Melkkamer Cottage – De Hoop Nature Reserve Southern Cape

If you’re looking for beauty, tranquillity, amazing accommodation, great food (or DIY if you wish), then look no further than this enchanting piece of South African history set in a unique wetland area.

Melkkamer Cottage, built out of limestone quarried from the nearby shore, has walls almost a metre deep, a thatched roof, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lounge, dining and kitchen area, and a fabulous view overlooking the 18km vlei where pelicans and flamingoes fossick, eland and bontebok roam, and owls call softly at night.

At night, a crackling wood fire warms the thick stone walls, and flickering paraffin lamps lure you back into a romantic, pastoral past, where no mobile phones, ipads or laptops, disturbed the perfect peace.

In the remote heart of the De Hoop Nature Reserve, only accessed by small boat or a long bumpy road from the Opstal (the main buildings complex of the reserve), this hideaway will give you food for the soul along with a complete digital detox.

At night, a crackling wood fire warms the thick stone walls, and flickering paraffin lamps lure you back into a romantic, pastoral past, where no mobile phones, ipads or laptops, disturbed the perfect peace.
At night, the Milky Way cuts a swathe through the sky and stars blaze from horizon to horizon – it’s as if you are beneath a continuous canopy of never-ending galaxies.
Drive yourself from Opstal (you’ll need a 4X4) or catch a ride in the game vehicle. It’s a long bumpy road but the sight of one of South Africa’s biggest private herds of eland and bontebok, plus rare fynbos, white dunes and myriads of birds will enrich your journey.

Be sure to visit Koppie Alleen. In whale season (May- early November) expect over a 100 pairs in the bay. In mid-November I watched a Southern Right mother whale and her calf put on a dazzling display of marine acrobatics, with baby whale breaching, blowing, lob tailing, (slapping the water with its tail), sailing and cavorting for sheer joy. Sit on the cliff tops, or under shade at the picnic site, or if you’re fit and feisty, walk the 54km Whale Trail (www.capenature.co.za).

There’s a gracious 1904 Manor House that also sleeps eight just a short distance from Melkammer, plus lots more accommodation at Opstal for all budgets from small cottages to campsites. 

But if you’re looking for soul muti, a genuine need to reconnect to nature and find serenity and isolation take the long winding road to Melkkamer.

 

---