Zen Zulu - A little piece of heaven

On my recent and very brief trip back to South Africa I had the privilege of staying at Zen Zulu Lodge in the Zululand Rhino Reserve which is about 3 hours drive from Durban. This is a lovely private game lodge that accommodates eight people and you have exclusive use of the lodge. Upon entering the main lodge you get an immediate understanding for the reasons behind the name. With a combination of Buddha’s and African décor the open plan lodge provides the perfect harmony for a relaxing and event filled stay.

Woolie in the background

Built next to a dam the large wooden deck with rim flow pool allows you to lounge by the pool or put your feet up with a mug of hot choccie and some Ouma’s rusks while Africa’s greatest waddle by for a drink or two. If you are lucky you may even get some more action. I have once witnessed the local dam resident (‘Woolie’ the croc) being chased by a larger croc out of the dam, well that’s what we thought until my latest trip back when I learnt that Woolie is in fact a female and that the larger croc was more likely a rowdy male trying to source a ‘good time’.

Wooden deck overlooking the dam

The rooms are set separately on either side of the lodge allowing for privacy and enhancing the sensation of literally sleeping in the bush. They are quaint little thatch rondavels each with its own private wooden deck. The highlight of the rooms for me is the outdoor bathrooms! Ever had a hot shower outside in the African Winter? What a feeling! Better yet a bubble bath under the clear starlit skies. I don’t know about you but these aspects are my kind of treat. 



Our Rondavel

Outdoor Shower

Outdoor Bath

 

Game drives are done at about 3pm and 6am. Early I know, especially when you have been kept awake the whole night by roaring lions, how inconvenient! Drives are taken by the friendly and characteristic lodge manager Anthony and a very knowledgeable ranger called Steve. Often people can go to the bush and be so focused on seeing the infamous ‘Big Five’ that they forget to appreciate the small things which, more often than not, are more interesting than the larger things are impressive. Steve was great at showing us an appreciation for the trees and what the local tribes use each type for. I can now tell you what to do if you want to be more fertile? Have a bigger winky? Enlarge your breasts? Brush your teeth without a tooth brush? Or make a broom? Although I can’t say I have tried tested them personally.

The lodge is self-catering but there is a big boma next to the lodge that has a fire lit when you return from your afternoon game drive. There is little else that makes me happier than sitting by the fire, drink in hand and some handy male (normally my pops) sizzling up some lovely South African meat!

Ahhhh… I miss it already ;(

Sun rise, overlooking the dam with a family of hippos

The Long Distance Wedding

The problem with living so far from home is that when you want to plan a wedding it's difficult to do everything from so far away. I wasn't planning on making a trip back before the wedding but only when you start planning do you realise that no matter how advanced technology is there is just certain things you can't do over the Internet. Not only that but you also feel slightly removed from the whole occasion if you aren't thrown into the pre-wedding planning saga.  So off I went with wedding planner in hand to my first appointment Bianca Warren Signature Store for brides maids dresses. I later returned for a small shopping spree because her clothes are just so pretty! I will share the dresses on here post-wedding.

Bianca Warren Signature Store

It's a special time and it should be absorbed and enjoyed as much as possible with your family and those involved in the wedding. After realising this I booked a flight home for 6 days and I literally hit the runway at full sprint. I had a full schedule of appointments booked for the week and I managed to get to them all, to my great relief. Amongst trying to do all my wedding things I also needed to renew my drivers license. Any fellow South African can understand when I say this is the most excruciating experience you will ever endure. It was so bad that I am planning on exchanging it for my British license just so I never have to go through that again.  So with my make up trial booked at 8am and my hair trial booked at 2 we had a few hours to head to the license department in between. This process really reveals why South Africa is still very much a developing country. Stuck on a wooden bench wedged between at least 100 other people (me with my bridal make up in tact) for over 2 hours with my mum on one said and a bridesmaid on the other we survived on a few short bread biscuits we had stashed in the car. After the sacrificial two hours it was off to hair...

I think hair has to be one of the things the bride to be probably worries about the most, no one wants to walk out on the day looking like a peacock. So I think when I looked in the mirror with my hair all done and my bridal face on it finally hit home that, not only was I actually getting married, but I was going to do it with amazing hair too :) thank goodness because Mr P's aunt has kindly offered to do the hair as a wedding gift and it would have been one awkward convo if it looked like I'd stuck my hand in an electric socket.

One of the biggest reasons for my trip back was to see the place that I would actually say my 'I do's', Zulu Nyala Game Lodge. Yes ladies I had not even seen my wedding venue with my own eyes before! Having seen it now and fallen in love with the place I don't know how I ever thought I could arrive the day before having not seen it. I can now picture my day more realistically in my head for the next three months instead of filling in the blanks using my imagination.

Zulu Nyala

So as I sit at the hair dressers having some highlights done while I type this I will fly back to London tomorrow night a lot more excited and a lot less worried about the most important day of my life. Poor Mr P will just have to trust my judgement (and the pictures).

It's been very special to spend time with my mum and do what normal mums and daughters living in the same country do when prepping for a wedding.

See you in 3 months Durbs ;)

File Sharing comes to Facebook!

How many times have you been on Facebook chat with someone and wanted to share a file them? Wouldn't it have been easier to just send the file through Facebook rather than ask for their email address or Skype name?

On Wednesday a file sharing app for Facebook will be launched allowing users to share up to one 1GB in size. The app called Pipe will work like drop box and allow users to share files in real time or if the receiver is offline the document will drop into a locker for retrieval later on.

The release could allow for Facebook to become a more business friendly method of sharing information. The application shows how steps are being taken to utilise social media in all aspects of business and not just as a marketing tool. However, with a history of security breaches including a brief period where past private chat messages were posted to peoples timelines, will the application be taken on with hesitation from people and businesses wanting to share more sensitive files?

The company has stated that the files will not be passing through Facebook but rather shared directly from one computer to another and that this should minimise any privacy concerns.

The benefit of using the file sharing app through Facebook is that most people already have a Facebook account and therefore won't have to sign up for a new program. You will be able to select a receiver from a list of all your current friends after you allow the app to access your Facebook profile.

Maybe this feature is long overdue for Facebook but a handy one nevertheless and is sure to help further establish Facebook's position in the hierarchy of social media, as King.

To download this app click here: https://apps.facebook.com/pipeapp

I would love to hear your thoughts on how you find the application?