21
Sparklers and bubbly
And glasses held high –
Amazed at how fast
The years have sped by…
Bitou River Lodge,
Green and gold in the sun,
Happy Birthday to you!
You’re now Twenty-One!
I still can’t believe it…

What we love about our Twenty-One-Year-Old:
- Walking under the trees we planted (once we’d cleared the aliens in the cow field we bought, there was nothing left. We’ve planted every tree. Paul did the planting, I did the pruning).
- Shopping at Woolies at 5am in peak season to beat the crowds (back in the day, there was no Woolworths, no Pick ‘n Pay, no Checkers…now we have Woolies with local-friendly hours…gotta love it!)
- Being ‘green’ (when we started, Eskom was reliable and cheap – but whenever a tree fell on the line & cut off our power we had no lights, no breakfast and, worst of all, no water. Total panic. Now we have amazing solar lamps designed by Paul, we cook with gas and water is fed to the taps & showers by gravity. No more pumps and generators!)
- The animal sagas that have made us gasp (otters vs geese, fight to the death / the genet in our kitchen / the seal swimming past our lawn / the baby Blue Cranes whose super-long toes got caught in the fence & whom we freed / the hoarse bark of a leopard next door / spotting Little Bitterns / tiny baby Crakes / monkeys swimming across the river to raid the bird tray…
- Our cheerful, reliable staff (our ‘skattebol’ Cathleen has been with us since Day One!)
- Our awesome guests, without whom we’d have thrown in the (bath) towel years ago (many have become regulars and great friends…Don & Zillah have booked their nineteenth stay for next year). Huge thank you to you all!
What we’re doing to celebrate:
- For the whole of October we’re offering top specials: 21.OFF │3:4:2 │DOUBLE.UP
- We’re running a Photo Competition with three nights for two guests up for grabs
- We have challenging (song) clues in our Tricky Ducky Treasure Hunt
- There’s a Happy Birthday Selfie Station
- And of course our usual canoeing –
- as well as Spring birding: think nests, bright plumage, feathery visitors
Want to join us? Want more info?
info@bitou.co.za www.bitou.co.za 0829786164 Sue
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