Durban - There is a secluded paradise for travellers looking for adventure and a little pampering. The Three Cities Jozini Tiger Lodge offers tiger fishing and a range of new activities for adventurous types, and the Mangwanani Spa is the perfect place for those wanting rest and relaxation.
The lodge has a new manager, Craig Hill, who was transferred from a Three Cities hotel in Zambia three months ago. With him have come a whole lot of new ideas and activities. The lodge will be adding hiking, canoeing and mountain biking to its boat cruises.
The boat trips range from a two-hour sunset trip, which is a great way to unwind, to a four-hour game-viewing trip. The lodge is on the waterfront of the Jozini Dam, right near the dam wall, which is where the dam is at its deepest. It is too deep for most game, but hippos, crocodiles and elephants can be seen in the shallower sections of the dam.
The Mangwanani Spa is a beautiful place at which to be pampered. The spa does some treatments on the deck overlooking the dam. Others are done in well-appointed treatment rooms. The treatments include a Moroccan floor massage, Molala (North African head, neck and shoulder massage), Neo Maoto (Royal African foot massage) and Neo Matsogo (Royal African hand massage).
The staff, who are mostly from the local community, are well trained and friendly. The only hard part is trying to stay awake during your massage, although if you are on holiday or a stressed-out bride-to-be, why bother?
The lodge has a number of different wedding venues including the lake deck, the boma, the upper deck and a sunset cruise. All of them have a view of the dam and they have indoor and outdoor options. Bridal couples can choose from one-day weddings and weekend packages. The lodge can also organise Zulu dancers to entertain your guests.
The honeymoon suite has a beautiful view of the dam wall from the bathroom. There are no curtains or blinds on the windows, so you can relax in the bath and watch the world go by. I felt a little guilty luxuriating in the bath while watching the cars drive over the bridge on their long, sweaty drive to or from Mozambique.
The next morning, I sat on the private balcony watching the patterns the wind made on the dam, with a cup of coffee in hand. It was a peaceful way to start the day.
The lodge has a number of options to suit your accommodation needs. It has three deluxe rooms, 21 family lofts, 44 classic standard rooms and two executive suites. Self-catering rooms are being built. The management realised that couples with young children wanted a place to prepare their children’s food before calling for a babysitter to look after them while they enjoyed a peaceful dinner at the restaurant.
The restaurant has great views and great food. I enjoyed a buffet which included prawns and roast beef. Look out for the chocolate mousse for something decadent and delicious.
The only downside to our stay at the lodge was discovering that our car’s front tyre was flat on the morning of our departure. We noticed that the car parked next to ours had the same problem. The roads to Jozini are not in great condition and there are potholes and other hazards to look out for.
We put the spare tyre on, said our reluctant goodbyes to the staff and went to Jozini in search of a tyre repair shop. We were told to look for the Dunlop shop in Mkhuze instead. This worked out well because we had decided to spend the night at Mkhuze Game Reserve.
We got to Mkhuze and found the Dunlop shop quickly. The staff there were friendly and efficient and charged a fraction of what it would have cost to get the same job done in Durban. We continued into Mkhuze and bought some supplies before heading out on the dirt road to the reserve.
We stayed in a rest hut – quite a comedown after the luxury of the lodge. But the game viewing made up for it. We were lucky enough to see wild dogs at one of the watering holes on our last morning in the reserve. We drove home with happy hearts after being treated like royalty at the lodge and coming face to face with nature at the reserve. - The Mercury