Natural Selection will open its first South African property, Lekkerwater Beach Lodge, in De Hoop Nature Reserve, Western Cape, in April.
Credits: Natural Selection.
The seven room exclusive eco-lodge, set in one of the most dramatic beach locations in South Africa, home to some of the world’s best land-based whale watching between July and November and early December, was built on the site of former South African President, FW de Klerk’s retreat.
Credits: Natural Selection.
Each room looks over six kilometres of pristine beach, dotted with rockpools and fynbos. The bedrooms and main areas have large sliding doors to allow uninterrupted views of the Indian Ocean and the coastline.
Credits: Natural Selection.
Interiors draw inspiration from the ocean with shades of blue, hand-woven baskets, and rattan accents. The overall feeling is homely and understated.
The site was selected due to its proximity to Cape Town, combined with its natural beauty and solitude. It was here that De Klerk planned and deliberated how to elevate the old South Africa into the new, with the late Nelson Mandela foremost on his mind. This story, as well as the broader strokes of the country’s own history, will be woven into every visitor’s stay here.
Just over three-and-a-half-hours’ drive from Cape Town, or under an hour’s flight in a Cessna Caravan aircraft, Lekkerwater, meaning ‘good water’ in Afrikaans, is situated on the eastern area of De Hoop Nature Reserve. The lodge will offer year-round beach and bush experiences.
Credits: Natural Selection.
Meals will be cooked in front of guests, sometimes right on the beach, toes-in-sand style, with the region's finest wines on offer.
Accommodation is limited to a two-night stay. Natural Selection Co-Founder and Developer of Lekkerwater, Colin Bell says: “All guests will arrive on the same day as strangers and depart two days later as friends and comrades after enjoying the journey of discovery that the lodge’s guides and this pristine environment will unfold."
Credits: Natural Selection.
Activities will focus on learning about and exploring the beach, its rockpools and intertidal zones, the fynbos, even caving and nature drives within the reserve. In addition, guests to De Hoop may see sizeable pods of dolphins and an array of rich marine life.
Credits: Natural Selection.
The lodge is just eight kilometres from the Klipdrift cave and shelter, where some of the earliest evidence of modern human beings was recently unearthed, dating back between 64 000 and 100 000 years.
Following Natural Selection’s belief that everything should be ‘clean and green’, Lekkerwater has been built with respect for the natural environment. The lodge has been precisely built on and within the disturbed ground from De Klerk’s retreat. Electricity is generated from the sun and wind, grey water treatment is the latest and cleanest, and there is a zero single use plastic policy, with the vast majority of supplies (and wines) produced from within a 40 mile radius of the lodge.
