Butter yellow fields in flower and jagged mountains rising from the soft and delicate earth: this secret destination is only an hour’s drive from the chic city of Cape Town, located in the famous wine country. A 10 000 acre private Elandsberg Nature Reserve and working farm in Riebeek Valley is where we found Bartholomeus Klip Farmhouse; drawn to its wild solitude, quaint luxury, and resounding silence. This week we are exploring some of South Africa’s lesser known retreats, and we’re in for an inspiring ride! The canola fields of Die Swartland is the perfect place to start.
Speaking of South African secrets, we have to take a minute to admire this peachy retreat: Bushmanskloof Wilderness Reserve at the foot of the Cedarberg Mountains, occupying an exclusive tract of land, humming with indigenous activity. This is a prestigious retreat where guests can indulge in nature and wellness under expansive skies. A South African Natural Heritage site, Bushmanskloof boasts an abundance of indigenous flora and fauna, including many endangered species, and is home to over 150 kinds of birds, 750 plant species and over 35 species of mammals, including the rare Cape mountain zebra.
Cradled in the Cape’s Warmwaterberg Mountains, where the ancient footsteps of the San are still shadows in the ground of this preserved South African paradise, Sanbona’s Dwyka Tented Lodge glows gently under a wide, starry sky. In the rocky embrace of these historic mountains, 9 tented suites flicker at dusk and welcome visitors to this great place, with the intention to show them the secret paths and trails, nooks and crannies, and protected memories of the San people who used to live wild in this country landscape. Among indigenous wildlife species, fragrant Cape vegetation, Dwyka Tented Lodge fits most eloquently into our collection of South Africa’s best kept secrets. We’re in love.
Nestled between mountain and sea, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve is a South African eco-paradise showcasing indigenous flora and marine life at this glorious collision of the Cape Floral Kingdom and the endless ocean. Home of the “Marine Big 5”: Whales, sharks, dolphins, seals and penguins; and with unparalleled floral diversity, Grootbos brings an unparalleled African experience in understated class and refined luxury.
