What happened this week at Nabana Lodge?

Greg Frew checked in.

What, I am sure you are asking, is so special about that?

Well, he was the very first guest to check into the newly built cottages at the then Nabana Park, 18 years ago. This was when Nabana Park was under ownership of world champion speedboat racer, Ted Tollman. Gregg spent a couple of months here at that time as he was installing rural communication systems in the Sabie Game Reserve. The farm was subsequently sub-divided, with the banana farm surrounding the 2.2 hectare business property of what is now Nabana Lodge. The cottages were not incorporated into the business property and the accommodation units presently here were built around 2002-2003. Staying here this time was for Gregg a nostalgic trip down memory lane and for me an opportunity to learn about the history of the landmark that is Nabana Lodge.

We also renovated our garden benches. These are used outdoors and were looking slightly weather beaten. Luke, our maintenance manager, did a sterling job taking the benches apart completely, sanding it down and reinforcing weak spots before reassembling it and treating the wood again with varnish. Looking as good as new!

Our G-Switch 22 automated gate motor was fitted on the accommodation gate. This innovative system works with cell phone communication whereby guests dial a number to activate opening of the gate. Guest’s numbers are logged onto the system via website activation by us, giving them access from the time of check in to the time of departure. No more getting out of the car to unlock, or even open a window to ring and wait for reception to activate the gate.

Spider lilies are in flower just now. The beautiful white lily is part of the amaryllis family and the genus name Hymenocallis caribaea means beautiful membrane. The snow white petals are narrow and curved, attached to fused stamens giving it a spiderlike effect. The plants do not have a long flowering period and I have not had success with using the spider lily as a cutting flower. Perhaps someone out there knows how to prolong the flowers when used in arrangements?

Alas, I have also learned that not all things wild and wonderful are necessarily good. Intrigued when I came across mating land snails in the garden, I did a bit of research and found that these not so little beasties, Achatina fulica, are quite nasty and one of the top 100 invasive species in the world. It feeds voraciously; destroying plants and carries a parasitic nematode which can cause serious illness in humans. We take the preservation of our environment very seriously here at Nabana Lodge and encourage wildlife to flourish by not using chemical insecticides and pesticides and preserving the natural life of creatures. But in this instance, the gardener got instructions....