We try to go away into our magnificent country areas
as often as we can, as the Cape has so much bounty to offer. We stay at really
lovely places, but sometimes we go to somewhere so perfect, so beautiful and so
peaceful that we never want to leave. Our life is not geared to a pursuit of
luxury, but natural beauty and experience are what we love. When we were married, Lynne said to John she didn’t need a 5 star life, just no camping (she is an ex
girl guide and back packed around Europe a lot
so camping days are done), but our own bedroom and a bathroom in a clean and
neat place would be fine. We love being able to sit outside when we are in the
country and not confined to a room and we love observing nature. Last week, we were invited to Angala, a superb boutique hotel nestled under the beautiful Drakenstein mountains near Franschhoek and, when we arrived, we found
one of those places. This place works seamlessly, guests' every wish or whim is
catered for, before they think of it. We absolutely loved our stay and so
recommend it to you
The
simple reception entrance belies what lies inside. How did it get the name and
what does it mean? To quote them: “The
birth of Angala. Angala refers to the time eons ago when earth was first being
formed. It was a period during which the Divine was gathering the energy to
create our planet. In the Divine mind, there was the thought of Earth and the
protection of the Angels to hold it safe...”
On the path looking at the cottages
below the restaurant and main rooms
The walkway to our cottage
The front door, with baskets of wood for the wood-burning stove. We didn't need it, the weather was beautifully warm
Everything in nice muted shades of
grey, beige and mustard
The lounge area, with the most enormous
bed behind it
Our own private terrace and garden
area, which leads down to a splashy fountain full of birds and lots of trees
A large bathroom, with a huge shower for
John and an enormous bath for Lynne
No wait, even better, an outside
shower, completely private and not overlooked, but with a view of the garden and
the bird life
Lots of birds in the fountain, white-eyes and some with red rumps, which we didn’t recognise
Who is watching whom? A beautiful olive thrush
A Cape weaver trills as he bathes
The gardens are beautifully planted.
This is the main building
They have an eco swimming pool,
completely self sustainable and natural, cleaned by reed beds. With lots of
relaxing space around it.
Dinner can be had inside ...
...or outside on the terrace. The
weather was so perfect that all the guests chose to eat outside
The dinner menu, good value at R275
for 3 courses
We thought a bottle of David
Finlayson’s award winning shiraz blend, The Pepper Pot, would go perfectly with the
choices we had made - it did
A surprise amuse sent to us by the
chef - a small portion of beef tartare
We both chose the Duck starter and it
was delicious, with duck done three ways, a parfait, smoked breast and a spring
roll. The chutney was a great counterpoint
Lynne chose the seared tuna on a Niçoise
salad as her main. Fresh and delicious
John went for the beef fillet with
Lyonnaise potatoes and a very good red wine jus
The tuna with topping removed to show
how it was seared, as requested - only just!
Diet out of the window. We both had the
apple almond tart. A really good rich dessert served with good coffee
We met the talented chef Marlin Clayton,
who is a local lad, trained by some of the best chefs we know
The bar area at night
The library area and some indoor tables
Lovely light for breakfast on another
perfect late summer day
The bar and library dressed for
morning
Juices, muffins ,croissants, fresh
fruit and many other lovely selections from the breakfast buffet
It’s informal, so help yourself to
whatever you desire. OK, not the J&B or gin... Those come at a cost
Children testing the water and the
wildlife
Lynne’s English breakfast with her
request for just one egg
John chose the cheese and bacon
omelette
No detail had been forgotten in our
room. Some beautiful old roses on our table and some wicked jelly beans
The bar fridge contains everything you
might want and everything is complimentary. The coffee machine gives you a huge
selection of different pods and there was also a good selection of teas
General Manager Ann Morley with Aubrey
Blignaut, the brother-in-law of the owners Peter & Tisha Cunliffe. He also
works at Angala. Ann is the previous owner - Angala was her ‘baby’ and she has
stayed on to manage it - expertly
Our good friend Tammy the tiger cat.
She is affectionate, a great addition to the property and kept us very
amused
An enormous hawk moth, slightly battle
scarred, gracing a wall
The beautiful view across the valley
as we headed off to lunch at Allesverloren in Riebeek West. The pollution fog,
sadly, is from wheat stubble burning in the Swartland, which reached all this
way
