DREAMHOTELS AND RESORTSDREAMHOTELS AND RESORTS

Nibela is THE place for any birder!

BIRD WATCHINGProposed levy increase for 2015

LEVIES

Good rains transformthe bush after along dry season

FIFTY SHADESOF GREEN

SOBHENGUNewsletter

How have we imporved your stay?

REVAMPING

What to do at SobhenguENTERTAINMENT

WELCOME TO THE FIRST SOBHENGU LODGE NEWSLETTER.

We had a very productive year, with plenty of projects undertaken as well as staff training designed to improve our guests’ satisfaction and comfort. The 2015 projects are already lined up and we look forward to completing these.Being adjacent to Nibela Lake Lodge, means Sobhengu guests are able to make use of everything Nibela has to offer.

Our area supports in excess of 400 species of birds, including numerous rare and endemic species.

BIRD WATCHINGFor the casual birder we have everything from Fish Eagles to Flamingo’s, Pelicans to a whole host of colourful forest birds that will certainly brighten up and enrich your holiday experience. For the more serious birders, Nibela is THE place to be to fill those gaps on your list. Nibela is home to a variety of very special species including, Pink-throated Twinspots, Narina Trogon, Green Malkoha, Eastern Nicator, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Rudd’s Apalis, Neergard’s Sunbird, African Wood Owl, Crowned Hornbill, Green Twinspots and African Broadbill. Just a short drive from the lodge,

and a must for any nature enthusiast, are the nearby floodplains; probably one of the best places in the world to see the highly sought after and beautiful Rosy-throated Longclaw or Lemon-breasted Canary to mention just a few. About a half hour drive from Nibela is Muzi Pans, one of the most famous areas in S.A to see the Pels.

About a half hour drive from Nibela is Muzi Pans, one of the most famous areas in S.A to see the Pels Fishing Owl.

Our guests can also be entertained by our tour guide, Lucky, with his excellent bird calls.There is a variety of guided trails to be enjoyed on our Suzuki Quad Bikes - something adventurous to do while enjoying our very relaxed environment. All the trails are marked and can be explored with or without a guide. We have received excellent feedback from mountain bike fanatics on some of the trails.

All our trails are marked and can be explored with or without a guide. We have also had some excellent feedback from mountain bike fanatics about some of the trails on the property.

FIFTY SHADESOF GREEN

Our rainfall during the year was terrible, not a drop till 25th September. We have had good rains since and the bush is once again turning fifty shades of green.

It’s hard to believe that Lake St. Lucia is 80 kms long and 23 kms wide at its widest point and home to over 800 hippos and 1200 crocodiles. With no rain, the level of the lake has gone down by about 400mm, but we still offer our scenic and fishing trips - it’s just a bit more fun now, with guides having to push the boat off the sandbank along the jetty.Being a very keen fisherman, Sarel enjoys taking guests out to fight the Spotted Grunter

Nibela offers a boma dinner every Tuesday and Saturday evening, with Zulu dancers or their Kitchen Choir. Sobhengu guests are welcome to book for these evenings.

A major revamping project is underway on all the units. We plan to redo the bathrooms completely next year. The kitchens have been totally refurbished and are now fully equipped, spacious, stylish and we think they look 5-star. Lights in the units have also been replaced and furniture re-upholstered. Replacement of the major luxury items is next on our list.

REVAMPING

LEVIESThe proposed levy increase for 2015 is 7.75%. The directors monitor costs extremely closely with the assistance of the management team. A large proportion of annual expenditure is salaries & wages as well as electricity & water. All of which we know have had a higher than CPIX increase which makes it extremely difficult to keep the levy increase below CPIX especially if we wish to maintain the replacement reserves at a suitable level.

There are lots of activities for kids of all ages, including putt-putt, pools, dart board, pool tables, jungle gym and Wi-Fi in Nibela’s main building.

Guests can enjoy delicious, freshly prepared meals in our lovely restaurant. No bookings required for breakfast or lunch just 3 hours advance for dinner. The Zulu Bakery is still producing its famous bread & rolls. Every day is different at Sobhengu, but what stays the same is the relaxing environment. This is the place to unwind, catch up on reading and enjoy nature and we look forward to welcoming you to Sobhengu to experience it first-hand.

With Sobhengu being in a tribal community, the resort works very hard to maintain a good relationship with the Chief and Indunas in order to keep our staff and guests safe. Through this involvement with the communi-ty, together with our great resort staff, we can say Sobhengu/Nibela is still a very safe place.

The resort has been involved with the Chief in numerous projects including community education upliftment through motivational

ENTERTAINMENT

OTHER UPDATES

speaking and bursaries for students to go into the Hospitality sector. The Chief’s inauguration takes place next year and we look forward to attending that event.We are fortunate to have spent 8 wonderful years at the resort, it has become our home over this period, and we hope to continue for many more years to come. Our staff are great and enjoy interacting with the guests.

We had some difficulties this year with the drought and unfortunately lost 4 animals. Lucerne was brought in as feed for them. Luckily we have a few baby Zebra and Impala running around.

Sobhengu was also affected by the country’s water situation. The pipeline from Hluhluwe is still not working and the municipality forgot to renew truck drivers contracts which seriously disrupted our water deliveries. However, we can proudly say there was only one morning, during the 6 week struggle, where our guests could not shower, but we could at least provide a little water.

With Sobhengu being in a tribal community, the resort works very hard to maintain a good relationship with the Chief and Indunas in order to keep our staff and guests safe. Through this involvement with the communi-ty, together with our great resort staff, we can say Sobhengu/Nibela is still a very safe place.

The resort has been involved with the Chief in numerous projects including community education upliftment through motivational

speaking and bursaries for students to go into the Hospitality sector. The Chief’s inauguration takes place next year and we look forward to attending that event.We are fortunate to have spent 8 wonderful years at the resort, it has become our home over this period, and we hope to continue for many more years to come. Our staff are great and enjoy interacting with the guests.

We had some difficulties this year with the drought and unfortunately lost 4 animals. Lucerne was brought in as feed for them. Luckily we have a few baby Zebra and Impala running around.

Sobhengu was also affected by the country’s water situation. The pipeline from Hluhluwe is still not working and the municipality forgot to renew truck drivers contracts which seriously disrupted our water deliveries. However, we can proudly say there was only one morning, during the 6 week struggle, where our guests could not shower, but we could at least provide a little water.

DREAMHOTELS AND RESORTSDREAMHOTELS AND RESORTS