Durabn - It started out as a typical get away and chill weekend: cold winter nights in front of a warm log fire, red wine and cheese, and a round of double fifteen dominoes followed by a good book and bed.
It ended up becoming a bit more than that, because the Midlands Meander is truly packed with lots of interesting places to visit – and driving wasn’t a hardship, given that the motoring editor had given me the keys to a Mercedes-Benz GL350 and said “enjoy…”
We had booked into the Saddle & Trout with no plans for fishing or horse riding, just relaxing. And that’s how it started – we arrived just before sunset to a welcoming glass of sherry.
Jackie had pre-cooked our supper so it was just a matter of unpacking and settling in for the night. We watched the news on TV and after supper we retired.
I was brushing my teeth when the screams and moans from the bedroom had me running back, only to find that the crisp white cotton sheets were really cold and that was what was causing the noise, but hot chocolate and a back-rub sorted the problem quickly.
The next day, armed with a brochure, we decided to explore the backroads – a pleasurable thing in this luxurious and capable Merc.
We went down to Howick and stopped at the falls. I took some pictures from the viewing platform and was amazed to see people washing their clothes at the top of the falls, which drew comments from some overseas visitors about how this could be allowed.
Then it was on to Midmar Dam, where one can see the yachts on the dam from the roadside. But it looked a little too busy for us so we drove on to find the Nelson Mandela Sculpture at The Capture Site.
This is a really remarkable sight – it consists of 50 10m laser-cut steel poles and only when you stand in a particular spot does a full portrait of Mandela’s head come into focus.
Maybe there’s a message in there that we have to step back a bit to really appreciate the man – I’m no philosopher, just saying…
The museum – giving his life from prisoner to president – has TV screens showing various scenes. One of these really caught my eye as it was of the very first time the press were allowed to visit Mandela’s cell, and I recognised several of the reporters from that time, bringing back many memories of my days at the Rand Daily Mail. This alone was worth the trip.
We stopped at many of the little arts and craft places along the route and had lunch at La Lampara Italian restaurant, a light lunch with only one glass of wine before we set off again. Which brought up the subject of “A country life with a city price”: although the food was excellent, a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine for R278 for two was a little on the heavy side for me.
On the same subject, I know the crafts are hand-made or painted or whatever, but in some of the places we visited, the costs did not match the products.
We passed one of the boarding schools near Balgowan, Michaelhouse, which is famous because our deputy editor of The Star, Kevin Ritchie once went there, (I only mention this to get brownie points). Of course, we had to visit the Nottingham Road Brewery and make a few purchases.
We saw the signs saying Fort Nottingham, which was a little way off the beaten track but in the wonderful Merc, dirt roads felt almost the same as tar.
This was well worth the trip for we were met at the entrance by the caretaker who gave us a conducted tour around the fort.
Not much of a fort really – more like a bunch of houses on large grounds, but he did say they used to hold Highland games there with plenty of history and pictures to back it up.
The weekend hardly scratched the surface of the Midlands Meander.
We need to return again and again. (Note: motoring editor, we need another car like this one.) - Saturday Star