Ancient Therapies, Modern Treatments the African Way
by Joan Scobey -- Knysna, South Africa
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"Central to most of them are Pezula's "Maruwa" products, named after the Shona word for flowers and harvested from the vivid aromatic flowers and tiny leaves of the indigenous fynbos, whose therapeutic properties have been known, and used, for centuries by the San and the Khoikhoi peoples.".
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idway along the forested Garden Route on South Africa's southern coast, about 300 miles east of Cape Town, Pezula Resort and Spa hugs a ridge above the rolling surf of the Indian Ocean. Practically everything about the handsome lodge is ardently African: walls of local sandstone, floors of mellow polished Zimbabwe teak, soaring interior columns of 600-year-old female yellowwood trees, and decorative pools that evoke the headlands and timber heritage of the area. African arts and crafts are everywhere, virtually all of it on offer, except for the busts of Bishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela in the lobby.
Even the alien pine and gum trees on the 1512-acre estate have been replaced by native yellowwood and "fynbos," the heather-like vegetation unique to South Africa's Western Cape. Opened in Feb 2005, Pezula (which means "up high with the gods" in Shona dialect) is entrepreneur-conservationist Keith Stewart's vision of a world class, full-scale, impeccably stylish African resort.
You won't be surprised to discover that the name also describes the spa, where the decor reflects Pezula's natural surroundings--fynbos, forest, moss, natural stone, and water÷and the signature treatments are quintessentially African. In the steam room, mosaic tiles in African motifs line one long wall; elsewhere, sheets of water cascade from a handsome rock facade.
The 11,000-square-foot spa houses a state-of-the-art gym with training machines and cardio- vascular facilities for running, cycling and rowing, plus a 40-foot indoor heated pool (in addition to the 82-foot outdoor pool). Personal trainers are available to plan and supervise individual programs.
The treatment facilities are also lavish: steam room, sauna, sun bed, and nine secluded treatment rooms, plus a post-treatment room with three heated water beds. A jacuzzi is outside on a deck cantilevered over a palm-lined pond.
You can choose among a diverse range of therapies, from traditional Swedish massage, ancient Aromatherapy, Shiatsu, Hot Stone, and Reflexology to scrubs, wraps, hydrotherapy treatments, and more, plus the spa's signature African treatments.
Central to most of them are Pezula's "Maruwa" products, named after the Shona word for flowers and harvested from the vivid aromatic flowers and tiny leaves of the indigenous fynbos, whose therapeutic properties have been known, and used, for centuries by the San and the Khoikhoi peoples. These have been formulated to nourish, protect, and rejuvenate the skin in a variety of body treatments.
Signature treatments:
-Phumla African Massage (60 minutes, about $95) is Pezula's iconic massage, and it turns up as part of several therapies, as well as alone. From the Shona word meaning relax, Phumla, known as an African drumbeat massage, uses long strokes and deep kneading pressure into muscle tissue to improve circulation and ease muscular aches and tension. Relying on the healing properties of shea butter, the therapist starts at the feet, and with deep pressure movements works up to the back, neck, and shoulders, repeating the entire sequence on the front and back of the body. The treatment ends with a face massage.
-Matombo Massage Treatment (90 minutes, about $110) is the granddaddy of exfoliation. Using fynbos body salts, it completely eliminates dead surface cells, impurities and roughness, immediately improving circulation, and rejuvenating the skin. A Phulma African massage follows, ensuring deep relaxation and re-energizing the body with hot stones, or matombo.
-Mhute Steam Treatment (60 minutes, about $85). Mhute means fog or mist, and this steam treatment is a combination of therapies designed to soothe, regenerate and rehydrate the body. Beginning with an all-over light exfoliation, the therapist lightly massages your body with Fynbos Body Scrub, and then applies Maruwa Fynbos Mud to the skin while continuing to massage the muscles. Aromatherapy steam fills the room with the woodsy fragrance of fynbos while you relax and rehydrate on a heated bed.
-Mufaro Avo/Shea Butter Massage (90 minutes, about $95). Slices of avocado and shea butter, placed on different parts of the body, are the lubricants for this treatment. As they start to melt naturally from the heat of the body, the therapist begins a sensory massage in those unrelated areas, moving on to a deep massage combined with trigger point therapy once they have fully liquified.
-Mbvura Hydrotherapy Treatment (180 minutes, about $210). This is all about the body, or mbvura. After a complete fynbos exfoliation, leaving the skin smooth and radiant, you are wrapped in either rehydration gel or mineralizing mud, and enveloped in warm forest-scented steam for 20 detoxing minutes. Then warm rain water rinses off the excess gel or mud, and you soak in a milk-scented hydrobath massaged by powerful water jets. A Phumla African massage completes the treatment.
These are some of the other body treatments:
-Muwuri Body Scrub (30 minutes, about $35). Fynbos salts and peach kernels exfoliate dry and dehydrated skin, stimulating blood circulation to improve absorption of nutrients.
-Daka Mud Body Wrap (60 minutes, about $60) combines Buchu Fynbos with clay and essential oils for total rehydration.
-Renewal Hydrating Nyanza Wrap (45 minutes, about $60). A soothing wrap with aromatherapy oils to renew and hydrate the skin.
-Serene Detox Mud Wrap (75 minutes, about $75). Natural mineral mud, seaweed, and aloe body masks sealed in a warm wrap helps eliminate unwanted water retention and excess weight by detoxifying, exfoliating, and nourishing the skin.
-Mbzura Nourishing Hydrobath (30 minutes, about $60) is a unique bath incorporating light and water therapy. A nourishing milk treatment combined with essential oils helps soften and hydrate the skin, leaving it radiant and soft.
For my own day at the spam I chose two fynbos-based therapies: the Muwuri Body Scrub, and the Aromatherapy Massage, whose fragrance comes from fynbos, and lubrication from shea butter and essential oils. The hands-down winner was the finale, a blissful 12-minute jet-powered water bed massage in a darkened room that ends every treatment. Most clients beg to repeat it.
You can get some idea of the range of treatments from Pezula's spa packages:
-Mists of the African Plain (5¸ hours, about $295): Mhute Steam Treatment, Deluxe Balancing Facial, Spa Manicure Deluxe, Spa Pedicure Deluxe, Paraffin Hand & Foot Treatment
-Heartbeat of Africa (4¸ hours, about $400: Fitness Assessment, Personal Training Session, Mbvura Hydrotherapy Treatment, Essential Facial, Spa Manicure, Spa Pedicure, Wash & Blow Dry
-Untamed African Melody (2¸ hours, about $175): Body Scrub in Capsule, Hydrotherapy Bath, Phumla African Massage
-African Dawn (3 hours, about $255): Salt Scrub Body Wrap Swedish Massage Deluxe Balancing Facial
-Orchestrated Symphony (3 hours. about $260): Hydrotherapy bath, Balancing Facial, Swedish Massage, Personal Training Session / Fitness Assessment
-River Concerto Journey (3 hours, about $175): Personal Training Session, Nourishing Hydrobath Aromatherapy Massage
-Warm Rocks Revival (3 hours, about $170): Body Scrub, Hot Stones Massage, Classic Facial
-Ultimate Odyssey (4¸ hours, about $255): Body Scrub, Wrap, Aromatherapy Massage, Deluxe Spa Manicure, Deluxe Spa Pedicure
-Renaissance Root (5 hours, about $265): African Body Massage, Deluxe Balancing Facial, Spa Manicure, Spa Pedicure, Wash & Blow Dry
You can see the complete list of spa treatments, skin care, scrubs, wraps, and spa packages, with prices, on the website, www.pezula.com.
Between spa treatments Pezula's widely varied terrain offers an array of diversions. Golfers negotiate the hilly 18-hole course in GPS-equipped carts that track each hole's layout and the distance from ball to pin; they are often surprised by wandering bushbuck or tree-swinging baboons who turn a round of golf into a mini safari. Tennis players have four hard courts in the "Field of Dreams," a natural sports amphitheatre with lawn bowling, a cricket lawn, an Equestrian Center, and a Golf Academy, that draws such major players as Roger Federer and Nick Price. Soft adventurers can devise a self-styled "triathlon." for instance, by riding a Cape-bred horse along the ridges to the indigenous forest, hiking former logging trails to the Noetzie River, canoeing to the protected beach at the Indian Ocean. Then soothing their tired muscles at the spa with the jet-powered water bed massage.
The days end at Zachary's, where Chef Geoffrey Murray spins local ingredients into sophisticated fare. You'll  likely find Knysna oysters with caviar; summer pea risotto with biltong; and roast rack of Karoo lamb on the menu, and, of course, superb South African wines from the 1000-bottle cellar. But one night opt for sundowners and barbecue at Pezula's Boma, a thatched hut and traditional African fenced clearing at the edge of the forest with only vast green woodland stretching before you and the Southern Cross above.
Pezula's 78 spacious suites, grouped in 20 chalets around the lodge, are retreats of comfort in earth tones with riffs of deep red: a chaise by the wood-burning fireplace, well-stocked pantry-wet bar, and large marble bathroom with freestanding oval tub. Decks and patios face camera-ready vistas of the ocean, lagoon, or golf course.
Suites are priced from about $695 high season (9/1-12/19/06), and about $730 peak season (12/20-1/5/07) for two, include breakfast and VAT, use of the spa and gym facilities.
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