Bushmans Kloof

Bushmans Kloof offers the extraordinary luxury of an intimate Relais & Chateaux lodge in a stunning 18,000-acre wilderness embracing rare wildlife and a unique, natural art gallery with over 130 ancient San rock art sites.

Just three hours north of Cape Town, Bushman’s Kloof is a South African Natural Heritage Site in a remote and ancient landscape of scented fynbos in the Cederberg.

Accommodation

With never more than 32 guests, you will certainly feel pampered here, whether you chose one of the seven luxury or six deluxe rooms, or a suite with separate lounge area. All fuse African and European design and are either in the original manor house, which was built in the 1840s, or in cottages set in landscaped gardens. Koro Lodge, a sumptuously renovated farmhouse, is private villa with its own pool, dedicated chef and guide – superb for a family or a group of friends.

Food

Expect to eat well at Bushmans Kloof. Its contemporary Cape cuisine is founded on local organic produce, harvested daily, fynbos herbs and natural ingredients.

Typical dishes in the Homestead restaurant might include duo of roasted monkfish and herb-crusted scallops, medallions of free-range chicken breast, and rooibos jelly with white chocolate mousse and lemon foam. Makana tries to recreate the feeling of a spacious, open-fronted bushman cave, and is the place for burnch, high tea or a candle-lit dinner.

Enjoy a traditional South African braai (barbecue) Bushmans Kloof style at the Embers restaurant: eat on a platform built into a natural ancient sandstone amphitheatre made of giant boulders, which overlooks the valleys and cliffs, illuminated by roaring fires and hundreds lanterns. For a romantic dinner, Kadoro is an old, renovated shepherd's cottage, lit only by candles, or you could simply eat under the stars down by the lake with your own private chef and staff.

The award-winning wine list is notable for wines from the immediate locality, from both established and emerging South African estates, as well as rare vintage wines.

Activities

Bushmans Kloof has been described as ‘one of the world’s largest open-air art galleries’ and discovering the lost spiritual world of the San in these painted caves is a moving experience. Afterwards, enjoy a bush breakfast beside a waterfall in the scented fynbos, within sight of rare wildlife.

From July to October, the reserve is alive with the bright colours of the Cape wildflowers, but a botanical tour of this rare habitat is always rewarding. Nature drives in an open safari will reveal the variety of the landscape and some of the Cape’s most endangered wildlife.

Canoeing, hiking, mountain biking, fly fishing, archery and croquet are all on offer, or you could try your hand at capturing the various hues and landscapes, relax by the pool, swim in one of the rock pools, be pampered with a wide choice of treatments in the spa (or in the privacy of your room, or a rock shelter) or prepare for the next wonderful meal with some time in the gym.

Awards

Bushmans Kloof has won many awards including:
- Condé Nast Traveller UK Gold List: Best Hotels for Food in Africa, Middle East and the Indian Ocean (2011 and 2010)
- Condé Nast Traveler USA World’s Best Awards Top 50 Resorts in Africa (2011)