People come from all over the world to seek relaxation and healing at a modest health hydro in the Skurweberg near Centurion. While sitting in the dining room at Hoogland Health Hydro, with its plain wooden décor, I met visitors not just from nearby Johannesburg and Pretoria but also from other African countries, Europe and the US.
In the dining room, you can sit in a group or solitary splendour, and sometimes another guest will ask to join you.
The mealtime talk made me realise that many were returning guests or long-term residents. One frequent visitor was an American man who had searched the world for effective treatment for a serious health condition. Another was an elderly woman from Tanzania who had arrived some months ago in a wheelchair. She was scheduled for a knee replacement but wanted to build up her health so that recovery would be easier. With the help of one-on-one sessions with the biokineticists in the warm jet pool, she had built up her stamina remarkably and had been able to get to Pretoria for check-ups with the help of Hoogland’s car and driver.
Hoogland’s selling proposition is not champagne in the Jacuzzi or extravagant salon treatments, but sincere care and what they call slow medicine. This comes not just via the therapies on offer but also from simply being there: going to sleep listening to the frogs; waking up to a dozen different types of birdsong in the peace of a private nature reserve; eating simple but well-prepared, healthy food; drinking the pure water that comes from aquifers; bathing in the warm pools and taking the hydro cures that help to reinvigorate your body and mind.
I had come for the Kickstart Wellbeing programme, which includes access to all hydro facilities such as saunas, the Jacuzzi, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools; guided walks; and daily classes such as Pilates, yoga, dance, gut motility, stretch and aqua aerobics. A full-body massage is also included, with two 30-minute massages and a consultation with a health and medical consultant such as a nutritionist, biokineticist, life coach, chiropractor or psychologist.
The package comes with a mini medical assessment, which includes urinalysis, body composition scale, waist circumference-to-height ratio; and blood pressure and blood oxygen saturation testing. Medical check-ins are done by a nurse and there is a blood test on the first morning. This includes a full blood count as well as chronic and acute inflammation markers, measuring cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and testing of thyroid function.
Analysis of the test is done by Dr Andrè Kruger, who founded the hydro in the 1970s with his parents, Abraham and Annette Kruger. Sporting a grey ponytail and known around the place as Dr Andrè, he is often encountered barefoot while dressed in a formal white shirt and grey trousers.
From the onset the Kruger family has been heavily involved in the daily running of the hydro. It is now being handed down to the capable third generation. Anette Kruger, CEO and the daughter of Andrè and resident psychologist Monica, is in charge of the overall vision for the business. A former airline pilot, Anette, a lifestyle health consultant, gave me feedback from the blood test, suggesting follow-up actions once I was home. I was alerted to a thyroid that wasn’t firing properly.
Kruger’s son Abraham and his wife, Christine, are both svelte and beaming with health. Consultations can be booked with nutritionist Abraham, who also presents food preparation workshops. We gathered on a Thursday afternoon in the small Kiepersol Theatre to watch him whip up some wholesome dishes for supper, such as roast brinjals and a red cabbage salad with carrots and sprouts. Our interest in healthy living paid off as we each got a tot glass of an eye-rollingly delicious pudding made entirely of blended pineapple, dates and coconut water.
Apart from consulting as a life and wellness coach, Christine takes the Pilates class and guides morning meditation.
The hydro’s approach to food is pleasingly unneurotic. Andrè does favour a water fast, but this is not prescribed for all, and just by seeing the fresh, healthy food on the buffet you feel inspired to clean up your act. Fresh fruit is available all day, and three substantial hot meals are served with a selection of salads. Some of the delicious dishes I enjoyed were small omelettes filled with cheese and mushroom; boereboontjies (green beans cooked with potato); spicy roast vegetables; cauliflower and butternut rogan josh with couscous; and Thai green curry. There was extra-virgin olive oil and real butter, and you could ask at the kitchen for thick slices of freshly baked sourdough bread.
The hydro has no objection to coffee, which was welcome news to me and many others. An excellent pot of coffee can be brought to your table or even your room. I appreciated their sense that visitors are adults in charge of their own food choices. You are there to get better, not be sent on a guilt trip, though this may happen anyway. But the only ingredient I could see no trace of was sugar.
The gracious Anna Khonjela carried out my full-body Swedish massage. I was immediately set at ease on entering her comfy room, redolent with the scent of peppermint oil. The massage bed had been warmed, was softly padded and had none of the stiff boards one sometimes encounters, and she has truly healing hands.
Two 30-minute Iketla massages were also included. Iketla means “be relaxed, be peaceful” in Sotho, and these treatments are offered as part of a programme to upskill staff members who usually work in the kitchen or as cleaners. Three massages are available: neck and shoulder; hand and arm; and foot and leg. Mine were done by Maria Mohajane, who said she loved her new vocation. She also showed real talent, finding and easing some achy spots.
You shouldn’t go there and not explore the nature reserve. There are two guided walks daily, each with two speeds. I opted for the slower walk with the charming Keletso Seemela, a conservation studies intern from the Tshwane University of Technology. We racked our brains trying to identify the many bird calls — there are about 82 recorded species on the 398h property — and spotted some of the resident wildebeest herd. The previous evening I had watched from my window as a group of them arrived to nibble at the lawn.
The rates are extremely reasonable, but a heads-up: the hydro was built in the 1970s and some areas feel dated. On the plus side, it is pleasingly low-tech and restful and you will encounter old-school water cures such as a steam cabinet that are rarely seen any more. Maintenance is ongoing and some of the facilities need attention, but if you are looking to benefit from genuine knowledge of this industry, honed over decades, and close attention to the important things, give Hoogland a try.
Rates:
There are various packages, all including access to all facilities and activities and three meals:
- Lifestyle Health Core package (if you have no serious health concerns and are just in need of a healthy rest): Two-days, R5,425 per person (pp);
- Kick-Start Wellbeing (additional physical and/or mental professional health support): Three days, R10,725pp; additional nights, R2,525pp; and
- Metabolic Health: Nine days and longer (for weight management, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders): R34,950pp.
