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Family holidays, in my youth, were spent on the beach, playing in the rockpools and looking for shells. Nowadays, I can get just one whiff of suntan lotion, and I am back there, on the beach, in an instant. That lovely holiday feeling arose when I heard we were going on a guided trip to Koppie Alleen to explore the rockpools of the De Hoop Nature Reserve, and it kept fizzing throughout our four-day stay at the beautiful De Hoop Villa - part of the De Hoop Collection.
Where is De Hoop?
De Hoop is a three- to four-hour journey from Cape Town, along the N2 highway to Caledon, passing through Napier to Bredasdorp on the R316, then following signs to Malgas/Infanta on the R319, which leads to the reserve's gravel entrance road. The Overberg seems to be many miles of grey and brown croplands during the summertime. Still, just as you think the croplands are going to last forever, the landscape turns a corner, and suddenly there are deep valleys and plains full of fynbos and proteas and thick, shrubby greenness. It feels like a long drink of cold, sparkling water as you drive into De Hoop Nature Reserve. And the sparkliness of the sea and the fairy castles of white, shimmering dunes strung along the coast is only topped by the effervescent welcome from the De Hoop staff.
The Nature Reserve itself is run by CapeNature but the De Hoop Villa and the other beautiful accommodation options of the De Hoop Collection, who provide a wide range of options for different budgets and needs: from the newly-wed, budgeting couple (the Rondawels - with their warm outdoor shower and braais looking out over the vlei) to the large family (De Mond Villa and Melkkamer Manor House – both incredibly scenic options, with the vlei practically at your doorstep). De Hoop is also a member of Cape Country Routes.
What are the rooms of De Hoop Villa like?
The De Hoop Villa is the crown jewel of the collection, though I’d describe it as akin to a sip of fine rooibos tea with honey. It pulls on your senses; when I stepped into the coolness of the Villa, I felt a long sigh of relaxation roll through my body. As I wandered like a happy cloud around the rooms, I noticed, firstly, that the colours of the décor aligned with the scenery outdoors. The protea-pinks of the sofa and restio-green of the curtains resonated with the beauty outside. Everything is polished wood, glass or plush chair, with the occasional small brass pangolin or wooden Knysna Turaco.
The second thing I noticed was that, with the large sliding doors on both the north and south of the lounge, it felt like I was in the fynbos itself. I peeked into the bathroom, and almost never left - the wallpaper is irresistible. Creatures and birds sit amongst fynbos and all vie with each other to be the centre of your attention.
The Villa’s three large bedrooms are airy and fresh, with big windows and huge, very comfortable beds that tempt me to lay myself down with a pillow tucked under my head. The turquoise swimming pool outside ripples quietly outside, waiting for my dangling toes. The flower-and-bird bedecked big comfy chairs ask me to curl up with a good book and while away the afternoon. The wood-fired Kol Kol Hot tub invites me into its warm waters with a glass of wine and some stars overhead.
Why stay at the De Hoop Villa?
The peace, the calm, the quiet – those are the drawcards of De Hoop Nature Reserve - and the De Hoop Villa is the epicentre of the tranquillity. In the fresh mornings, we would nibble on rusks and coffee, chattering together like the birds outside. Each day, we were presented with a different expedition, each uniquely designed to highlight one of the charms of De Hoop. As we let go of our stress, we found ourselves going with the flow, days merging into dusk and night without us even realising it. The outside world was forgotten; De Hoop is an in-the-moment type of place.
History of the area
The history of De Hoop is intriguing, and you will hear from your guide how it goes back way beyond the original farm days (the farm was named “The Hope” because that’s what one needed to farm with the poor soils and climate).
There is an interactive display (Origins of Early Southern Sapiens Behaviour exhibition) that explores the archaeological heritage of the Southern Cape, managed by De Hoop Collection and located next to the curio shop at reception. It hosts some beautiful displays of sculpture and murals over which captivating imagery of swaying kelp and seascenes play.
We were lucky to be guided by Dalfrenzo Laing (the assistant general manager), and he tantalised us with stories about the world’s first-ever (ancient) make-up kit to ostrich eggshell jewellery that is thousands of years old. There are also screens with headphones, where you can watch video snippets, narrated by Freshlyground star Zolani Mahola, who movingly speaks about the age-old human connection to nature.
What are some of the activities you can do?
Over 25 years ago, I remember coming to De Hoop as a student on a varsity fieldwork camp. What I clearly recall is being very cold and muddy, in a tiny dinghy, whilst measuring salinity in the vlei. This time, however, I was on an eco-boat, bigger, cleaner and yet still part of the landscape. We drank champagne, toasty warm in our dry, clean clothes, whilst our eco-boat cruise guide (Albert Sello) steered us around the vlei to see spoonbills and flamingos, and share anecdotes about the feathered folk of the vlei.
Rockpool Excursions
On the day of the rockpool excursion, Albert Sello, one of the De Hoop Collection’s specially-trained guides, got us up in the dark, crisp dawn so that we’d arrive on the beach before low tide. We arrived at sunrise, and the gasps of our group, plus the many phones held aloft, were a testament to the beauty all around us. What a start to the day – a tangerine sunrise over a turquoise sea.
We wandered down the path to the sea below and there were the rockpools, smooth turquoise circles under a clear sky. Albert gathered us around a pool, and like a magician, would dip his hand into the pool and pull out the equivalent of a magic bunny each time.
From urchins to abalone, from sea stars to seaweed, he shared a fascinating little story about each specimen. These anecdotes were both enlightening and entertaining. At one point, Albert embellished the description of the cloning process of a sea slug (they split into two) by adding that they scream in agony during it. Afterwards, one of our group earnestly enquired if one could hear the screaming underwater!
Slugs don’t scream, just by the bye.
After a refreshing dip in the sea, we headed home to the Villa, and halfway there, we were pleasantly surprised by the sight of a table set out with a sumptuous feast, in the fresh air with the De Hoop vlei as a backdrop. Our growling tummies, stimulated by fresh sea air, greeted the food with delight. Not only that, but we soothed our tired tonsils (after much mimicking of screaming sea slugs) with glasses of mimosa. It felt like Christmas.
Vultures and porcupines
When we went on the vulture-watching walk, a strong sense of déjà vu came home to roost. At the beginning of the hike, we used the restrooms in the old Potsberg research building, where I had spent many a sunny day as a student. As I swung open the door, I swear I could hear echoes of ghostly whispers of laughter and the clinks of Sedgwick’s Old Brown sherry bottles (!). As we started up the hill trail (it’s a fairly steep 40-minute walk to the viewing platform), I thought that the treasures would all be at the vulture colony, but we discovered many other little treasures along the way, such as porcupine diggings! Many moons ago, I did my Master's research on these prickly critters of the night, and one of my findings was that their diggings were like little gardens for fynbos plants (full of moisture and nutrients). I could see from the many diggings along the path that Cape porcupines clearly use it too and were still hard at work as gardeners of biodiversity.
Other treasures included a beautiful, almost-radiant red Hermanus rock-lily (the Rare Gladiolus stefaniae), tucked in amongst the rocks and shrubs, and the lovely little freckled Gladiolus maculata. These flowers drew our eyes downwards, but when we reached the vulture viewing platform, our eyes were attracted skywards. It’s always deeply impressive to see a soaring Cape vulture, with its 2.5 metre wingspan, and to see so many took our breath away.
Speaking of beautiful plants, on the other end of the scale are the De Hoop fig trees, which are massive. Planted in 1956 by the Department of Nature Conservation at the old farmhouses (where the reception and Opstal accommodation options are now), these tree canopies stretch out across the fields, green and tipped gold in the afternoon light. Their trunks are so wide and gnarly that I can easily imagine whole dwarf caves, full of gold and jewels, existing beneath them. Amongst their branches, a suite of different bird species flit through the canopy’s cool green gloom.
What is the food like?
From starlit feasts of s’mores on the fire to freshly baked scones in the afternoon after a swim, the food was always delicious and prepared for the occasion by the catering staff at the De Hoop Villa. The Fig Tree restaurant, overlooking the vlei, has an amazing Wine Cellar (ask for a peek) and, when we went there for supper, a set menu. I had the sesame-seed-crusted brie for starters, which brimmed with flavour, and cob (fish) for my main, which turned out to be a herby, buttery dish that was good but not as good as the succulent lamb potjie that we had the first night at the De Hoop Villa.
What was the highlight?
After an evening of stars and firelight, it’s just so special to go to bed relaxed and sleepy, and leave the bedroom curtains open to a star-crusted night sky. I fell asleep with stars imprinted on my dreams and woke to pale pink sunrise skies every day. Then I would hear a fish eagle cry in the fresh morning air, and it seemed that all was right with my world.