South African country lodge
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
What defines the Tzaneen Country Lodge is the natural beauty that surrounds the lodge, and in essence, our natural product that we offer with simplicity and style.
As such, our environmental efforts are part of our responsibility to protect the very product we sell. It also serves as an opportunity to deepen our relationship with not only our guests but also with our staff and their connection to the environment.
The Tzaneen Country Lodge was started in 2000 on 170 ha of a working mango farm and indigenous forest. The Lodge, which is a model of preservation and eco friendliness, is situated in an area of natural beauty, within the heart of the majestic and beautiful Limpopo Province.
Alien vegetation was cleared by hand and large Jacarandas and Wattle were felled. More than 3000 indigenous trees were planted to increase the natural beauty of the Tzaneen Country Lodge.
Strong eco-friendly methods were used to ensure that only indigenous trees and as far as possible only indigenous plants were used to create our beautiful landscaped gardens.
As water is fast becoming a very precious necessity, our own water supply is treated with respect. Recycled through our own sewage plant, this waste water is pumped back and used as irrigation for our gardens. This is indeed a model of recycling.
Only bio-degradable cleaning products are used at the Tzaneen Country Lodge, to keep this process pure. Our drinking water is extracted from boreholes that connect to an underground reservoir, and our water quality is regularly checked and tested and could be sold as bottled water! It was actually certified as “better than bottled water”!
With our Energy Management programme we want to reinforce our commitment to the natural environment in which we operate – for that reason we harness solar power and which started out as a major investment is now turning out to be not only a cost saver but with Eskom the way it is, we can still manage hot water for our guests. We have also reduced the wattage of all light bulbs and only use energy saving light bulbs. We offer linen replenishment and service every day for stay-over guests - but only on request. We have also installed an environmentally friendly air cooling system in all our new rooms, instead of the standard air-conditioning, so that we only recycle fresh air into our rooms. Our policy of ‘touch the earth lightly’ is taken literally here!
No trees were removed to make way for any buildings, and the design was constantly adapted around them creating a feeling of one-ness with nature. In our design, construction, renovation and maintenance, we try to use wherever possible low volatile organic compounds in our paints and adhesives and where possible we only use materials with recycled content;
We use a food rescue programme where all off-cuts and left-overs and waste are used as animal feed to the advantage of our newly created animal farm. We have our own compost plant which is on a regular basis worked into our gardens.
Community
The fact that basically all our staff comes from our direct local community makes a huge difference to the happiness of staff and our community. Most of them were unskilled labourers who were taught in-house to become housekeepers, front office staff, waiting staff and all are in constant training to enhance their skills.
We also use only local operators for transport, transfers and also assisted one of our local community members to buy his own bus so that he can do our transfers for our tourists. We constantly try to use what our community can offer us, and assist them in what they are doing so that we can have a community with trust and hope.
The principle of sustainable development is a constant ongoing process through community involvement, with training throughout the lodge, sending newly acquired skills into the marketplace. In this way we try to build awareness of our earth to all our guests, our staff and their families. We are also well-known for our “Green Talks” which we offer not only to the community but also for tourists and groups visiting the Lodge.
Tzaneen Country Lodge does whisper a special magic, with wonderful staff that hold Tzaneen Country Lodge close to their hearts, and our guests can expect an experience touching the senses and restoring their spirit in combination with the best of nature and our friendly people here at the Tzaneen Country Lodge.
Our motto – the place to be… Tzaneen meaning the place where people come together or the “happy land” this is the one place on earth where you really will come as a stranger – and leave as a friend…
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