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| African Reunion House, named after the island off the coast, is considerably larger than it appears in this photo with four bedrooms, five bathrooms, two huge verandas, a Jacuzzi room, open kitchen with dining bar, over-sized dining room and inviting entertainment/TV/living room/lounge. |
Yesterday, our only challenge once we’d moved into the African Reunion House, was which bedroom we’d choose. After nearly a half hour of walking up and down the stairs to the second level and back and forth on the main floor, we looked at each other contemplating our dilemma.
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| Tom, doing his usual power lounging on the “new” veranda at African Reunion House, another temporary house we’re enjoying in Marloth Park. |
“You know what, Honey?” I said, grinning from ear to ear. “Look at us. Our biggest problem is which bedroom to choose.” We burst into laughter.
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| The stone braai area, conveniently located to the house and pool. |
At that point, we quickly made a decision. We’d choose the two bedrooms on the main floor, the one overlooking the pool for me to use for showering and dressing for the day and the other for sleeping.
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| The infinity-edge pool is cool, clean, and refreshing. We took our first dip today. |
This way, I wouldn’t awaken Tom in the mornings when I usually get out of bed before him. We’ve made this type of arrangement in most of the houses in which we’ve lived in the past 16 months. This plan has served us well.
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| Today, we had a chance to soak up a little sun after the dip. No wonder I’m behind on posting today. I was goofing off! |
Moving was relatively easy with Zeff and Okee Dokee helping on both ends. An hour after arriving at the African Reunion House, we were fully unpacked and organized, in awe of the ample supplies and storage areas at our disposal.
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| This wall of various size and shape twigs and branches provides a privacy wall at night simply by flipping a light switch that magically creates full blocking of the veranda. |
Louise and Danie stopped by later in the day to check on us, although it was totally unnecessary. Their thoughtfulness and consideration for our well being are outrageous.
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| The view from the main floor veranda provides an excellent sweep of the yard as one searches for visitors. |
Louise, bless her heart, had brought along four beautiful white linen napkins knowing that we were entertaining Linda and Ken for breakfast on Tuesday morning. Apparently, she’d read our recent post about how in our old lives, I’d always used linen napkins when entertaining and for ourselves when dining alone.
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| Danie handcrafted this wood door. Not only is he a highly talented designer and builder, but, he also excels in the fine art of woodworking. |
There are no words suitable to describe the quality of service and attention to detail that these two over-the-top hosts provide on all of their properties. One hardly needs to ask. They pick up tidbits in conversation and respond to them quickly with the utmost of consideration. We’ve never felt so pampered in our lives.
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| Yesterday afternoon, while riding with Okee Dokee and Zeff, both of whom helped us move from Khaya Umdani to African Reunion House, we spotted this giraffe along the road. We tried to entice her to stop munching and pick up her head for a good photo. |
And, this same personal service they offer is evident in the meticulously stocked, designed, decorated, and maintained houses they own and manage. If one were expecting perfection, they’d be totally fulfilled. If one expects less than perfection, they’d be surprised and in awe, as we have been long before we arrived, by the prompt and complete answers they provided for all of my annoying and seemingly endless questions.
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| This was the best photo we could get from her. That must have been one tasty tree. |
African Reunion House, although different from Khaya Umdani, offers similar quality design, decor and construction. With four bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom as well as a fifth half bathroom on the main floor, two are located on the main floor, one of which is fully handicap assessable with a “roll in” shower and extra-wide doorways, the room we finally chose for sleeping. The bed, the pillows, and the covers were exquisitely comfortable.
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| A few hours before leaving Khaya Umdani on Sunday, our friends Linda and Ken stopped for a visit. Earlier, I’d noticed this spider when I walked through its web. Ken captured this excellent photo, identifying it as the Golden Orb, which is non-poisonous. As far as Spiders go, what a beauty! As far as photos go, what a beauty! |
One of the many enticing aspects to this home is the “outdoor” fully screened Jacuzzi tub off of one of the two bedrooms in the second-floor suite which also includes an inviting living/TV/entertainment room.
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| Coincidentally, today, when OKee Dokee and I stopped at the little house for supplies she spotted this Golden Orb, hanging over the pool. My camera can’t do as good a job as Ken’s. But, I was thrilled to get this shot showing a smaller spider caught in the web. |
There would be no disappointment by a group of four couples deciding on which of the four bedrooms to select. Each of the bedrooms and the other rooms in this fine home has its own special charm and amenities.
We’d planned to dine out last night, but decided to cook instead. The fully equipped kitchen was calling to me. I couldn’t wait to chop and dice in the open space overlooking yet another tastefully decorated dining room with seating for eight. Also, eight can be served on the veranda at the comfortable handcrafted wood table and wicker chairs.
Last night, not only did we dine at that spacious table on the main floor veranda (there’s an additional veranda on the second level), but we stayed outdoors until after 11:00 PM, looking and listening to the nighttime sounds of Marloth Park, now so familiar and music to our ears.
After an excellent night’s sleep, we couldn’t wait to wander outdoors to begin the new “Vigil for Visitors” which without a doubt, will prove to be rewarding, as will be our stay for however long, in the enchanting African Reunion House.
Today, shopping was on the agenda resulting in another trip to Komatipoort for groceries, more data at the Vodacom store, the chemist to pick up Tom’s vitamin B6, which we’d ordered last week, a stop at Credence Clearwater for more bottled water, and a quick trip to the little house for more of our stuff. Leaving at 10:00 am with Okee Dokee, we didn’t return until after 12:00 pm which put me behind on posting today.
For the early birds out there not seeing our post this morning, we apologize for the delay. Tomorrow, we’ll be back on track posting in the morning with lots more photos, South Africa time, of course.
Happy day to all.