Leafy luxury in the Tsitsikamma forest

Tarzan, Jane, and the Swiss Family Robinson would have been in raptures.

“This,” I can imagine Lady Greystoke saying, “is what you call a treehouse.”

Tsala Treetop Lodge in the Tsitsikamma Forest near Plettenberg Bay is pure African jungle fantasy right down to room service and the private rim-flow pool.

I’d be hard-pressed to put a finger on which part of the continent though, other than to suggest some sylvan Afro-Arab state.

With fine and flowery prose, a piece in our suite titled “The legend of Tsala” shifts the focus to southern Africa.

“The people of the north were hungry and thirsty as the deserts of the north were dry and arid, and dust rose in clouds to hide the sun as animals migrated.

Scribes wrote of the wonderful land of forests, rivers, and the sea with snowwhite beaches and magnificent purple mountains; where rains fell gently and the air was warm.

“The beautiful people decided to move to the land of promise… Tsala, the piece continues, “the elevated resting place rose majestic above the treetops like the Phoenix rising from the ashes”.

The only truth in the legend is that it involved a family migration and it was told to me by Hunter Hotels (owners of Tsala Treetop Lodge) operations director Jacqui Hunter over a glass of wine.

“My family moved here from Johannesburg in 1979,” she said. “We always had people staying over, so you could say hospitality was in our DNA even though we had no experience in the industry.

“It was only after we’d been here a decade that my parents decided to open a hotel.

“Starting with a modest 10 cottages, three of which we’d already occupied as a family, we built the group into what it is today.”

Pictures: Jim Freeman

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The growth of Hunter’s Lodge

The core of the group – Hunter’s Lodge, Tsala and the award-winning Zinzi restaurant – sits on a single 32ha site on the “Western Cape side” of Plettenberg Bay near Harkerville.

A fourth property, Gorah Elephant Camp, is the only five-star private concession in the Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. Hunter’s Lodge has since grown to 28 cottages.

“My parents knew every square metre of this property and loved it all,” said Hunter.

“Ten of those hectares are garden.” Hunter Hotels remains a family business with her brothers, Ian and Rob, filling the roles of chief executive officer and director of technical services, respectively.

“Absolute attention to detail” and “the promise of unobtrusive service excellence” are two of the mantras of the Hunter group and this is what my partner and I experienced as the Hunters’ guests for a few nights recently.

“We focus on every detail and listen to what remains unsaid. Our goal is to find magic and create memories. “We want our guests to feel loved, joyful, peaceful, elated, relaxed and delighted,” she said.

And there’s no doubt that, in our case, the Tsala crew succeeded. Hunter said that an on-site “village of 20-odd houses accommodates all frontline staff and this contributes greatly to the family feel of the business.

“We still have staff members who have been with us since the business began 35 years ago.

“In this regard, management is intensely aware that every employee is incredibly important in the chain of value for our guests.”

Pictures: Jim Freeman

Returning to Tsala, Hunter said: “There was a viewpoint at the bottom of the property where we used to go picnicking as a family when I was younger.

“My mother was wonderfully imaginative and it was there that she dreamed up the concept of a utopia in the treetops. “She was from Zimbabwe and the architecture of the main buildings is based on ancient structures in that country.”

The dressed sandstone blocks actually are from the Robberg Quarry.

All the timber, including giant blackwood beams in the reception area, come from the property. Construction began just before the turn of the century.

“While style doyens might pooh-pooh the authenticity of the architecture and furnishings from a historical perspective, it is important to remember that the “story” of Tsala is all-important.

“Because the legend has it that the settlers came from all over Africa, you will find a multitude of cultures reflected in reception and the 10 suites,” said Hunter.

“Many of the artifacts are from Zanzibar where Arab and Indian influences are particularly strong.”

Culinary delights among the treetops

No visit to Tsala would be complete without waxing lyrical about al fresco breakfasts on the dining deck among the ferns and flowers.

It is frequently said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and, although this is usually meant in the nutritional sense, a colourful and beautifully presented meal does wonders for your mood.

Of course, if there’s bubbly to accompany the fruit, pastries and savoury dishes such as poached eggs and smoked salmon on a lightly toasted bruschetta, so much the better.

Due to prior lunchtime commitments and the fact that neither Rose-mariè nor I are capable of digesting three full meals a day, we had to forego dining at Zinzi.

But our two midday meals were nonetheless memorable in their own right.

The first – grilled or deep-fried hake, calamari, and chips at the Plettenberg Bay Ski Boat Club on the main beach – has become a standing engagement between the two of us over the past few years.

Any fresher and the fish would be flapping on the plate and the portions are humungous.

Two are generally sufficient for three adults, which makes the meal easy on the wallet.

Fare of a different kind was forthcoming at The Palms (www. thepalmsplett.com), whose dining area has a fine view of the Keurbooms lagoon and estuary.

Top billing at the table went to Rose-mariè’s enormous falling-off-the-bone beef shank (the chef ’s recommendation on the day), which she paired with a crisp Groot Phesantekraal sauvignon blanc.

At R390, it wasn’t cheap but it was delectable and we were able to shred the leftovers onto fresh buttered rolls as padkos for the next leg of the trip.

Effectively, we were able to get three substantial meals from a single dish so it worked out as good value for money (and money wellspent).

Pictures: Jim Freeman

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