Paradise Plants Nursery with a flowing river and Koi dams.Surrounding the nursery are wooden shops housing a variety of crafts and artists. Ambiance and tranquility sets the tone in this bustling environment.

We enjoyed milkshakes and a bite to eat at the Tree Top Cafe which is built around the Indian Toon Tree, tree house style. The Indian Toon Tree is old in years but full of vibrance and full of leaves. It comes to full life in Summer and provides a wonderful shade. The Indian Toon Tree is rare and we enjoyed our experience.

We had a final beach walk late that afternoon and the younger children had a last frolic in the warm Indian ocean while mum and I spent some time chatting on the beach.

The lush tropical vegetation is so different to our vegetation down south. The children enjoyed hiding among the enormous foliage.

We spotted this interesting tree with strange looking fruit. The monkeys seem to enjoy it and mum thought it was the Jack Fruit. I couldn't identify it in my field guide so if you know what it is, please let me know!

The following day we all set off together in a north westerly direction to my older sister and her husbands home. It was a pleasant drive even though the journey was long. I couldn't help noticing the change in vegetation as we headed away from the coast. The tropical vegetation faded away and sugar cane fields and aloes took their place. Mum had prepared a delicious lunch of fresh rolls with all sorts of tasty fillings and we stopped alongside the road to stretch our legs and enjoy our lunch.
As we journeyed on after lunch, the land became more and more hilly. So typical of that part of our beautiful land. I noticed the Zulu huts scattered on the hills, goats and cows surrounding the huts, children walking home from school, spaza shops and some women doing their washing in a river. The land was dry and brown, yet beautiful. We passed a number of fires and saw the black scars of previous fires. This is fire season in KZN.

We finally arrived at our destination, Mossbank. It was as if we had stepped from the sauna into the freezer! It was wonderful to be there again and to see my sister. She had warned us it was cold and she was right!