Penwarn Country Lodge

Game Lodge in Drakensberg South

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CONTACT DETAILS Central Reservations Office Tel: 0861 276 237 Int. Tel: +27 51 924 0585 Fax: 086 684 1011

Penwarn Country Lodge is a country retreat just outside Underberg in the Southern Drakensberg of South Africa, a world heritage site.

Choose between two fully-catered exclusive lodges, Mthini Lodge and Indabushe Lodge and enjoy a break in sumptuous colonial style.The farm Penwarn lies in a beautiful valley traversed by two rivers. Zebra, wildebeest and antelope roam free across the plains, while the blue heights of the Drakensberg rise up to the west. Options are endless – fly-fishing, horse riding and game drives. Enjoy river swimming and tubing, abseiling, archery, mountain biking, wing-shooting or other adventure sports. Discover the secret beauty of san rock art and wild flowers or spot some of our 280 species of birds. Go hiking and take in the scenery of the Drakensberg, a World Heritage Site. Only 20 minutes from the mountain village of Underberg, this is the ideal base for day trips up the Sani Pass.
We also offer self-catering accommodation in cottages. Penwarn makes the perfect venue for challenging teambuilding exercises, tough 4x4 orienteering, conferences, enchanting weddings or other special occasions.

Penwarn Country Lodge is a country retreat just outside Underberg in the foothills of Southern Drakensberg of South Africa, that is part of the Ukhahlamba World Heritage site.

Penwarn lies in a beautiful valley traversed by two rivers and forms part of our Waterford Farm operations to which guests also have access. There is much to be seen and enjoyed, be it on Penwarn or on Waterford.  

The Penwarn/Waterford Estate is a 3800 hectare spread bordering the Ukhahlamba World Heritage Site. A variety of game including zebra, wildebeest and other antelope roam free across the hillsides and plains, while the blue heights of the Drakensberg rise up to the west.

Waterford Farm is home the to the largest single dairy farm in KZN milking between 1700 and 1900 cows at any one time. It also comprises an unusual and large horse business that breeds and trains a variety of horse breeds.

The farmyard is home to variety of typical farmyard animals including Chickens, Geese, Turkeys, Peacocks, rabbits and ducks.

The horse enterprise consists of breeding herds of Shire, Clydesdales, Percherons, Shire cross Thoroughbreds, American Quarter horses, Arabian horses, Paint horses and our own herds of dun coloured horses and ponies.

Waterford and Penwarn is home to some of the most renowned fly-fishing waters in the country.

Accommodation varies between two fully-catered exclusive lodges - Mthini Lodge and Indabushe Lodge, or our self-catering accommodation - The Log Cabin, Kudu Lodge or Riverside Cottage. Mthini Lodge also have a self-catering option.

 

ATTRACTIONS - THINGS TO DO

We offer our guests the following activities for them to experience. Guided tours around the dairy Guided tours around the horses Horse trails Horse training Birding tours Hikes Fishing Bushman paintings Tours in the district 2 And 3 Day Tours If that is not enough to keep you occupied for a week or more, just relaxing in some of the most stunning scenery in the world should keep you happy for a few days.

Guided tours around the dairy. Come and see how a large dairy functions, the milking of the cows, the feeding and management of such a large herd. Come see the calves, the milk storage and how the whole business of dairy farming works. We find that our visitors are intrigued by what really happens on a dairy farm.

Guided tours around the horses. We will show you examples of all the various breeds we have. Be introduced to our massive draft horses – the Shires, Clydesdales and Percherons. Come face to face with our athletic American Quarter Horses and our beautiful refined Arabians. Enjoy the colours of our Paints and hopefully be intrigued with the shades of our dun horses and ponies.

Horse trails.
We have a wonderful horse trainer who will take you on horse rides through our magnificent scenery and get you close to the game. You will be given tips and advice on how to work with horses.

Horse training. Once again, our skilled trainer will demonstrate to you how he goes about training horses, we will be very surprised if you are not in awe of this man's natural abilities and communication skills with a horse. We will arrange demonstrations for you. We also will be holding formal clinics in the future on horse training. These clinics will be run by two extremely competent specialist horse trainers.

Birding tours. For the bird viewing enthusiast, we offer an exceptional variety of bird life including some very special, rare species. We can take you on a guided tour where we will do our best to show you some of these rare specials that include Wattled Cranes, Bearded Vultures, Stanley Bustards and Bald Ibis.  A more complete list consisting of some 300 species to be seen is available at the lodge. Included in this list is the possibility of seeing all three Crane species on this one property, up to 400 Cape Vultures and 14 Bearded Vultures, a myriad of waterfowl, a variety of birds of prey, many summer migrants, including hundreds of White Stalks, Auger Kestrels, Quail, 1000’s of vlei birds in the many hectares of wetlands, Fish Eagle and Osprey, and the list goes on. Once in a while we get unusual temporary visitors like Lappet Faced Vultures, Pelicans, Flamingos, Marabou Storks... and who knows what might pop up during your visit.

Hikes. You can walk for days around the property discovering new areas. You also may ask for a guide to take you on a guided hike either around the property or through the adjacent World Heritage Site. These hikes can vary from just a few kilometers to rigorous hikes for the experienced hiker.

Fishing. For the fishing enthusiast we have a very special variety of fishing available. With over 20 km of trout rivers and 50 dams available to fish in, you can fish for days without fishing the same water twice. We have over 10 km of the Nqwaqwane River and 10 km of the Nqwaqwanyana River available. These rivers have natural wild trout. The rivers are extremely beautiful with rapids and huge pools and will treat any river fisherman to a great outdoor experience.

Over 50 dams are stocked with trout, both Rainbow and Brown. A few dams at the lower end of the system also have Bass for the bass enthusiast. We have a number of selected dams that offer trophy size fish, with many fish over 10 pounds being regularly caught. The biggest brown trout caught thus far was 12 and half pounds and numerous Rainbow trout larger than this have been landed.

These exclusive trophy dams are managed under a separate management policy and are reserved for the specialist fly fisherman.

Bushman paintings.
This area abounds with Rock Art.  We have some special sites on the farm and can also arrange for you to see more Rock Art in the district if you would like to. Rock Art is special and is protected by law. Groups are taken to view the Rock Art under the supervision of a registered Rock Art Guide in order to preserve it for the future.

Tours in the District. We will happily assist in arranging visits to many of the more popular places like Richenau mission, the local Cheese factory, the Himeville museum, local art galleries or any one of the many other local places of interest in and around our beautiful district. We also arrange trips up the ever popular Sani Pass with pick ups direct from the lodge if required.

2 And 3 Day Tours. We offer 2 and 3 day tours that cater for up to 25 people. Transfers will be arranged from Underberg.

 

RATES

RATES GUIDE : 1 December 2009 to 30 November 2010
Rates Frozen for 2010 !!!
mThini Lodge (Overlooking Lake)	Dinner, Bed & Breakfast, per person sharing	R 1,050 per person per night
	Entire Unit Self-cater (max 8 pax)	R 3,000 per night
	(No Bed & Breakfast & preferably more than 1 night stay) No mid-week specials
Indabushe Lodge  Luxury Suite	Dinner, Bed & Breakfast, per person sharing	R 1,050 per person per night
	Bed & Breakfast, per person sharing	R 950 per person per night
	Midweek Special - Sunday Night to Thursday Night
	DB&B, per person sharing	R 800 per person per night
	B&B, per person sharing	R 700 per person per night
Indabushe Lodge Standard Double room	Dinner Bed & Breakfast, per person sharing	R 900 per person per night (single room surcharge 50%)
	Bed & Breakfast per person sharing	R 700 per person per night (single room surcharge 50%)
	Midweek Special - Sunday Night to Thursday Night
	DB&B, per person sharing	R 600 per person per night
	B&B, per person sharing	R 500 per person per night
Kudu Lodge (Stand alone, thatched cottage)	Dinner Bed & Breakfast (small groups 6-8 pax)	R 540 per person per night
	Self-catering (2 pax)	R 350 per person per night
	Self-catering ( > 2 pax)	R 300 per person per night
Riverside Cottage Stand alone, old farmhouse) (Old Green House)	Self-catering (8-10 pax)	R250 per person per night
	Peak Season:	Minimum R1000 per night
Log Cabin (Private, rustic, gas lighting)	Self-catering (2-4 pax)	R 200 per person per night
Meals	Breakfast Light Lunch Dinner Picnic Basket	R 70 per person Variable (on request only) R 130 per person R 70 per person
	We do not serve Halaal or Kosher Foods
Trout Fishing	R 100 per rod per day (bag limit of 2 all fishing)
Bass Fishing	R 100 per rod per day (no limit)
Rod Hire	R 50 per rod per day
Horse Rides	R 150 per hour (Beginners to advanced)
Pony Rides	R 50 (20 minutes)
Cattle Round-up	R 400 per person (on horseback)
Horse, Dairy & Farm Tour	R 100 per person
Guided Bird Watching	R 200 per person
Clay Pigeon Shooting	R 200 per person (5 clays each)
Guided Walk To San Art	R 50 per person
Mountain Biking	Bring your own or we can arrange bikes at R250.00 per bike per day.
Guided Trips up Sani Pass	R 510 - R 560 per person (buy your own lunch at Sani Top) PASSPORTS ESSENTIAL!
Beauty Treatments	Variable
CHILDREN WELCOME. Children under 10 years stay for half price