Grey Goose Farm Lodge

The Grey Goose Farm Lodge, in the Drakensberg foothills, sits on a hill overlooking the Nguduma vlei with views of the mountains and the town of Newcastle.  Situated midway between Johannesburg and Durban, the Grey Goose is an ideal venue for conferences or as a stopover point for the long trip to and from the coast. Experience peace and tranquillity with geese roaming around the landscaped gardens and enjoy the many facilities that Newcastle has to offer.

The 400ha farm has been game fenced and Blesbok, Rietbok, Zebras, Black Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, etcetera, roam the fields surrounding the lodge.

A la carte Restaurant:

The Grey Goose is also proud to have a fully licensed a la carte restaurant, Gooseberries, that is open to the public, seven days a week - breakfast, lunch and supper.

Luxury Rooms:

All of the 28 en-suite rooms are individually furnished and provide every necessary facility to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable, tasteful furnishings give that true feeling of home away from home, with DSTV.  The lavish honeymoon suite has its own private veranda and built-in fireplace, with scenic views plus an atrium shower, romantic as a stopover or to spend your entire honeymoon.

Weddings:

Weddings are a speciality. Grey Goose is able to offer a full package to ensure that your special occasion runs smoothly.  There is a kitchen staff of five chefs and can cater for weddings up to 400 people.  We can make arrangements for the cake, flowers, decor, and music.  We also cater for special occasions, matric farewells, anniversaries, etc.
 
Wining and Dining:

Continental breakfast served, lunch served, lunch box on request, dinner served with a-la-carte menu offered, restaurant on premises, caters for vegetarian as well as halaal.
 
Leisure facilities:

Bar on premises, bird-watching, communal television, garden, horse-riding, mountain biking, swimming pool, volleyball, walking/hiking, 4x4 trails.
 
Business and conferencing:

Fax machine, internet-enabled PC, photocopy machine, caters for conferences, conference room, a choice of five venues, up to 500 cinema style.  television and video, overhead projector, whiteboard and data projector.
 
General facilities:

• Cots are available on request;
• Disabled-friendly;
• Family-friendly;
• Laundry service available;
• Unfortunately no pets are allowed;
• Safe parking available;
• Room service; and
• No smoking.

Room facilities:

• Fan;
• Heater;
• Telephone;
• Television;
• M-Net, Movie Magic and Super Sport channels;
• No smoking;
• Tea and coffee;
• Bed linen supplied; and
• Towels.

The Grey Goose offers horse-riding in the fields surrounding the lodge, where the game roam, as well as rides into the mountains.  The length of rides varies from hour-long rides to three-day rides.

Experience various South African wildlife species on horse-back, and find out just how close you can get to wild animals. Roam the plains at the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains and experience some of South Africa's history firsthand.  Explore the Battlefields route with knowledgeable guides.  For the daring few, scale treacherous mountain cliffs with on surefooted ponies.  A breathtaking 360° view awaits you at the top along with the Ngogo River Camp.  There are two stone cottages, (pre-Anglo-Boer war vintage), that sleep fifteen people.  This camp is fully electrified with hot and cold running water.

• Fifty barn type stables;
• Individual and herd paddocks;
• Spacious tack room;
• Qualified stable manager, providing 24-hour supervision (living on property);
• Excellent grooms;
• Stallion facilities;
• Lunge ring;
• Large grass jumping arena, with show standard equipment; and
• Sand dressage arena.

Cross-country course with welcome to intermediate jumps:

With great effort and love for the beautiful Drakensberg Mountains, Grey Goose Lodge has developed 40km of hiking trials in the amphitheater of mountains visible immediately to the west of the lodge.  Indigenous trees have been name-tagged and the yellow wood forests, mountain pools and waterfalls are ideal for nature lovers or fitness fanatics.  Two beautiful mountain cottages have been developed, one below and accessible by ordinary car, and one on top of the mountains connected by the two day hiking route or by an exciting 4x4 route.

The cottages are fully equipped and electrified with deep freezers, braais and hot showers and sleep 15-20 people each.  These cottages are ideal for family get togethers, outings with friends or business colleagues, and can be separately booked as venues.  The cottages include a guide, helper, firewood, cutlery and mattresses.

The lodge has formed a commercial relationship with the Osizweni Theatre Production who do live traditional dance performances and plays, and sing traditional music, hymns and multi-cultural songs, including the National Anthem 'Nkosi Sikelela iAfrica'.  They narrate historical songs, events and rituals of the Zulu culture and South African history.  Their aim is unity and nation building and the formation of a true rainbow nation through their explorations.  Their slogan is “Together we strive for moral and physical perfection”.   
 
Osizweni Theatre Production:

The group comprises seventy youths, predominantly unemployed and school going, who are a non-profit organization that uses Osizweni High School and Community Hall as a rehearsal centre. 

Grey Goose is extremely impressed with the quality of their work and wishes to promote them as much as possible. The Lodge promotes them at weddings, functions, and parties, and strives to market them, also providing them with T-shirts, tracksuits and attempts to increase their earning ability, which at this stage is really poor.  This is due mainly to their large number and to the fact that they have to hire a bus costing R750-00 every time they travel to a performance.