Pilgrim's Rest to Hans Marensky

In total that was about 180km....of course we had to stop on the way and have a Magnum....yes, a new one, Biscotti....and it is divine...but....ill go into more details another day....arrival at Hans Merensky around 14:00.....interesting place....and no, not in such a good way....

I really was disappointed at Hans Merensky...another tourist spot and it just doesnt show how amazing South Africa is...the main facilities (entrance hall, restaurant and golf pub) beautifully decoration....but....

- We stayed in the "new" area and we had to change rooms because the entire sliding door was falling apart, the wood cracked open when you tried to open the doors and when we changed doors, the sliding door handle came off

- When we checked in, i asked whether dinner was a la carte or buffet, the lady at reception said, she is not sure, sh will get back to me....she NEVER did

- There was only one set of towels in the bathroom.....

- The dinner buffet looked shocking...so we did not eat there...and the proof was in the breakfast buffet....shocking.....orange juice off and they only had normal conflakes...not even muesli or anything...

- When we finished our first round of golf at 14:00, there was no one at the bar serving...(some guests were helping themselves), when someone finally came and we asked for lunch menu, the answer was, the kitchen is closed. I said that is strange, why is that, and the guy had no answer, he said he is unsure....what the....so i asked for some chips or nuts and he said, i can go to halfway house and buy some snacks there....

- Halfway House, I wanted a tea and the answer was...sorry no hot water....and kim ordered a pie and it was luke warm...unbelievable.....

- They are building more and what they have is not even maintained at all

I just thought it was so sad, a place that has so much potential, great decoration, a golf course in the wild and friendly staff (unfortunately not trained), but somehow there is no management and owners do not seem to care at all...i definitely will notngo back there.....

But that all said....yes...we did play golf twice and that was fun....the golf is not the best...hence we played two different fun competitions....Kim and me against mom and dad...and yes....both times we won.....we played best ball...it means both players tee off and then place both balls where they believe the better ball is and shoot from there and then again the next shot they decide and then place the ball there...so on until you are on the green where you put individually and then record the score....83 vs 95. the second day, similar, except we didnt count shots we counted which team won the hole...at the end we were +2, fun to play like that.....

Kim ready to play

Me playing

Kim and the warthogs

We also spotted some animals...ververt monkeys, baboons, impala and warthogs....and yes...a hippo...but during the day they are in the water...so we just saw the head....fun....and unfortunately, wheni tried to take a pic with the warthogs they saw me and started coming towards me...i got the biggest fright and decided...no photo.....so yes...golf course not that well maintained...but fun to play in the wild....

Dinner...not many options...my parents had been to a lodge for dinner called Sefapane and said it was nice...so on Sunday evening we went there....and we all thought the food was fab....a little expensive....but definitely good...and so many choices that i would have liked to try....i ended up with the ostrich carpaccio and then beef fillet.....kim tried the vension poitjie and he loved it....mom had the deef fried brie then fillet and dad tried the deep fried calamari rings followed by lamb....everyone was very happy....dessert....im sure you guess.....kim chose apple pie with ice cream......and we shared and it was fab....eventhough presentation was not so great....

Deep fried brie cheese

Venison poitjie

Aplple pie

On Monday, kim and i drove around in the afternoon looking for dinner pllaces....couldnt find anything inviting....so guess what...we ended up at same restaurant....but we all thought the food was great...so why not....and guess what.....the food was divine again....this time i tied the black mushrooms with feta and pepperdew followed by ostrich.....kim had the ostrich carpaccio followed by lamb chops....mom tried the shrimp cocktail followed by schnitzel and dad had the deep fried brie followed by baby chicken....everyone preffered their first night dinner choices except for my dad who prefered his second day starter (deep fried brie cheese as opposed to deep fried calamari rings)....also kim wished the snails in garlic butter were available....dessert....we had to introduce kim to malva pudding...he loved it...very worried in the beginning because he thought it was some type of wobble pudding not a softish cake.....

Malva pudding

So...some positive and negative experiences...but you know what..fun on the golf course...good company...and good dinner food made up for the rest....so cheers....tomorrow....after two nights at Hans Marensky we are driving to Hoedspruit to the private game reserve called Kapama Buffalo Camp.....

 

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