I escaped from my nursing duties for a couple of hours today and it was awesome taking a drive to the breathtaking and aptly named Valley of a Thousand Hills, half an hour drive west of our coastal city Durban.
The name naturally comes from what seems like thousands of hills which spills down to the great Umgeni River which originates high up in the magnificent Drakensberg Mountains and flows many kilometres down into the warm Indian Ocean.
This area still is unspoilt with no big developments and has fabulous scenery with warm hospitality at many quaint little places; sadly we discovered a couple which have permanently closed following Covid Lockdowns, and some struggling to get back on their feet.
I took the photos of the hills from the grounds of the 1000 Hills Pub and Hotel which had to close their restaurant and part of the hotel.
This is a heritage building making it difficult to renovate and upgrade, but we met the very passionate and determined long-standing resident who is trying to buy it from the disinterested current owner and bring it back to life; something that can be done as it has the most magnificent views as I showed you above.
The buildings are not a pretty sight, so I only took a pic of an old tree that's being strangled by some parasitic plant.
We drove along the famous Comrades Marathon Route; the annual approximately 89 kilometre race that is run between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg, with the start alternating between the two cities.
We drove past the Comrades Wall of Honour, and stopped at Arthur's seat where the famous 5 times winner of the 1920s used to stop for a breather; this is not far from the halfway mark of the race.
Finding a couple of other quaint places now closed, we drove all the way back down the hill to an old favourite, The Mushroom Farm which seems to be thriving and have actually expanded.
These decorative plaques were on display as we drove into the complex that has something for everyone; a nursery, a honey shop, fresh organic produce, esoteric gallery, an equestrian supplier, a bakery, a mushroom supplier, a restaurant and much more.
Farmyard animals are everywhere, some in pens but the roosters run the show and oversee that all is well!
We opted for a light lunch at Go Fresh; everything was delicious as you can see, and we avoided temptation by not glancing at the cake display again.
I opted for a Chicken Stack which was grilled Chicken strips layered with Bacon, Camenbert, Caramelized Onion on a base of Beetroot Salad and Chips on the side.
Hubby chose an open sarmie of Chicken Mayo, Bacon and Avocado on Sourdough bread with a delicious Salad.
My dear friend 
The verdict: Everything was very fresssh and indeed really delisssh.
We were sad to say our goodbyes as there was much more talking and laughing to be done, but time caught up with us!
Nothing like good friends to share an outing like this, not so!
We'll be back here again as there's much more to explore in and around the Valley of a Thousand Hills!
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