I awoke this morning to a humid morning, the air thick with the promise of rain.

As I made my way down a steep winding strip road that leads into the valley, I notice the sign: “30km – Caution Wild Animals”.

Hamilton Parks Country Lodge is situated on the R40 out of Hazyview.  After turning off into the main gate it’s a fairly long but enjoyable slow drive down into the valley through some incredible indigenous forest and breathtaking valley views as the road winds down toward the homestead.

Rumor has it that this property originally belonged to James Stevenson-Hamilton, Kruger National Parks’s first Game Warden in 1902. Hence how the property got its name. It was once a dairy farm and as it changed hands over the years it was extended and built onto until it became the Colonial themed African country lodge it is today.

Thatched and dressed with the authentic smell of an African safari lodge and furnished with dark wood antiques and colonial African décor, there is undoubtedly a romantic air of elegance and regal class here. Hamilton Parks Country Lodge prides itself on a 250 hector property of which an additional 200 to 250 hectors is wild bushveld stocked with an extensive list of game form the big cats, leopard, caracal, civet and genets to bushbuck, nyala, kudu, bush pig, mongoose, mearcats and warthog to name a few.

With a strong interest in the history of the area, the wildlife, and a love for animals, current owner Kurt Mulder offers guided bush walks and horse trails though the property. They also offer paraplegic therapy horse riding as well. If one chooses not to take up the trail walk and ride and would rather spend the day soaking up the sun by the pool, one can do so at the pool located near the main lodge and situated in the surrounds of a vast and stunning indigenous garden over populated with magnificent bird life and a resident peacock. You are guaranteed a day of absolute calm and quiet indulgence.

Hamilton Parks Country Lodge has 14 rooms all of which are situated away from the reception offering a quiet location and privacy. Four of the 14 rooms are en-suite with bath and shower with twin or double beds. Two of these rooms can be set up on request to accommodate a family of up to four. The rest of the rooms are twin rooms with en-suite shower and toilet. All rooms have ceiling fans, tea and coffee facilities, a mini-bar, a mini-safe for valuables and a snack basket. Each room also has an outside veranda looking out into the spectacular surrounds of the valley below.

This South African lodge has an a la carte exquisite menu offering the opportunity the to eat African game and traditional African delicacies if you are up to it. With a professional chef in-house guests iare guaranteed a superb meal.

Hamilton Parks Country Lodge is the type of establishment you go to, to experience the charm of African country living. It’s a quiet and comfortable lodge set up in true luxurious Southern African country lodge style. Here one has connected access to all the tours available in the area, bush walks on the property, a large swimming pool, and some fantastic game and bird viewing. It is expected that guests relax here. It is only a pleasure for the staff here to run around you and make you feel comfortable.

For a long time selling or marketing accommodation through this site was not something of interest to us.  It’s an area that is already extremely crowded, and one that is extremely difficult to be successful in, especially if you’re only seeking to promote the more ethically run establishments. Determining exactly how you benchmark those properties and what criteria you use to assess them creates all manner of problems, and then there’s the consideration that it might not actually have any influence on a consumer’s decision to purchase.

We were introduced to WHL Group last year

We were fortunate to be introduced to the WHL Group early last year, who have spent a great deal time working with the International Centre for Responsible Tourism trying to crack some of these issues,  and in a nutshell the challenges have been significant.  Generating widespread understanding amongst accommodation owners of exactly what is interesting and relevant to potential customers in this space has been one of the biggest ones.  There’s a common belief amongst accommodation owners that allowing guests to reuse bath towels shows a sustainability commitment worthy of note.  Vicky Baker’s recent article ‘Hotels just wash the towels and spare us the green rinse‘ explains quite nicely how this is not the case.

Enabling small accommodations gain access to the online world

So for listing businesses on Make Travel Fair we’ve taken a slightly different tact and teamed up with Project: Exposure.  A social enterprise that works in conjunction with whl.travel and is designed to enable small accommodation owners to gain greater access to consumers by equipping them with everything they need to get online and start selling to guests through the internet.

The barrier to entry for the little guys is often cost.  Cost to get digital photos taken, marketing copy created, a website designed and then most importantly get all this distributed and understand how it works.  Project: Exposure works in the destinations and enables even the smallest accommodation businesses to purchase all of these necessities using their empty room nights instead of cash.  The initiative also retains a long term relationship with the businesses to continue offering support, training and further services where required.

Project: Exposure has also teamed up with the fantastic 360Cities to bring all these great properties into the world of fully spherical panoramic photography, which we’re also able to utilise on Make Travel Fair.  Another point of note is that both our Managing Editor, Michelle Rodrigues and myself have been involved on recent excursions to see how Project: Exposure works in the field.

Substantial discounts on all accommodations

It’s for all these reasons that we are very excited about how and why we are listing the properties that we are.  We hope to install some booking functionality in the future because for all of the properties that you see on here we can offer substantial discounts (of up to 25%) for booking through Make Travel Fair.  In the mean time if anything takes your fancy drop us a line, or try entering our competition The Backdoor and win 7-nights at either Chestnut Country Lodge or Seaforth Country Lodge in South Africa.

Brandwag Farm Cottages in South Africa

Clivia Stream Lodge in South Africa

Clivia Stream Lodge, run by Cindy is a fantastic property nestled amongst the trees on a working litche (lychee) Farm. It’s a couple of minutes up a well maintained dirt track off one of the main roads into Hazyview. The roadside fruit stall, also run by Cindy (selling litches from her farm amongst other fruits) is a perfect marker for the turn off to Clivia Stream Lodge.

Cindy of Clivia Stream Lodge talks with Stephen Chapman / Photo by Jan Vrsinsky

Cindy is originally from Jo’burg and a trained chef. She spent 5 years in Hoodsprite before setting up shop here and running this lodge as a restaurant for the next 5 years. It’s been a few years since she decided to change direction and enter the accommodation business but she’s still a passionate cook, and can be booked a day in advance to serve you a private meal on the verandah.

Kruger National Park is little more than 25 minutes away, and with a game ranger for a husband Cindy will probably have little difficulty in helping you plan your trip to the park.

The self catering main lodge is perfectly suited to 4 adults and 2 children, and newer self contained double ‘honeymoon’ cottage is ideal for a couple seeking a bit of romance.

Other nearby properties

• Chestnut Country Lodge
• Brandwag Farm Cottages

Chestnut Country Lodge in South Africa

Elgin Farm in South Africa

Aard Lui, Bulwer in South Africa

Seaforth Country Lodge in South Africa

Sani Top Chalet in South Africa

Himeville Arms in South Africa