Typical Day and Daily Schedule at Hoogland Health Hydro

Daily Schedule

All of these activities are free to attend, but it is important to choose the ones which will best suit your needs and not aim to do everything, everyday.

06:30 Morning hike of around 90min, a shorter gentler option available on request
07:00 Hydro facilities open
08:00 Breakfast buffet starts
08:30 Guided Meditation (25min)
09:15 Pilates (40min)
10:30 African Dance Class (25min)
11:30 Aqua Aerobics (40min)
12:00 Lunch buffet starts
14:00 Afternoon talk or demonstration
15:30 Stretch Class (20min)
16:00 Gut Motility Exercise Class (20min)
16:30 Breathwork Class (10min)
17:00 Afternoon hike of about 60min with a slower, gentler nature walk available on request
18:00 Supper buffet starts
18:30 Hydro facilities close
19:30 Evening talk or demonstration

Throughout the day guests have unlimited access to all the hydro facilities, and are encouraged to use these often. This includes sauna, steam room, steam cabinets, jet pools, Jacuzzis, sitz baths and swimming pools, all of which form an important part of the very beneficial hydro cycle.

Guests are free to choose what they want to participate in, and consultants are available to guide guests through knowledge.

Meals

Meals are served as a health buffet from 08:00 to 21:00, and there is freshly cut fruit and salad veggies available almost 24 hours a day. So there is no need to plan any activities around meals, and we encourage guests to use bio-feedback to decide when to eat and what to eat.

Dolomitic mineral water and herbal teas are freely available, and filter coffee or Ceylon tea can be ordered from the kitchen.

Most of our meals, although not all, are vegetarian.We can cater for a range of dietary requirements including vegetarians, vegans, raw diets, banting, various allergies and likes and dislikes.

Please just let us know during your reservation if you have any specific dietary requirements. The kitchen is also quite accommodating if you have any specific dietary requirements, or if there is anything you really feel like, as long as we have some notice and it falls within our broad nutritional philosophy.

No juices are offered as, contrary to much of the popular opinion, it is not healthy. Smoothies are only available to our guests who need to gain weight and are under direct guidance by the nutritionist.

Homemade stoneground flour wholewheat sourdough bread can be ordered throughout the day.

Typical dishes available on the buffet

Meals are freshly prepared, seasonal, mostly, but not exclusively vegetarian, and absolutely deliciously nourishing.

Morning-Buffet

2 types of home-made muesli, probiotic yoghurt, stewed fruit, single-egg omelettes filled with spinach, mushroom and feta, relish, boiled eggs, cottage cheese, fresh fruit, smoothies, oats or maltabella, fresh garden salad.

Afternoon Buffet:
Brinjal bake, chunky veg soup, brown rice and lentil salad, roast butternut feta and pomegranate salad, herb salad, fish cocktail, fresh bread, cottage cheese.

Evening Buffet:

Lentil and chickpea curry, Carrot and baby-marrow with thyme and lemon, Gemsquash with bell peppers, onion and feta, Broccoli and Avocado salad, Rocket, fennel, apple and pecan salad.

For more about our wonderful dishes, have a look at our recipes.

View Recipes

Talks, Workshops and Demonstrations:

Our weekly workshop may change as we often have exciting guest presenters, and as many guests are returning visitors, one of our presenters might talk about a different, equally valuable subject.

Sundays

14:00 “Intermittent Fasting” with Anette. A talk on the research around the benefits of fasting, intermittent fasting and how to make it work for you.
19:15 “Stress Managment” with Anette. This is a stress management workshop, not a stress suppression workshop. It is an insightful discussion on some of the benefits of stress, the value of an optimal anxiety level, stress hormones and how to mitigate the potential health impact of excessive stress.

Mondays

14:00 “Thirst” a talk on hydration with Anette. Optimal hydration is important for all biological functions. How much is enough and when is it too little or too much?
19:15 “Health Matters”. Interactive talk with Dr Andre. The discussion is based on questions from guests and Dr Andre’s years’ of international experience is shared freely. His dry sense of humour, incredible insights and diverse knowledge makes this a not-to-be-missed talk.

Tuesdays

14:00 “Mindful Eating”, a training class with Christine. We all know diets don’t work. A mindful approach to eating is the best way to regain and maintain a healthy body weight and image. This training class is a worth-wile introduction to help guests to get a higher level of satisfaction from our wonderfully diverse diet.
19:15 “Benefits of Exercise” with Hitty. If exercise was sold as medication it would be the most effective medication of all times. Learn more about the benefits and how to increase physical activity for a healthier, happier life

Wednesdays

14:00 “Expressive Mandalas” with Christine. A creative, meditative and insightful mandala drawing class
19:15 “Nutrition” interactive talk with Abraham Kruger. A practical and positive discussion on the joys of food and how to implement delicious changes for maximum health.

Thursdays

14:00 “Chiropractics” talk by Dr Graeme Blake. A little about the history of chiropractics and how it has evolved.
19:15 “Sleep” a talk by Anette on fascinating sleep research, the physical and mental imperitives, understanding sleep cycles and how to improve quality and quantity of sleep.

Fridays

14:00 “Aromatherapy” workshop with Christine. Learn a little about the history of aromatherapy, how the oils are extracted and blend your own scrub or bath salt
19:15 “Wellness wheel” with Christine. Christine. An introductory discussion on wellbeing in the interrelated domains of our lives and how to work toward achieving balance.

Saturdays

14:00 “Cooking Demonstration” with Abraham. Learn to prepare delicious, healthy food while learning more about practical nutrition.
19:15 “Willpower” talk with Anette. The greatest human gift is willpower which is closely linked to sound decision making. Learn more about how to use your willpower more productively for a healthy, happy life.

Atmosphere and Being Considerate

Hoogland’s peace and quiet, the various hydro therapies and fasting, greatly enhance your senses. Many guests come to our natural haven to escape stresses and temptations.

Enhanced senses include:

Hearing
Smelling and
Visual awareness

It often takes some time for new guests to experience this re-awakening of sensory awareness, therefore a few kind requests:

Please be as quiet as possible throughout the whole building, particularly in the vicinity of bedrooms, reception and therapy areas.
To be able to switch your cellphone off is a great privilege, which not many have. If you are not able to do this, please keep it on silent and quietly move away from other guests when taking calls
For the benefit of many fasting guest, please limit all eating and drinking (other than water and herbal teas) to the dining hall. Food and drink is available there 24/7.
If you are a smoker, please note that there is only one designated smoking area. This has been identified as the only place from where smoke does not penetrate the building.

Nature Walks and Hikes

Joining the nature walks are well worth it. Hoogland is in the heart of the largest privately owned game reserve in Gauteng, the birding is great and the natural beauty uniquely inspiring. The rocky hills make for great exercise and practices proprioception.

Labyrinths

We have a couple of labyrinths around the building for guests to walk as a form of meditation, and there are many beautiful quiet places to find solitude throughout the day.

Arrival and Departure

Our standard check-in time is from 13h00 so lunch and the afternoon talk can be enjoyed on the day of arrival. Late arrivals can be arranged but bear in mind that it is a nature reserve and the gates close around sunset.

Check-out is until 12h00 which gives you enough time to complete a hydro cycle on your last day.

Early arrival from as early as 07:00 OR late departure until as late as 18:00 is available for R850 per person.