There's something different about the air - it's cooler, sharper, clearer maybe, than we're used to in Johannesburg. And, there in the far distance, over the Maluti Mountains in Lesotho, the lightning strobes outline the peaks in an awesome light display.
The hustle and bustle of the city is a long way away. And time seems to distort - to that faraway place when we were young and when La Vie was just roses.
There are times, you must admit, when you need to get away. Just the two of you. Much as you love the wonderful children, sometimes it's just a case of enough already.
And that's the sort of idea Victor and Vanessa Knowles - mine hosts at Ashbrook Lodge in the Free State town of Clarens - captured earlier this year with their special Valentine's Day offers. They crafted special weekends for couples - complete with flowers on the bed - and received a wonderful response.
It's long past Valentine's Day, but close enough to our anniversary for us to take up their invitation to explore Clarens and environs as the perfect "getaway/re-charge/ reconnect" destination.
Were we younger, were we single and had we friends who were slightly uncouth, they might call it a "dirty weekend".
I prefer romantic
The loft apartment in one of the units of Ashbrook Lodge is perfect. It's been graded four-star and it's a classy little nest for two with a balcony which overlooks the town and the Malutis in the distance.
Over the years, we've never quite managed to get pillows right - too hard, too soft, too high, too low, collapse too quickly - so we acknowledge Vanessa as a magician.
Although Ashbrook is self-catering, there are so many good restaurants in Clarens that eating out is de rigeur for that "reconnecting" weekend.
In Clementine's, there is the air of a mining town hotel bar corrugated iron walls, tables close to each other, an upright piano in an alcove (played by someone with a repertoire which ranges from classical to modern contemporary) and a traditional wooden bar.
These days, though, there are no horses tethered to railings outside, nor are there uncouth diggers spitting on a sawdust floor. Posh 4x4s and luxury sedans testify to the fact that Clarens has come to rival Dullstroom as a place for stressed Gautengers to relax.
Also interesting is the fact that, even on a Sunday night, Clementines is pretty full. So, I'd suggest that if you want to get down there and sample some of mine host Wolfgang Bittner's specialities (like the quail), you should book in advance.
In the morning, I am up early and I celebrate still being able to run for 45 minutes in this beautiful place. With the mountains all around as a backdrop, I seem lighter and faster than I am in Johannesburg. Perhaps it's the air
For breakfast, we decide to walk into town (a kilometre at most) to Sue Campbell's bistro, 278 on Main. A potter by vocation, Sue moved down to Clarens some years ago, deciding to opt out of the Gauteng rat race. Now, in addition to her restaurant and arts and crafts shop next door, she also rents out rooms.
Not mere rooms, you understand. Each double room is individually designed with a "to die for" bathroom. Each is totally individual - and like nothing you've ever seen before. But in Sue's restaurant there are two items (maybe more, but we don't have huge stomachs) which are the equal of their equivalents anywhere: the omelettes and the cappuccinos.
Both are deliciously decadent - and on this type of weekend, decadent is the motif.
Although you can merely closet yourself with your nearest and dearest, some wine and a book or two, venturing out only for breakfasts or dinners, I have a brand-new Volvo "soft roader" on test. So Victor recommends we visit Thys Maritz at Bergwoning Adventures.
Thys runs a range of adventure activities, ranging from mountain biking to horse riding and quad biking, with degrees of exertion ranging from "laid back" to "what the hell!"
If you do have an off-roader, you can go up against Thys's various routes through the foothills of the splendid mountains on the border of the Golden Gate National Park.
Thys will tell you straight what the capabilities are of what you are driving - and you ignore him at your peril. He charges R100 if you drive his trails - and R250 if he has to recover you and your stuck vehicle.
The course we attempt in the Volvo is more than most soft roaders would like to try. I'm too chicken to push the car up a seemingly impossible slope, so Thys takes over and after three tries (all cool, calm and collected) he gets the car to the top.
The view from the side of the mountain is worth the trauma. But, if you're chicken like me, Thys will take you up there in his own old V8 Land Rover for sundowners - a little red wine, a few braaied snacks and a sunset to die for. There is plenty of this sort of adventure on offer in and around Clarens.
The day's semi-strenuous grappling with Thys's off-road trail leads to a serious "nap attack" for me in the afternoon. My wife wanders into town to shop (not really my thing) and arrives back a few hours later, having been given a lift back by the shopkeeper, who saw her purchases were too heavy for her to carry. (Now you wouldn't find that in Joburg.)
That evening, at Simon Kerr's Phatt Chef restaurant (he says when you look at him, you'll understand the name), we ponder the menu. It ranges from steaks with a twist through to seafood and a dash of Thai.
I'm a meat man and, says Simon, the Phatt Chef prides itself on its steaks. I have a simple way of judging a restaurant - how they do a pepper steak. (Years ago, I had one in Kucki's Pub in Swakopmund in Namibia which set the bar so high even some fancy Joburg eateries haven't been able to come close.)
Simon accepts the challenge: his steak has a sauce which includes among its ingredients pink peppercorns. What? Never heard of them. But sure enough, he shows us the specially imported corns. And when the steak arrives, it lives up to its promise. More subtle, less overwhelming than many pepper steaks I have tried over the years, but it is a tour-de-force. Simon produces his "I told you so" grin.
Food is again uppermost in our minds the next morning when we breakfast at The Post House in the centre of town. Owner Martin Ford also abandoned the Joburg mania a few years ago - but has hardly had a quiet time because the restaurant can get quite hectic.
As we tuck into omelettes and scrambled eggs (Martin and Sue could have a breakfast duel of note) we strike up a conversation with a retired couple, Sheila and Sydney, who are on their first visit to Clarens. This is the sort of thing which happens in Clarens: people are friendlier, there is no rushing, just time to enjoy the company of like-minded souls.
Martin says that in winter - when the minimum temperature drops well below zero - his outside eating area is a favourite spot, because the bare trees leave it exposed to the warm sunlight.
On our last day in Clarens, we head off to the Golden Gate National Park. Here it is still possible to find a place where you can stop, sit on the grass and enjoy the solitude. There are a number of walks and hikes in the park, which range from gentle to hectic - but this is a chilling-out break and the most we do is trudge to the top of a ridge to have a look at the vulture "restaurant".
Nothing is happening - no food out, just bleached bones lying in the distance - but the peace and quiet atop the ridge is worth the hike.
- Brendan Seery was hosted by Ashbrook Country Lodge and various restaurants in Clarens.
If you go
- Ashbrook Country Lodge:
www.ashbrook.co.za"target="_blank">ashbrookor email [email protected] or call Vanessa direct at 083 453 3684 or fax 086 626 3430 and she will help you tailor a special package.
- Clementine's: 058 256 1616
278 on Main: 082 556 5208
Phatt Chef: 058 256 1742
- The Post House:058 256 1534
Bergwoning Adventures: 082 336 3088
- Clarens is about four hours' drive from Joburg. The normal route - via Villiers and Frankfort in the Free State is potholed. A better way to go is on the N3 toll road and turn off at Warden towards Bethlehem.
- The best time to go: all year round. Now, as the leaves are turning in autumn, it is beautiful; as the temperatures dip even lower, it comes into its own as a mountain getaway.
- Although the minimum temperatures in winter go below freezing (-8C is common) and there is snow, the days are normally mild and accommodation is well equipped to deal with the cold.