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Midlife and the great unknown
Clinical psychologist and blogger Berenice Meintjes takes an honest look at midlife crisis, and offers a daring recipe for making the most of this creative time of life … A midlife crisis is a badly wrapped gift which brings great opportunity for immense freedom and untapped wells of joy. It starts painfully – slowly the…
Read MoreSlowing Down Time
The food is so good here at Thonga Beach Lodge, that paradoxically, you need a strategy to avoid wolfing everything down so fast that you don’t even taste it. Our strategy, liberally adapted from Jon Kabat-Zinn, was to say “As you eat this salad, know that you are eating salad.” Or “As you eat this…
Read MoreLong Service Awards
On Tuesday 4th November five Kosi Forest Lodge staff were awarded their 15 year long service certificates. From left Princess Gwala- Chef, Jerome Mnthambo- Guide, Ester Mntambo- Housekeeper, Blessing Mngomezulu- Lodge Manager & Veronica Ngubane- Housekeeper. The awards were presented by Isibindi Africa’s Brett Gehren (back row). Congratulations and thank you to the dedicated team…
Read MoreCombining Conservation and Community Upliftment
Isibindi Africa continues to provide inspired experiences with the launch of a new destination, Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge which will be the only private lodge within the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park, KwaZulu Natal, which will be opening its doors in December 2014. A lodge that was conceptualised to celebrate the protection of the white rhino, Rhino…
Read MoreBonjour Mademoiselle Gumede!
From the local village called KwaMnyayisa, next to Lake Shingeza, comes this elegant lady, Thandeka Gumede. She tentatively applied for a position as a temporary waitress at Kosi Forest Lodge in 2007. She was studying via correspondence to become a teacher and needed to find ways of funding her studies. Thandeka was immediately hired and…
Read MoreGentle Slowing
Single tasking is the latest buzz word on the spiritual and psychological block – the simple act of doing one thing at a time with mindful appreciation. Such an inexpensive treatment for stress, anxiety, depression and despair, yet even Cambridge professors are marvelling at its efficacy. I recommend you take the full dose at Isibindi…
Read MoreCommunity Dreams
“Monitor lizard, monitor lizard!” he points enthusiastically as he shows us fine tracks in the gentle sand forest on the way to our beautiful thatched tented cabin. From humble contract labourer to current lodge manager, Sibusiso (Blessing) Mngomezulu is a well-known and much respected presence at Kosi Forest Lodge. He was one of the first…
Read MoreCoastal Thrill
A bit like a thriller movie where you know everything’s going to turn out all right, you still get caught up in the exhilaration and challenge of the unpredictable terrain. We take the scenic coastal 4X4 route from Kosi Forest Lodge down to Thonga Beach Lodge. As relatively inexperienced off-road drivers, this is the perfect…
Read MoreLiving the Good Life
I have heard that the Thonga Beach Lodge Head Chef has been newly promoted to Executive Chef over all Isibindi Africa lodges and I ask to meet the rising star. I snap my jaw back up into position as a lithe, good looking young man comes out of the kitchen. For a moment I wonder…
Read MoreOf mice and men
Our experienced and passionate guide, Mike Nel, of Zululand Tours, opens his story of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift with the line “This is a story of both courage and cowardice.” It starts with an unlikely soldier, a one Henry Harford, an entomologist with a heart for Zululand. He is said to have solemnly confessed…
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