Grootbos Private Nature Reserve
Whale Coast, Western Cape, South Africa
Return
to Map of Overberg & Helderberg © Grootbos
Reserve
View images of Grootbos Private Nature Reserve: Grootbos
Images
GROOTBOS RATES: Grootbos Rates
GROOTBOS PRIVATE
NATURE RESERVE -
THE WHALE COAST
Grootbos Private
Nature Reserve is one hundred and sixty kilometres from Cape Town
and a winner of many Ecotourism Awards. A
four-course dinner and breakfast is included in your stay and gourmet
cuisine and fine wines are served by candlelight in the African stone
and thatch lodge. Meet at the bar for cocktails and enjoy the sunset
views across Walker Bay to Cape Point. The restaurant specialises in
fresh seafood, and is complemented by home-grown produce and succulent
meats.
There are plenty of things to do at Grootbos.
Why not enjoy the many trails by foot, horseback, mountain bike or
4x4 vehicles with a
specialist guide. Grootbos is particular popular and interesting during
the whale watching season, with one of the most spectacular vantage
points in the world at Walker Bay from July to December. Grootbos Nature
Reserve
is home to the largest private fynbos garden in the world and is
well worth a visit.
South Africa's Premier Marine and Flora Destination
“New Guests!” is
the cheerful call often heard in the lodge at Grootbos. Greeted
with a smile and
invited
in with
a
glass
of fine South African sparkling wine, guests at Grootbos are made
to feel instantly special.
Allow your travel fatigue to dissolve
before a spectacular view of the “Bay
of Whales”, while you breathe the invigorating scents of the fynbos
vegetation. Feel welcome at a truly unique place where conservation and
relaxation have found the perfect home.
All the staff at Grootbos are looking forward to sharing an amazing
experience with you.
Accommodations For
images of Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, click Grootbos
Images
Grootbos offers 11 private luxury cottages, two
of which are family units. Space, light and the
time to enjoy them. Set among the ancient milkwood trees, the large,
private cottages give the weary
traveller a chance
to unwind, surrounded by the splendors of nature and pampered by all
the comforts of home.
All cottages have
been built from locally hewn stone and timber. Original hand painted
floral
and bird themes bring the nature that surrounds you right into your
cottage. Each luxury cottage is generously proportioned to sleep
two or four persons in rooms with en-suite bathrooms. Each cottage has its own secluded balcony
from which you can admire the sunsets over the ocean or start the day
in tune with the forest birds.
The open fireplace
in the lounge invites cosy evenings while the spacious wooden and
secluded sun decks provide views of dunes, the Atlantic Ocean and
the distant Cape of Good Hope.
Strolling between your cottage
and the main lodge, winding pathways will guide you past all the
colors and scents of the largest private
fynbos garden in the world.
Activities
Experience nature like never before. Let the expert
guides introduce you to the wonders of the fynbos. Discover the fascinating
relationships
between the insects, birds, mammals and flowering plants of this diverse
ecosystem. Smell the aromatic wild herbs, watch for exquisite birds and
be awed by the scenery that surrounds you.
Take a meandering path through an ancient Milkwood forest, where thousand-year-old
trees send exploratory branches in search of sunlight, or visit one of
the remnant Afro-montane forests on the reserve.
Young and old can walk, explore in a four-wheel drive or take a horse
ride and enjoy the views from the elevation of a comfortable saddle on
a well schooled horse or pony.
Marine Activities
The Grootbos coastline offers a marine experience like no other.
See 40-ton Southern Right Whales only metres from your boat. Travel
to the
island
refuge
of huge sea bird colonies and admire the underwater antics of a 60,000
strong Cape Fur Seal colony. Be amazed by the awesome spectacle of a
Great White Shark breaking the surface and transfixing you with an unblinking
stare.
The cliffs of Walker Bay, right at Reserve's
doorstep, offer some of the best land-based whale viewing in the world.
Watch spellbound as mothers, calves
and energetic bulls come to within 30 metres of the rocky shoreline.
See your lone footprints fade into the distance behind you while exploring
deserted beaches or visit a stone-age coastal cave and be reminded of
the countless generations who have walked these beaches before you.
Flora
The Cape's floral environment is
one of a kind. Nowhere else is plant life more diverse. Grootbos Nature
Reserve conserves 1,061
hectares of pristine fynbos,
the Cape’s
unique vegetation type. Within its borders lies a wealth of more than
600 species of flowering plants. Huge stands of extravagant proteas paint
the hillsides and bulbs burst into flower after fire. Pollination, seed
dispersal and germination - there is always something happening and a
story to be told.
Expert botanical guides will open
your eyes to the intricacies of the fynbos ecosystems and leave you
with another lasting impression of
the wonders of nature.
Dining
and Cuisine
Knowing that their guests have enjoyed an active
day in the fresh air is all the encouragement needed to provide the
perfect meal to end
a perfect day. Drawing inspiration from the abundance
of scents and colors in nature around them, the Grootbos chefs conjure
up magical combinations that replenish
and inspire body and soul.
Fish caught on the day, fresh vegetables
and succulent meats are enhanced with flavors from the flourishing
herb garden.
Prepared with innovative flair,
presented with a touch of brilliance and colour, and served in a
restaurant with unbeatable views. The award winning wines of the
Cape provide the ideal accompaniment to
the gourmet cuisine.
Contribute
By staying at Grootbos,
you are directly contributing to the conservation of the reserve and
surrounding natural areas, including numerous endangered, endemic
species. Grootbos is dedicated to the conservation of the Cape Floral
Kingdom. The protection of biodiversity has global importance for the
preservation of species and the continued functioning of natural eco-systems.
The successful eco-tourism model at Grootbos has been widely acclaimed
and has encouraged the establishment of a number of conservation projects
in the region.
Top Return to Map of Overberg & Helderberg
Tour
the Cape: Cape Town Tours Weather: Cape
Town Weather
For
tourist information and activities in the
Overberg, click More
Overberg
For
tourist information and activities in the Western Cape, click More
Western Cape
For
further information about South Africa, click More
South Africa
|