The locals call this place Plett and as a holiday destination it never palls – each December the exodus begins from Cape Town or Johannesburg, with travellers hankering after the beaches and water sports on half-moon bay, the rugged walks and the fishing, and the relative quiet of Keurbooms where you can hire a boat and float downriver to find somewhere to picnic.
We might complain that Plett gets crowded at peak season or tire of shopping and eating out at the newest places, but there’s nowhere else you’d want to spend summer. It’s all here, with great sea views and excellent swimming. And if we tire of Plett, there’s the entire Garden Route to explore – Knysna with its annual oyster festival in winter, the forests of the Tsitsikamma or the coastline with endless beaches of white, powdery sand.
With the jagged outline of the Tsitsikamma mountain range in the distance, Indigo House offers a calm, private and comfortable sanctuary for water sport enthusiasts and family holidays.
The friendly and capable live-in housekeepers ensure that you have the option for self-catering holiday accommodation, minus the chores.
Featured on our travel blog, the framework of the interior of Indigo House is white and wood with signature indigo blue in soft furnishings. This perfect hideaway may have the familiar touch of a Caribbean or Miami beach house but the source of the fabric is North African: think wooden dhows, sun-bleached sails and a time when days stretched naturally from dawn to dusk without the constructed rigor of modern times. Elements of bamboo, wood, shell and glassware are all balanced perfectly and symmetrically by the creative owner/ interior designer Yvonne O’Brien.
Ample space to entertain and unwind
Living room, bar area and TV room all inter lead and there is a wonderful, easy flow to the space. Every bedroom has a sea view while reed-covered verandas are cleverly designed to create reading, sleeping and conversation areas. If the wind picks up, the back verandas are sheltered and perfect for dining ‘out’.
Indigo House is spacious enough for a comfortable family holiday. Six to eight adults can easily holiday here but dining tables can generously accommodate 14 to 16 people. Entertain in – and raid the local deli for informal dining ingredients.
At night, lighting can be dimmed and clusters of fat candles cast a warm light over the tables and large buckets of chilling wine. This is a barefoot kind of space, a holiday where your eye begins to adjust its focus from pressing things at hand to a distant horizon.
If Indigo House is unavailable to book for your dates, browse our other perfect hideaways in Plettenberg Bay
Reviewed by Les Aupiais
Edited by Dawn Kennedy