The History
Bets then decided to sell, and luckily for her it has remained in her family as her son, Gerhard, bought the plot from her in 1990.
In 2013, Gerhard wanted to show off his pride and joy and wanted to step into the commercial world of opening his lodge to guests, but he could not do this alone as he had a full-time job and it would be difficult to run the establishment from Johannesburg.
But as fate has it, and via a mutual friend, Gerhard found what he was looking for. In 2014, Paul Slyer came on board and has been running the commercial side of the lodge since. Many changes had to be made from here as a transformation from a holiday home to a guest friendly establishment was needed.
As time went by, small changes were being made to ensure the accommodations were as comfortable and as guest friendly as possible, but the most recent ‘upgrade or refurbishment’ was completed in March 2019, and this is when Maninghi had its biggest change. From a 12-bed self-catering ‘family style’ lodge, Maninghi has been transformed into its current 6 sleeper Dinner, Bed & Breakfast lodge – a typical ‘lodge’ style which trends many an establishment.
The bedrooms, of which two faces the river, are all now en-suite, air conditioned with a stocked bar fridge and a private outside sitting area to enjoy reading while having coffee. Plans are afoot to establish a tented camp in a true African lodge style to make up for the beds lost in the upgrade.
Our latest addition is our Solar energy which supports us during our loadshedding periods.