Brahman Hills is best known as a wedding venue, and a very beautiful one, but as we found out it’s a great little spot for a weekend getaway too! In this post I’ll share all the photos from our night in the Midlands a few weeks ago, and give you all the details on where we stayed.
So read on if you’re considering Staying at Brahman Hills, Midlands Meander…
To celebrate our 1 year anniversary (how did that go by so fast? It literally feels like last weekend that we got married, you can read all about our beach wedding here), we decided to spend a night in the Midlands.
We love the Midlands Meander, especially in Winter.
But I had never been there in Autumn, and I had NO idea how beautiful it was going to be!
Leaving Durban on the +-2 hour drive to Nottingham Road in mid May, you start to notice a change in the scenery (and the air – chilly!) as you reach Hillcrest.
But I wasn’t prepared for the incredibly gorgeous contrast that takes your eye as soon as you reach the Nottingham Road area…
The TREES had become the most picturesque sight in all colours of bright yellow, burnt orange, rust and red.
Most of the trees were still FULL of leaves, and the ground below was carpeted in the same strikingly beautiful colours.
There are haphazardly placed trees in green fields with cows and little dams, there are trees that line driveways to farms for 1km or more, there are rows of windbreaker trees…ALL in the same vivid, warm colours, against a bright blue sky.
It’s GORGEOUS!
If you live in a country (or town) where this happens on a yearly basis, I apologise for my excitement. But I had never seen this before in real life. Only in pictures or on tv.
I did my best to capture the beauty and I do love these photos, we definitely won’t forget out 1 year anniversary. I’ve already framed several of the pics, lol.
We stopped at Piggly Wiggly for lunch on the way there. And for dessert we found that the Wedgewood shop sells ice-cream by the scoop! It was super delicious.
Anyhoo, let’s get back to Staying at Brahman Hills, Midlands Meander.
This is usually quite a pricey place to stay, I just so happened to stumble across a special which gave us a huge discount.
Brahman Hills Accommodation:
- 30 King Size Hotel Rooms
- 12 Self-Catering Cottages
- Or you can stay at Springholm Cottages which are affiliated with Brahman hills and are just 4.5km away if you’re attending an event and want to stay nearby
See their website here for more information.
After checking in and deciding on where we would have our dinner (we chose The Stables restaurant), we went to drop our things off in our room.
We stayed in one of their King Size Hotel Rooms, which wasn’t huge, but it was very comfortable, and each room has a private courtyard garden which I really liked.
It was a bit too chilly to sit outside much while we were there, but it would be lovely on a warm day.
After getting settled in our room, we went for a walk to the restaurant and ordered some Prosecco which we enjoyed on the balcony overlooking the immaculately manicured grounds.
The gardens at Brahman Hills are something to see!
If you’re in the area, you should just stop by for tea or a meal to see the beauty of these gardens. You will not be disappointed I can assure you.
I can honestly say they are the most pristinely looked after, well laid-out gardens I’ve seen with my own two eyes.
And the view of the dam, rolling green hills and farmland in the distance doesn’t hurt.
They even have vegetable and herb gardens, which, if you know me, is my dream.
I spent a fair amount of time just staring at them longingly ha ha. And taking lots of pictures.
You can obviously arrange an afternoon high tea in the garden, as there was a couple enjoying a 3 teared sandwich, scone, pastry and cake ensemble while we wandered around.
We took a little stroll around the gardens and the dam with our champagne, and then headed back to our room to get ready for dinner.
Dinner was at The Stables for us.
I was really wanting to try the Skyfall Restaurant, but alas, this was under renovation.
We could choose between a fancy set menu in the Wine Cellar, or take a short drive down to The Stables, still within the property, for their standard menu which appealed more to us at the time.
The Stables restaurant was full of character! We loved it, very cozy, dark and moody. Perfect for a romantic dinner on a cold night.
It’s unlike me, but I can’t remember exactly what we ate! Most out of character. But I do remember it was yum and we were both happy with what we ordered.
The only thing that was slightly disappointing was that I really felt like something chocolatey, or some kind of cheesecake dessert, and they didn’t have anything like that on the menu.
So we skipped dessert and saved our sweet tooth for the next day when we knew we would be visiting Blueberry Cafe at Netherwood Farm!
Now, now, now.
Let’s talk Blueberry Cafe.
This is serious business.
Hands.Down…
The.Very.Gosh.Darn.BEST…
BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE I HAVE EVER TASTED. EVER.
The End.
Thanks for reading Staying at Brahman Hills, Midlands Meander. Just kidding!
We had breakfast there, and the kind lady managed to squeeze us in even though it was Mothers Day and we hadn’t booked. Oops. Rookie mistake.
Make sure you book. Because you don’t want to get there and not get a table. That would be so bad.
Anyhoo, the real story here is the CHEEEEEESECAKE.
Here’s the thing. I love cheesecake. Especially fruity cheesecake. And my standards are quite high at this point.
Not to give away my age or anything, but let’s just say by this time in my life I’ve tried a fair few pieces of cheesecake, lol.
Homemade, coffee shop and restaurant cheesecakes in many flavours and variations. Baked, fridge, all types of crusts…
This blueberry cheesecake at The Blueberry Cafe is different.
It’s creamier than usual, and silky silky smooth, and the biscuit base is JUST RIGHT. It’s not too sweet, but not too cheesy, and the blueberry coulis is incredible.
The slice isn’t too big either, so you don’t feel like you might die from over-indulgence.
Just do yourself a favour and try it, if you love fruity cheesecake, you will LOVE this one.
Other than the food, this place is so darn cute. The entrance is covered in hanging baskets, they have a curio shop and lots of baked goodies to buy, as well as very fresh farm produce.
I meant to buy some jams but I forgot! A little tradition I have when I’m away and I see fresh farm jam, I just can’t resist getting one or two. It’s a childhood memory thing for me.
Now, this is a bit odd to say, but it’s a must to visit the bathroom at this cafe. You’ll see why below.
There’s a sign that says “Don’t worry, only the cows can see you.”
With full bellies we wandered next door to Fork and Cleaver to take a look-see. This restaurant wasn’t there the last time we visited.
And we were well impressed. So much charm! We wished we could stay for a late, lazy lunch. But alas we had to hit the road.
Even though we were only away for 1 night, this felt like such an adventure, and exactly the break we needed from the real world.
I felt like I had been transported to another continent. Such beauty lies on our doorstep.
I can’t wait for our next adventure! We might be road tripping to Botswana soon…If we do, I’ll be sure to take you all along for the ride.
Check back soon for more travel posts, home renovation content, healthy food and more.
