Midlands

What to do between Xmas and New Year....hmmm....stay at home...that was the one option but then somehow we felt we wanted to do something else, we are reckless and wanna get out of Joburg....Kim still has a lot to see in this country so we decided to do two nights in the Midlands and two nights in the Drakensberg...but because we booked so late, space was limited and we had to take accommodation where we could find....on the 27th we left Joburg around 9:00 and took a slow ride towards the Midlands...in Harrismith of course we had to do our official stop, but this time it was not Wimpy but rather a Mug and Bean.....and guess what Kim was in heaven when he looked at the menu....Kim loves Porridge and has only recently rediscovered it so when he saw Porridge on the menu with flaked, toasted almonds and raisins, that was a done deal for him....me on the other hand...he has tried to convince me how good Porridge is, but I somehow don't like it...maybe with a lot of sugar, but then it defeats the purpose.....

Around 14:30 we started to arrive in the Midlands, the main reason, Kim went off the N3 about 60km after Harrismith cause he wanted to do scenic route which took us through Escourt and then Mooi River, well, that scenic route was not worth it and I definitely recommend to take the N3, the fastest way down there...but once we started getting into the Midlands, the scenery is breath-taking, it is like you are in Ireland or Scotland, truly amazing...even Kim was amazed saying one could be anywhere in Europe....although there was a lot of mist and fog, hence the relation to Ireland and Scotland...let me share some pics...

 Midlands

Midlands

Midlands

When we drove on the Nottingham Road we decided with the others (mom, dad and Mutti), that if we see something interesting on the way to our place, we would stop....well we saw one, Born in Africa, cheese-making, distillery and leather goods, wow...sounds awesome, why not make a stop there. We drove on the grave road towards the destination and I am not gonna go on about it...what a disappointment, first of all the red wine we wanted to try they stated they don't have for tasting just the different flavours of Vodka, NO THANK YOU, then I asked them about the cheese to which they said they have discontinued that....hmmmm....not a good start and the leather goods, well let me not even mention how ugly and disastrous those were....so a very bad start....well, off we went, hoping that we would find one good one before the Woodridge Country Estate and Spa (the place we were staying). We saw one called Swissland Cheese, hmmmm....sounds interesting...so we ventured up the path to that one....

Swissland Cheese Place

So they have 50 goats and they get milked twice a day. They also produce 15kg of cheese every day...quite interesting, the place is like a tiny Swiss cottage and inside you may taste all the various goat cheeses and chutneys. I am definitely NOT a goat cheese fan but I must admit, those cheeses were great, they only had a very slight hint of goat which was great, the best ones which we even bought were the camembert, the brie and the Drakensberg. We also bought some garlic and olive crackers just in case we felt like a snack sometime during our stay down here in the Midlands.....

The goats getting milked

After that it was time to check out the Woodridge Country Estate and Spa where we would be staying for two nights....when we drove in the property looked amazing, big, green and welcoming....but then we went to reception and we had to look for a staff member, when we found her, she directed us to the rooms and when we arrived there....what a disappointment....no hand-towels, no toothglas....and just needs desperate renovations and is lacking all the details.....what I liked was the pool just outside our room, a huge overflowing rim pool, stretching across all the rooms on different levels, quite a cool idea....

Bed

Rim Pool outside our room

After relaxing it was dinner time (breakfast and dinner is included), what I liked about dinner was the fact that it would be a la carte....there were 4 starters to choose from, a lot of mains and about 4 desserts....we all had low expectations, but thought what the hell, let's just try and make the best of it....starters mom and Mutti had the butternut soup, Kim had the minestrone and I had the salad with bacon and caramelised onions. For mains I had a chicken with a red wine sauce with bacon and mushrooms served with mashed potato, dad and Kim had the lamb shank also with mashed potatoes and Mutti and mom had the mushroom stroganoff with rice...wow....we were all so surprised, the food was actually good, tasty and my chicken was so tender, the sauce was great and all the others said their dishes were great...so at least food is good :-)

Tomorrow Kim and I are planning the Midlands Meader route...which places to see, where to have some lunch and how to get to the places, I am excited cause that is the reason we came down here....see all the little art shops and see what they sell.....so curious....now off to bed....chat to you soon.....