Three-star graded Natal Spa Hot Springs & Leisure Resort, on the road between Vryheid and Paulpietersburg on the Battlefields Route, is set among giant Cambrian granite boulders that are millions of years old.
It is located on 800 hectares of KZN bushveld, with the Bivane River flowing through the property. This is best known for the natural healing properties of the hot pools.
The pools were discovered in 1880, have a source temperature of around 40ºC and provide a constant supply of beneficial waters.
There is a variety of accommodation. Choose from 53 large, comfortably furnished en-suite bedrooms or 23 self catering units. All rooms have tea/coffee making facilities and 11 DSTV channels.
The hotel has an airy dining room and terrace with views of the garden, pool areas and bushveld.
Farm-style buffet breakfasts and dinners or a la carte menus are on offer. Light meals are available from The Bistro, while Raptors Restaurant bar is open from 10am until late for drinks and snacks. The Boulders Bar alongside the heated pools is a popular venue.
The resort is also an ideal setting for weddings and conferences. There are three well-equipped conference rooms, for between 10 and 120 delegates.
Indoors you can relax with some snooker or table tennis. Outdoors, apart from the pools, there is the 110m long supertube. For the active there’s a 10km quad bike trail, squash, tennis, hiking, mountain bike trails and fishing.
With over 160 bird species, it is one of the birding hotspots on the Zululand Birding route and has a breeding pair of Crowned Eagles.
If you are keen on history, demarcated hiking trails take you to bushman paintings and nearby trips include the Ntombe battlefield, Egode River Monument, Kruger Bridge, the village of Luneburg and Fort Clery.
The Wellness Centre and Beauty Spa offer revitalising massages and treatments. It has a spacious sauna, plunge pool, two outdoor jacuzzis, two steam rooms, heated 24-jet hydrotherapy bath, as well as a gym and juice bar.
Natal Spa Hot Springs & Leisure Resort is about three-and-a-half hours from Durban. Visit www.goodersons.co.za or call 034 995 0300. Rates start at R595 per person. - Sunday Tribune