Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve

It’s dusk when we arrive at Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve, the sun begin­ning to set bey­ond the dis­tant purple moun­tains, the cool air des­cend­ing. Our wel­come at the lodge is warm and com­fort­ing and the walk to the recep­tion area full of prom­ise. I’m imme­di­ately dis­trac­ted by the appeal­ing décor, which effort­lessly com­bines colo­nial grandeur with shabby chic to give a per­fect Out of Africa feel.

The beau­ti­ful Baroness Luxury Safari Lodge was built in 1822 by Baron von Pletten, an early South African pion­eer and con­ser­va­tion­ist, who used the ori­ginal, smal­ler Lodge as his base to explore the then untamed African landscapes.

Built from local stone, the 10-suite lodge has lost little of its ori­ginal style and is both romantic and lux­uri­ous with spec­tac­u­lar views across rolling lawns where zebra and ante­lope roam freely, to the indi­gen­ous forests and majestic Tsitsikamma Mountains in the distance ...

We are led through recep­tion, past the lib­rary, open-hearth kit­chen and din­in­groom along a pol­ished ver­anda to our suite, one of two in this wing which is part of the ori­ginal build­ing. Inside it is cool and dark, with exposed roof rafters and brick­work and screeded cement floors. There is a vast four poster bed draped with a mos­quito net and richly tex­tured faux-fur throw, col­our­ful rugs, an inter­est­ing day-bed from another era and, the focal point of the room, an antique cop­per slip­per bath. I imme­di­ately turn on the taps.

Our spa­cious room opens onto the pic­tur­esque gar­dens with their indi­gen­ous plants, cool ver­an­das, court­yards and quaint plunge pool.

There is no tea-making facil­ity in the room or bar fridge, but the charm­ing attend­ant who has accom­pan­ied us offers room ser­vice, and a tray of tea and a beer are promptly delivered. I sip my tea as I lux­uri­ate in the deep bath while my hus­band drinks his Heineken on the ver­anda before pluck­ing up the cour­age to try the out­door shower in the cool, brisk even­ing air.

Bathed and refreshed we walk down to the Boma where a bon­fire is burn­ing in the fenced off area. Sitting on the elev­ated deck at the bar, we watch the res­id­ent hippo wal­low­ing in the dam and listen to the sounds of tree frogs and crick­ets. We’re just 14 km out­side Plett, yet this is an authen­tic safari exper­i­ence. We are truly in the heart of Africa.

Dinner is a cosy, cas­ual affair in the semi enclosed din­in­groom which tonight is warmed by a roar­ing fire. The food is simple but deli­cious, a three-course meal con­sist­ing of a tuna salad starter fol­lowed by roast chicken and veget­ables with roast pota­toes and hash browns, and end­ing on a high note with malva pud­ding and custard.

The fresh air has made us sleepy and we turn in before cof­fee is served.

I love wak­ing up in the bush, and this exper­i­ence does not dis­ap­point. Our wakeup call is a tray of tea delivered to the door which I open onto the still, crisp morn­ing air. Beyond the reserve the moun­tains are still covered in mist. The sounds of morn­ing birds and lodge activ­it­ies mingle enti­cingly and we are soon dressed and ready for a leis­urely break­fast in front of the re-stoked fire.

Over break­fast we chat to a fam­ily of four from Italy who have come to the end of their three-day stay. They are exper­i­enced safari goers and rate the accom­mod­a­tion and game exper­i­ence at Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve excel­lent value for money.

We are booked on a game drive and at 08h30 we are col­lec­ted by our ranger and taken through to the day vis­it­ors’ recep­tion area from where we will depart on our two hour outing.

The build­ing is a huge, ren­ov­ated barn and tractor shed, dec­or­ated in the same style as the lodge. We kill some time brows­ing in the curio shop. There is also a cof­fee shop and well stocked bar which serves an all-day menu of light meals and snacks. Day vis­it­ors can eat out­side next to the children’s play area or on cooler days in front of two roar­ing fireplaces.

All vis­it­ors to the reserve can choose either a game drive in a 4x4 vehicle or a horse­back safari. We’ve chosen the less adven­tur­ous option, and our friendly ranger turns out to be exper­i­enced and pas­sion­ate about his job. His enthu­si­asm is infec­tious and we find ourselves ask­ing lots of ques­tions, stop­ping reg­u­larly to look at spoor or to watch a dung beetle, and sit­ting for end­less moments at the dam where the hip­pos sur­face and dis­ap­pear in a fas­cin­at­ing, peace­ful rhythm.

We learn that Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve is the biggest game reserve in the Southern Cape, with more than 2200 ha, a diversity of bio­mes and an abund­ance of wild­life. Previously known as Rhino Base Camp, it is still the largest sanc­tu­ary for white rhino in the area with five adults on the prop­erty. We are lucky to see two of them, and get up close as, unlike the black rhino, they are not aggress­ive. We also see a herd of buf­falo, some rare black impala, zebra and an impress­ive list of buck includ­ing kudu, moun­tain reed­buck, water­buck, nyala, red harte­beest, eland and dozens of spring­bok which leap and bound at the appear­ance of our Land Rover in defer­ence to their name.

The high­light is a visit to the sep­ar­ate 40 ha enclos­ure which houses an adult male lion and three lion­esses. They are rest­ing in the shade together, pant­ing and flick­ing their tails, and eye us war­ily, their beau­ti­ful blonde coats thick and healthy, a trib­ute to their com­plete accli­mat­isa­tion to the reserve after just five years.

By 11am we are back at the lodge and reluct­antly check out. Driving to the main gate we stop to watch some gir­affe lazily chew­ing on the leaves of the aca­cia trees next to the road. They seem unthreatened and unhurried.

We ourselves are totally relaxed and reju­ven­ated, but agree that one night is not enough to fully appre­ci­ate the experience.

Plett Game Reserve is ideally situ­ated for vis­it­ors to or res­id­ents of nearby Plettenberg Bay and Knysna.  It is child-friendly and offers an excit­ing safari exper­i­ence in a non mal­aria area. Baroness Luxury Safari Lodge has 10 suites.

Rates, Specials and Contact:
For rates and spe­cials visit www.plettgamereserve.com.
Or con­tact Reservations on:
Telephone: +27 (0)44 535‑0000
Mobile: +27 (0)84 792‑8288

Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve Photographs:
Click on the thumb­nails to view the photographs:

Useful Links:
Plettenberg Bay Attractions
Things to Do in Plettenberg Bay
Plettenberg Bay Accommodation
Garden Route Game & Nature Reserves