Umngazi River Bungalows, Port St Johns

“Your one wild and precious life”

I love winter beach stays, where the days are clear and the sun warm and inviting. One can walk for many miles and feel energized and alive. In the evenings there is the enjoyment of sherry by the fire and the nights are just cool enough to sleep under cosy covers. Umngazi River Bungalows (www.umngazi.co.za) are the perfect place for a warm winter beach escape, as there are beautiful long beach walks, and much to do including canoeing, fishing, tennis, darts, snooker and a fabulous spa.  

The setting is spectacular – as riverside and beachside as it gets, with cottages facing the river, indigenous forest or ocean. Not called “the Wild Coast” for nothing, the coastline is pristine, with dramatic gorges, river crossings and cliffs.

The luxury you will find here is not the usual imported, urban, angular modernist kind. It is soft, curved, natural and intensely local. The rounded thatched Pondo huts are finished with timber and stone, and even the door handles and towel rails are smooth, curved, natural timber. The bungalows all have wide glass doors, with little separating one from the beach other than a stretch of green lawn. Outdoor showers, generous baths with sea views and fine linen elevate this stay well above the usual beach bungalow standards. This is barefoot luxury at its best.

At Umngazi there are plentiful indoor and outdoor seating areas – lounges decorated in bright colours by someone with a great love of fabrics, recliners, dining areas and decks facing all directions.

I like Pondo hospitality – there is no simpering or gushing, only dignified generosity. With a distrust of insincere “quick smiles” as they say here, you are more likely to receive an approving grunt when you make the most of their ample catering. The caregiving arrangements are excellent and I saw several children enthusiastically greet their hosts. I have heard of many rest-deprived parents of tiny tots travel to Umngazi just for the amazing baby-sitting service.

By contrast, I am in the Eastern Cape to visit a worthy project of incredibly dedicated women who care for the sick in their community. Having not visited this area often, I had a hankering to discover more of this pristine wild coast and found Umngazi River Bungalows one of the more accessible beachside locations. However I had worried that the contrast between the stories of these women and a luxury stay might unhinge me. But the women in this project are now being paid by the government for their work, and supported by a local NGO with debriefing and training. They are assertive and professional. And at Umngazi, the evident respect for local culture, the plentiful employment created by the resort for the surrounding community, and the multiple local income generating projects made possible by this place leaves me feeling inspired and hopeful. True development is not about patronizing charity or handouts, but about inclusivity, ownership and employment which allows people the satisfaction to raise their own families well, and this is one of the best examples of that I have seen in a luxury holiday hotel. Both the women’s project and the Umngazi community support make me want to be a better person, to enjoy life to its fullest, while supporting others. As usual when I do community development work, I thought I was coming to give something, but find myself learning and gaining more than it was possible to offer.

Accommodation Experience:

And so I thoroughly enjoy my work and find I am able to have an energizing stay. My favourite time of day at Umngazi River Bungalows, it turns out, is the evening walk to and from supper. I stay in the furthest cottage from the restaurant and love the mindful stroll along the river. Schools of fish swim past me, catching the silvery light as they jump in unison. A cool breeze comes off the water. The skies are full of stars and it feels like I can touch the Milky Way. I swing my scarf to and fro as I walk and throw my head back to drink in the night sky. I feel wild and free and I am reminded of Mary Oliver’s questions:

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

Birkenhead House, Hermanus

My Happy Place

I must confess I lose any modicum of professional objectivity when I enter one of the Royal Portfolio establishments. It has to do with the perfect combination of high art décor, extreme luxury combined with personable warmth, which is balanced with respect for privacy. 

My royal welcome at Birkenhead House (www.birkenheadhouse.co.za) starts with a choice of pink champagne, complementary wine, snacks, tea, coffee, beautifully glass-bottled water and a gift notebook. My host gives a gracious tour of the hotel, then sensing the tone, leaves me enthralled to explore on my own.

  

Personal bias aside, I notice that every guest I encounter has fallen under the Birkenhead spell, and couples wander around with glazed looks and happy grins. We gather spontaneously at the pool on the cliff edge to watch a school of dolphins swim freely by. Birkenhead House has prime location for dolphin and whale watching and is situated right in the floral rich fynbos region of Hermanus in the Western Cape. With a higher diversity of species than any place on earth, the renowned floral kingdom is accessible simply by walking out the door and up the mountain behind the guesthouse. In front of the hotel is a pretty swimming beach, from which there is access to a 5km coastal boardwalk into town where a complementary shuttle can collect guests for the return.

Guests may choose to stay in the front, middle or upper house, and each faces views of sea or mountains. I choose to stay in room 6 for its wrap-around verandah with both ocean and mountain views. The vast suite has high shuttered windows and three sets of wide glass double doors. The cool, thick, marbled floors are covered with an antique teal carpet. Drama is created with an oversized carved headboard in dark wood, while zebra skin coverings add African flair. Liz Biden’s signature chandelier and oversized everything bring glamour to the scheme.

The characteristically expansive bathroom has a freestanding Victorian-style bath facing double doors and it is set up against a high sash window with mountain views.

There is underfloor heating and air-conditioning which may be set to one’s own comfort. Every traveler convenience has been thoughtfully provided, including mosquito repellant, sunblock and swimming towels. A large flat screen television offers DSTV and there is a DVD library.  

Accommodation Experience

A row of 17 candles has been lit to show the way to dinner. A creative four course menu, designed by a talented young chef, includes a snazzy take on a Nicoise salad using seared tuna. We are offered home baked bread, an intensely flavoured mushroom soup, fresh sole or top quality beef and a salted caramel crème brule.

I return to a candle-lit room and don the silk gown and climb happily into the fine cotton mongrammed linen. The hotel is quiet and only the sounds of the waves and a gentle fountain come into my suite. I open my double doors to the sea. Though I am tired I am reluctant to let go of this perfect experience. I store up each sense, from the cool breeze coming off the sea, to the soft bedding, to the sophisticated perfumed smells. I am fortifying myself against the stress which will be there for me when I leave this serene haven. I comfort myself that I will be able to draw on this memory for many years to come, picturing myself back here in this happy place until one day I do return to be mesmerised again under their pleasing magic.

Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa

Detoxifying Treatment

There are many reasons to choose to stay at the Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa (www.12apostleshotel.com) – the perfect proximity and distance from fabulous Cape Town, the “nothing is too much to ask” service, the world class spa or the fine dining Azure restaurant. It is the place to see and be seen and I see guests arriving like movie stars in convertibles and limousines. I of course choose this hotel for its spectacular setting, discretely distanced from surrounding built up areas, overlooking a natural coastline and backing up against the Twelve Apostles mountain range.

I arrive early and wander around, professional staff diving out of my way as I approach. I ask directions to the pool. “Which one?” my host asks. There are three swimming pools – a natural rock pool with mountain views, an infinity pool which overlooks the sea and the spa pool set within a cool white cave. There are also several bars and dining areas and the Leopard Bar has a dark cigar lounge feel on one side, with breath-taking sea views and al fresco dining tables on the other side. I am a little overwhelmed by the choices and find a quiet table in the shade overlooking the infinity pool to settle in and do some writing before my spa treatment in the calm and sophisticated spa.

My suite is heavenly, with a sunken lounge and raised bed which looks out onto the ocean on two sides. A dramatic wall of glass provides instant access to the dark blue sea views. As expected from one of the internationally successful Red Carnation Hotels (www.redcarnationhotels.com), the decor is elegant - both timeless and modern, with beautifully upholstered chairs and couch under a creative mirror. Fresh fruit and a white orchid are placed on the lounge table, together with a choice of magazines and books. The bed is dressed in silky white linen with a gold triple satin-stitched oxford trim - reaching new thread-count heights from which, I suspect, there is no return. In the spacious tiled bathroom there are quality beauty products from the spa. A soft robe and beach bag are provided for use in the suite, spa or pool.

Accommodation Experience:

I am staying at the Twelve Apostles on a “detox” package. I am not sure what I am detoxing from, aside from perhaps my rational self. Apart from the heavenly detoxifying Rasul treatment, I live it up, with popcorn and a milkshake to go with a DVD, delivered to my suite through room service. I page through a plethora of magazines and make the most of the free wifi. The weather is unsettled, as am I. I am running away from myself and to this aim there are plenty of fun diversions to be had. I excitedly flick through them all.

Finally I settle into my glorious bed to try and quieten down. From this vantage point I look down directly onto the ocean. I watch squalls move haphazardly across the water and I let the sea do its work on my soul. At first it is disturbing and uncomfortable. But I am learning to stay with it and see the storm through to the other side. The sun sets and the moon rises over the sea, still thrashing. I sleep little, spellbound by its restless beauty. Gradually towards morning the sea finally stills and there is a dawn hush where everything feels possible and hopeful. Instead of escaping from myself I feel a gentle coming home to myself, and I leave a healthier version of myself, cleansed of chaos and unrest.