BUSHMANS KLOOF ON CONDÉ NAST – AGAIN

BUSHMANS KLOOF ON CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER USA GOLD LIST – AGAIN!

Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat in the Cederberg (Western Cape, South Africa) has been selected, for the second year in a row, as one of the very few South African destinations to appear on the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler USA Annual Gold List 2010.

Sharing this distinction on the coveted ‘roll of honour’ is sister hotel, The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, in Cape Town. Both are members of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection, along with The Milestone Hotel, which achieved top spot on the Gold List this year in the London city hotels category.

This exclusive international accolade follows hot on the heels of Bushmans Kloof being voted one of only three winners in the ‘Best Hotels for Food in Africa, Middle East and the Indian Ocean’ category of the 2010 Condé Nast Traveller UK Gold List, sharing the title with Le Quartier Francais in Franschhoek, and all-villa resort, Maia, in the Seychelles. 
 
The Condé Nast Traveler USA Gold List, a readers’ poll of the ‘Best Places to Stay in The World’, is the most highly regarded list of its kind. Widely used by American travellers, it is recognised as ‘a compendium of properties as reliable as bullion itself’. Approximately 25,000 readers of the magazine give their impressions in the annual Readers’ Choice Survey. Each year’s Gold List score represents the percentage of those who rated a property ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ on specific criteria.

This year respondents cited the Bushmans Kloof experience as ‘deeply enriching’ and ‘beyond all expectations’ with hotel rooms ‘fusing modern and African design’, and service ‘impeccable on all levels’. The afternoon tea at Makana, its spectacular open-air dining venue, was described as being ‘in a class all of its own – pure confection’.

Bushmans Kloof is the ideal getaway, offering an exhilarating combination of wellness, tranquility, restoration, conservation and heritage. It is the ultimate haven to rest the mind and spirit, in the heart of the wilderness and surrounded by the wonders of nature. The highly acclaimed Relais & Châteaux lodge has 16 spectacular guest rooms and suites, combining beautiful finishes with an eclectic combination of ethnic and South African-colonial art and furnishings. Just 270kms from Cape Town, this ecological oasis of open plains, rock pools and waterfalls set amongst landscapes of staggering rock formations, has a spirit and mystical beauty that gently soothes and rejuvenates, leaving one feeling at peace and restored.

Bushmans Kloof has consistently received world-wide recognition for its exceptional dedication to preserving the natural beauty of the 7500 hectare reserve that provides a predator and malaria-free sanctuary to many endangered species of flora and fauna. With over 130 ancient Bushman rock art sites in the reserve it is also a South African Natural Heritage Site, renowned as one of the world’s largest open air rock art galleries. 

An inspiring holistic healing and wellness focus has been introduced, with additional facilities and spa/wellness programmes to enhance this special experience, allowing guests to make their stay one of discovery, enrichment and indulgence.

Having personally had the pleasure of spending three days at Bushmans Kloof recently, I wholeheartedly support the all above accolades and offer my own congratulations.

Richard Haas-Winkelman

Feeling good about feeling good

How do you spell “heavenly”?

“T -I -N -T -S -W -A -L- O”, that’s how. Less than a 30 minute drive down from Hoedspruit, half that time on a road that has been annexed by the park and is slowly returning to its pre-manmade state. Shortly after entering the Manyaleti Reserve, the ride got really exciting. We were beginning to cross a small bridge over a gulley when a bull elephant emerged from the bush and stood in the middle of the road blocking the far side of the bridge. This is what’s know as a bush sig-alert (for those of you non-Californians, a “sig alert” is a colloquialism for traffic jam). Then, after the elephant, we saw a group of six very young giraffes – I was advised that they were no more that 6 months old and it was unusual to see them in a group with no adults visible.
But enough about the game, since I spoke a bit about it last time.

Tintswalo Safari Lodge is absolutely spectacular in every way and manages to maintain such a comfortable quality about it where I felt right at home. There was a luncheon buffet table set up in the wine cellar. For those of you who have been on safari, the other primary activity besides wildlife viewing is eating – well, I just had to sample a little of this and that, and that, and one of those and…..but everything was low carb ( Oops, I told a lie!). I was in the Richard Burton suite, just a short walk down the elevated walkway from the main building. One entire wall of the suite was glass, opening up on a huge private deck and plunge pool, overlooking a dry riverbed. This is the same riverbed, though which each evening, as if on cue, a leopard saunters along.

Dinner was a small feast served in the boma under a sky ladened with stars and the wine selection was impeccable. Coffee and after dinner drinks were consumed on the main deck and stories freely traded among the guests. Again, for those who have been on safari, there comes a time when the gameviewing can be a bit slow and someone always recounts all the remarkable sightings that they observed. Well, another couple at the lodge was on the gamedrive the previous afternoon and sighted all three big cats in the same drive: lion, leopard and cheetah! Braggarts!

And so the evening drew to a close as I was escorted back to my room. I was travelling by myself, so I was not inclined to languish in the large free standing claw footed bathtub, which was filled with bubbles and strewn with rose petals (And “no”, that’s not me in a blonde wig smoking a cigar).

So, now let’s talk about passion. I love my job, that it involves Africa and that I get to travel there , though if it was up to me, the travel would be much more frequent. I love that I can share my experiences and knowledge with others, particularly when I discover a place like Tintswalo. Every single employee/staff member I encountered, whether directly interacting or merely passing, exuded warmth and a sincere air of caring that my experience with them was the best that it could possibly be. And then there are the owners, Ernest and Gaye Corbett. I was privileged to spend 24 hours in their company and during this time I slowly came to a realization. They exuded the exact same sense of caring and commitment I perceived coming from the entire staff. They are actively involved with the local community and spend a few weeks each year in educational awareness ventures (aids awareness, rights of children) across the African continent.

WOW! That’s a double “feel good” about choosing to support their operation. I could go on, but don’t want to get preachy. There is a private Safari House for family groups and they also have a property in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

- Richard Haas-Winkelman
richardh@africantravelinc.com
www.africantravelinc.com

My AFRICAN TRAVELs to Bushmans Kloof

In November, I was extremely fortunate to spend two nights at Bushmans Kloof, a three hour drive north of Cape Town. It had been three years since I first decided that I wanted to see this place for myself. Once ascending the winding mountain road beyond Clanwilliam, I begin passing the towering “other-worldly” rock formations and I knew that something special awaited.

Self professed foodie that I am, suffice it to say the place lives up to its Relais & Chateaux standard. Others are more qualified than I and have already expressed their sentiments better than I in this arena.

The primary draw for me was the Bushmen rockart and still, I was not prepared for the scope and impact of the experience: utterly amazing! For me, it was akin to the feeling I had in Egypt when surrounded with all this living history within arms reach. The stories and scenes depicted possess the power to draw you back to a much earlier time….. I hope I am not sounding too “New Age”.


For more physical experiences, there are two well marked mountain hiking trails and bicycles are readily available for exploring the reserve. It is almost humorous, cycling close to a group of zebra or trying to keep pace with a running ostrich.

I didn’t have time to go for a row in a canoe, nor spend time angling. Honestly, I haven’t held a fishing pole in a very long time (forgive me, Dad!). But I did find the time for a spa treatment. They had recently built a new facility down at the waters edge and the setting is truly tranquil.

They offer star gazing in the evening and the heavens so heavily laden with stars, it seemed I could reach up and pluck one from the sky. But, my favorite time of the day was definitely early morning, sitting on my porch with a cup of coffee as the suns first rays grace the landscape and the world begins to awaken.

The staff was extremely gracious and the overall ambiance possessed an air of romance – and me, traveling by myself. Bushmans Kloof is an ideal addition to a honeymoon safari and is also an excellent choice for families as they have a private villa (Koro Lodge) which was fitted with multi-generational family groups in mind.

The best testament I can offer about Bushmans Kloof is that I wish I could have stayed longer – the place is magical! And I am not the only person who loves this place since Bushmans Kloof has been selected Condé Nast Traveler Gold List Best Hotels in Africa and the Middle East (2009).

Richard Haas-Winkelman
richardh@africantravelinc.com