The Midlands Meander in The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is a great place to spend a lazy weekend unwinding from the pressures of modern life. Or in our case, recovering from the heart stopping, gut wrenching quarter and semi final wins by the Boks at the 2023 Rugby World Cup!
Of course, if you are looking for physical activities, there’s plenty of that available as well! But we were erring towards the sloth type weekend.
Toad Hall Cottages
Living on the southern edge of the Meander, we have spent many hours cruising it’s back roads with frequent coffee and lunch stops thrown in over the years.
However, because of the close proximity, we have rarely overnighted in any of the many fine establishments scattered across the country side (see those listed in the Midlands Meander Brochure).
So we spent a coffee break paging through what was on offer and came upon Toad Hall Cottages. No mention of Toad of Toad Hall but the cottages are all individually fenced off so you can take your hound(s) with you if you want to.
We arrived on the Friday afternoon. It was the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi final weekend. The weather forecast was for rain and thunder storms. Management assured us that we would be able to watch come what may.
Looking at the weather and appreciating that we were deep(ish) in the countryside, we had our doubts, but what would be, would be.
So we unpacked our stuff and settled down on the verandah for some bird watching and an afternoon snooze. The Lions River burbled past at the bottom of the hill and there was plenty of bird life around to keep the birder interested.
On the other hand, apart from the birds, there was not another sound to be heard, so an afternoon nap went undisturbed.
Braai Time
As it started getting dark and the odd flash of lightening and rumble of thunder started moving down the valley, we started thinking about dinner.
Our cottage had a built in braai on one side of the verandah as well as a free standing kettle braai on wheels. Given that there were only 2 of us to cook for, we lit a small fire in the kettle braai and sat and watched the early evening storm roll down the valley.
The lights stayed on and the TV signal was uninterrupted so that was a good sign for the rugby on Saturday evening.
While consuming our delicious supper, there was a suggestion of perhaps doing the nearby Piggly Wiggly Parkrun at 8h00 on Saturday morning. However, after about 10 seconds that was consigned to the “silly idea” scrap bin and we poured another glass of wine.
Saturday Coffee Run
With no huge rush to be anywhere on Saturday morning, we contemplated the source of a Saturday morning coffee and croissant at leisure.
Normally there is no discussion. When chez nous, there is only one possible place to go for coffee and that is to The Upper Millstone in Hilton. Great coffee and awesome freshly baked croissants and other yummy nibblies!
But since they weren’t nearby, we decided to head off to n2 (N squared) Bakery which was only a 15 minute drive and also serves up the most delicious fare on an outside deck.
So that was Saturday morning done!
We ambled back to Toad Hall Cottages for a very light meal and a serious doze on the verandah. This was to conserve energy for the rugby to come that evening!
Saturday Night is Alright for A(nother) Braai & Rugby
The braai fire was lit, the weather rolled in, there was lots of rain, thunder and lightening, the meat was cooked on the braai, the salads made, the wine opened, and then the TV signal went down!
But that didn’t matter as it was still an hour to go before the match (Springboks vs England) actually started, so we settled into our delicious dinner.
Despite the weather actually getting worse, the TV signal was restored with 10 minutes to go before the match and didn’t flicker once throughout the match. The same could not be said for our anxiety levels which the Springboks taunted mercilessly until edging ahead by 1 point just in time for the final whistle.
But 10 points to management for ensuring the signal endured through a sizeable summer storm!
We went to bed happy but with frazzled nerves. It would take a while before calm was restored to our nervous systems and actually getting to sleep became possible.
Time to Head Out
Sunday dawned grey and wet, but again that didn’t really matter. The win was in the bag and there was no rush to leave.
So we adjourned to our favourite spot – the verandah – and watched the world drift by.
Eventually we gathered ourselves towards ourselves, packed up and headed out.
There was one last stop at the The Rail Siding for a final Midlands Meander coffee (and carrot cake) before it was back to the real world.
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