Manzini 34 is the address of our Townhouse in St Lucia, South Africa. The place has been thoroughly renovated from top to bottom, and there are new furnishings in all rooms. This 80 sqm Townhouse consists of two bedrooms, a big lounge area, a fully fitted kitchen, a bathroom and a 70 sqm private garden. On the veranda (picture above) the ‘African roof’ provides you with some shade. Most welcome to Manzini 34 and to follow the progress on this blog! /Daniel & Chris

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Cheetah on display

The sleek, long-legged Cheetah is built for speed, and may top more than 70 km per hour if necessary. Normally the Cheetah hunt medium-sized mammals – often Impalas, but if two or more Cheetah hunt together larger prey can be overpowered. Their habitat is open savannah and light woodland, and that is what you get on your way back from Cape Vidal driving the Grassland Loop heading south or in the northern parts of Imfolozi Game Reserve.


In December 2010 we spotted a cheetah lying on the road while driving around in Imfolozi. A beautiful and memorable meeting that lasted more than 5 minutes, before it took off along the road.



Even though we have visited iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Imfolozi and Hluhluwe Game Reserves many times we are still coming back. Being able to do game drives on our own in our own car makes it intimate and private. We love it, and we will continue to come here as often as possible!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Focus on iSimangaliso Wetland Park

St Lucia and iSimangaliso Wetland Park has been in focus in a number of travel magazines lately. GETAWAY is listing 8 fantastic beach and bush destinations – and fronting Cape Vidal. The magazine go! is focusing on the whole iSimangaliso in a new series, starting within the December 2010 issue.


iSimangaliso has a lot to offer, regardless the size of the wallet or number of days to spend in the World Heritage. Where else in the World do you find 332.000 hectares of wilderness with probably the highest concentration of species, besides 4 of the big 5, hosting African wild dog and cheetah just around the corner? Welcome to St Lucia and the wonder of iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu-Natal!

Leopard track nearby Mission Rocks

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Thursday, January 6, 2011

Big 7 around the corner

South Africa being the only country that hosts both the widely known big 5 (Elephant, Rhino, Leopard, Lion and Buffalo) plus the top up with Southern Right Whale and Great White Shark.

For the very first time we completed a Big 7 encounter during one single visit to South Africa. We started off doing the Garden Route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth with a short stop in Gansbaai to tryout Whale watching, but we ended up having a close encounter with a great White Shark too! Exciting is an understatement!


Breakfast at Maphane Hide in Imfolozi Game Reserve

The lucky game drives in Imfolozi gave us the opportunity to get in close contact with large Buffalo herds, Lions and Elephants just an arm’s length from the car. Back in St Lucia and driving around in iSimangaliso we came close to Rhinos and Leopards. Impressive animals all 7 of them, but nothing can outdo a Leopard spotting at a close range before breakfast…

Garden and veranda 2011

Whenever the sun is shining – the private garden is a place in the sun. The ‘African roof’ will give you the shade you need during the hottest hours of the day. The outside area is overlooking the largest pool in St Lucia village.





Lounge area 2011

Enjoy a very large lounge area with lots of nice hand-made curios and carvings. The dining table by the window is facing the veranda, and the two sofas are facing the 42" LCD TV. On request a DVD-player can be arranged for a small deposit.



Kitchen 2011

A large fully fitted kitchen.
Missing something? The braai is on the veranda…




Bedrooms 2011

In the Master bedroom you'll find a double bed, built-in-cupboards and a vanity table. In the smaller bedroom there are two single beds (can be arranged as a double bed on request) and built-in-cupboards with a vanity table. The Townhouse is situated in a nice and quite complex. You will have a good night sleep!

Bathroom 2011

Nice spacious fitted bathroom with a large shower cabin.

Before and after - a glimpse behind the scenes…

We first laid eyes on the Manzini 34 in January 2009 while looking at objects around the Durban and St Lucia areas. The property agent described Manzini 34 as a little diamond – but in need of some TLC (tender, love and caring). And yes, he was right! TLC is just a beginning…

Have a glimpse at 5 pictures before we emptied the house and started the renovations. A big change!


All those stories regarding travels to South Africa, choosing tiles, prices, visits at CTM, road trips to Empangeni, discussions and disputes over small and big issues… We haven’t forgotten, but if we would do this journey again we wouldn’t be that blue eyed and we wouldn’t be so Scandinavian. After all, this is Africa you know…