After a miserable start to their holiday, Andreas Spath and his family fall in love with the soul-nourishing splendour of the southern Drakensberg.

When my newly-wed brother-in-law and his wife invited my wife Sam, our sons Josef, 8, and Benjamin, 6, and myself to a gathering of their respective families in the Drakensberg we were, to be quite frank, less than enthused. The idea of spending part of our precious annual holiday allotment embroiled in the nasties of clan dynamics... well, it boded badly for a relaxing vacation.

From the very beginning, we seemed destined to re-enact all of the sordid horror stories we had ever heard about long distance car travel with kids. Pretty soon “Are we there yet?” and “Stop the car daddy, I’ve got to throw up again” had become the themes of the journey. Sixteen hundred kilometres and two solid days’ of draining driving later, we arrived at our destination in the fading light of the evening with tempers frayed and the mood murderous.

Under the circumstances, none of us could have imagined that we were at the start of one of the most restorative mini breaks we've ever had. As it turns out, our newly acquired family members are lovely people, and when we woke up the next morning in the most gloriously beautiful setting imaginable, all of the hassles of the previous two days were forgotten.

The Sani Valley Fly-Fishing & Game Lodge is nestled in the rolling foothills of KwaZulu-Natal’s magnificent southern Drakensberg (don't you just love the phrase 'nestled in the rolling foothills'? I do and this is the first opportunity I've ever had to use it.) Located at the beginning of the famous Sani Pass, the lodge is set on 700 hectares of pristine grassland adjoining the Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site. It offers six (yes, just six) luxuriously spacious and fully equipped wooden chalets spread along the shore of Lifton Lake, a large, picturesque dam, writhing with trout.

We stayed in a three-bedroomed chalet with three eye-poppingly fabulous bathrooms (two of them en-suite), a large open-plan area divided into a sumptuous lounge with DSTV (the mini-bouquet: but you don't want to waste this place glued to the tube anyway), an eight-seater dining table and a shiny kitchen with all the mod-cons.

There can be few more invigorating ways to wake up than to unobstructed views of a placid lake framed by the imposing peaks of the Drakensberg and after stepping out onto the wooden deck in wonder we instantly decided to extend our stay for an additional night.

The boys, being boys, simply ran round and round the splendiferous setting, playing complicated games with each other, while Sam and I indulged in a healthy mixture of outdoorsy activities and relaxing laziness. We spent our time taking gentle walks among herds of shy Eland, Zebra, Hartebeest and Springbok, reading, swimming and mucking about in boats and canoes on the lake.

Other activities available include:
● guided game drives,
● trout fishing in the lake (rods and tackle are available for hire),
● horse riding,
● birding,
● beauty treatments and
● guided trips up the spectacular Sani Pass (you'll need your passport for this).

The lodge is an ideal spot from which to explore this part of the country further and could also serve as a base for extended hiking trips into the mountains. The lakeside clubhouse is a lovely venue for catered events – we enjoyed a three course dinner and a lamb spit braai on two successive evenings.

The fully serviced lodges comfortably sleep between two and six people at rates starting from R650.00 per person sharing for dinner, bed and breakfast and from R395.00 per person sharing for self-catering.

If you are like us and love mountains, idyllic pastoral landscapes and being close to nature, the Sani Valley Fly-Fishing & Game Lodge is a great place to re-charge your body and soul. We’ll definitely be back.

Getting there:
If our experience didn’t turn you off and you decide to drive from Cape Town – the route is actually very beautiful – take the N2 all the way to Kokstad and from there follow the R617 to Underberg. Then follow the signs to Himeville and the Sani Pass.

It’s a long journey, so allow yourself two full days of travel. Expect regular interruptions because of road works, particularly through the Eastern Cape. Top tip: don’t drive at night – numerous pedestrians, roaming goats, rambling donkeys and jay-walking cows in the more rural areas make this very dangerous.

Alternatively, take a bus or plane to Durban, hire a car and take the N3 north, turning off onto the R617 to Underberg just before Howick. For Northerners travelling by car, it’s the N3 south, turning off onto the R617 just after Howick.

Want to enjoy a healthy mixture of outdoorsy activities and relaxing laziness. Click here