Walker Bay is my home water. I have been coming to this coast for sixty years, and Grootbos is the place on it I would most like you to see.
The name means "big forest" in Afrikaans. It comes from the milkwoods, gnarled trees more than a thousand years old, that stand in the hollows of the hills above the bay. Around them is fynbos as far as you can see: one of the richest plant kingdoms on earth, and on this one reserve alone more than a thousand kinds of plant, some found nowhere else.
From the lodge you look across the fynbos to the sea. From June to November the southern right whales come in to calve, and on a still morning you may see them blow from your terrace. What the whales do is up to them. The rest of the day is up to you.
John Sparks
Before you arrive
Three ways to stay
Every suite stands on its own, with glass on the view side, so the fynbos and the bay come right into the room.
Forest Lodge
16 suites, in the milkwood forest
Free-standing suites tucked in among the old trees, each with its own fireplace. The lodge has an infinity pool, a library, the main restaurant and a boma for evenings under the stars.
Garden Lodge
11 suites, rebuilt in 2022
One- and two-bedroom suites with floor-to-ceiling windows, a heated pool, a sauna and a wine cellar. The best choice for families, with a forest-themed playroom for children.
The private villas
Fynbos Villa (4 bedrooms) and Sunbird Villa (6 bedrooms)
A house of your own, with your own chef, butler and nature guide, a pool, a cinema room and a wine cellar. Guests can arrive by helicopter or light aircraft on the reserve's airstrip.
Land, sea and the flowers between
The flowers
A 4x4 drive or a slow walk through the fynbos with one of the reserve's botanists, who will show you plants you will not see anywhere else. In late winter and spring the hills are in flower.
The whales
From the cliffs at De Kelders, or on the water with a licensed boat, from June to November. With luck, mothers and calves come close enough to hear them breathe.
The Marine Big Five
A boat out of Kleinbaai to look for whales, dolphins, seals, African penguins and great white sharks. The sea decides how many you meet. Watch the film, or the shark dive.
The forest and the coast
Walks through the milkwoods, rides from the reserve's own stables, coastal walks to the caves, and a picnic on the beach.
Slowing down
The spa, a long lunch from the organic farm, and an afternoon with a sommelier among the cool-climate wines of the Overberg.
Where your stay goes
Grootbos began as a family's effort to protect this land, and it has grown into one of the world's leading examples of tourism that gives more than it takes. The reserve is carbon negative, and its Foundation trains people from the neighbouring communities in horticulture, conservation and hospitality, and runs sport and education for their children. Many of the people who will look after you came through those programmes.
In 2025 Condé Nast Traveller Spain named it the best hotel in Africa.
The whales below, the forest behind, and the flowers in between.
Before you go
Where
Near Gansbaai on Walker Bay, about two hours from Cape Town and half an hour from Hermanus. We arrange every transfer.
When
Whales from June to November; flowers at their best from late winter into spring; walking weather all year.
Families
Children of every age are welcome, with a children's explorer programme, a playroom and the reserve's stables and farm.
Pack
Layers and a windproof jacket, even in summer, and good walking shoes for the fynbos and the coast.
Pairs well with
Hermanus and the whale cliffs, the wine estates of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, and Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa.