iDube Lodge Walkersons

Spacious home.

Inside-cum-outside braai works with gas, but someone/previous visitors made a proper fire in it and it had not been cleaned.

There was a lot to like. Obviously, it is situated in Walkersons. It is a beautiful estate. The house is large with many rooms, each with their own bathrooms. The bathrooms surprised everyone. There's even a toilet and a basin near the reception. Each room was provided with towels for the bathroom, which was really appreciated. And obviously toilet paper. The view from the porch was amazing. We took a lot of pictures there. You can see the sun rise over the hills early on the morning. The outdoor table and chairs were very nice and useful too. The fishing areas though far (see the next section), was still somewhat in a walk-able distance. Everyone enjoyed the kitchen. It had all the tools and cutlery we needed. The dining table was also large enough for the six of us. We loved the peaceful atmosphere and the space to relax, make food and enjoy each other's company.

The Booking.com post of the place does not mention how far the house is from the fishing areas, but the two pictures of the dams implied they were close. They are not. They are a steep 10 minutes walk away. It is unfortunate, as this was a key reason why we chose the place. It would be nice if the posting could be clearer about this. We noticed a couple of maintenance issues. In the one bedroom upstairs either there was either mold on the walls or the paint was coming down. The other bedroom upstairs had four spiders in the bed (perhaps this was unavoidable). One other toilet had a leak. The front door to the patio is very difficult to open or close. For those who want to braai: there was no braai tong. There is the inbuilt gas braai and a Weber. The washing soap was nearly finished. As were the dish washing machine tablets. It did make it harder to keep everything clean. We ended up buying another packet of washing tablets and soap. These are small buys, but a hard pill to swallow considering the cost of the place. Inside the house there is an outdated welcome letter talking about fishing licenses and other things which were provided. We looked for the licenses but could not find it. We understood then that it was outdated, but it is confusing to leave it up in the house. A note on the host: She was friendly. I just wish the communication was better. Even an hour before we arrived we did not have access codes for all the visitors. It took repeated calls to get a response. I asked for a map, which was ignored. An image was sent over the Booking site which did not go through correctly, when I pointed this out it was ignored. To be fair and as a disclaimer for my review: Those of the group who wanted to fish got a license for Saturday and Sunday. A fine of about R1000 was given for one of them who fished on the Friday night (the fine is understandable). Payment was made a few hours after the owner informed me. But it could have been communicated better.

Spacious, and comfortable. The kitchen was well stocked with everything you need. Loved the braai area that also opens into kitchen and the fact that they stocked some wines in case you run out and based on trust you leave payment on a basket. The house has awesome views too.

No WiFi. But they do mention it so I carried my own dongle.

Everything

Could not find the keys to open the stacking doors of the lounge.

Great spacious bedrooms