The Ezulwini Berg Resort, nestled in the foothills of the Drakensberg, promises peace and tranquillity – and, if you’re keen, loads of exciting activities.
As a city girl who considers shopping to be a sport, I was in awe of the almost 360 degree view of the mountains from almost anywhere in the resort and was taken aback by the number of fun activities on offer. And I didn’t even notice that there wasn’t a shop for miles around.
The resort, which is almost three hours from Durban, is situated between Bergville and Harrismith.
It offers self-catering chalets ranging from a six- to an eight-sleeper, and a honeymoon suite which boasts an indoor Jacuzzi.
Each chalet has DStv, a minimum of two bathrooms, one of which is en-suite, and a fireplace.
There is also an individual braai area for each chalet.
During peak season a six-sleeper costs R1 400 per chalet per night, and an eight-sleeper is slightly more at R1 550.
Off-peak rates are R950 for a six-sleeper and R1 100 for an eight-sleeper. Children under two are free.
When we arrived in the evening the other guests were preparing to leave, and for the rest of our stay we had the resort to ourselves.
For action junkies, there are a range of activities including horse riding, quad biking, kloofing (canyoning), abseiling, hiking, paintballing, team building, TUVA hydro-electric power scheme tours and golfing.
On site, one has the option of a game of tennis, soccer, volleyball, putt-putt, croquet, grass bowls, table tennis, swimming in an outdoor rock pool, an indoor pool, lounging in the sauna and mountain biking – enough activities to keep even my energetic 13-year-old brother occupied.
Staff were friendly and readily available to assist whenever we needed it.
My only complaint would be that the indoor heated pool was ice cold, despite requests for it to be heated as promised in the brochure.
In the spirit of adventure we decided to brave the cold water, only to jump out seconds later and spend the next few hours thawing out in front of a fire in our room.
Of the activities on offer I enjoyed the horse riding the most, as we rode along a lush green pathway with the mountains as a backdrop.
A humorous moment was when my city-slicker brother ran to the chalet screaming about “big birds” that wanted to attack him. With the entire family trawling after him, we found the killer birds were in fact a group of peacocks who swan around the resort as if they own it.
We enjoyed our stay, especially when manager Basil Lipke, who saw us rushing to check out by 10am, encouraged us to stay into the afternoon as they did not have any new guests checking in that Monday.
There were no complaints about extending our stay at the resort.
For reservations call 036 438 6322, and visit www.ezulwiniresort.co.za to find out about their frequent specials. - Sunday Tribune