A visit to the Featherbed Nature Reserve

Featherbed Nature Reserve

Nestled on the undeveloped west­ern head­land of the Knysna lagoon sits the piece of untouched para­dise known as Featherbed Private Nature Reserve – the Garden Route’s premier eco-tourism spot.

The lagoon is more accur­ately termed a river estu­ary, filled by five fresh­wa­ter rivers that flow out of the Outeniqua Mountains to meet the salt­water of the Indian Ocean. It’s watched over by the for­bid­ding sand­stone cliffs known as the Knysna Heads. Ecologically speak­ing, the area is very import­ant, home to indi­gen­ous flora and endangered fauna – hence the neces­sity of its pre­ser­va­tion and its status as a South African National Heritage site ...

Featherbed Nature Reserve

The reserve takes its name from Featherbed Bay, a tran­quil spot off the river mouth where ships would weigh anchor so sail­ors could have a peace­ful night’s sleep after months at sea. In com­par­ison to rough nights on the ocean, the night in the sheltered bay was like sleep­ing on a feather­bed – hence the name. The west­ern head­land and its reserve at the river mouth are equally peace­ful, in com­par­ison with the com­mer­cially developed east­ern Head.

Featherbed has a Professor JLB Smith to thank for its pristine con­di­tion, the same eru­dite scholar who dis­covered the coel­acanth, a fish pre­vi­ously believed to have been extinct for 180 mil­lion years. The Professor pur­chased and pre­served the first piece of land that would even­tu­ally become Featherbed, a leg­acy con­tin­ued after his death by his son, William Smith (the well-known Learning Channel guru).

Featherbed Nature Reserve

Fancy vis­it­ing this oasis of unspoiled wil­der­ness? The Featherbed Company offers a daily, four-hour tour, begin­ning with a half hour lagoon cruise depart­ing from the Featherbed Ferry Terminus off Waterfront Drive in Knysna. You’ll be driven by 4x4 through the reserve to the top of the moun­tain, where you’ll alight and indulge in an easy two-kilometre meander back down through the Milkwood forests and along a scenic coastal path, stop­ping at view­points and ancient sea caves along the way.

All that walking’s sure to give you an appet­ite. Upon return­ing to sea level you’ll be treated to a scrump­tious buf­fet lunch at the reserve’s Forest Restaurant, perched on the lagoon’s shore in the shade of the abund­ant Milkwood trees, before head­ing back across the lagoon to civilisation.

Featherbed Nature Reserve

Featherbed may not be a game reserve — sorry, no big five here; any big game was hunted out dec­ades ago by timber-hungry wood­cut­ters — but it does have a few crit­ters you should watch out for while tra­vers­ing its for­es­ted paths and fynbos-strewn landscapes.

Apart from ubi­quit­ous bush buck and a noc­turnal bush pig or so, keep an eye out for tor­toises, beau­ti­ful Knysna loer­ies, tiny blue endangered duiker (the smal­lest ante­lope in the world), the super-rare black African oyster catcher and, in the bay, dol­phins, whales and the endangered Knysna seahorse. Not to men­tion the indi­gen­ous flora that gives this spot its awe-inspiring beauty.

Featherbed Nature Reserve

As well as the tour, the Featherbed Company also oper­ates sev­eral lagoon cruises. Enjoy four-star din­ing aboard the unique Paddle Cruiser, or aboard The John Den, a lux­ury pleas­ure cruiser, or take a quick(er) spin around the lagoon and into the Heads them­selves on the river­cat Three Legs.

For an out­side per­spect­ive, the company’s lux­ury cata­maran yacht, Heads Explorer, will take you (weather con­di­tions per­mit­ting) past the Heads and onto the open ocean. All of the ves­sels are equipped to provide you with cash bars, snack bars, a la carte menus or buf­fet meals, as well as cater­ing for functions.

Speaking of which ... tying the knot? Why not make a last­ing memory while float­ing on the lagoon or within the reserve itself, either on the beach, the blue water lap­ping at your feet, or under the can­opy of the ancient Milkwoods?

Useful Links:
Featherbed Nature Reserve Web Site
Garden Route Attractions
Garden Route Hotels
Things to Do in Garden Route