Few city dwellers would balk at the opportunity to swap their work-home monotony for a break in the country.
Real country — complete with farm animals, a lake, abundant bird life, wholesome food and quaint local “country” folk who wear sensible jerseys and greet strangers with smiles.
Perhaps that sounds a bit clichéd, but my recent weekend visit to the Irene Country Lodge was everything but that.
Accompanied by the early morning Highveld mist on either side of the Ben Schoeman highway, the Centurion shopping malls soon gave way to stark oak trees and — after a 40-minute well-marked drive from Johannesburg — the glazed golfing greens of Irene.
Irene was first proclaimed a town in 1902. Bought by Johannes Albertus van der Byl from a businessman who established a transport company between Lourenzo Marques (now Maputo) and Pilgrim’s Rest, as well as the first gunpowder factory in South Africa and the Irene lime works. All on a farm that was originally known as Doornkloof.
General Jan Smuts bought a third of the original farm in 1908 and transported an old wood-and-iron officers’ mess — used by the British soldiers in Middelburg during the Anglo-Boer South African War — to the area and converted it to accommodate his growing family. It is known locally as the “big house” — but more about that later.
It is not without a sense of irony then, that the first impression of the lodge is one of a sturdy English colonial establishment, with its wooden doors, window frames and brass plant holders. Two large fox-hunting prints greeted us in the entrance hall.
Similarly, the spacious bedroom was decorated with patterned and floral finishes from the full-skirt curtains to the checked fabrics on the sofas and scatter pillows complemented by the crisp white cotton linen.
The en suite bathroom had thoughtful packages of shower caps, mending and “vanity” kits. This attention to detail was echoed throughout the lodge, with the personalised welcome notes, towelling gowns and slippers, turned-back linen with chocolates before bedtime and the option to use feather pillows.
After a buffet breakfast we enjoyed a short walk around the rustic lake, dodging a minefield of duck droppings and spotting an array of birds, such as guinea fowl, swans, plovers and Egyptian geese. In the background golfers went about their business on the Irene golf course, while a makeshift marquee housed a no doubt chilly bride, groom and guests, bolstered by a quartet of musicians. It seems the lodge caters to a variety of clients — later a colourful jumping castle and balloons were set up on the lawn to help a lucky toddler celebrate his or her birthday.
Lured by earthy smells, a visit to the adjacent, more than a century old, Irene farm saw us trudging through mossy lucerne and having face-to-face encounters with chickens and calves. There was an overall village feel — with locals bringing their own containers and pails to buy untreated milk and other delights, such as cheeses and home-baked breads.
We were fortunate that our visit coincided with a farmer’s market — held near the “big house”. It seemed the entire community of Irene was engaged in buying and selling trinkets and food to one another or perhaps just catching up with neighbours’ news and wandering around in the red dust.
The “big house” offered a treasure trove of General Smuts’s legacy — it has a fascinating collection of, among other things, anecdotal correspondence by visiting dignitaries (including the Greek and English royal family). They write of books hidden under living-room furniture, bemused that Smuts chose to surround himself with the cacophonous cries of children in a tin structure with the “veld up to the front door”, rather than in a residence befitting a statesman.
Later that evening I understood the crux of this “Smutsian” sentiment. Perhaps the seduction of a getaway lies not in overt attempts to create romance.
Although with the lakeside candle-lit dinner on the patio, the ochre horizon dotted with geese, the delicious butternut soup followed by grilled Canadian salmon, vegetables and Chardonnay and the head and neck massage did help.
But it’s the state of mind one longs for, in which one is seduced to stay in the “country”, amid the peaceful beauty of forgotten things.
The lowdown
Why go:
To take advantage of the winter weekend specials.
Where it is:
Nellmapius Drive, Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
What it’s like:
2007 finalist of World’s Best Luxury Hotels. All suites face the lake and have 16-hour room service, wireless internet access, direct telephone dialling, DStv satellite television, mini bars
What it offers:
A variety of conferencing, weddings and picnic facilities. It is close to historic sites and walks such as the Hennops River hiking trail and wildlife in the Zwartkops nature reserve. The area offers excellent golfing opportunities, with two adjacent 18-hole golf courses.
Contact: Tel: 012 667 6464; www.irenecountrylodge.co.za