LOURENS SCHOEMAN

In the middle of the Karoo one of the most striking and tourist-friendly guest houses, Kingfisher Lodge, has already established itself as a major local and international attraction.

Reinette Te Water Naude checks that a bed in one of her guest house rooms is properly made. (Picture: courtesy of Eastern Province Herald)

Kingfisher Lodge is a private guest house in one of the most beautiful, historic towns in South Africa - Graaff-Reinet. The town, the fourth oldest in the country, was founded in 1786. Better known as the Gem of the Karoo, this town has more proclaimed national monuments (220) than any other town in the country.

Owned and managed by attractive blonde businesswoman Reinette Te Water Naude, Kingfisher Lodge was one of the finalists in this year's national AA Travel Guides and SAA Travel Awards competition. Mrs Te Water Naude was born in the town and grew up on a farm in the Aberdeen district. She returned to her roots in 1979 where she started working at the famous Drostdy Hotel, later becoming manager.

In this time she married well-known local doctor Theo Te Water Naude and they lived in a tranquil home on the banks of the Sundays River. This home was later to become the Kingfisher Lodge. Eight years after their marriage her husband died tragically and in 1993 Mrs Te Water Naude set her heart on developing the old family homestead into a guest lodge.

With the help of architects and builders, many months of hard work resulted in the conversion of the old garage and store-rooms into a unique concept in the South African hospitality industry. This involved the renovating and reconstruction of the existing buildings and the construction of new outbuildings. With the old house complete and restored to her satisfaction, the guest house opened its doors on 21 December 1993.

Kingfisher Lodge offers upmarket accommodation for those wanting to get away from it all for a while and relax in luxurious surroundings. It is situated in a quiet part of the town on the banks of the Sundays River. The large shady garden with its yellowwood trees offers a welcome respite from the Graaff-Reinet heat. The uniquely designed outdoor facilities include the lapa area, a convenient braai area and swimming pool.

There are five luxury guest suites, each uniquely and tastefully decorated with a selection of antiques, Persian or woollen carpets and pictures. All rooms are en-suite and have private entrances with secure parking facilities. When you arrive at the lodge its facade can be seen from the road through the hedge and majestic bougainvillaea. A warm and inviting drawing room provides a relaxing ambience, with an inviting crackling fire for winter evenings. One wakes up to the sounds of bird-song - and an excellent full English breakfast served in the private breakfast room. It is unbelievable to think that this tastefully decorated and vibrantly painted room was once a run-down chicken coop!

The Roman suite is the most famous of the rooms at the guest house. The rich, Roman-styled decor is combined with a blackwood four-poster bed, Sanderson furnishings, Persian carpets and en-suite porcelain bathroom. It has air-conditioning for summer, a fully-stocked bar fridge, as well as satellite remote control TV which can be enjoyed in winter whilst snuggling up under the warmth of mohair blankets.

There is also the Parrot room, which boasts a variety of colours which combine to create a cool and refreshing atmosphere for the hot Karoo days, the Twin-bedded room which offers the weary traveller a warm welcome and the Double-bedded room, tastefully decorated with Sanderson furnishings.

The doors leading to the spacious main dining room are truly masterpieces. The two doors were originally hand-carved by Zanzibar slaves for Cecil John Rhodes' estate Grootte Schuur. The 19th century stained glass doors from the original Te Water Naude family home - now an antique shop - provide a gracious link between the dining room and drawing room.