Blog

Dear Guests and Friends,
What a Fantastic year with very busy March and April to complete our 2016/2017 summer.
Bookings are coming in fast and furious for the new season starting September, with exciting bookings also coming in for the normally quieter May to August period.
You have probably read about the fires we had in the area, December 2016 , mainly the mountain burnt, our whole community clubbed together and eventually brought the fire under control, with the assistance of 3 helicopters, a fixed wing plane and 300 fire-fighters.
The result is many of the indigenous animals including the baboons have had to come down off the mountain to survive, which has being a testing time for farmers and residents alike.
The Drought over the Northern part of South Africa has been relieved with a lot of rain with flooding, some dams overflowing for the 1st time in 10 years. The Cape Town to Port Elizabeth area is in a drought situation with Cape Town now on Grade 2 restrictions followed by Knysna & Port Elizabeth. We are all praying & Hoping for some early rains. Fortunately at Lily Pond we have underground water & harvest rain water from the roofs and have additional storage capacity.

Returning & New Guests , could not believe the Magnificent up-graded rooms.
Winter of 2016 we re-built the En-suite rooms into Garden Suites with large sliding doors & windows * phenomenal bathrooms. ( in a nutshell, Africa and Lily Pond natural surrounding have being brought into the Rooms.)
The Luxury Suites also sport 'similar' new bathrooms with 'rain showers and bath tubs' and large windows also bringing the African sun and environment into the rooms.
The Luxury Garden Suites also have rain protection roofs over the entrance doors.

The Dining room has had an exceptionally busy season with most evenings at capacity, and many guests also choosing the enticing Vegetarian menu. Faith, Josef & Johnathan in the Dining room with Vincent, Angel & Phumza in the kitchen have delivered food which we believe and are told by our guests is the most consistent quality they have had on their holidays. Jerome & Faizal ( our garden/maintenance team) have also developed our own Herb Garden which adds a lot of local flavour!!!
Breakfast Time is still one of Lily Ponds hi-lights , with a Buffet spread as well as sumptious cooked breakfast to order. While the guests enjoy breakfast Carol, Maria & Tony are assisting and planning the days activities for guests with maps & Tide Tables & Bookings for Activities or Massage Times (with Rain or Sean) at Lily Pond. We at Lily Pond know the Garden Route Area better than most, and are available to plan what ever your fancy??
Guests can always talk to our Ladies at Breakfast ,who also service the rooms, if they feel they have forgotten something, or require any assistance. Laurika, Lica, Mandy, Poppie, Doretta & Nonie are always smiling and always willing to assist.

Trails, Walks & MTB , Birding and attractions in the area are far to many to be experienced in a couple of days, and returning guests are now opting to stay for 3 to 7 days, to be able to enjoy the surrounds and still have a relaxing holiday. Some of the new activities are 4 new Wine farms / restaurants as well as a Horse drawn carriage visiting 3 of the farms with wine tasting and lunch. Africanyon, as well as Canopy Tours & Face Adrenalin Bungy have also introduced new packages.
Please contact us if you would like us to put a off-season package ( to include accommodation, attractions & activities) together for you, your friends and family?

All rooms now have new heated towel rails as well as DSTV connection as well as great Wi Fi.

Please let us know if you have any photos or comments you would like to share with The Lily Pond Guests & Staff?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Now Go away on Holiday it is the Best Thing You can Do!!!!!!!!!!!

Kindest Lily Pond Country Lodge Regards
Tony, Maria, Carol & The Lily Pond Country Lodge Team

Since May 2016, Lilypond Managment have been busy with a major re-build and re-furbishing programme, which is now complete with Season already starting. We have also started our major Green Initiative & Energy Saving Programme, with the installation of High Tech Heat Pump Geysers with an Energy save of
70% against conventional geysers.

The Public areas, Lounge,Breakfast area, Dining area & Pool Area have all had a re-vamp. The African / Fusion Dining Experience has some new choices, not forgetting that we offer 2 Different Menus each evening. Normal 'meat,fish,venison or chicken', or Vegetarian.