Happy New Year 2011

Christmas Eve impression at Abangane

Christmas Eve at Abangane Guest Lodge

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Unbelievable, but another year has passed without having noticed how time flies by.

Even more unbelievable is the fact, that 3 days ago we celebrated our 5th year of operation.
On the 16th of December 2005, we welcomed our very first guests and it still feels like yesterday.
A lot of people have stayed with us and left a foot print in our memories. Many people have returned and became friends.

Our Christmas is highly unlikely to be white, therefore we like this picture even more!

We at Abangane Guest Lodge wish all of you, your families and friends, a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful 2011!

Staff and Management
Abangane Guest Lodge

World Cup 2018 and 2022

Having had the World Cup in South Africa this year, Abangane Guest Lodge is sorry for all those bidders who were not successful and wishes Russia and Qatar a similar good World Cup as we were privileged to experience!

Summer in the Lowveld

Eventually the summer rains have arrived in the Lowveld!

The view of the brown landscape is changing into a fresh young green one. The garden at Abangane Guest Lodge is recovering from the dry winter and every day new plants are showing their sprouts and flowers.

Breakfast and dinner on the veranda have become daily routine again. The "african music" of the crickets and frogs is a beautiful background sound when enjoying an outside candle lit dinner.

The large beautiful garden, lit with lanterns and discrete spotlights, invites you to an evening walk and a rest at the gazebo or on the romantic garden benches under the trees.

Our neighboring animals like Zebras, Impalas and Giraffes may be found grazing next to the fence.

Tourism Grading renewal

We at Abangane Guest Lodge are proud of the 5th annual renewal of our star grading and that we have qualified for a 5 star grading twice in a row now.

Nevertheless, we stick to our old habits and stay 4 star graded and deliver 5 star service.

Visit the Tourism grading council of South Africa for detailed information on the grading process and to find out who "is" graded.

South African Braai Etiquette

South Africans call themselves proud of being the "Braai Nation". To braai means, having a barbecue. Have a look at the video clip and you will understand the ceremony better without embarrassing yourself.

Hospitality sector guilty of underpaying staff

When comparing offers of accommodation establishments, please take the following into consideration. The cheapest is not always the most ethical one!

Over half of South Africa’s hospitality establishments do not comply with Department of Labour legislation, placing it on government’s list of “high risk” and “problematic” sectors for the 2010/2011 financial year.

This was revealed at a recent parliamentary briefing, where Siyanda Zondeki, Deputy Director-General: Service Delivery for the Department of Labour, revealed the results of an inspection of 2 622 establishments in the hospitality sector. It was found that 56 per cent of establishments did not comply with legislation.

To read the full story please click here.

We at Abangane Guest Lodge adhere to legislation!

2011 holidays at 2010 rates

After long consideration Abangane Guest Lodge has decided to not increase their rates from 01.10.2010 as per usual until further notice.
The current strong Rand to the Euro as well as US Dollar makes South Africa a more expensive holiday destination. Furthermore we also want to maintain affordability for the price sensitive local market.
Our rates are always updated and readily available on our website.
Should the inflation rate force us to eventually re-think our decision, we will still honor all bookings made before the rates adjustment as confirmed with your booking.

Please also have a look at our "Package deal" under specials.

Rhino poaching

News about Rhino poaching.


WHERE THE HORNS COME FROM

click here for the full story (about 11 suspected of Rhino slaughter)

AND WHERE THEY GO TO!

click here for the full story (why Elle MacPherson promotes consumption of illegal Rhino Horn)



Disgusting!

Big5 in 4 hours!

Today we decided to leave Abangane Guest Lodge for a few hours and have a relaxed drive thru Kruger National Park. Within 4 hours we managed to tick the Big5.

But there were 2 sightings we will not forget that quickly!

As we were observing a Leopard behind a bush, after crossing the road, we both were looking mostly out to the right. I suddenly saw something coming from the left, out of the bush. A large Elephant, heading straight for our car.

The only thing for us to do was "stay calm and QUIET". The Elephant walked right to the bonnet of our car, the tusks higher than the bonnet, and he touched the car with his trunk. He got slightly irritated as we tried to make us of the electric windows. That was the moment to really stay calm. He shook his head, again touched the side of our car with his trunk and after a while decided to walk away. Needles to say that our knees were rather weak.

The second sighting kept us busy for over 30 minutes. A Hyena right next to the road with two very young and one older pup. It was amazing to see how the mother played with the young ones. An experience one is not often lucky to have.

Fine dining at Abangane

Abangane Guest Lodge is one of the not so many establishments in Hazyview that offers fine dining to their house guests.

Click here for examples of the menu you can expect at Abangane Guest Lodge.

My african dream!

After we decided in 2005 to leave Johannesburg and open the Abangane Guest Lodge in Hazyview, the proximity to the Kruger National Park was one of our main decision criteria.

Today, almost five years after the opening of our lodge, we are still impressed by the beauty of the park and the region.
As a South Africa tourist you have to experience it and let it work on you. Unforgettable!

A stay in South Africa without Mpumalanga, Blyde River Canyon and Kruger Park, is not a real South African vacation!

Book your dream here!

Dinner at Abangane Guest Lodge

At Abangane Guest Lodge we pride ourselves in fine dining which our guests always enjoy.

However, home cooked food is sometimes the tastiest. Tonight we had meatballs with broccoli in a sauce béchamel and boiled potatoes.
Yummy!


Should you prefer the home cooked style, just let us know with your booking.

Wildlife in South Africa IS dangerous!!

Early this morning we got alarmed by one of our staff members to please come and see one of our dogs. That was a rather rude awakening!!!

Schroeder, our "Opa" Rhodesian Ridge back (10 years old) obviously had an interesting encounter with a porcupine during the night (see photo).

A quick trip to the Vet relieved us. The quill just found its way under the eye along the cheek bone and has done no damage!

Lake Panic @ Kuger National Park

Besides the obvious, the Wildlife at Kruger National Park, there is so much beauty to it which people often oversee.

Lake Panic, on the road from Skukuza towards either Kruger Gate or Phabeni Gate, is always worth a stop. Just sit there, relax and let the landscape work on you. The Lake is very well frequented by various birds and often hippos can be seen just a few meters in front of the wooden decked hide.

Lake Panic is just an hour's drive from Abangane Guest Lodge and worth a sunset visit.

Anti Poaching action at Kruger National Park

The ongoing poaching at Kruger National Park is a serious problem for the Parks management.
We today could witness the anti poaching unit searching for suspect individuals by helicopter ( see photo) and on foot.

The latest media release reads as follows:

South African National Parks (SANParks) announced today that the Kruger National Park (KNP) Rangers arrested another Mozambican suspected poacher in the national park on Monday evening, 12 July 2010.

To read the full story, please click here

Sabie River Golf Club

Now that the World Cup is over, we again find the time for the weekly game of golf.
To play a round at Sabie River Golf Club is not just playing "golf ". The course layout is very interesting with lots of water in play (so make sure you have enough balls).
Besides a good or not so good game of golf, it is worth a visit in any case. The Sabie River flows through the development and also non-golfers are welcome for coffee and cake on the terrace and walk around to observe hippos, crocodiles and birds.
Attached are two photos we have taken yesterday afternoon.
The Golf Course is located directly across the street from Abangane Guest Lodge, on the R536 , in Hazyview.

Back to normal

After 4 weeks of World Cup time, everything at Abangane Guest Lodge in Hazyview is "back to normal".
We hosted some of the most interesting soccer fans from Chile to Japan, Germany, France, UK, the USA and numerous other countries.
It proofed to be as exciting as we expected it to be. Congratulations to the Spanish team on their success. A thriller of a game! We unfortunately could not see the winning goal live as our power supply company Eskom decided to have a problem the moment the second half of extra time started. What a disappointment!!
Now our focus is back on the "game" (as in wildlife).

We thank all our guests for staying with us and wish them everything of the best!!

Germany-Argentina. Hurayyyyyyyy!!!!!

A part of the remaining group of over 50 men (and women) of the Fan club “Sektion Mitteldeutschland” enjoyed the glorious win over Argentina at Abangane Guest Lodge.
We cannot wait for the German “Elf” to repeat this in the game against Spain.

ke nako - It's time

The South Africa vs. Mexico World Cup soccer match that opened this year's tournament has concluded with both teams scoring one goal each ending after overtime periods at 1-1. The South Africa vs. Mexico game featured several thrilling moments for the thousands of fans in attendance.

Siphiwe Tshabalala was the first player to score in the game and in this year's World Cup as he put the ball in at the 55th minute. South African fans had hopes of an upset of the Mexico team but the feeling was short lived. Mexico scored in the 79th minute when Rafael Marquez pushed in a goal to tie the score at 1-1.

A huge crowd of over 83,000 people attended the game of the 2010 World Cup tournament from Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. Both sides had two saves but the time of possession was vastly different. Mexico controlled over 65% of the time in the match and had 16 shots compared to South Africa's 10.

We are ready!!!

We are ready for the FIFA World Cup!

The dining room at Abangane Guest Lodge is equipped with a wide screen TV for our guests to enjoy the soccer games they are not attending at the respective stadia.
This awesome event will be a great experience for all of us, in the company of our guests from around the world. The fully licensed bar is open till late!

Outdoor photos

We regularly post photos on http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/

To see Klaus' gallery click here

To see Ridwaan's gallery click here

6 Days Holiday in Kruger National Park

Lodge owners also now and then need to go on holiday.

What better than taking some time to explore Kruger National Park from "The Very South" to "The Very North". We started off from Hazyview to Satara and stayed for one night in a perimeter bungalow.

From there we drove on to Mopani and had a very nice "bushfeel" Bungalow.

The next day, a trip up north to Punda Maria, 2 nights in a safari tent and exploring the area around Pafuri (border to Mocambique and Zimbabwe).

The next 2 days were the most exciting. We managed to rent the Nshawu Guest House in Olifants Camp with the most stunning 180 degrees view over the Olifants River.

After those days we sadly headed back to our home, Abangane Guest Lodge in Hazyview.

Please visit us on Facebook for lots of photos and read our full trip report on Tripadvisor.

Full moon

Moonlight photo taken at 18h00 at Abangane Guest Lodge. A beautiful moon!

Crocodile Curry

Today we had a "test" cooking session at Abangane Guest Lodge. We always do that before we serve something new to our guests.

Green Thai Crocodile Curry! It was absolutely yummy and will be the new addition to our menu.

If you would like to try it, check our availability by clicking here.

Happy Easter

Abangane Guest Lodge wishes all guests, friends and their families a Happy Easter

Update on our post QE2 dated July 2009

What a pity! It looks like we will all be deprived of the view of the QE2 in South Africa during the World Cup 2010.

We were looking forward to it.

Click here to read the story.

Fun on the Sabi River

Hazyview with its close location to the Kruger National Park has got loads and loads of other activities to offer. Here are some pictures of our river rafting morning this week with friends, operated by "Sabi River Adventures" .

It was great fun and is absolutely recommended.

For other activities offered please click here and/or send us your enquiry.

One afternoon in Kruger National Park

Today was just the right day to spontaneously decide for an afternoon trip into Kruger National Park. With only 15 Minutes drive from Abangane Guest Lodge to the Phabeni Gate, not a problem at all!
It was overcast and not as hot and we locals enjoy days like this, especially after a so far long and hot summer.
It proved to be the ideal day for a game drive and the sightings we had were absolutely awesome.
Here are some examples. You can find more photos of today by visiting Abangane on Facebook.

Another "terrible" day in Africa

I think the words in the movie are slightly different, nevertheless, it hits the nail on the head! Who knows which movie we are talking about?

We could also call it "Another terrible day at "Abangane Guest Lodge"

WHAT ABOUT THE INSURANCE?

As a traveller, whether you are a South African travelling at home or an international visitor to our shores you will want to ensure that wherever it is that you chose to stay during your travels that the accommodation is of the level you would expect. Accommodation that suits you, food you enjoy and a location in which you can relax.

But what about the insurance of the establishment you have chosen? Accidents can, and do, happen and you need to be certain that if you are the unfortunate victim of an accident that is clearly the fault of the owner of the establishment in which you are staying that you can seek compensation and know that the guesthouse has the correct and adequate insurances to look after you.

Sadly, many of the B&B and guesthouse establishments in South Africa do not have either correct or adequate insurances and an accident to you, the fault or negligence of the owner, resulting in major costs may result in you being able to recover very little. A relatively small claim in Pounds would probably be more than most B&B's are worth in South African Rands.

It is for this reason that it is so important that when making a reservation at a B&B or guesthouse in South Africa you confirm that they are insured, covered by a comprehensive policy that will be there to look after you, the traveller, should you suffer an accident the cause of which was the negligence of your host. You can’t afford to ignore peace of mind when you travel.

Check Abangane Guest Lodge's liability cover HERE

© BnB SURE (Pty) Ltd

THE security!!!

For all those who wonder....

1: yes, we have got dogs

2: no, they don't bite

3: yes, they may lick you to death (if you ask them to)

4: yes, his ears ARE too big