Review: Caledon Hotel, Casino and Spa

Caledon Hotel, Casino and Spa also known as Natures Spa situated on N2 National Road just 113km outside of Cape Town. 

The drive to Caledon is about an hour, with beautiful majestic views of the over berg mountains and the lakes as you cross Sir lowrys Pass, with Henk and Azax Syndrom playing on full blast, Jarryd and I jamming to tunes as we drove to one of Western Cape's 4 star hotels. 

With a warm and friendly welcome upon arrival at the hotel entrance to the friendly and sweet room service waitresses. Caledon is definitely a little piece of paradise. With excitement building up inside myself, I could not wait to go and relax in the hot springs. 

The first night we spoilt ourselves to a diner at the black sheep, which to my surprise our bill came to less then R200 and the food was amazing. With Jarryd opting for a burger and chips which he thoroughly enjoyed and me having a prawn salad which was not only fresh but very well prepared in a timely manner and very good presented dishes. 

Waking up the next morning in Caledon with the sun shinning through the curtains, it was time for a full English buffet breakfast, which was nothing less then perfect. With breakfast done and dusted it was of to the rock pools for a swim. 

Buzzing with an audience of all ages, Jarryd and I decided to book ourselves for a couples spa treatment. The ladies done an amazing job, with 30 minutes of massaging with the hot stone treatment and then another 30 minutes dedicated to a natural body scrub, ending with Jarryd and I in the sauna. 

After our afternoon nap, it was time for diner at the DA Vinci which was buzzing with an audience of cancer survivors who have just arrived at the hotel for a conference which they had at the hotel the next morning. Our food wasn't as prompt and punctual as it was the night before but it was delicious. As it was our last night in Caledon I decided I wanted to be a child again and off to Wonderland we went where we played games till closing time. Jarryd hates to admit it but I kicked his ass in the games, yes I am a very competitive person. 

As we kissed each other goodnight for the last night in Caledon, it dawned upon me that even though it was short lived for our well deserved break, it was the first time that Jarryd and I were actually on our own, not working, not with friends just me and him. I never ever doubted my feelings for Jarryd but this short break away from everyone just the two of us really showed me how much we do need our own quality time together and he realised it as well which now also means that we will be setting time for just myself and him to grow as a couple. 

       

                  The beautiful view 

       

             The Victorian Bath which was 

                 34' degrees Celsius 

       

              The cold water pool which was 

           directly outside of our hotel room

          

             With water coming from the mountain

              starting  at 60' degrees Celsius 

          decreasing in heat the closer it gets to

                  tip of the mountain. 

        

             The coldest pool out of all the pools 

                    at 22' degrees Celsius

In my opinion I score Caledon Hotel, Casino and Spa a 9/10

It would have been a 10 but because of the slow service at DA Vinci my scoring has dropped. 

A place filled with fun and activities for all ages. Be it a family getaway or a romantic one. Caledon Spa is definitely on the top of my list. 

Till next time... 

Part 3: Living with Bipolar

I remember the feeling in my throat when I told my doctor last year that I wanted to be booked into the clinic to try and discover what was wrong with me, was it  that my addictive personality came from a long heritage of Bipolar in my family or was it that I was just depressed cause my mom was away on business all year or was it because finally my symptoms of Bipolar was finally surfacing. 

After my 3 week stay at crescent clinic my doctor said he still doesn't want to diagnose me Bipolar but it's the most obvious. I was on all types of medication from serequel to olexar till we eventually found that olexar was the best medication for me and that it was helping me keep my mood stabilized. I had many side effects on the medication prescribed to me like itchiness, tiredness, rashes and even lethargic at times. I looked and felt like a zombie. During my stay at Crecent Clinic I hated group session as I didn't believe I needed it, and because been in a group would just depress me more hearing other people's problems who were far worse then mine. The group, therapist sessions portrayed in movies are similar to what really happens except you therapist says more the " and how does that make you feel" if you not an addict you don't greet in group My name is "John and I'm Bipolar" it's easy going and you not obligated to share its up to you. You can support the next person who is sharing and ask them questions to help you cope with your problems. 

My favorite things to do while I was in the clinic was the morning session which was meant to be fun and to wake you up, catch up on where you are in your program, another session I never missed was art & crafts, it was my favorite because the lady in charge was like my mom away from home. 

I enjoyed writing in my journal about my experiences and one day hope to turn my experiences in the clinic into a book. I  still have my good days and my bad days, I still make irrational choices and Im impulsive, guess it's all part of the journey, I do snap at my family and friends sometimes, and I do still sleep to make my problems go away even though I know it's impossible. 

I guess sometimes I wish my Psychiatrist said you "Border Line Personality" and that you won't have to go on medication and that it's normal because that's just your personality. Sometimes I wish I was normal with problems like everyone else. 

But I'm not complaining because I have learnt to accept it and deal with it. That God is only putting out these obstacles in my life because he has a better plan for me. 

Till next time...