Weekend Escape: Brookdale Health Hydro in the Midlands

28 August 2016 - 02:00 By Shelly Seid

Shelley Seid gets a recharge for body and soul at a KZN hydro Brookdale, one of only three proper health hydros in the country, is perfectly placed in the bucolic KZN Midlands, somewhere between gently grazing cows, meandering little streams and infinite fields of green.At a proper hydro you cannot sip champagne in the jacuzzi and there are no chocolates on your pillow. Rather, you will swallow water during your aquarobics and read the motivational messages placed at your bedside come turndown time.story_article_left1This is the opportunity for a full detox - no alcohol, no sugar, no stimulants and no cellphones. You're likely to get a headache from the shock, but it will be lovingly rubbed away during your stone massage or may even fall out while you hang upside down like a large bat during a session of inversion therapy.Don't bother to take any clothes with you; you're encouraged to wander around in a towelling gown and slippers - wearing a tracksuit to dinner is considered formal. You will be well looked after at Brookdale, you will feel loved, cosseted and even well (if not over) fed.Our first meal - dinner - was marvellous: a perfect little salad (it could have fitted into a thimble, but it was delicious); a main of rich, roasted tomato soup; half a slice of homemade bread; and, for desert, a tablespoon of fruit salad. I ate the nasturtium."I reckon we are serious overeaters if this is anything to go by," I whisper to my panicked partner. We weren't the only ones feeling the shock.At our shared table, conversation turned inevitably to food: The best pies on the Midlands Meander (just 1km down the road at the petrol station), favourite sarmies (bacon and peanut butter won that round), and what wine we would be sipping from our lovely, large wineglasses, had they not been full of herb-infused water.Of course, if you want to sneak across the road to Rawdon's Hotel and hit the pub, no one's judging. "We don't search the luggage, even when we hear the rattle of multiple bottles," I'm told.Breakfast was more substantial with smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, marrow fritters and pawpaw, and lunch was almost a feast.story_article_right2The food at Brookdale may be healthy but it's up there with some of the better restaurants in the province. So much so, in fact, that the hydro has published two cookbooks, Heavenly and Healthy Foods and Heavenly and Healthy Flavours.It's not all food though. Between the glasses of water, ginger tea and afternoon snack is a plethora of activities. Some, like the pilates, the early morning walk and the yoga classes gently remind you that muscles are there to be stretched.Others are less strenuous and take place on your back with your eyes closed. I had my head massaged, my face masked, my body exfoliated and my toes pedicured and in between sat quietly in one of the many pretty hidey holes scattered around the property, contemplating my - rapidly decreasing - navel.I'm also not surprised by the number of returnees. I meet a woman who has been every year for 23 years. She waxes lyrical about pilates. "How often do you go?" I ask. "Five times a year," she replies, "I only exercise when I'm at Brookdale."There is something about the easy familiarity, the intimacy and the tranquillity that gives you the armour necessary to face the real world. And if you can make the drive home without stopping for a hit of caffeine, so much the better.sub_head_start GO, GO, GO, sub_head_endWHERE IS IT: In the KZN Midlands, 90 minutes from Durban, four and a half hours from Joburg.WHAT TO DO: From lectures on stress, nutrition and lifestyle to makeup demonstrations and a fully equipped gym, it's everything you expect from a serious hydro. There is a sauna, steam rooms, an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, hydrotherapy baths, a variety of exercise classes, a reflexology path, a labyrinth, and plenty more. Do as much or as little as you like.WHAT'S ON OFFER: A two-, three-, four- or six-night package. Rates from R3, 900 pps for two nights. All packages include a minimum of one treatment, all meals, talks and exercise classes and the use of most facilities. For out-of-season specials, visit brookdale.co.za. For some retail therapy, the little shop next to reception sells potions and lotions as well as the cookbooks.CONTACT: Phone 033- 266-6208/507 or e-mail info@brookdale.co.za...

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