Remember that time my husband was on like two weeks forced leave ( of course you don’t, so let me fill you in). In March sometime ( I know right), we went on our first family getaway to the Vaal, well hopefully the first of many. I don’t really count the travels to visit our families in their respective towns as a family getaway, so this to me counts as our first.
It wasn’t our first time at the Vaal though, my husband and I went away to the Vaal on our second year wedding anniversary last year. We stayed at a completely different place, but however, I had fallen head over heels in love with the Vaal. Everything about it spoke to my heart, I think it reminded me a lot of where I grew up. Earlier this year we also celebrated my sister’s birthday at the Bon Rivera Hotel in the Vaal ( also a must see). We decided to do a little sight-seeing and that’s how we got to know about Emerald Resort Casino where we stayed for our getaway. We were all meant to return as a family unit, but you know how it goes when you plan things as a group. Always a fail!
On our first day there we basically hibernated, we had a very late check in, because we had spent the day with friends boat cruising on the Vaal River. We ended up ordering room service food for dinner and slept. Not an epic start to our first day, but we were really bushed. Our hotel room was nothing fancy, I’d say same old, but it leaned more to the African feel, which is not exactly my cup of tea. But it had a breath-taking view of the Resort greens and I could go on and on about the bath tub. That Monday morning we woke up to a buffet breakfast (not in bed), I was in total heaven. If you know me, you know that breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and my favourite meal to make. Think croissants, an assortment of muffins , a selection of cheeses and fruits, bottomless juice, and of course all the greasy fried favorites and more. I remember having to deal with tantrums at the breakfast table, attempting to entertain Kwando with a knife and fork. The tantrum phase is beyond me, somehow I thought he would leave it behind on holiday.
The resort offered a wide range of activities, from miniature golf also known as put-put, ten pin bowling, a gaming arcade, the aquadome , animal world, game drives and more. So we knew we had a lot to get through in the short time we were there .Our first activity was the animal world, best thing about the hotel is the efficiency. One call and we had a driver come pick us up and chauffeur us to the animal world centre. Everything was really reasonably priced at the resort, if I’m not mistaken it was R50 for entrance and Kwando was free because he was under the age two. Gauteng heat was showing off on this day and how clever we were to leave the pram in the car. That meant that everything took twice as long, because toddler legs can only move so fast. Kwando had the time of his life though, it was quite amazing to see his facial expressions and how intrigued he seemed to be by every animal he saw. We got to see so many animal species, from lions, hippos, birds, flamingos and even reptiles such as snakes and lizards. Of course we took loads of pictures of kwando looking at the animals, the first time photo syndrome still hasn’t worn off for us parents. Just be warned, it’s quite a walk so wear comfy shoes and have a sun hat of some sort. Hubby decided to spoil us and booked us in for a couples spa treatment (much needed at the time). The room set up was quite unusual, but nice unusual, maybe I should rather use the word unique.. The rooms were in the outdoors, part of nature vibe, if you will. Please don’t think we were half-naked in the open, cause we weren’t, ha ha. The rooms are all situated outside, they had a rondavel type feel with a thatch roof and a curtain that sealed us off from the world. It was quite a tranquil ambiance, with a touch of romance. Before we were escorted to the room, they made us smell various oils and asked us to pick one that would be applied during our session. I can’t quite remember what I picked, but the aroma was to die for. I was so envious of another couple there, they had booked the all day spa session, I mean ……. my kind of goals, cause toddler! That one hour session felt like five minutes I tell you, sooner rather than later we were strung back to reality, back to the demands of our toddler. We had paid for a game drive session earlier, whilst we were at the animal world, so late that afternoon we set off for the drive. I have never respected the sun as much as I did that day, it was scorching hot, it made a few moments on the drive a bit unbearable. I think it was about an hour or so if I’m not mistaken. We got to feed animals, stop and take pictures and our guide was quite well-informed and answered any questions we had. We got to see giraffes galloping in the open field, ostriches chasing away Springbok, Wildebeest and more. The resort also offered a sunset drive, which we found out about too late unfortunately. You had to book the evening before, which was such a pity, because it included champers, just imagine how beautiful the setting would’ve been. That evening we decided to dine at one of the restaurants at the casino area. I think there were about four or so restaurants to choose from, I didn’t enjoy my meal that much and neither did my husband. So theirs not much I could say about that unfortunately.
The next day was slow-moving, we woke up quite exhausted from the previous days activities. We had breakfast at good old faithful Wimpy in the Aquadome centre, and Kwando made a friend whilst we were waiting for our meals. The Aquadome centre is basically kiddiesville and it also brings out the kid in an adult. Inside the centre they had a number of takeaway franchises, ten pin bowling, gaming arcade and of course the star attraction of the resort, the Aquadome. Think indoor pool heaven, different sized pools that were all heated ( this was magical), with long windy slides, and waterfall features. I won’t lie, my husband and I had just as much fun as Kwando, if not more. Also I hadn’t been in a bikini since before the preggy days, so that was quite interesting for me. We basically had to bribe Kwando to leave the dome, ha ha. But I took it as good sign. Also the best thing is that your kids are safe, because there are life guards around every pool area. Our personal items were just as safe, because we had to purchase a brand new lock and a set of keys for a locker. I would suggest going during the week, because it’s obviously less busy and you’ll really get your money’s worth. How could I fail to mention the best thing about the Resort, they offer childcare. Like how incredible is that ! Of course their is a fee involved, but the just of it is that mommy and daddy can be relieved of parenting duties for an hour or two.
I hope I’ve “inspired” you to visit the Vaal soon, and if you’re based in Joburg it’s a plus , because it’s only like an hours drive away. We definitely will be going back, so much we didn’t get to do and experience. Enjoy the pics!
xx
