Luxury lodge accommodation in South Africa

The Nature Reserve covers an area of 1750 hectares of coastal and mountain fynbos and forest. The six properties that today make up the reserve were all previously neglected farms that were overgrazed, over harvested for flowers, burnt too frequently to improve grazing and heavily infested with alien vegetation. Through the efforts of our conservation management the properties have been methodically restored, all alien vegetation removed and conserved as part of a 12 500 ha conservancy (that was initiated by us). Over the last decade a staggering 732 species of plants have been recorded on the Reserve of which 98 are Red data species, 39 are range extensions (not previously recorded on the Agulhas Plain), and five are new to science. Of these three, Lachenalia lutzeyerii, Capnophyllum lutzeyerii and Pterygodium vermiferum, were discovered in the last year since a large fire swept through the reserve in February 2006.

We have for a number of years implemented a recycling program to minimize waste from its lodges and installed a number of energy and water saving devices in its operation. Only alien invasive tree species, removed from the nature reserve and surrounding properties are used for firewood in the cottages and lodges. Prior to the accommodation the farms now making up the reserve were poorly managed, infested with alien vegetation, overgrazed and burnt too regularly. The tourism operation has cleared and restored these 1750 hectares. As such the environmental impact of visitors is negligible in relation to the conservation and restoration work undertaken on the reserves properties. Drinking water is sourced from the reserves borehole. Water for the gardens and nursery is sourced from roofs and recycled brown water. This reduces the overall water requirement from the boreholes by approximately 50% in summer. Recycling here reduces the amount of landfill waste by approximately 30%.

We provide 90 full time employment opportunities for people from local communities within the accommodation and foundation operations. We also purchase most of our fresh produce from local suppliers and bring in significant foreign spending through guests.

The Green Futures Horticulture and Life Skills College was established by us on the reserve in 2003. This program provides year-long training in horticulture, conservation, ecotourism and life skills (driver’s license, computers, literacy, first aid, business etc) to unemployed people from local communities. In its four years since establishment all 48 graduates have found employment on completion of the program. We also offers its staff a range of in-house training courses.

We have sourced funding and land to build a sports and recreation complex in the closest town to the reserve, Gansbaai. This project, which has been deliberately sited in the middle of three different communities (segregated by apartheid) and will be focused on the youth, multiracial sport, the environment and culture, will open in November 2007. In 2006/07 we raised funds from tour operators, travel agents and guests to plant 1000 indigenous trees at the new sports facility and in the local township as part of the Siyakula greening project that we initiated and has run since 2004. This project has also planted vegetable and indigenous gardens at the local crèche and primary schools.