Augustine Avenue Guesthouse

Just 1 km from the Ladysmith Country Club, Augustine Avenue Guesthouse features an outdoor pool and braai/barbeque facilities. Free Wi-Fi is included. The guest house features 5 rooms, each complete with a private en-suite bathroom. Guests can relax in the comfort of plush bedding, quality linens, and soft duvets, with each room offering its own private entrance. Modern conveniences such as fully equipped kitchenettes, televisions, and complimentary Wi-Fi are also provided to ensure a comfortable stay. Visitors are welcome to relax by the shared swimming pool or enjoy a traditional braai in the outdoor entertainment area under the night sky. For added security and convenience, safe on-site parking is available. For nature lovers and hikers, the Spioenkop Dam and Nature Reserve can be reached in a 1-hour drive. The reserve activities range from self-guided hiking trails, horse riding, angling, and game viewing of giraffe, rhino, zebra, and other plains game. There is also a playground to keep kids occupied, a swimming pool, a war museum, and many picnic sites are available along the shores of the dam. The dam offers fishing and boating. Located just 1.3 km from the Ladysmith Country Club, guests can enjoy a round of golf or a casual meal nearby. The renowned Nambiti Private Game Reserve is only 22.1 km away, offering opportunities for unforgettable wildlife experiences.

Area Info

uMnambithi, formerly known as Ladysmith until 2024, is a town in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is located 230 kilometres northwest of Durban and 365 kilometres southeast of Johannesburg. The area is known for its key industries, including food processing, textiles, and tyre manufacturing. uMnambithi serves as the administrative seat for both the Alfred Duma Local Municipality and the Uthukela District Municipality.

The town was named after Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, also known as "Lady Smith," the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, who was the Governor of the Cape Colony from 1847 to 1852. It played a strategic role during the Second Boer War. Following several minor skirmishes, it was besieged by Boer forces on 2 November 1899. Multiple British attempts to relieve the town and one Boer attempt to capture it were unsuccessful, but the siege was eventually lifted on 28 February 1900. Both Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi were present during the siege—Churchill as a war correspondent and Gandhi as a stretcher-bearer.

In 1900, the unincorporated town of Oyster Harbour on the east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, was renamed Ladysmith by James Dunsmuir to commemorate the lifting of the siege.

In 2023, a proposal was made to rename Ladysmith to uMnambithi. The name change officially came into effect in March 2024.

Ladysmith is situated along the banks of the Klip River, meaning "stone river," with its central business district and much of its residential area located within the river’s floodplain. The town lies at the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains, approximately 26 kilometres from Van Reenen's Pass. It experiences a subtropical highland climate, characterised by warm summers and cool, dry winters. The climate closely borders on a humid subtropical type. On average, the town receives about 639 millimetres of rainfall annually, with most of the precipitation occurring during the summer months.