Skimming Stones | Sula's Blog | Sula1968 A South African poet, potter and mother
On our travels we generally feel ‘so many places, so little time’. We love discovering new locations. There are only two instances where we return to the same spot repeatedly. One is Augrabies National Park, the other is Hebron Haven in the Natal Midlands. We like the accommodation at Augrabies but our reason there is logistical, we are there to see the falls and the falls are in the national park. We return to Hebron Haven for the same reason that I always return to my favourite recipes. We know what we are getting and we love it. The management are great, the price is right and the food is the best!
On our first visit we were blown away by the wonderful (and really well priced) food. This made sense when I read a newspaper clipping in reception which explained that the owner Rudi was head chef at the Blues Restaurant in Camps Bay and also worked at other top restaurants including Sun City before the Midlands captured his heart and imagination (the Midlands do that to one). He has owned the 125 year old hotel for about 10 years now. Hebron Haven really is a gem set in the gold of my souls home, beautiful, magical, Natal.
If I reluctantly drag myself away from thoughts of the cuisine, what we also love are the resident pigs who roam the grounds. We are drawn to the character of the place, to the setting and the Umgeni river which flows through the land.
Fjord requests the room with the loft. I may not have gone along with his request this time had I remembered that the ladder like steps are super steep and not enclosed enough to prevent a fall. Acacia is 2 and really accident prone, when in the room I was a tad paranoid. There is a little train track which covers a big part of the property and for only R10 each the train ride is a big thrill for the kids.
On leaving we once again said that we really ought to try a new place next time in the Midlands but no doubt we won’t be able to resist the magnetic pull of Hebron Haven for long.