A Cloudy Drive to Mkhondo (Piet Retief)
On March 24th, it was a very cloudy day, which made for some interesting route decisions. My Garmin suggested a southern route with more freeways, which seemed okay given the overcast skies. My other navigation systems suggested two northern routes, but neither had much in the way of interesting features. I opted for the south route, and while the estimated time seemed high, it actually took much less — around 5 hours to reach Mkhondo (M-K-H-O-N-D-O), also known as Piet Retief (P-I-E-T R-E-T-I-E-F).
Waterside Lodge and the Grotto Restaurant
I ended up at the Waterside Lodge, a very big place that also features the Grotto restaurant, designed to look like an actual grotto. There was a lot of road construction going on in front of the property. When I spoke to the owner, he explained that the construction didn’t really impact people coming to stay at the lodge, but it significantly affected restaurant traffic. As a result, they only opened the restaurant at 5:30 in the afternoon, since townspeople avoided the area during the day due to the construction.
A Tranquil Lakeside Retreat
Despite the construction, the lodge turned out to be a pretty fun place. It sits on a lake with interesting birds on an island. The owner has a big red building where he keeps his cars — he’s clearly an enthusiast — and another large building used for weddings. The property was very tranquil with lots of room for a generous walk.
Final Thoughts on Mkhondo
The town of Mkhondo is pretty basic, but it was a good place to stop. It was a less excitable day, but that’s what makes the other days more exciting. It all evens out in the end. Thank you for coming along!
