After our visit to the bush earlier this year as a family of three, Maddie came home to a ton of stories to tell her nana and grandad about. The things she saw, the animals she learnt about, the game ranger she made friends with, the car she drove and the fire we sat around. It was listening to her tell these stories and Brett chipping in to tell his parents about the trip we took that instantly wished to organise a family trip with my in-laws for them to experience a ‘bush holiday’ – something they haven’t been fortunate enough to experience yet. Having Brett be able to experience it with his parents while he still can together with them having the chance to experience something like this with their grandchild really spurred me on wanting to make it happen.

Bush holidays are typically expensive. Other than having to travel quite far up north for your ‘typical’ big five experience and the price tag it comes with – going away as a family of six can be out of reach for a lot of people. I began looking at options we could look at to spoil our in-laws with a bush holiday and while I was doing some research I don’t know why I didn’t think of them straight away because they are quite literally on our doorstep… Rain Farm Game & Lodge.

Providing the North Coast with a touch of Africa, Rain Farm Game & Lodge is a wildlife sanctuary perfect for both day visits (something we have previously done a couple of years ago) and affordable wildlife getaways.

With 10 self-catering cabins or six tree top tents – there is a variety of accommodation choices available to suit your needs. The biggest being the Wildebeest Rondavaal which sleeps eight, followed by the Giraffe which sleeps six, Water Buck which sleeps six and the two sleeps include; Luxury Dam Facing units, Luxury Tree Top Tents and the Zebra honeymoon suite.

We surprised my in-laws and sister-in-law with a midweek two night getaway as a family to Rain Farm Game & Lodge. It also happened to fall on my mom-in-law’s birthday…

A short 35 minute drive from Umhlanga, we headed to the farm as a family and boy we were absolutely spoilt! From the comfortable, homely accommodation to the beautiful scenery and the animals to the food and hospitality!

OUR ACCOMMODATION: 
We stayed in the self-catering Giraffe Farm House which is idyllically situated looking out onto the property’s second dam. Saying it is a breath-taking view in the morning is an understatement! I am not a morning person but on both mornings I got up to watch the sunrise on our private patio to catch the abundance of wildlife activity around our house.

The stand alone farm house is private and ideal for a family as it sleeps six, has a full kitchen, lounge with TV (including DSTV Commercial Bouquet), a fireplace, a rim flow private plunge pool, a veranda and outdoor braai area.

My favourite feature on the house – the two beautiful main bedrooms which are air-conditioned as well as the upstairs loft. There is a massive bath as well as shower and two toilets. The house even has wifi!

Often travelling with family and staying under the same roof can feel a little much but we were all super comfy for the duration of our stay. The fact that both Brett, Maddie and I along with my in-laws both had our own main bedrooms was incredible! It was super spacious.

THE LODGE: 
The common areas of the lodge are really beautiful. It’s a short drive from the accommodation – no matter where on the property you stay. You park at reception and walk down to a beautiful bar and restaurant deck overlooking the sanctuary (with giraffe and buck adding the the scenery) along with a beautiful rock swimming pool.

A short walk away from the main deck is a kids area which they also hire out for kids parties. It’s kitted with a jungle gym and fun wildlife murals.

There is also a beautiful adventure golf course which is always a hit! We had a couple of rounds of adventure golf as a family and it was so fun!

A few bucks even came close to join in on the fun…

GAME DRIVES: 
Both my father-in-law and my sister-in-law have never experienced a proper game vehicle game drive so it was super special to jump onboard one of Rain Farm’s game vehicles and transported around the property to view their wild life. Both our game rangers were incredibly informative and kept up captivated the entire time. Allowing us to stop, take in all we were seeing and offered super interesting facts about everything from the land to the trees, the wildlife and the birds.

In terms of wildlife – Rain Farm Game & Lodge homes giraffe, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, impala and various other buck. Enough to truly feel like you have seen a decent amount of game. The landscape is truly beautiful too!

Maddie throughly enjoyed the afternoon game drives too. She even got to touch a caracal in the enclosure and an ostrich egg! She was thrilled! The game rangers really do try and cater and entertain the kids too on the game rides.

FOOD
While self-catering is a nice cost affective option, we really wanted to experience what the kitchen at Rain Farm Game & Lodge had to offer. We couldn’t resist the offer to dine in the plains view restaurant led by their creative Executive Chef who is overseen by Chris – one of the owners of the farm who you is all hands on deck and so incredibly attentive in all aspects of our experience.

We were truly blown away by the food offering. We had lunch on arrival on our first day and wow, the options! We cannot wait to go back to try the rest of their menu… so much variety! From jalapeno poppers, nachos bowl or soup of the day for starters, various flatbreads, salads, wraps and burgers along with steak options, crumbed chicken breast, fish of the day and curry. There is also a kiddie menu with the most brilliant names – “I’m not hungry!” – crumbed chicken strips and chips, “I don’t want that” – spaghetti Bolognaise, “I want granny” – boerewors and chips and “I want to go home!” – a maragrita or Hawaiian pizza in what for it… the shape of an aeroplane, unicorn or bunny!

Not only is Rain Farm Game & Lodge passionate about nature and conservation, but also about the community and local business. They try and use as much locally sourced produce on their menu where possible.

Around our table we got to see and sample a variety of dishes including; the curry of the day which was a delicious generous portion of pumpkin and prawn curry, the beef burger with melted cheese, bacon and onion rings, the nachos bowl and the big chief boerie roll! They were all incredible and honestly well worth their prices! Super affordable with the curry being the most expensive at R100.

We also enjoyed a birthday dinner for my mom-in-law in their beautiful in-door dinning room fitted with a fire place and a beautiful wine cellar. The perfect setting for an intimate and cosy family dinner.

For starters we had the steamed mussel pot with cider steamed mussels with fresh cream and chives, served with artisanal bread and the anti pasta plate with calamata olives, cured meats, cheese, peppers, artisanal bread and hummus. I absolutely loved the mussel pot! SO creamy!

For mains we all went for the tomahawk surf and turf… because who doesn’t enjoy a steak topped with avocado, prawns and white wine sauce?

Art on a plate and yes it tasted even better than it looked!

For breakfast we decided to do breakfast at the lodge on both mornings. The menu was also a treat of choices… We tried a variety of dishes over the two days including the smashed avo on artisanal bread, topped with cherry tomato and danish feta. The breakfast medley is also worth a mention – basil pesto and feta toast topped with scrambled egg, bacon, balsamic cherry tomatoes and cheese.

We didn’t have any bad meals at all and will definitely be back as a day visitor just to enjoy a meal at the lodge again soon!

On our last night at Rain Farm Game & Lodge we did a braai at lodge which was a highlight for us too. We made some memories over some red wine and Maddie cooking with her nana and grandad.

PICNIC 
We were treated to the most beautiful picnic alongside one of the property’s dams. We arrived to the most beautifully set up lunch spread to enjoy as a family in the serene setting. The water glittering, chirps of birds and sounds of nature.

It was really such a special experience with our family! These picnics are a service they offer for day visitors too.

Overall we had an amazing luxury weekend away with a rustic wildlife experience. Rain Farm Game & Lodge is really one the the most perfect venues for affordable day visits or wildlife getaways for the whole family. It was a laid-back, effortless (on our part) special getaway that we as a family will treasure forever!

A huge thank you to Chris and Cara at Rain Farm Game & Lodge for hosting us and for being the most incredible, attentive hosts anyone could ask for! The love and attention they put into their game and lodge is commendable!

RATES:
RATE PER ADULT PER NIGHT
R750 per person (Min 3 guests)
5-6 Guests R700 per person
RATE PER CHILD PER NIGHT
R550 per child
5-6 Guests R500 per child
SINGLE RATE PER PER NIGHT
R1000

Until next time… 

mondevill@gmail.com | @Being_Maddies_Mom | www.facebook.com/monrobebymoniquedevilliers/

DISCLAIMER: This is sponsored content Rain Farm Game & Lodge however my opinions or experience are in no way influenced.