More bark For your buck
Ever yearn to go back to that treehouse in the back garden? There’s an array of options on the Garden Route, writes Chris du Plessis
TREETOP FOREST CHALET The thing that makes the Harkerville Treetop Forest Chalet special is that you get an unspoilt indigenous forest completely to yourself. Run by Sanparks, it’s a solitary self-catering lodge floating in a dense canopy of yellowwood, white pear, Cape plane and stinkwood trees, looming over a drop to the ocean between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay.
The chalet is a well-appointed and subtly stylised log lodge with leather couches and a hearth in the living room, port glasses in the cabinet, a flat-screen in the corner and a jacuzzi on the deck outside the main bedroom. It has two en-suite double bedrooms and space for two more on a sleeper couch.
The four-star “abode” is designed to maximise the Swiss Family Robinson experience with the deck leading off the living room as central feature.
It is from the deck that you find yourself listening twice to distinguish between the snort of a bush-pig and a leopard’s low growl, or scowling back at the vervet monkeys negotiating the overhanging branches. Or stretching out on the reclining chairs with some pulp fiction.
There is a two-day, 24km circular hike through high forest, fields of fynbos and along coastal cliffs, as well as a somewhat gruelling one-day hike, which takes you on a steep trek through the forest down to the pebbled beach and back.
Cycling is popular in this neck of the woods, with a diverse choice of tracks. The challenging 23km Red Route offers dramatic scenery through tall fynbos and tree fern forests; the circular 15km Green Route has a shady swimming hole; and the 12km Blue Route runs through forest and a glade of massive Redwoods planted in 1927.
All three include sections of “off-road” riding along forest paths. The leisurely 14km Yellow route, along level service roads, is a fine choice for the less fit.
Within short reach via 4x4 or bicycle is the Kranshoek viewpoint and picnic site, with some of the most spectacular views on the rugged Garden Route coastline. A number of horse trails have also been marked through the forest .
TSALA TREETOP LODGE “I know of one couple who conceived their child here, and called their offspring Tsala,” the duty manager of Tsala Treetop Lodge, Craig Kirby, winks while leading us along the wooden walkway winding through thick virgin brush towards our unit.
Even I felt an unfamiliar stirring as we stepped into the courtyard of our living quarters.
Not so much a treehouse as a Tree Manor, five-star Tsala’s units are suspended along the ridge of a sheer cliff, draped in indigenous forest that spreads southward towards the ocean. The brochures don’t do it justice.
Sunken into the deck, a 1.2m deep infinity pool offers the first glimpse through the canopy to the dark-green hills beyond the valley. Floor-to-ceiling windows lead to the plush Afro-baroque living room. A ceramic hearth opens to both the lounge and master bedroom, which has a large oval bath in the en-suite, as well as indoor and outdoor showers.
There are 10 luxury, child-free suites and six two-bedroom villas.
The exterior of beams and packed sandstone columns, terraced pools and water features framed by greenery is an Afro-Zen haven of tranquility.
A short stroll along manicured pathways, past lily ponds and lawns leads to the estate restaurant, Zinzi, where chef Antoinette Meyer offers an eclectic winter menu at reasonable prices. Both our dishes, a 200g kudu loin and a vegetarian oregano risotto, went down as well as the smart-casual mood.
The dessert menu — including dishes such as a baked walnut pudding with brandy syrup, cappuccino custard and ice-cream — is downright wicked.
Back at the room, in front of the fire, you can polish the remainder of the complimentary sherry before swiping away the “sweet-dreams” pillow message, positioning the hot-water bottles and sinking into the depths of the down-duvet.
For breakfast there’s homemade roasted muesli with every sort of nut and berry. Try to keep space for the chef’s smoothie (with pistachios) and poached cinnamon pears (the house specialty) after Hilda’s Kalahari Eggs or the smoked salmon and scrambled egg with potato rosti.
Emerging from the breakfast room, badly overfed and happy for it, we bumped into no fewer than three of the notoriously skittish Knysna Loeries, bouncing about the branches lining the deck.
TENIQUA TREETOPS
Some 15km north of Sedgefield on the Barrington road, you’ll spot the pathway to any lingering fantasies you might have of being Viscount Greystoke’s alter-ego. Here, at Teniqua Treetops, you can overnight in a real treehouse in primeval forest.
Whether for the romantic role-playing possibilities; the feeling that you are on top of the world; or the heightened thrill of a vertigo attack during amorous moments, treetop abodes have always attracted lovers — and this lodge is a favourite haven for honeymooners.
But it can be equally thrilling for regular folk too. Especially nature lovers and hikers.
It was well over a decade ago that Viv and Robyn Patz happened on this lush valley with its near-sheer drops to the Karatara River and decided to make it home.
Viv designed and constructed the eight units suspended high in the forest and gave each one its own style and “feel”.
Loosely based on the luxury safari-tent concept, they fuse comfort and style, the setting of each unit carefully planned to ensure maximum privacy and optimum views over the canopy to the Outeniqua Mountains beyond.
All have a deck and braai grill as well as a fully equipped kitchen and heated bedding, just in case.
Particular attention has been paid to the bathrooms, many of which were designed with open roofs and large windows that make you feel like you’re floating through the trees even before sundowner time.
The dominant sounds are those of the forest birds, bugs and, on occasion, the sea.
The Patzes place huge emphasis on environmental preservation and have made optimum use of natural materials in the resort’s construction.
The lodge is child friendly with plenty of extra-mural facilities for young folk. Kids can take a dip in the two converted plaasdam pools or get lost in the games room rather than the woods.
Alternatively, the whole family could attempt one of the walking trails, of which some of the more challenging lead down to the crystal pools in the Karatara River.
Prior to the descent, various viewpoints offer gobsmacking vistas of the Outeniqua range.
At the nearby Goukamma Nature Reserve, there’s a beach, a lake and a marine conservation area popular with dolphins and whale spotters.
Inland, monkeys, bush-pigs and otters as well as tiny tree-frogs and millions of butterflies call this place home.