Mother’s Day is a celebration to honour our mothers, celebrated this year on Sunday 12 May, which is the second Sunday in May.
The perfect place to take Mum for Mother’s Day is the Valley of a 1000 Hills – equidistant between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, this beautiful region offers various options for a family to spend Mother’s Day together.
This day is set aside to pay tribute motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. Often this day is extended to generations of mothers—grandmothers, great-grandmothers, stepmothers—as well as to mother figures.
A Weekend Away
Make a weekend of it! The 1000 Hills B&B Association is a collective of a dozen accredited B&B’s which work closely together – all situated in the Kloof / Alverston / Botha’s Hill area. The idea is you can put out a request to the group via their interactive website, for enquiries, research or bookings, and they will find out who is best suited to host you. This saves on having to contact each establishment separately. Many establishments offer family-friendly accommodation with suites and cottages with extra beds for the kids
Gardening
Enjoy quality family time in the garden together and enjoy the glorious autumn weather while planting out some flowers, herbs or veggies. Or buy a special something for your garden for Mum – a bird feeder, special planter, a speciality plant like an orchid or a floral a hanging basket which could be the perfect gift for a green fingered mother. There are a host of nurseries and plant shops throughout the 1000 Hills, as well as plant stalls in most of the regular markets. Ludwig’s Roses has a huge selection of rose bushes which make for a fabulous all-year round Mother’s Day gift.
Take a Hike
If Mum is an active nature lover, and now that the heat of the summer is over, then maybe consider one of the options for family hikes, nature trails, social runs and green corridor destinations in the Valley of a 1000 Hills.
Enjoy a Meal Together
Sitting down to a family meal on Mother’s Day means Mum can enjoy family time without having to prepare a meal and do the washing up! Many of the eateries in 1000 Hills will be hosting Mother’s Day specials with special family friendly deals and menus. Worth mentioning is the Pot and Kettle who is hosting a special Sunday Mother’s Day plated roast lunch; 1000 Hills Chefs School classroom café have (pet friendly) Friday, Saturday and Sunday lunches.
Tea and cake
In the small print somewhere, it says that calories don’t count for Mums on Mother’s Day! So, enjoy a delicious morning or afternoon treat in one of the coffee shops, restaurants or cafes in the hills over the Mother’s Day weekend. There are dozens throughout the 1000 Hills routes – many of them outside so you can enjoy the glorious weather and views.
Adventure adrenaline.
Not all mums are sugar and spice – some are diesel and speed. If your Mum would prefer a 4×4 trail to a manicure, or a climbing wall to bouquet of flowers – then we can help with that too! Options include paint ball and a climbing wall at Hillcrest Paintball and Infinite Adventures; golf at Fig Tree Farm or Cotswolds; horse riding at Blue Horizons, a game drive at PheZulu Safari Park, adventure sports at High Stakes in Cato Ridge or Isithumba Travels.
Shopping fun.
1000 Hills is punctuated by little shopping precincts, allowing for some retail therapy, perhaps a cup of tea and some great browsing opportunities – Mushroom Farm, Décor Art, Kloof and Highway SPCA; Mila-Grace at the old Heidi’s and Woza Moya at HACT are all fabulous shopping destinations in the hills.
Explore a market.
Markets offer the best of everything – bargain hunting, supporting small businesses, quality family time, enjoying the outdoors and sampling market food. The market mothership is of course Shongweni Farmers Market which surely must be one of the best markets in the country – certainly the best locally. There is also Macnut farm Sunday morning fresh market.
Visit a gallery.
Take in some art with Mum. Upstairs at Woza Moya there are craft exhibitions. Currently the exhibition is inspired by life under the sea – with art inspired by beautiful corals, fishes and shells. Ammazulu Gardens and Sculptural Precinct in Kloof combines an enormous indigenous garden with hundreds of surprise sculptures; and Hannah’s Gallery on Macnut Farm showcases the work of local artist Hannah Paine and her friends.
Experience a Spa
The ultimate relaxing activity for Mum to enjoy on Mother’s Day is a Spa Day. There are various Spas throughout the hills. Some of which are offering specials for Mums. Of special mention is Macnut Farm Spa who is doing a Mothers Spa Day special offering a host of treatments for Mum.
Animal love.
A great family activity for Mother’s Day – especially for families with young children involves animals. PheZulu Safari Park offers game drives and their reptile park; the Mushroom Farm has a little farmyard for children to enjoy; and Lello Road Assagay animal farm is an interactive family experience allowing little ones to get up close to (mostly rescued) farm animals.
Steam Train
Why not take a trip behind an 85-year-old Steam Engine as we meander along the Valley of 1000 Hills. A ticket for Mum to hop onto the Umgeni Steam Railway makes for an unusual Mother’s Day gift.
The next running day is Sunday 26 May with trains running at 9am, 11am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm out of Inchanga Station. This roughly 75 minutes trip departs from Inchanga Railway Station, meandering along the rolling hills of KZN, through one of the oldest operating tunnels in South Africa, with the sights of the Valley of 1000 Hills in the distance, before turning around at Botha’s Hill for the return to Inchanga.