Brightly coloured Oriental rugs caress underfoot and the softest down duvets keep you toasty on chilly winter evenings after many a glass of good wine around the fire. Set in the lush High Acre Garden, landscaped by DP’s partner Hannes Stander of Ecozest, Sylvan Cottage and Floreo Cottage (just across the garden) are the creative vision of both talented owners. Quite honestly though, these are no ordinary forest hideaways – they’re a haven for anyone looking for a wonderfully pampered stay in this special part of the world.
Literally half an hour from Knysna and bordering the most beautiful indigenous forest, Sylvan Cottage is a real find for mountain bikers, walkers and dog lovers (yes, they’re welcome!) and is a great place to break a journey if you’re doing an Eastern Cape safari. You’ll want to find time to curl up with a good book to the playful sound of baboons and birds, or simply drift off to sleep in the gentle afternoon light on the deck. You’ll enjoy every meal out here or around the antique table by candlelight and spend evenings playing Scrabble or 30 Seconds. Sylvan is shamelessly romantic and just the tonic every urbanite needs!
A short walk through the succulent and indigenous garden will take you to Floreo Cottage, another equally gorgeous and beautifully decorated cottage on the smallholding, and sleeps two in an open-plan bedroom and living room with a cosy fireplace, compact kitchen and en-suite bathroom. Its private stoep overlooks an English-style garden with a flush of bright dahlias leading to pathway blooming with dainty climbing clematis, deeply scented David Austen roses and amber rosehips… a florist’s heaven.
And before long, DP and Hannes’s dogs, especially the three Steekhaar Boere Windhonde – Babette, Rosalinde and Hiram – will join you. Their wonderfully theatrical names have equally interesting characters to match. They are well socialized and if your dogs are too, they’ll have a ball, especially as these are the last cottages on the road and it’s rare to find such virgin forest with wonderful walks on your doorstep.
Reviewed by Michelle Snaddon