Mountain getaway

The owners of Qambathi Mountain Lodge have perfected the art of combining rustic Africa with contemporary comfort, writes Peta Lee. Photos by Franco Esposito.

The setting at Qambathi Mountain Lodge is exquisite. A herd of lazy zebras gazes inquisitively at us driving in, and we’re torn between the close-up and personal encounter with them and by the magnificent peaks of the Kamberg mountains before us.

You can’t imagine a more picturesque backdrop for one of the most beautiful lodges in the area: Qambathi. Resurrected and painstakingly designed and rebuilt from an original old farmhouse, it’s the brainchild of architect Gerhard le Roux and business partner chef Stephan Erasmus. Set in the most perfect location, plum centre of the Kamberg and Rosetta valleys, it’s lush and verdant in summer, and even now, at the dawn of spring, its potential is magnificent.

Originality, despite its age-old foundations, oozes from every carefully considered pore of Qambathi. From the extraordinarily cool colours – natural white bull denim fabrics and blinds, sunbleached woods and warm stone – to the beaten metal lampshades and unique wallpapers, it’s a designer’s dream come to immaculate fruition.

“We wanted something different, something like no other lodge,” says Erasmus. Created with a vision of encompassing the style, form, raw material and skills of Africa with a contemporary and modern-day feel, the lodge is an astonishing mix of the unexpected and the eclectic.

Take the gorgeous bedrooms, for instance. All furnishings were created from camphor wood: it’s not only a natural insect repellant, which eliminates the need for invasive pesticides, it also exudes the most wondrous scent. Big soft hand-knotted rugs are everywhere, a far nicer and gentler alternative to commercial carpeting.

Handmade

All the furniture is all handmade, and throughout Qambathi, all light sculptures are made from solid slabs of natural edged timber with hand-blown glass beads and painstakingly-threaded Zulu teething beads, and your light comes from state-of-the-art LED low-energy globes. The kitchen wall is surfaced with waste coal dust, the kitchen floor made from local cave stone dust (as used by the Koi), and the guest book cover is from recycled crushed glass – as are all the glasses you’ll drink from here. And the wine cellar walls are the best: they’re made from grape skins from The Stables, the local winery.

Wonderful setting at Qambathi Mountain Lodge

Le Roux is no stranger to innovative architecture and design. A partner with the firm Theunissen Jankowitz, he was the leading architect for our famous and beautiful Moses Mabhida Stadium, but has also designed and worked on numerous lodges around South Africa, including Zimbali, four lodges at Nambithi and Thonga Beach Lodge, to name a few.

“This setting immediately appealed to us when we first saw it,” he says. ”We drove here one morning and saw this old farmhouse, with an adjoining greenhouse, slowly deteriorating. It turns out it was an old post office and also a jail, built back in 1918. We bought it and started converting the farm to a game reserve.”

That was in 2007. The doors opened for business in July this year.

South Coast splendour

Knocking the property into shape was not easy. “The farm was full of wire and fences and old scrap metal. We removed tons of junk, invasive plants and trees, and we’re busy with a programme to re-establish the original wetlands. We’ve done an environmental management plan for sustainable development, and have a plant list for grasses and trees that must be replanted. We’ve also initiated a programme where guests can buy a tree and plant it for a nominal amount and we put a name-tag on it for them and keep them informed on the progress of ‘their’ tree.”

Wattle and blue gum were also prolific, but have been taken out, “and suddenly lots of wild olives are growing”. Much of the natural forest is returning, he says, and they’re now reinstating an old water feature fed from the river as part of the magnificent gardens around the lodge.

Magnificent

They also took their time commissioning and sourcing the magnificent fittings and furnishings.

“Almost everything was made or produced by locals, with the majority of the furniture coming from Franco Designs.”

A stay here “is a living art experience” – all of the art on the walls can be bought, and if, for instance, you simply must have some of the hessian tablemats (impregnated with steel and manganese slag), Qambathi will link you up with the designers. Or the lamps, or the light fittings . . .

Style and elegance at Qambathi Mountain Lodge

Food is always hugely critical in establishments like this, and well-known chef Jenna Develing has already garnered for Qambathi a reputation for its fine culinary fare. Qambathi has also been selected as part of the Experience KZN Wine & Dine initiative.

“The object is to offer guests an active food and wine experience, not just a getaway. We’ll also be running courses, like a photography course with Franco Esposito, a leading local photographer, and painting, with artist Hillary Grant-Currie, as well as a healthy living workshop with Lisa Raleigh. Then there’s the added temptation of our superb six-course meals and excellent cellar.”

On the cards is a bicycle trail, and a game vehicle already offers guests the luxury of a laidback drive up the mountain, and sundowners in the bush.

“But most of all, we want people to relax. There’re spectacular views and picnic spots beside the river. Energetic types can hike at Highmoor, or Giant’s Castle. For game-spotters, we’ve got zebra, blesbok, hartebeest, eland, oribi, reedbok, bushbuck, bush pig and aardwolf, and we’ve even found leopard spoor.”

Accommodation? Well, there’re two luxury rooms inside the main lodge, and three superior garden suites, all with private decks and delectable baths and showers. While  just 10 people can be accommodated at the moment, when phase two is completed that figure will rise to  14.

Sitting on the stoep at Qambathi, it’s easy to see why they love it so much. “We’re five minutes from the Kamberg Rock Art Centre, five minutes from Highmoor, there’s tons of fly-fishing nearby, we’re a short drive from the Midlands Meander and wonderful antique shops, and the Glen Garry golf course is a hop and skip away.”

Horse rides through the reserve can also be arranged with Drakensberg Excursions, Erasmus adds, while those preferring a more sedentary stay can browse through the lodge’s little library for a good book. “The birdlife is wonderful and you can hear the river all day . . . what more do you want?”

Indeed!

Contact Qambathi Mountain Lodge at 033 267 7515
lodge@qambathi.co.za
reservations@qambathi.co.za
On the web

**This article first appeared in the Midlands Life magazine