The Retreat At Groenfontein (Swartberg Nature Reserve)

The Retreat is a Victorian farmhouse set in 560ha of the beautiful Groenfontein Valley Conservancy, bordering on the 129 000ha Swartberg Nature Reserve. The house, filled with yellow-wood and mellow Oregon pine, has a lounge and dining room - each with its own ceramic fireplace to keep them cosy on chilly winter evenings - leading onto a wide verandah, overlooking the sweeping gardens and majestic Swartberg mountains.

Your Hosts, Grant and Marie, enjoy treating guests to true Klein Karoo hospitality. The smell of fresh coffee welcomes you back from a morning walk, to a hearty breakfast on the terrace, where dinner - cooked with Marie's continental flair - is also served when the weather is warm.

The meals at Groenfontein have a health emphasis, vegetarians are welcome and we cater for problem diets. Our Guests can enjoy Karoo lamb dishes and local Cape specialties. Meals are served under the stars on the veranda in the summer or in the beautiful dining room, with a crackling fire, during the cold winter evenings.

The Retreat has a full liquor licence and carries a selection of fine wines of the region.

There are four suites in two garden annexes with breathtaking views of the mountains from their private terraces, and 4 comfortable en-suite bedrooms in the main house, with French doors opening onto a patio.

The Retreat is ideally situated for day trips to the Swartberg Pass, Meiringspoort, Seweweekspoort, Montagu Pass, the coast and more.

Enjoy energetic hill walks or mountain biking in the clear air - or lazy summer afternoons cooling off in the shady, secluded rock pools that sparkle like jewels along the length of the tree-fringed river - or simply stroll along the peaceful, winding lanes of the Groenfontein Valley.