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A holistic holiday is a getaway that goes beyond merely discovering a new destination. It's about rediscovering yourself, your health and wellbeing, in a place where you can calm the mind, heal the body, nourish the soul, and gather your energy to face the challenges of the world with renewed spirit and excitement.
Imagine a holiday where your only concern is whether you'll have enough time for a quick nap before your next massage. Where all the food you're eating not only tastes good, it's actually improving your health. Get all of this at a spa, one of the most popular holistic holiday options, to help you properly relax and unwind with some serious pampering, coupled with large doses of me-time to get in touch with your soul.
Since the earliest times, people have realised the benefits of mineral water spas. According to Sharyn Spicer and Janine Nepgen, authors of Holistic Holidays in South Africa (Human & Rousseau), a spa experience can reduce stress levels, ease pain, help you sleep better, relax sore muscles, stimulate the immune system and increase the levels of feel-good endorphins in the body.
Many spas offer day visits, but the ideal stay is a week or more, during which you can go on a healthy detox diet, aimed at giving your digestive system a rest as you get rid of toxins from bad food, smoking and alcohol. You're not obliged to go on a strict diet, however, if that's not for you.
What To Expect
A typical day at a spa is divided into sessions of therapies, such as massages,
aqua-aerobics, steam baths, saunas or optional beauty treatments. In between, indulge in plenty of naps, walks or hours with a good book. Meal times are fairly social and many spas organise a speaker or some sort of activity in the evenings.
If that sounds too intense, take advantage of resorts and lodges that are now adding a spa to their list of attractions. That means you can indulge in an action-packed holiday, with a relaxing deep massage or beauty treatment as an added bonus.
What to take to a spa
Finding in-spa-ration
There are a number of spa options
available around the country. Although
each one is a completely different
experience, they all promise peace and
rejuvenation for mind, body and spirit.
Eastern Cape
St Francis Health Centre, Port Alfred
This is a place that looks after your soul as
well as your body. Key to the St Francis
experience is founder Anneliese Cowley,
who's passionate about promoting health
and helping others find balance.
"Health is more than simply the
absence of disease," she says. "It's an
embracing of life."
Visit for the day or check in for a six-, 10- or 13-day stay, to enjoy daily massages, hydrotherapy, gentle aqua- aerobics in a heated pool, a detox diet and a variety of therapies designed to restore body and soul. In between, soak up the beautiful setting of the Kleinemonde Valley, enjoy walks and birdlife, explore the on-site 11-circle Chartres-style labyrinth, or just restore yourself next to the pool.
Contact details: Call 046 625 0927, or go to naturecure@imaginet.co.za.
Cost
A day package costs R450, which
includes five treatments and a diet lunch;
a six-day package is priced from R5 154;
a 10-day package from R8 590; and a
13-day package from R11 167 (with a
discount available).
Gauteng
The Spa in the Country, Muldersdrift
The Spa in the Country is part of the
Misty Hills Country Hotel and Conference
Centre, but it is situated in a separate
location from the hotel, in a thatched
house surrounded by lush, landscaped
gardens in the Kromdraai Valley. You'll
feel comfortable and cosy in the lounge
and enclosed courtyards.
Try the aromatherapy massages, herbal jet baths and other skin-care and beauty treatments, designed to pamper and heal you in this serene country environment. There is also the option of hot-stone therapy, a supremely relaxing massage using warm stones to soothe the body.
Contact details: Call 011 950 6051, e-mail spa@rali.co.za, or go to www.rali.co.za.
Cost
Stay for the day for R880 per
person, including lunch and six treatments
or book individual therapy sessions
according to your preference.
Western Cape
The Baths, Citrusdal
(Off the N7, approximately 180km from
Cape Town.)
People have been bathing in the natural
warm waters at The Baths for hundreds of
years. The water, which is warmed in the
depths of the earth, bursts from a spring
at a temperature of 43°C, from where
it's channelled into a variety of spa baths
and pools at the resort. Its high mineral
content, coupled with the soothing effects
of the temperature, makes it excellent for
easing muscles, nerves, joint inflammation,
circulatory and respiratory problems.
The Baths is more of a holiday resort than a health hydro, and is perfect as a weekend stress-breaker. Choose from a variety of chalets, flats, houses (some of which have their own private spa baths) and campsites. There's also a restaurant if you don't feel up to self-catering.
Beautiful hiking trails take you up into the surrounding mountains that tower over the Olifants River Valley. There's also golf and even skydiving nearby if crave a dose or two of adrenaline.
Contact details: Call 022 921 8026/7, e-mail reservations@thebaths. co.za, or go to www.thebaths.co.za.
Cost
Campsites start at R55 per adult,
R27,50 per child (weekend rates, with
a maximum of six people per site).
Accommodation ranges from R335
per night for two people to R500 for
two, which includes the use of spa
baths and pools. Four- and six-sleeper
accommodation is also available.
Kwazulu-Natal
Falaza Game Park and Spa, Hluhluwe
(About 14km off the N2. Turn off at
Hluhluwe.)
Get back to nature at Falaza, which
combines a spa experience alongside an
African bush adventure in an 800-hectare
game park in the heart of Zululand. Stay
in safari-style luxury tents, each with a
sun deck for daydreaming, with a full
range of spa treatments and therapies
in which to indulge.
Try seaweed and mud treatments, Swedish, hot-stone and aromatherapy massages, as well as hydrotherapy treatments using mineral and sea water. Enjoy game drives on the property or in the nearby Big Five Hluhluwe-Umfolozi game reserve, horse trails and a boat cruise. Combine a stay at Falaza with a holiday exploration of Zululand and Maputaland.
Contact details: Call 035 562 2319, e-mail resfalaz@telkomsa.net, or go to www.falaza.co.za.
Cost
Rates are from R550 per person
sharing, bed and breakfast.
For more ideas on where to find real peace and relaxation, get hold of a copy of Holistic Holidays in South Africa by Sharyn Spicer and Janine Nepgen (Human & Rousseau). This comprehensive book looks at spas, mystical African sites and spiritual retreats around the country, and offers advice on where to go and what to expect. It also offers plenty of background information and inspiration.
Other holistic options
If the thought of a spa doesn't appeal to you, satisfy your need for peace and solitude at any number of retreats around the country. Some are spiritual or religious, where you will have the opportunity to study texts or spend time in
formal meditation, while others simply offer silence, solace and the opportunity to reach your own inner calm in a variety of natural surroundings.
Another option is to visit one of South Africa's many ancient sites, such as Mapungubwe in Limpopo, the Sterkfontein Caves and the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng, the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park in KwaZulu- Natal and the Table Mountain range in the Western Cape.
