LEAF POWER
Janine Stephen turns off the N2 in southern KwaZulu-Natal to go in search of yellowwoods and forest elders
THE South African motel is a varied beast. There are noisy, trucker-filled establishments with bars selling quarts and intriguing clientele in every town across the land. There are stalwarts with clean rooms and sensible restaurants serving steaks and garlic snails — think, say, of the trusty Wagon Wheel outside Beaufort West. And then there is Ingeli Forest Resort, which has shrugged off motel status and is no longer just a convenient stop on the ever-humming highway.
We’d swooped through the former Transkei on the vastly improved N2, but this time were determined not to buzz straight past the forests that coat the roadsides between Kokstad and Harding.
Durbs could wait. Here was mistbelt Afromontane forest with yellowwoods, red stinkwoods, sneezewoods and forest elders stretching to enor“ghosts mous heights to reach the sun. In the damp and leaf-littered depths were such delights as turacos and the of the forest”, African emerald cuckoos. And Cape parrots.
In any case we wanted a bit of pampering. Ingeli was just the spot: quiet despite the N2; semi-old school but with newly-upholstered rooms, an enormous communal deck ripe for sundowners and a restaurant complete with fireplace.
In the foyer, interesting tidbits of history were on display. Ingeli was built in 1973 by a local who owned swathes of timber lands and a sawmill. Back then, Ingeli was on the main touring route to the Cape. In an early loyalty scheme, regulars to the then 33-room motel were given a passport to the “Kingdom of Ingeli” — a certain number of visits entitled the holder to a free weekend. And the regulars were faithful: every year travellers would elect a prime minister and cabinet to rule the kingdom. Activities were fuelled by a legendary alcoholic drink called “Ingeli Mist”, the ingredients of which are (perhaps aptly) now hazy.
So Ingeli always did have more character than your average motel. In 1992 it changed hands — the new owners were also local timber people, the Armours. Brian is an awardwinning tree farmer who has been described as having “trees and conservation” in his blood. And the family has worked with conservation bodies such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to conserve forest and mistbelt grassland in the area. Right now, the lodge is run by the youngest Armour, Clinton, who this year changed the name to Ingeli Forest Resort and has been overseeing updates such as a kiddies’ corner and an 18-hole adventure-golf course.
There were few kiddies to be seen when we stayed in a room overlooking gardens alive with sunbirds. But there was a big wedding on the go, a white marquee sitting like a squat cake on the lawns and guests bearing gift-wrapped bounty up the drive. It felt odd lounging around the pool amid magnificently clad guests but we tried to keep out of the photos. Plus we spent much of the day deep in the forests, gazing upon trees like ancient, wrinkly relatives. One wore a narina trogon like a brooch.
Besides birds, we ran into some errant Nguni. In the 1800s, Kokstad was a hot spot for cattle rustlers and gun runners and these days the Weza forest below Ingeli Mountain is said to be on the livestock rustling route to Lesotho. Keeping cattle out of the conservation areas is an ongoing battle.
Our arrival at Ingeli had been in billowing drizzle but the weather cleared magnificently and crowned eagles squealed above.
We barely dented the many trails during a two-night stay. (The resort borders the Weza-Ngele Forest Nature Reserve, so there is plenty to explore.) Evenings were spent sipping wine and searching for something suitably vegetarian on the menu aside from a woeful “moussaka”. It seemed the wedding guests had scarfed the supply of halloumi too. To be fair, the updated menu seems more veg friendly.
Then it was time to hit the road, like all guests must. We passed a happily dishevelled guest, exclaiming to a companion that “now that’s what I call a wedding”. And Ingeli is what I call a motel. — © Janine Stephen