RATES MIAR ESTATE HOTEL & SPA SOMETHING SPECIAL:
Eastern Cape
WHERE IT IS:
On a lush and lovely stretch of the Wild Coast between Gonubie and Morgan Bay, about an hour’s drive from East London airport. With their famously mild winters and wide hills, these still-wild parts were once used as winter grazing for cattle from the Eastern Cape interior. Now it’s a bush-lodge-by-the-sea on 740ha of wildlife estate.
MORE OF THE STORY:
After a mildly bumpy but mercifully short dirt-road drive off the main highway, it’s a tangle of eucalyptus trees in a wide swathe of grasses that marks the place where the road straightens out, leading right up to the front door.
Those (pretty but invasive) trees are a remnant from the late ’60s, when the owner experimented with cash crops, wood and nuts. The current owners bought the farm in 2010, set up the fivestar boutique hotel in the original farmhouse and began reintroducing game and removing alien invasive plants.
Now a jaunt in a small game-viewing vehicle (all the better for sneaking up on them) may find bontebok, impala, giraffe, Burchell’s zebra, Grey duiker, bush buck and blue wildebeest. No dangerous creatures; all beautiful.
On my visit in November there were several bokkies "eating for two". By now it might well be a veritable Disneyland of leaping moms and calves.
ACCOMMODATION:
Most of the rooms edge along the wide verandah of the main house: several with private gardens, two with private plunge pools. If you’re a hipster with a penchant for cabin porn — or you just want that “I had a farm in Africa" feeling — go for the two log cabins, luxurious and blissfully separate in a valley, near a river, often with a giraffe or two in the grand backyard.
THE FOOD
Chef Johan Lamprecht is classic Frenchtrained, with a dash of South African and a pinch of northern African influence. He describes his food as “bistro-style fine dining”, meaning beautiful presentation and “comfortable portions” (ie generous).
With a private island in Mozambique and a posh lodge in Kruger on his CV, he is used to making do without a Woolies up the road. In fact, he claims a “background in foraging” and so grows or finds wild much of what ends up in the meals: wild fennel, wild radish, monkey tomato. The meats, too, are locally sourced — and the tender-raised care shows up on the plate.
WHAT’S TO DO:
As is to be expected, much of the fun is born from the natural bounty. There’s fishing (with a permit), mountain biking (there is a 35km offroad trail), horse riding, hiking, rock pools and wildlife drives. Guests also get private access to a small, secluded beach about 3km from the big house. If you don’t fancy a walk, staff will drive you as far as they can — but the last stretch, down a staircase onto the sand — is for your own account. Just as it should be. It has much to recommend it but, to the mom in me, Miarestate’s special angle is its family-friendly approach. They don’t just “accept“children, they go out of their way with a wealth of entertainments for them. From the kitchen staff who will chase them around the lawns while you sneak a cocktail at the bar (don’t judge); to the Zebra Zone, a sort of daycare centre with games, books, carers and other kids, where they can stay while you visit the spa, it’s bliss. In season, R1 895 pps per day B&B. Singles pay a 50% surcharge. Children under 11 pay R500 each, sharing with parents. Out of season: R1 375pp. CONTACT See miarestate.co.za. ■ Sleith was a guest of Miarestate.