I've just driven back from my new favourite destination, the Duma Manzi Eco Lodge & Spa in Richmond. In the Umkomaas Valley, right beside the river, it's a lodge with the most gorgeous accommodation and dining, and certainly one of the most unique spas yet designed.
To get there, you have to travel through Eston from Durban and take the Mid-Illovo route. Then it's a good 10km or so of "gravity", as my daughter absent-mindedly called the gravel road.
What's great about the route is the long straights and sweeping bends on the last sections of the tar: in the crossover X1, which I hadn't yet really had time to put through its paces, it was sublime.
I was piloting the 2.3-litre turbodiesel auto and, quite honestly, until then it had felt vaguely heavy in the previous day's stop-start traffic. Certainly I'd had no idea of the horses that would be unleashed once I let it off the rein ...oh happy days!
The X1 lapped up the empty ribbon of tar, swooping and sailing past the blurred sugar cane fields, the farms, the Mondi forests. Up hills and downwards, it purred along happily, with us as exhilarated as the car itself.
And then on the dirt, it was a master: secure, steady, solid and safe.
We were almost disappointed to reach our destination ...where we had to remove what seemed like a week's worth of luggage from the cavernous BMW boot into the massive game vehicle that was transporting us down the snaking sand road to the lodge at the bottom of the valley. How slow and sluggish and bumpy that trip in comparison!
BMW says the X1 xDrive2.3d has the world's first four-cylinder diesel engine with variable twin turbo. Two different-sized turbochargers are deployed sequentially to deliver blistering power right across the rev range (150kW at 4400rpm and 400Nm at 2000rpm).
At low revs, the small turbocharger works on its own to provide instantaneous throttle response. It really is fantastic. You'll find it smooth, quiet (much quieter once you're travelling than the idling diesel motor would have you believe), and fitted with all the relevant bells and whistles.
Inside there's every gadget you'd expect from BMW, with (on my model) an optional colour reverse camera, sunroof (an option), and classy dark grey trim and cream leather.
The glove compartment is small but the side pockets in the doors are nice and wide and there're pockets on the backs of the front seats.
It's the perfect choice for suburbanites who need to tackle school duty and the work run from Monday to Friday and then head for the sanctity and tranquillity of the hills on weekends.
Terrific sound system, tons of leg and head room, and all the comforts of an SUV (minus the vantage point: you can't actually look down at the cars next to you), along with some brilliant colour option; there's not much to moan about with this one. I liked it a lot.
The base price is R464 500 and it comes with a two-year, unlimited distamce warranty and a five-year or 100 000km service plan.
BMW says the combined-cycle fuel consumption should be about 6.6 litres per 100km (from a 61-litre tank). It also says "Joy is the best fuel in the world" - and after driving the X1, I'll drink to that!