Why this is my favourite Drakensberg Accommodation:
We had a medium journey to the Drakensberg of KwaZulu-Natal of about 3½ hours on the road from Johannesburg, we stayed on the N3 until Harrismith, paying Toll fees all the way and weighing up the cost of taking the alternative route next time to avoid the cash payouts and traveling a two-lane country roads that may also have slower moving trucks traveling it!
Taking the R712 and then R74 past Sterkfontein Dam and down the Oliviershoek Pass sparked the excitement in us, we had left the highway and now we were headed along country roads to our romantic getaway in the mountains.
Seeing the amphitheatre is always awesome, that massive basalt in every shade of blue welcoming us, showing us the road in the Royal Natal National park region of the Northern Drakensberg, it’s no wonder that the Amphitheatre is the most photographed mountain peak in Southern Africa!
On arrival we are welcomed into the thatched reception, given a brief tour of the main lodge facilities and then taken to our room… our room is a mini chalet! The Lodging is private, each with its own car port, bedroom with bathroom en suite, tea corner and mini bar fridge, lounge with fire place and private patio that looks out across rolling grassland hills with a view of the amphitheatre in the distance.
We enjoy a beverage on our patio, marveling at the view and begin to relax, at last!
Dinner is taken in the dining room and we place our orders off a Table ‘d hôté menu, the food is delectable, the lighting not to dim and we find ourselves enjoying the meal so much that we ask to take our coffee in the nearby lounge. The fresh air and our bodies going into unwind mode make us retire fairly early that evening and we walk across the lawns to our garden suite.
We seldom sleep in and I was so pleased we awoke early, it was misty and after coffee we put on our hiking boots and went for a walk high up on the hill behind the lodge, by the time we had reached the top, the sun had burnt away the clouds and we had a clear picture of the valley below. The way down went quickly and we arrived at the lodge in time for breakfast which again, was tasty!
I had booked a horse ride for the afternoon while my partner was going to fly-fish in the trout dam so we decided to play a fun game of tennis and then lounge around the pool until our activities began. Needless to say, that evening we were bursting with news to share about our adventures in the mountains, I had an early bath and this time we had our pre-dinner drinks up at the bar area before going into the dining room.
The beds were so comfortable, we did not wake at all and in the morning, this is what we saw from our bedroom window:
Bedroom view from Montusi
