We booked our next Airbnb in a small town called Van Reenen. When I was doing the research a few months ago, I had wanted to stay somewhere near the Drakensberg mountains. I came across the listing of a home in Van Reenen, not far from the mountains, called the Waterfall River Lodge. The remoteness of the rustic log cabin appealed to me.
The Dillon family has owned a large track of land in Van Reenen for generations, since the end of the Anglo-Boer War. The land stretches out for hundreds of acres and is bordered on one side by the Wilge River. Once we entered the private gate to the property, we had to drive another distance on a dirt road to reach the owner’s home. Rick emerged from his home preceded by his five dogs that barked at attention when they saw us. Rick looked every bit the rugged South African with a ruddy complexion, full beard and a leather bush hat atop his head.
Rick led us in his truck through a muddy road with puddles left from the recent rains. To reach the lodge, we had to navigate through steep rocky terrain bordered by big boulders and bushes on each side. It looked daunting. We weren’t sure if our van had the power to make it through the steep muddy road without getting stuck. But Rick confidently told us that driving on the rugged roads is “All in the mind.” He was right and we made it safely to the lodge, though without escaping more than a few scratches on either side.
The Waterfall River Lodge is a wonderfully rustic log cabin perched on the banks of the Wilge River with amazing views of the rolling hills, meandering river and upstream waterfall. In the creaking floorboards and door hinges, the worn and patched furniture and mismatched ceramic and glass-ware, I can just imagine the stories and memories this old house must contain.
The kitchen, dining and living areas have surely seen countless gatherings of family and friends. Over the years, modern amenities have been added to the kitchen and it now contains an electric stove-top range, oven, dishwasher and microwave though still retains its rustic charm. There was plenty of cast iron cookware, one entire closet filled with crockery and another closet filled with glassware. The family dining room holds a weathered wooden table surrounded by heavy wooden chairs. The formal dining room is situated in a separate room and seats at least 16. The cozy living room is anchored by a fireplace with firewood piled high on either side. One can easily imagine sitting on the oversized furniture, wrapped in a blanket, in front of a crackling fire on a cold evening.
Just off of the living room, the deck provides a 270 degree views of the surrounding area without a road or another home in sight. Staying in the lodge, we could emerse ourselves completely in the land. Apart from the peaceful river, distant hills and the odd grazing cattle that occasionally wandered in view, there was nothing else for as far as the eye could see.
Leo and I slept in the downstairs bedroom and let the children take over the upstairs master bedroom. The upstairs area contained a library full of games and books that I wish I had more time to enjoy and a pool table. The bedroom, with its wooden floorboards and peaked roof, reminded me a little of the bedroom that Wendy and her brothers shared in the Disney version of the story Peter Pan. When the kids were upstairs, they were in their own world where they had space to create their own memories of this special place. After I put them to bed and kissed them good night, I could hear them talking and giggling in the dark, sometimes late into the night.
The bathrooms were from another time period. All of the sinks had a separate hot and cold faucet unlike the modern faucets where the hot and cold water can be mixed into warm water. Only one of the bathrooms contained a shower while the others had clawfoot tubs for bathing. Although it is not exactly the set-up we are used to, we adapted easily and enjoyed the novelty of the old way of living.
We spent much of our time preparing food and enjoying it together by candlelight at the massive wooden dining table. Leo and RY, with assistance from AY and moral support from DY, cooked many meals on the outdoor braai. When a braai is available, our meals tend to be meat-heavy. With so much practice recently, RY has become quite proficient on the braai, and we enjoyed a steak meal of rib eye and fillet one night and grilled pork chops and chicken thighs another night. They made use of both the American-style round Weber grill and the traditional braai. Even rain couldn’t damper their enthusiasm for grilling and on the first night, despite the rain and thunder, they pulled off a successful braai by carrying it under the cover of the carpark.
EY requested that we bake chocolate chip banana bread together, which is something we used to do together in Shanghai. The kitchen was different, the baking dish was different and the chocolate chips didn’t taste exactly the same, but the aroma when it was baking transported us back to the past.
While we were in Kenya, we had talked about learning to make chapati. With the right motivation, a little time and access to the internet, we can figure anything out. We watched a few youtube videos and got the basic idea. Chapati requires only 3 ingredients and it is similar to Chinese green onion pancakes (葱油饼). AY, EY and I followed the instructions for Kenyan chapati, which might be slightly different from Indian chapati. We made a few slight modifications and turned out our first batch. It looked and tasted pretty good especially when served with chicken curry and rice.
The area around the lodge provided ample opportunity for exploration and adventure. We hiked in the vicinity and followed the river as far up and downstream as we pleased. It was fun to jump around on the huge river boulders. RY and DY liked to call it parkouring and took to Kungfu poses as they leaped across the stones. We found the San rock art (Bushmen paintings) that Rick told us about though the vibrancy of the colors had diminished with age. The paintings date back to around 3000 years ago.
Leo introduced the children to fishing the small mouth yellow fish and bass in the river. Rick lent us a fishing rod and tackle box containing various gear and lures. There was a good fishing rock just a short walk from the cabin and RY was determined to catch a fish. Leo, RY, AY and DY went fishing on several consecutive days, trying their luck at different times of the day, even waking up at 5 am on one day. They tried different baits and different locations to improve their odds. Although RY didn’t catch any fish during the week, he did get pretty good at casting and practiced the art of patience. We were hoping to have fish for dinner one night, but maybe next time. We will see if this introduction to fishing turns into a long-term hobby for any of them.
Even with the cold weather, the kids were intent on swimming in the river. One day, we carried the inner tubes to the river and prepared to jump in. Not me, of course because I hate swimming when the air or water is too cold. I had absolutely no intention of going in. RY has no fear of cold weather swimming and jumped in first. Leo dutifully jumped in next and then helped AY and DY into the water. EY got her legs wet and changed her mind about going in. After swimming, we sat on the big river rocks and watched the sun go down.
We enjoyed our time immensely at the Waterfall River Lodge. It felt so much like home that on most days, we didn’t need to or want to leave the lodge. During our five-day stay, we felt free and wild, far away from any pressures and responsibilities of modern-day life. Time slowed down and we lived more similarly, I imagine, to how people in the past might have lived. Once the sun went down, we relied on the fire and candles to illuminate the indoors which forced our eyes to adjust to dimmer lighting levels. Outdoors, there was only the light of the moon and the stars to light the way. Besides shelter, food, family and a healthy sense of adventure, there isn’t much more that a person needs to live a good life.
History of the Waterfall River Lodge
The home was originally built by a man named Nigel Jeremy Morgan (1954 – 2018) on land belonging to the Dillon Family. He was an interesting man with a life that seemed straight from international spy novel.
Born in the UK, he spent his younger years in the Irish Guards and studied politics at Durham University. In his 30s, he trained as Jesuit priest in Birmingham but left just short of a year into his training due to a disagreement with the abbot about theology.
After a losing $1 million in investors’ money in a failed gold-buying venture in Liberia, he moved to South Africa in 1993 as a freelance security consultant, where he became friendly with the South African intelligence community. During these years, he became an expert in sub-Saharan affairs and undertook various risk management projects in the region on behalf of European companies. In 2000, he moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to manage security at a state-owned diamond mine. During this time, he uncovered corruption within the firm which led to an attempted hit on his life through poisoning with a rare lizard saliva. To save his life, he had to be airlifted to Johannesburg to be resuscitated.
Morgan was somehow involved in the “Wonga Coup”, an unsuccessful coup attempt in 2004 to overthrow President Mbasogo, the dictator of Equatorial Guinea. The level of his involvement is still murky but he ran in the same circles as Mark Thatcher, son of Margaret Thatcher, who lived in Constantia at the time, and Simon Mann, a Special Air Service officer turned mercenary, both of whom were implicated in the coup. Thatcher pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the coup and received a four-year suspended jail term and fined 3 million Rand by the High Court in South Africa. Mann later served jail time in Equatorial Guinea for leading the attempted coup.
In a booklet at the house, Morgan is described as something of a double-agent, playing both sides. On the one hand, his friendship with Mann projected the tacit support of the South African government. On the other hand, Morgan had written numerous reports about the attempted coup that ended up in the hands of the South African intelligence community. Morgan claimed that he had advised Mann not to go through with the coup. After his entanglement in the Wonga Coup, he moved to Mozambique and became involved in wildlife preservation.
It wasn’t until toward the end of his life that he found refuge in the cabin that is now called Waterfall River Lodge. His close friendship with the Dillon family allowed him to build the cabin on their land and stay until his death. He considered it a safe haven and intentionally did not upgrade the roads to the cabin, leaving them rocky and unpaved, so nobody could enter or leave the property in a hurry. For the last 20 years of his life, he lived at the cabin alone except for the regular company of his wide circle of friends including journalists, “spooks” and other interesting individuals whom he invited to his legendary long lunches at the cabin. After years of hard drinking, cigar smoking and numerous betrayals, he died in 2018 in a hospital in Harrismith.
