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  • 10th Imana Wild Ride
  • Winner of photo competition
  • Staff Matters
  • Catch of the day!
  • Umngazi Recipe for Spring
  • Spring Group Booking Promotion
  • Vote for your favourite Umngazi meal
  • Visit our stand at Getaway Show,
    Look & Feel Good Expo & Destinations Show

Congratulations to all riders - what a race, it is like no other! There are very few places in the world where mountain bikers can enjoy nearly 200km of pristine beaches and warm hospitality. The Eastern Cape's Wild Coast is one of them and this year the Imana Wild Ride celebrated its tenth anniversary of stage racing in South Africa with eighty two-man teams relishing the uniqueness of cycling in paradise. The cycle starts in Kei Mouth & ends at Umngazi. We were privileged to have hosted the final stage & awards dinner for this awesome event.

The winning duo - Nick Floros and Peter Smith set the records taking their third straight victory in a new record time of 9h48.12 - over thirty minutes faster than their own previous best time set in 2007. The Umngazi 'Wildest Rider' Award was presented to Johann Wykerd and Tim Keep who cycled from Umngazi to Kei Mouth in a condensed three days only to turn around the next day and start the race. To top it all they did it all on single speed bicycles & finished in 21st position. The Imana Wild Ride is certainly not just a cycling event; it's a charity event full of passionate, caring South Africans wanting to make a difference in their country. Riders raised over R325 000 for WREC (Wild Ride Education Company) which will go towards classroom building in the Wild Coast area. Well done, we salute you! For further info, please visit www.wildride.co.za

And the winner of a 3 night stay is...

Congratulations to Lesmarie Williams for entering her photo titled "Reflections of Umngazi". Thank-you to all participants - wish we had twenty prizes as competition was rife & photographs were beautiful. Click here to see all the photos that were entered...

Well done to our cycling guide, Justine for completing the Imana! You made us so proud!

We are delighted to announce that Lawrence Tsheleza son of Amos Tsheleza (who preceded Michael Kholiso in this role) has been appointed as Head Chef. Lawrence has been part of the kitchen team for 13 years learning under the capable hands of Lesley. He was been groomed to take over the Green Door "Gourmet Dinners" and although shy behind the scenes; he is very much a driving force in the kitchen.

The river-mouth had already been closed for about three months at Umngazi, through Winter, and then the high seas with severe Spring tides washed over the beach into the river, swelling it to the point of breaking through to the sea and opening the river-mouth.

A 50kg Dusky Kob, trapped in the river while the mouth had been closed, sensed the imminent breakthrough and did a 'runner', hoping to shimmy over the sandbank that had built up across the river-mouth and make a dash for freedom into the ocean. Unfortunately this was short-lived as the Dusky misjudged the widening of the mouth and was trapped on the sandbank, floundered and then sadly died.

Dusky Kob reach sexual maturity at age 5 years for males and 6 years for females - averaging about 1 meter in size at that time, which is over 10kg. The Dusky that died on the sandbank was 50kg in size, 25kg shy of the maximum weight reached at about age 42, when it measures 1,8 metre.

Dusky Kob (Argyrosomus japonicus) are also known as kabeljou, salmon or daga salmon and is the largest of the Kob species found in South African waters. They are carnivorous predators that feed mostly on shrimps and prawns as juveniles and on a variety of fish, squid and octopus once adult.

Being a shoaling predator these Kob hunt mainly by using smell and lateral line senses instead of sight. It is therefore equipped to hunt at night and in dirty water and although shy and elusive they are particularly common around river-mouths and larger estuaries, where the juveniles us the estuaries as nursing grounds. Spawning happens in KZN during August to November and between October and January along the eastern < and western cape - spawning usually takes place at night along inshore reefs.

Smoked Salmon Tower with Baby Marrow Fritter:
(Makes 2-3 towers - perfect for a Spring luncheon starter)

  • 5 x baby marrows grated
  • 2 fresh lemons
  • 2 eggs
  • a little olive oil for frying
  • 1 cup cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce (home made or bought)
  • black pepper
  • 2 x 80g packets smoked salmon
  • 1 bunch spring onion chopped
  • Fresh herbs for garnish

Method:

  1. In a bowl mix together the grated baby marrow and the juice of the lemon as well as 2 tsp of the lemon rind
  2. beat the egg and add to the baby marrow mix
  3. in a seperate bowl mix the cream cheese and the sweet chilli sauce together as well and the spring onion season with black pepper
  4. 4. place the oil in a pan and allow to get hot, using a table spoon place a spoon full of the baby marrow mixture into the hot oil and allow to fry until you get a crispy fritter. you will get about 4 or five fritters out of the mixture
  5. allow the fritters to cool
  6. on the serving plate layer the fritter then some of the cream cheese mixture and another fritter top with one last dollop of the cream cheese mixture and a smoked salmon rose
  7. garnish and serve

Book your 3 night midweek spa package (fly in or drive in) for 10 or more friends and receive a 20% discount off the portion of the fully inclusive rate. Offer valid for out of season - October & November 2009.

Packages include flights from Virginia, Durban; transfers, Lou Harvey goody bag, spa treatments, sunset cruise, yoga & spa breakfast & a complimentary bottle of wine.

3 day packages from R1 965.00 - R3450.00 per person sharing (Drive In)
or
3 day packages from R5 505.00 - R6 990.00 per person sharing (Fly In).

View details on this spring promotion!

Food and the passion for food has long been the cherry on the top to the perfect Umngazi holiday. Most of our guests will tell of their favourite Umngazi meal or food experience, be it the Saturday evening Seafood extravaganza's, the much loved Sunday Braai, Michael's Syrup Puffs, memorable meals with special friends in the Gazebo, marriage proposals in the Green Door, picnics at Flat Rock and coffee and cinnamon buns as you head out on your fishing trip oh and the few extra kilograms that they return home with every year (and not the ones in your suit case!).

Tell us about what your Umngazi favourite meal is. Please email your favourite meal to Molly at marketing@umngazi.co.za

We are exhibiting at the following shows in September & October:

  • Getaway Show from the 11-13 September 2009 (Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg),
  • Look & Feel Good Show from the 9-11 October 2009 (Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg)
  • Destinations Show from the 22-25 October 2009 (Cape Town Convention Centre)

If you are in the area, do pop in & collect a fish (not a real one!). We look forward to seeing you there!

We very much welcome your feedback and will include wherever possible your suggestions to even further improve the product and service.

We look forward to welcoming you to Umngazi and ensure that your experience will be one that you will treasure forever.
 
Tel: +27 (0) 47 564 1115/ 6/ 8 /9 | Cell no: 082 3215841/2| Email: enquiries@umngazi.co.za | Web: www.umngazi.co.za