Off the grid! Absolutely amazing fabulous! Loved every minute! Great views!! Great bbq facilities, kitchen with all utensils you only need the food to cook! Relaxing great family time! Feels close to nature! Great fishing spot! Great people! Was a great two day break away.
They were preparing for a wedding the day we left. What a magical place to get married at! Can imagine great beautiful pictures to be taken.
This north coast gem is utterly unique and so relaxing. You arrive to this remote location and have a beautiful view of the river with the frequent sound of fish eagles calling.
The accommodation from the outside looks like literal shacks but once you go into your room it’s beautiful with unique pieces and custom made furniture. It is very “arty” and appreciated if you like that sort of thing. If you are looking for a Protea Hotel type of stay then this might not be for you.
The kitchen is communal and is fantastic with everything you need. The Hatchery has a unique “Butler” menu. Almost like a pay as you go system. So if you want your room cleaned you pay R20 – R30 or so. If you want the butler to cook for you, you pay about R50 and you can even have a butler that will carry your cooler box down to the beach for you. It’s a great system as I enjoyed not having service to the rooms and having the awkward feeling of having to leave the room so people can clean it.
The Hatchery is very, very relaxing and the random pools and things of interest make for an amazing stay. We will be back very soon!
The Hatchery is close to the beach and is situated in a beautiful setting. We arrived in the dark to be met by a friendly welcome and a tour of our sleeping accommodation. The accommodation is rugged and very comfortable. The kitchen is well equipped and met our needs for self-catering. The only problem we encountered was the shower in the room with double bed and two single beds. It was not draining well and this was reported.
Great fishing spot with lagoon and beach access (non-swimming.) Difficult access when torrential rains made roads into mudslides which needed 4×4 to pull our station wagon out – Luckily it only happened once in 10 days, and so it even actually added to the adventure. Good spot to recenter, recharge, sip Tequila, catch a suntan and unwind, even with moody teenagers, getting over their inner city withdrawal! Teens learnt that backgammon is just as much fun as Android devices, even with no batteries are required. “Less Urban Than Durban … Great Family Fun!”
Awesome spot to unwind whether with friends or partner. Rustic, peaceful, feels like you are in Mozambique! Will be back … and bringing all my friends too!
My family and I travel quite a bit and we’re always looking for new places to try out but we didn’t have much time available as we needed to get back to work after a month long trek across SA and thus were looking for a spot closer to home that ticked the boxes for all.
It needed to have fishing for hubby, enough to keep my little man occupied (he is now six and with non-stop energy) and myself, I just needed somewhere I could sit back and read a book. Bliss out essentially.
We found The Hatchery. I feel as if we’ve found a real treasure here and will be booking a week long stay as soon as hubby returns from his overseas travels. In fact, we will be going straight from the airport to this spot (even though hubby has been away for 6 weeks). What better way to unwind?! Upon arrival we were greeted by the friendly staff who showed us to our room, The Tap Room. From the outside one thinks eish, we’re going to be roughing it, but upon entry it’s pure bliss. The largest bed I have ever seen and beautifully designed. My son loved his bed which was hoisted by chain from the roof. Which child doesn’t want to sleep on a swing bed? The shower looked out onto the river. Now, there is one way glass surrounding the shower giving you a view of all happenings around you but no one can see in. I kept peering in from the outside to make double sure that I was not going to be parading to all and sundry. The shower alone makes this place worth the visit!
Right, so room check done, now onto activities. We popped to the Prawn Shack which is a short drive away, enjoyed some Mozambique beers and little man had a slush puppy which the bar staff had made by crushing ice and adding passion fruit mix. One needs to improvise with small people. After a relaxed sip session it was back to the hatchery where little man dictated the afternoon was to be spent in the pool. Works for me! I got to relax pool side whilst little man swam…for 3hrs! Then, luck was tried at fishing.
We were a bit unprepared as we got plenty of knocks but didn’t have the right tackle. After losing a few lures, we decided to call it a day and start dinner prep. A braai overlooking the river! Man, oh man! Talk about a braai with a view. You cannot beat this! A sound nights sleep whilst the aircon in our room kept us cool (it’s waaarm in summer). The next day was spent exploring. There is so much to see and do. Every little nook has something to draw the attention. I just could go on and on but I don’t want to keep you here all day, you should be on your phone making a booking as I am robbing you of valuable time to experience this place. So, in short (guffaw) we will be back!
This idyllic place is tucked away alongside the Amatikulu estuary just far enough from the rest of the world to afford one great peace and tranquility.
This old prawn farm has been converted into the most unusual accommodation with such an arty twist that every corner surprised me. Loved that bit!
Each room is given a lovely name related to the prawn farm and we were holed up in “The Forest” which could sleep 5 adults in comfort. The spacious communal kitchen is well appointed and opens into a rustic porch with a huge table . We explored the lagoon, walked along small trails and members of our group fished in the estuary with successful catches. So essentially an ideal place to unwind, bond with family and friends all aided by the lack of television.
Besides the activities mentioned there is not much else to do and parents should factor this in should they take along kids/family members that cannot appreciate these offerings. We had problems with the hot water supply from the gas fired geyser that could not be resolved but otherwise all facilities were good. Since these are self catering units take into account that there are no stores for basic provisions within a 15-20 kilometre radius of the establishment.