We had a magnificent bush experience with friends in January. Maretlwane is situated right outside Mooinooi, Mpumalanga in South Africa.
Upon arrival we went down to a secluded dam area, just below our accommodation. This was the perfect spot to laze around on our lilo’s. The water slide blitzes through the bushes and was exhilarating for both the kids and adults.
Once we’ve all had enough water, sun and fun, we built a huge bonfire and settled around the crackling flames for the night, braaing pork chops and enjoying the night life and each other’s company.
Maretlwane has very poor cellphone reception and there is only electricity available a few hours a day, therefor it was great for the young and old to escape from our online worlds for a few days.
The next day we set off early to the waterfalls. What an experience! A few kilometers' hike from our accommodation opens up into the valley with the waterfall gushing into the ice-cold mountain river below.
The river is deep enough that you can jump from the rocks above into the clear sparkling water.
The water is abundant with life, fish can clearly be seen all around you and they flock close enough to catch for a few crumbs of bread.
A quick hike to the top of the waterfall boasts a magnificent cave, with a built-in river jacuzzi, that brought more than a few laughs as it pushed you into the icy pool beneath the cave.
Baking in the sun, splashing in the pools and jumping from all the different vantage points, exhausted all of us by the early afternoon, so we hiked home and settled around the fire again. The men created a delicious chicken potjie and we relaxed playing board games late into the night.
On our third day, there was a slight drizzle outside. We all still felt a bit tender from all of the sun the previous day, therefor we relaxed and spent the day playing board games, the kids enjoyed the outside swing and we all lazed about around the camp site. The evening we went down to the water and spent a few hours stargazing and enjoying the night life buzzing around us.
On our final day the sun peeked through the clouds again and we were able to lounge around on our lilo’s in the crisp mountain pool, enjoying a few last hours before we made our way back home.
This was a holiday to remember, quality family time spent outdoors. Maretlwane will see us again soon, as we built memories to last us a lifetime!
