Or Bombela as it is now known as, a gateway to the popular Kruger National Park, Nelspruit is one of those places you may want to visit if you are like me and enjoy local travel. I don’t mind retiring there some day. Amazingly beautiful, warm weather and the most amazing scenery. I loved it. Well, this is basically a holiday blog in case you are wondering what I am on about. I have not been writing consistently of late and I have very good reasons for that. Not one, but several good reasons. We’ll get to that later. But for now, I want to share with you these beautiful photos that hubby and I took when we went for a little get away to Mpumalanga. South Africa has a lot of hidden gems and only when you get out there, that’s when you realise how beautiful this country is. So today I want to focus on that and I know you guys follow this blog because it is a hair blog. Well, Natural Sisters is more than just hair, right? So, from time to time I write about something else that is not hair. Wait! Don’t go! If you only read about hair, here is a bit of hair stuff. I had crochet braids on this trip. I prefer doing a protective style when going on holiday so that I don’t have to attend to my hair more than just spritzing.
Crochet braids at Khayalmi Lodge. We had a suit that had this huge balcony. So lovely
This was a low budget holiday and boy we needed the rest. I learnt that, what matters most is the break from normal routine and a getaway does not need to be extravagant especially if you cannot afford it. No need to go into debt to afford an expensive holiday. And we found something very modest when it comes to cost while offering way more than we expected. We stayed at Khayalami Lodge and we were quite surprised by what it cost us to stay there and the amazing service these guys have. White comfortable bedding, clean spacious bathroom, a huge balcony, WiFi and great breakfast. That’s it. Holiday made. I could not be more comfortable than that. Real value for money. If you are thinking of going on holiday that side, give them a call. Tell them I sent you like what John Roby used to say in his 702 days.
At Khayalami Lodge
I kind of enjoyed the atmosphere in Nelspruit as well, laid back a bit and not rushed at all like in Gauteng. Even the service in restaurants is kind of laid back. I was not too chaffed by the service at Jock Pub and Grill though. The food was not so great either and there was no one to talk to about it. Maybe it’s just me because it seemed to be full of patrons so maybe that’s what it’s known for and people are okay with it. The Ocean Basket didn’t disappoint though, and we also ate at a small African restaurant and had the most amazing pap and cow head there. It is just opposite Nando’s, across the road so do check it out. Of course, we had Nando’s a couple of times in the 4 days we were there. I wasn’t watching any weight. I was on holiday.
For sightseeing, we went to Sudwala caves and enjoyed the amazing feature this is. I had not heard of it ever until I went to Nelspruit and looking for places to go. These caves are so huge they actually host marathons inside the caves. There is also lots of space and they hire out the caves for gigs, artists perform there from time to time, and I was told the iconic Miriam Makeba performed there including other famous international artists. They also have weddings there.. Isn’t that just amazing? It’s so romantic and novel if you ask me. We also went to the Kruger National Park, but we could not get in because it was full. Little did we know that one needs to either book in advance or be there very early, as in 5 a.m. especially around public holidays. On our back to Gauteng, we stopped at Alzu Petroport N4 in Middelburg. This place has so much to offer in terms of restaurants, shopping and scenery. It has Spur, Nando’s and Mugg & bean in one place. Can you imagine? It also has an Indoors & Outdoors shop besides the normal garage stuff. The best stop ever. I always cringe when I get to a garage stop and there’s only one eating place to choose from. It’s a stop not to miss when on this highway. They have lots of game to see. These are the pictures we took. I love taking pictures as a hobby as well and I used to do it for a living in my college days, so I took lots of pictures and I had a hard time choosing which ones to share with you. From a couple of hundreds of pictures, here goes. Otherwise, thank you for coming by. Choose to be happy. God bless you big time. Cheers.
This slide is for pictures taken at Sudwala Caves
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
At Alzu Petroport
This slide is for pictures taken at Alzu Petroport.