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Eastern Cape Province
Free State Province
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Lindiwe Mbuyisa, Product Owner
 


Amacusi guest House

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THE Free State is the great sprawling central province of South Africa. It is a place of wide open landscapes, of endless maize and wheat fields, and picture-perfect sunsets.

In the Free State the traveller is encouraged not to hurry between the far-flung towns but to enjoy the province’s greatest natural assets – its abundant space and endless skies.

Most visitors to the Free State take in its capital, Bloemfontein (the name means “Flower Fountain”.

Bloemfontein has a modern airport connecting it daily to all the major destinations in South Africa. It is the seat of the appeal court. It has a top university, the national museum and some of the country’s most highly regarded schools. It’s also a sporting mecca, home to the Free State Cheetahs rugby side, a top provincial cricket team and the Bloemfontein Celtic football club. In 2010 the Free State capital will host Fifa 2010 World Cup soccer matches at its 48,000-seater stadium.

A green city of trees, rivers, hills and parks, Bloemfontein has, in recent years, become a hit with foreign sports fans travelling with their teams. They love the way Bloemfontein combines its uniquely laid-back platteland appeal with first-class facilities, excellent shopping and restaurants.

Stadiums are amongst the best in South Africa and access is quick and easy. Plus there’s the fact that Bloemfonteiners of all colours have a reputation for welcoming strangers, chatting easily with newcomers, while offering them a dop (a drink) and a slice of biltong.

Bloemfontein is popular with sports fans of a different ilk; gliders from dozens of countries. They come to the Free State and, invariably, base themselves in the capital in between taking to the thermals high above the far empty spaces that make the Free State one of the world’s best venues for this sport.

Lindiwe Mbuyisa counts gliders chatting excitedly in strange accents about their flights among her guests, along with businesspeople and domestic travellers either exploring the Free State or on their way to the Western and Eastern Cape or Gauteng. A native of greater Johannesburg (the 33-year-old hails from KwaThema on the East Rand), Lindiwe has slotted into Bloemfontein’s tradition of hospitality as though she were a native.

The owner and hands-on manager of the White House (it’s also known as the Amacusi Guesthouse), Lindiwe laughs when asked what sets her establishment apart. “Well, for one thing, you get the attention of the very friendly Mrs Obama; me,” she grins. “I’m lucky in that I can click with anyone. It doesn’t matter where they come from; I get on with people and I really enjoy looking after them.”

A “domestic executive” as she puts it for most of her adult life, it was her husband’s job that brought Lindiwe to Bloemfontein. In 2006 she opened part of her home to guests and has never looked back. In a city celebrated for hospitality, Lindiwe had found her niche.

Located in the posh Heuwelsig neighbourhood, The White House can accommodate 30 people. It has nine rooms, all en-suite, plus two suites, one of which is a sumptuous bridal suite.
The property has a cosy bar, restaurant, plenty of entertainment areas and a sauna that can seat ten.

Bloemfontein’s Number One shopping destination, the Mimosa Mall, is a stone’s throw away, as is the N1 highway, with almost all of the city’s main attractions reachable within a few minutes’ drive (only a few kilometres away there is even a game lodge with wild animals and stunning views over the endless Free State plains).

The White House has a staff of five, people who Lindiwe describes as the guesthouse’s greatest assets. “It’s not just me who is really friendly; our people smile all the time. They appreciate the importance of good service, of cleanliness and just making people feel at home,” says Lindiwe.
 
All three meals are dished up; lunch on request. “We serve a full English breakfast, plus continental, but we like to hear from people what it is that they really want. Whether it’s halal, vegetarian or something special, if we can help them, we will.”

The White House, says Lindiwe “means everything to me” and she will leave no stone unturned in her pursuit of excellence. In this single-minded pursuit, she has found a welcome ally in TEP who, she says, has helped her with “everything from marketing material, helping me to promote my business at Indaba [South Africa’s biggest travel trade show] and giving me new ideas and inspiration”.
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