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Robberg Nature Reserve in Plettenberg Bay is best known for panoramic views across the bay to the Tsitsikamma Mountains and open ocean with dramatic cliffs, caves, stretches of sandy beach, and the vibrant colony of Cape fur seals. It’s a popular destination for nature lovers, hikers and trail runners with sightings of whales, seals, dolphins and even sharks not uncommon. To add to its already-plentiful attractions, CapeNature - curators of the nature reserve - has partnered with South African adventure company Adventure Zone to bring an all-new dimension to Robberg: an extremely thrilling and breathtaking abseil down the cliffs of Robberg.

Abseiling, or rappelling as it is called by many mountaineers, is sliding down a rope under controlled conditions with an opportunity to pause and immerse yourself in the surroundings as you descend. The term comes from the German word “abseilen,” which translates as “top rope down.” 

This is Adventure Zone’s third and newest site in South Africa and they are very excited about Plett’s newest adventure offering: “This is an activity not to be missed, this is absolutely your next bucket list activity. Our highly trained and qualified guides will make sure you not only enjoy your activity but feel safe and secure at all times. We can’t wait to meet you and provide you with a world-class abseil,” says Carlien Davel of Adventure Zone. “ You can’t visit Robberg without experiencing it from all angles, we give you the opportunity to do just that. Oh boy, don’t forget the incredible view!”

The 12-storey, 35m abseil will offer breathtaking views across Robberg to The Island, along the coastline and beyond to provide never-before-seen angles of the iconic peninsula. Additionally, Robberg, home to Nelson Bay Cave and part of the Cradle of Human Culture Route, provides a fascinating insight into the past with rocks dating back 120 million years with evidence of Middle and Later Stone Age inhabitation found along the peninsula. The abseil will provide a unique look at these ancient rock formations.

Plett Tourism Association CEO, Patty Butterworth welcomed the addition to Plettenberg Bay’s nature and adventure offerings: “We are delighted to welcome such a unique attraction to one of our most iconic conservation tourism flagships: CapeNature’s Robberg Nature Reserve. The installation will encourage visitors to see Plett from a very different perspective and to have an exhilarating experience at the same time. Initiatives like this one are important, as they contribute to the revival of our tourism industry and to the economic vitality of Plettenberg Bay and the Garden Route.”

Abseil Information:

• Restrictions: Age restriction: 12 years and older.
• Group size: 2 people per session.
• Duration: 45 min.
• What to wear: Comfortable walking shoes. Hat and sunblock.
• Price: R850pp all safety and protective gear supplied
• Operating times: Monday – Sunday 8:00 – 17:00. Last activity goes out at 17:00

Bookings and enquiries:

Johann | +27 (0)66 321 5701 | plett@adventurezone.co.za | www.adventurezone.co.za

Please bookmark the Plett Summer Essentials page to ensure that you’re kept up to date on all the latest news during our Plett Summer Festival.

The hotel first opened in December 1972, introducing holiday makers to a new resort experience that brought a wealth of business and job creation opportunities to the then-small seaside town, and placing Plettenberg Bay on the vacation destination map over the last fifty years.

Laurance Hodes, Chairman of the Board of the Beacon Island Resort, says that in addition to the resort’s exceptional offerings and service to guests, its contribution to local economic development and job creation in Plettenberg Bay has been significant. “Beacon Island is a resort with a difference – its impact on the town of Plettenberg Bay and the surrounding communities has seen it become central to the identity of this beautiful coastal town and have a strong impact on those who reside in the area. It also has a special place in the hearts of the many guests who come back year after year to make memories with their families at this one-of-a-kind holiday resort.”

Barend Olivier, who has been the GM of the resort since 2020 says that Southern Sun‘s commitment to excellence in hospitality has seen the resort receive a wide range of awards over the years.  These have included Travellers Choice and TripAdvisor Awards, GNEX – Perspective Magazine Awards, Imvelo Responsible Tourism Awards, and Fedhasa Hospitality Awards, all recognising the resort’s exceptional offerings as well as its role in the environment where it is situated.

Commenting on the resort’s milestone, Olivier says, “It is an honour to be the General Manager of the Beacon Island Resort as it celebrates its fiftieth year, and to have the opportunity to commemorate the special place that it holds for so many – from our great team of employees to past hotel general managers, to our loyal contractors and suppliers, to the local community – and, to our most valued guests who return time and again to share their own milestones and memories with us.”

The Beacon Isle Hotel, as it was first known, was the brainchild of visionary hotelier, Sol Kerzner, who recognised the potential of the site where the hotel is built – a natural outcrop of land between Plettenberg Bay’s Main Beach and Robberg Beach, giving it the impression of being an island.  The site has a distinctive history having been a whaling station at the turn of the twentieth century which became the location of a small hotel in 1940.  In 1972, this was demolished and replaced with the six-storey Beacon Isle Hotel developed by the Brian Stocks Group and designed by architect, André Hoffe.

Today, the Beacon Island Resort commands one of the finest positions in Plettenberg Bay and attracts travellers from around the globe, offering escapism, picturesque beauty and a range of fine facilities, with a magnificent location in one of the world’s most spectacular destinations. With a choice of 200 nautically themed rooms creating an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation, and as one of Southern Sun’s timeshare resorts, it offers lifetime holidays to guests who enjoy shared ownership through timeshare.

Beacon Island was the first building in South Africa designed with a large multi-storey atrium and features six tiers of access galleries that lead to the rooms, positioned around the sky-lit space. The whole hotel structure is supported by two great arches that come down to ground at four points...

Bringing fun and games to the townships

Business owners come together to market their business and bring fun to the children of Kwano. Inspired by Plett’s hospitality culture Sihle Luphondwana, owner of Mnandi Bros, vowed that he too will one day own a food kitchen that will grow to be a franchise business. The young Kwano business owner celebrated the success of his business this past weekend by creating a fun and games event for the kids, while showcasing his exceptional kota skills.

Sihle introduced his first market by bringing games, food, and kasi fashion styles together for a community event. Because, what better way to celebrate that than creating an event in a township style by bringing football in and the kotas that he sells in his kitchen? He aimed to create a good networking environment among small kasi businesses and to provide a healthy relationship where they can assist one another to grow.

“This event is not meant to only bring Kasi business into one space, but for me to say thank you to myself for not giving up, and to give back to the community. This is also a good marketing tool for us,” says Sihle.

The Mnandi Bros fast food business owner started the business in mid-2019 together with three friends. As with so many businesses, things were going well until 2020 when he had to close because of Covid. ” When the restrictions were lifted and things went back to normal, my partners’ priorities changed and the business was no longer their first love. They decided to follow their dreams and left me with mine. I admire them for that.” adds Sihle.

I suppose Covid had us all rethinking our decisions and evaluating our lives. It’s brave to go for what you want instead of what you think is best for others. Sihle set a goal for himself to operate 365 days a year. As a form of celebration for achieving his goal, he says that instead of taking the money to go on a holiday, he thought of having a soccer tournament for the kids under 15 years old and awarding the winning team with R500.

We are pleased to introduce the new Plett Shark Spotter team with Plett local, marine biologist and life coach, Gareth Greenwood as operations manager. Greenwood was a speaker at the first Plett Ocean Festival’s Marine Science Symposium earlier this year and we look forward to meeting the new shark spotters - who have been in training with Cape Town shark spotters and will be identifiable by their uniforms - along Plett’s coastline this summer.

Plett’s Shark Spotter Team: Onke Skosana, Everol Williams, Fezile Tyokolo, Amahle Mtengenya, Athenkosi Vena, Khwezi Namntu, Shariva Brand, Anelia Beauzick, Nomnikile Nicky Namntu, Rico Swarts, Asive Dyanti, Tyrone Bowie and Lafihamo Botha.

This in itself is a world first: although animals have rights in many countries, nowhere are they able to own the land on which they live.  Monkeyland has found a way around this, though: once the sale is completed, the land is to be held in trust by the South African Animal Sanctuaries Alliance (SAASA), the public benefit organisation (PBO) and not-for-profit company currently responsible for the wellbeing of the animals at Monkeyland, Monkeyland-KZN, Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary, and Birds of Eden.

MONKEYLAND PRIMATE SANCTUARY

“No non-human animal escapes human domination… much of the time, that domination inflicts wrongful injury on animals,” writes University of Chicago law professor Martha Nussbaum in her new book, Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility (Simon & Schuster). Nussbaum’s framework for articulating the rights owed to animals – the ‘Capabilities Approach’ – asserts that “each sentient creature... should have the opportunity to flourish in the form of life characteristic for that creature.”

This is fundamental to Monkeyland’s ethos. The sanctuary was founded in 1988 to provide a safe haven where previously captive animals could be homed in conditions approximating their natural environments, where they would be free to associate and bond with others of their kind, and where they would be free from direct contact with humans. It also aims to increase awareness about the plight of caged and captive animals, and to foster a greater understanding of primates in general.

Most of the species represented at Monkeyland come from other countries, which makes it impractical to release individuals brought to the sanctuary into the wild in South Africa. While Monkeyland will never trade its animals commercially, habitat destruction in their native lands does mean that the primates at Monkeyland could conceivably become a store of genetic material in the case of population collapse. “We will only ever consider relocating animals in cases where they’re to be reintroduced to the wild,” says SAASA CEO, Tony Blignaut.
Monkeyland finances its work through tourism, generating the income it needs to keep more than 600 primates fed, housed, and properly cared for.

AWARD-WINNING SANCTUARIES

From the outset, Monkeyland, like its sister sanctuaries in the SAASA stable, has enforced a strict no-touch policy – a policy that’s now being adopted by animal sanctuaries throughout the world.  This has no doubt been a major motivator behind the many responsible tourism awards that SAASA has received – including joint Overall Winners (with Brazil’s Campo and Parque Dos Sonhos), and joint Gold Award Winners (with UK-based World Animal Protection) for the Best Animal Welfare Initiative in the 2014 World Responsible Tourism Awards, and Leading Major Tourist Attraction in Skål International’s 2019 Sustainable Tourism Awards.

IS MONKEYLAND UNDER THREAT?

Monkeyland operates on land belonging to a proprietary limited company however, according to SAASA’s marketing manager, Lara Mostert, “It’s a very desirable property in a very desirable part of the country – and, especially if future generations of shareholders don’t share our passion for the animals, there’s nothing stopping the directors from selling it off for, say, an upmarket housing development in the trees.“That would leave the monkeys who live here without anywhere to go.”

The one logical solution to mitigating this threat was to sell the land to the monkeys – and this SAASA has decided to do through a crowdfunding campaign that’s selling the land off in donations of one square metre at (or R90) per metre.

“There are plenty of reasons that would attract people to donate to this project,” said Lara. “Personally, I’ve bought my square metres because I think animals should be able to own land. All around the world, we’re taking more and more space away from wildlife, and this is a small way of turning the tide. Helping the monkeys own their own forest appeals to me as an animal lover – and, since I don’t have children of my own, this is one way I can leave a legacy behind for the benefit of the animals I love.”

Exploring the legendary natural beauties of Plett and surrounds is hungry and thirsty work. With plenty of options, squirrelling away the freshest and most delectable treats in your backpack or basket is a cinch. A picnic is the perfect interlude to a leisurely hike and if you are stuck for a venue, be sure to work your way to one of Plett’s popular picnic sites.

Robberg Nature Reserve is a true institution. In fact, you haven’t experienced Plett to the full until you’ve set your feet on this awe-inspiring peninsula. The views of the ocean and the bay are unparalleled. Palaeontology has never been this breathtakingly beautiful and with the abundance of fauna and flora, the memory of this nature reserve will stay with you long after you dust off your hiking boots. Here you will find braai facilities and picnic tables as well as areas to sit and relax to enjoy your bounty while on the trail.

If you’re more of a river rat, then the Keurbooms River comes highly recommended. Choose to take a lazy boat trip or walk along the shores and find a quiet spot to eat, drink, relax and take a dip. If you’re feeling particularly energetic you can even SUP. Better fill up that basket with lots of tasty goodies and a tipple for some Dutch courage. The Keurbooms Lagoon can be enjoyed if you are camping at the Keurbooms Lagoon Caravan Park, or you can walk from either Lookout Beach or the Poortjies Beach.

The Dunes Beach stretches out as far as the eye can see. Golden, smooth sand for kilometres, makes this the perfect beach to explore and picnic at. Away from the maddening crowds, you’d be forgiven for thinking you are enjoying the spoils of your own private island. A long walk will take you to the mouth of the lagoon at Lookout Beach to the right and Keurbooms Strand to the left where you can hang ten and catch some rays.

Provided you have a day licence or a Wild Card for SanParks or CapeNature, you can stock up with loads of tasty local produce and in some areas you can even drink wine. It’s a good idea to check with the different authority bodies (SanParks, CapeNature, the Bitou Municipality) before you decide on packing glass containers or adult beverages. When you are all set, relax and enjoy the many options along the coastline. Don’t forget your sunscreen, and don’t forget to recycle.

You know summer is on the way… Below some highlights and so, so much more this #PlettSummer

1. Ocean Sailing Charters’ yacht returns to Plett
2. New MTB Trails for Plett
3. New Restaurant for Stanley Island: Stowaway Bespoke Hideout
4. Sabrina Love Summer Challenge
5. Carols by Candlelight
6. Barringtons Wine Festival
7. Plett Polo Season
8. Get Lucky Summer series
9. Robberg Fine Food Classic Beach Regatta
10. Open Plan Pictures’ Open-Air Cinema
11. Secret Sunrise
12. ...and more at www.pletttourism.com

Popular Talk Radio 702 radio host Iga Motylska was hosted by the Plett Tourism Association in August this year. Motylska is also a radio presenter for 702 Radio, Cape Talk, 94.7 and Prime Media. Her visit to Plett included a negotiated direct trade exchange organised by the Plett Tourism Association between interested accommodation and activity sponsors.

Motylska was hosted by The Junction Hotel and enjoyed a wine tasting at Newstead Lund Family Vineyards, a kayak and lilo adventure with Untouched Adventures and a zipline experience with Tsitsikamma Canopy Tours.
Her trip, the hospitality sponsors and Plettenberg Bay were featured as the travel focus during her feature on Talk Radio 702 on Friday the 28th of October 2022.

She featured the recent Conde Nast announcement that recognises Plett as one of its top destinations for 2022,  Plett’s recent 8 International Blue Flag awards, hiking in Plett, the Plett Ocean Festival and Marine Science Symposium, the Land Art from the Plett ARTS Festival, Plett Tourism’s new in-house concierge service and Sindi the recycled whale at Central Beach. And most importantly, the steps that the Plett Shark Action Group has put into place for the Plett Summer Season.

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To see your ad in this newsletter, simply contact Patty Butterworth on patty@pletttourism.com or call her on 078 425 4382.