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South Africa Safari

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Whale Coast, Western Cape, South Africa

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve on South Africa's Whale Coast
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


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