Category Archives: Vacation

Beach, Foods Foods Foods, Our Most Favorites, Road trip, South Africa, Vacation

South Africa ’14, Part 2: Umngazi River – our kind of paradise

28 March, 2014 jpcorp Leave a comment

When I saw some pictures of the Umngazi River Bungalows & Spa the first time while planning our trip, I knew we had to make a stop here. It was a long drive from Drakensberg, not in terms of distance but in terms of time because of the very curvy mountain highways across Kwazulu-Natal province. The resort is nicely located at the Umngazi River Mouth where it meets the Pacific ocean, very secluded from the rest of the crowds along the coast around Durban. It is the oldest beach resort in South Africa dating back to 1906. The staffs were friendly and attentive, the foods were beyond delicious, and they had the most amazing home-made chilly sauce I’ve ever tried, and I tried pretty much everything(!). Do you know any resort where the chef went around every night asking every guest if they were happy with their meals? This is that kind of place. The rooms are on the modest, eco-friendly side so nothing really luxurious, but decent and clean. What they lack in luxury they more than make up for it with this view…

and this Spa…

Spa at it's best. 2 hour program with massage, bath, champagne and a priceless view — Spa at it’s best and a million-dollar view. We spent one entire afternoon here, first with a two-hour couple massage & facial then who-knows-how-long in this tub afterwards. Champagne in the afternoon is always a good idea ;-). We slept like babies that night.

and the exclusive beach of course . At low tide, you can cross the river on foot to reach the beach. Other than that there’s a small ferry taking you to the other side anytime you want. All you have to do is go to the port and ring the bell.

Beach day — Often we had the whole beach for us all alone

View from the ferry boat that carries you across the river to the beach — View of the entire resort from the ferry that carries you across the river to the beach. I still miss this view every now and then.

That's the flag to raise when you're looking for (another) drink at the pool - great service all over the place — No more shouting for hotel staff, just raise the flag and they’ll be at your service

Horseback riding is a so-called community event, organised by the local people living nearby — Horseback riding organised by the local people living in the area, one of the many activities offered by the resort

Looks like John Wayne - almost.... — My John Wayne 😉

Sunset Umngazi river tour, watching fish eagles — Umngazi river sunset tour, watching fish eagles

Playing dart after dinner. I have to admit, the dart right in the middle was hers..... — Playing dart after dinner. I have to admit, the dart right in the middle was her’s…..

During the 5 days there we didn’t get on the car once. We spent our time going for long walks on the beach, horse-back riding with the local kids, taking the sunset tour along the river, reading some in the library (yes, they built a library from books left by hotel guest, which I think is a genius idea), and the rest of the time lounging around the pool and bar area. It was exactly what we needed after the long winter in Europe. It was so relaxing that we were really sad to leave.

Writing this from today perspective (19.02.2016) we’re kind of ready to move on from South Africa cause we’ve “been there and seen it all”, at lease those places we wanted to see, but this is the only place that’d probably make us come back someday.

Au Revoir

On the way to our next destination. A funny shop in some village in Kwazulu-Natal. — In some village in Kwazulu-Natal on our way to the North. We couldn’t have said it any better so Have a Ding Dong Day!

Road trip, South Africa, Vacation

South Africa ’14, Part 1: Drakensberge

26 March, 2014 jpcorp Leave a comment

Despite having been to the country only half a year before, we were so excited coming back to South Africa for another 3 weeks this time. There’s even a direct flight from Munich to Johannesburg that made the whole trip much more comfortable (we hate long flights). After the long winter in Europe, we didn’t want to spend any day in the city so upon arriving at the airport, we picked up our car and drove straight to Drakensberg, the highest moutain range in this part of the continent. There’s not much to do in the area except hiking so we did just that. We went into Winterton once, the nearest town, to buy some sim cards and found the perfect souvenir for our home. I think it was also the only non-food item we bought in the whole trip, along with countless bottles of local spices/herbs and miri miri sauce (P loves spices). March is Autumn time in the Southern hemisphere. Although the air was still warm, the winds on the mountain already turned a bit chilly, which made the evenings very pleasant. We couldn’t be any happier with the weather.

Arriving at Champagne Castle Hotel, about 30min from the village of Winterton

View across the hotel ground from our apartment

That rock is called Sphinx, one of the attractions in the area.

On the way to our next destination: "shopping mall" in Winterton — On the way to our next destination: “shopping mall” in Winterton

drakensberge south africa

Europe, Italy, Mountains, Skiing, Vacation

Skiing in Wolkenstein / Sella Ronda

25 January, 2014 jpcorp Leave a comment

Second time in South Tirol, skiing in the Sella Ronda area

The sky's clearing up — The sky’s clearing up

The sun's too bright — The sun’s too bright

panoramic view of a ski slope — Panoramic view of a ski slope

Typical red-ish rock in the Southern part of the Alps

Leaving Sella Ronda, going into the St. Christina area with a 10.5km long slope

Seiser Alm, beautiful landscape but this part was a bit boring to ski

Beach, Foods Foods Foods, Road trip, South Africa, Vacation

South Africa ’13, Part 6: Langebaan Lagoon

17 September, 2013 jpcorp Leave a comment

Langebaan is one of the many beach towns on the west coast of South Africa. We dicided to make a stop here hoping for some sea-sand-sun time but weren’t lucky with the weather. Afterall, September was post-winter time and the Atlantic ocean was never a warm place to swim in. We ended up spending most of our time by the pool at the hotel, going for long walks on the beach (imaginatively) picking out our favorite beach homes, and eating tons of seafoods every day.

The weather was pretty much like this the whole time: a little sun, a little rain, and lots of clouds.

Beach town in Langebaan lagoon.

We also visited a small National Park nearby that had one of the most beautiful beaches on the west coast: no single restaurant, no single tent, just you and the nature around.

It was a very windy day and the ocean seemed a bit “angry” as well.

The highlight of Langebaan is properly this beach bar /restaurant named Strandlooper. It looks more like a pirate hideaway than a restaurant and that’s the charm of it. Besides, you are served 10-course menu which are all prepared/grilled in front of your eyes. It’s nothing fancy but great seafoods prepared in the simpliest way, and the atmostphere was absolutely adorable. It was a little chilly on that day but the sun more than made up for it. We’d come here every week if we lived nearby.