Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

The word ‘Grootbos’ means ‘big forest’ in Afrikaans, and the name is inspired by the area’s abundance of milkwood trees. Some of the trees here are over a thousand years old and a spectacular sight, with their gnarled branches. The reserve also contains an astounding variety of fynbos, belts of colourful shrubs that merge to create vast flower plains! The beautiful private nature reserve is situated in South Africa’s Western Cape. It is just two hours’ drive from Cape Town and 30 minutes east of Hermanus. The reserve has a private airstrip, so transfers via airplane and helicopter are possible too.

Findings in Klipgat indicate the existence of Late Stone Age people in the area, a couple of millennia ago. Known as the Khoikhoi, these people lived here until the age of the first European settlers in the eighteenth century. As early as 1673, Africa’s southern tip had functioned as a stop along the trade route between Europe and the Far East, and many of the first settlers were former employees of the Dutch East India Company. Coming ashore, they noted the potential of the region for farming and set up their homesteads, including on the land that is now Grootbos. In 1991, the land was purchased by the Lutzeyer family. Initially intended as a vacation property, in 1994, they decided to open a B&B. This venture proved incredibly successful, to the extent that it was followed just two years later by the 11-suite Garden Lodge.

Over the years, Grootbos has won a number of awards for both accommodation and conservation efforts. The Grootbos Foundation launched in 2003 to set up programs aiming to benefit the flora, the fauna, and the local people too.