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Towards the end of 1998, a couple of us were sitting around
the dining room table at Gowrie contemplating names for the new lodge
with one of the last groups of guests. After plenty of attempts, "Vuyatela"
emerged from a phrase meaning, "Come, Come", then changed
slightly to mean, "Come and Visit again".
The start of 1999 we decided to get moving on building our dream lodge,
so as to accommodate the potential flood of millennium visitors at the
year-end. We knew where we wanted the lodge and the completion date,
but other than that not much more. To get a bit of perspective we called
on a few different architects (well, some called on us) to submit a
concept. The first to come in was a unique "Shangaan Village"
model from Neil Crafford in Pretoria. We loved it immediately, but were
nervous to undertake a project so unusual and quirky and basically put
it on the back burner. Another design, from Karen and Paul Weigers involved
elevated shuttered buildings based on an Australian concept. We could
see this working in vast desert landscapes, but not in our cosy riverine
environs. Next came the colonial splendour from Tom Hattingh in Nelspruit.
Wow, it was great but way over our budget, and so many other lodges
looked the same. Pendrae, Campbell, Jurie and myself were quite worried
as time was marching on and we still had no confirmed architect or plans.
Vuyatela was already being marketed and opening date was set for the
beginning of December, with November being used for trial runs. Our
next move was to get on a small plane and go to as many lodges as possible,
which we did. These expeditions helped confirm what we did not want,
but not much else.
February was almost over, when we got a phone call from Neil, who was
visiting his lodge in the southern Sabi Sand. He mentioned being in
the area and thought he'd swing by and go over the drawings he'd sent
us weeks before. When he arrived, Jurie and I jumped in his car and
headed straight out to the rural areas surrounding the Game Reserve.
Neil was quick to point out wall finishes, thatching techniques, traditional
vs. modern building styles, window and door frames as well as the general
layout of each family homestead. The community was so accommodating
and many families welcomed us into their homes to show off their houses,
artworks and furniture items. Jurie and I were brimming with excitement
as we could almost visualize our lodge; the Shangaan culture merging
with high tech modern fixtures becoming what could only be the most
unique lodge in the industry. A humourous moment I do remember at the
end of that day was when we thought we would treat Neil to a packet
of traditional "Chillie Chips" from a local tavern. When we
needed to pay, neither Jurie nor I had a cent on us and we had to get
Neil to foot the bill. A rather interesting way to start a multi million
rand business venture!
Neil had built many lodges and hotels in this region, many together
with a large firm called Telford Construction. Our little lodge was
a much smaller project than Dave Telford was usually concerned with,
but I believe he was excited about doing something unusual and spending
some time in the bush. With Telford and Crafford on board, the commencement
date for the week after Easter was targeted. With Neil and Dave's experience
in these parts, they insisted on getting a Sangoma in to perform a cleansing
and blessing ritual on the building site. They assured us that this
was essential to have a harmonious vibe amongst the labour force. An
entourage of tribal healers, shouters and the Sangoma arrived, sacrificed
some chickens and a sheep and set about making the magic mixes that
had to be spread and buried at the location for each chalet and main
building. I'll never forget that day and have to add that I was relieved
to experience such a hassle free building project. Not only was our
lodge design based on the local trends, but we wanted to bring in the
surrounding communities in other ways like skills acquisition, employment
and creating an over all pride and celebration of Shangaan culture.
Telford sub-contracted Raymond Mdluli, a local builder and businessman,
to assist in the project and source the labour. Telford had assigned
14 skilled artisans who would in turn teach Raymond's semi skilled work
force in various areas like plumbing, bricklaying, etc. A fond memory
I have of Dave was of him making oxide-coloured cement bricks that had
to resemble the authentic cow dung bricks. He called us down to select
the perfect combination of colour mixes while we debated the various
hues of dried cow dung!
Pendrae and I started conceptualizing the artworks and interiors for
the lodge and knew we wanted to reflect on contempory art and craft
in South Africa. There had been a growing emergence of art from the
townships that was utilizing recycled materials and found objects. We
also met decorators, Caline and Sam, from Artichoke in Johannesburg,
who were invaluable in their ideas and co-ordination of pulling the
project together. In true Djuma spirit we drew in friends to do their
fair share of work as well. Andrew McLeod spent a few weeks in the bush
teaching me mosaic skills, which made quite a sensation - both Andrew
and the mosaics! Maré van Noordwyk spent time hand painting a
firing the crockery. The services of culinary consultant, Suzi Holtzhausen
were called on to develop the menus, lay out the kitchen and dining
areas as well as train the service staff.
I am sure you are all waiting for "the behind the scenes"
dramas that were unraveling while the building operations happened.
Many months prior, Campbell and Pendrae had expressed desire to become
business partners, as they needed to plan longer-term futures with the
company. With the advent of Vuyatela and subsequent growth of the business,
the time seemed right. Naturally with this scale of corporate reshuffling,
there was a lot of financial negotiation and legal fine print that had
to be sorted out. The Moolman portion of the Vuyatela budget was pretty
much finished before the lodge was even at window level, and we were
no closer to finalizing the Scott partnership. By late September, 2
months before opening date, we could breathe again. The Scotts signed
the papers as equal shareholders, not to mention, produced the money
that was needed to finish the lodge. We knew that they were committed,
but the thought of not finalizing the agreements on paper made life
quite hectic for a while.
In the mean time all the furniture and equipment was being stored in
our Johannesburg cottage. Being on the usual tight budget, this arrangement
was a way of keeping costs down and avoid paying storage fees. Another
tense moment came about when we had to organize the trucks to bring
all the stuff down to the lodge. This was no problem, but when we got
the quotes on in-transit insurance, we were stunned and knew there was
no way we could afford it. I had a personal chat to the truck driver
before he left Johannesburg and got his cell number. I phoned him every
hour just to check he had not got lost, hi-jacked or had an accident
and at last he arrived, everything according to plan.
We did not have visions of large gardens for Vuyatela, but we did want
some landscaping around the reception area and in the outdoor showers.
Campbell and Jurie, forever tight on the gardening purse strings thought
a paltry R1000, 00 would do it! No way, ten times more (still a pittance!)
was needed which included plants, loads of kraal manure and top soil.
The rewards were noticed a few months later when butterflies and birds
flittered about the reception deck. All this time elephants were still
putting their efforts in at adding to, or rather destroying the lodge
surrounds.
The early November opening date was fast approaching, with Suzi and
newly trained staff testing new menus and drinks on us daily. The first
booking was for 16 people for 4 nights, shared with 10 people that were
based at Galago. They were very brave AfriCam community members that
were prepared to be the trial run guests. The morning that they arrived,
the deck was incomplete, leaving dangerous catwalks above scaffolding,
added to this was builders' rubble in front of the lodge as far as the
eye could see. The refuse removal would have been impossible, had we
not dumped everything behind the lodge in the manager's back yard, for
later transfer. I seem to remember things going well until I got a call
the next morning. My bull terrier, Roxy, had got into Khaya 2 and had
shredded all the brand new cotton sheets, the blankets and the feather
pillows. The woman in charge of that room, Girlie, was in tears when
she walked in and saw the drama, with Roxy fast asleep on her back covered
in feathers and shreds of linen.
Vuyatela needed time to become an entity of it's own. It was not long
before the lodge gained personality and developed stories surrounding
it. This always takes a bit of time while settling into new routines,
visitors and staff. Another aspect was getting the three lodges to work
independently but cohesively at the same time. The best part has to
be that no two days are the same and the challenges are as stimulating
as they are rewarding. A couple of years later, we can reflect on the
achievements of the company as a whole. Our three lodges appeal to very
different sectors of the market, and we can confidently offer a unique
experience to anyone who visits us. Testament to this is the flow of
return visitors and long relationships built up over the years.
Pippa Moolman
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