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Natures Valley Cottage

Nectar Cottage

Sleeps 8 in 4 bedrooms

Situated close to The South African National Park and The Indian Ocean, this cottage has a rustically natural setting despite being rich in luxuries. Whales, dolphins, bucks and bush-pigs are usually sighted by residents.

Amenity: Pet Friendly, Wood Fireplace, Internet Access, Beachfront, Seaside, Views

RATES

USD 185 – 375
Per Night

Property Info

Owner Verified

Location Verified

Natures Valley Vacations: Things to see while on vacation in Natures Valley Cape Province

Nature Valley is seen as the most beautiful part of the Garden Route. This valley has no banks, one shop and 50 houses in the area. This is the perfect remote location to switch off your cell phone and soak up Mother Nature’s beauty. The permanent residents of the 50-house village called “Little Hamlet”, had to minimize their lifestyles and managed to keep the development to a minimum. Doing this they avoided spoiling their breathtaking surroundings. Old man’s beard hanging from the trees, monkey ropes, the lagoon that is surrounded by the mountains, forest, and miles of immaculate white beaches. These sights are possibly the most beautiful section of this coastline.

Geography of Natures Valley Vacations

This beautiful valley is situated approximately 29km from Plettenberg Bay, 45 km from the Storms River Mouth and in the heart of the Tsitsikamma forest. On the East side of the valley is the Groot River lagoon, in the South is the Indian Ocean, on the North and West side the valley is surrounded by the Tsitsikamma forest. The plant life in the area is very diverse with plants that are mostly exclusively endemic to the area and covered with Fynbos. In 1977 The Brenton Blue Butterfly was rediscovered in Nature’s Valley after it was last sighted in the Knysna forest in 1858. The cause of the huge decline in the numbers of this rare butterfly species was believed to be the absence of bush fires, causing a shortage in the food plant that the butterfly’s feed on. The researchers in Grahamstown from the Albany Museum also found a few aquatic insect species in 2000. These insects were new to science in the Salt River (In the western area of Nature’s Valley).

History of Nature Valley Vacations

The Nature’s Valley and surrounding area were occupied during the Stone Age by Paleolithic man more than 1 million years ago. The Paleolithic man lived in caves and overhanging’s in the area, they collected food in the tidal area and hunted a variety of wildlife. Many glacial periods interrupted these coastal occupants. For a long time, it was almost impossible to travel parallel along the Garden Route, due to the extreme depth and precipitous gorges of the river that blocked all the traffic coming from the East and West.

From 1867 to 1883, Thomas Bain constructed the “Seven Passes Road” that stretches from Knysna to George, allowing access to the coastal area from the Langkloof valley only. Thomas Bain and Captain Christopher Harison explored this route for the first time in 1868, testing the practicality of the road. Christopher Harison motivated the need for this road by stating that it would also be used to stop the destruction of the forest, by the Dutch East India Company’s woodcutters, this road would stop the woodcutters from destroying the whole forest. 100 years later the high demand in road transport caused these roads to be replaced with a freeway with concrete bridges.

Landmarks of Natures Valley Vacations

• Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary
Monkeyland caters for several free roaming primate species that all live together in harmony. The safari tours are exciting and fun, but also educate their guests on the importance of the primates in the world and the problems they are currently facing.

• Botlierskop Game Reserve
The Botlierskop Game Reserve is situated between the breathtaking Outeniqua Mountains and the Indian Ocean, ensuring a one of a kind safari tour. Botlierskop was named after a rock formation in the reserve, known as the oddly shaped “koppie”. In the 1700’s this landmark was used as a look out point when the ships came into Mosselbay Harbor. When the ships came into the harbor, the owner made a fire on the “Koppie”, signaling the farmers that the ships were on their way into the harbor, for them to bring fresh supplies for the vessels.

• Outeniqua Nature Reserve
The main attraction in the Outeniqua Nature Reserve is to wander the five mountain passes in the Reserve, exploring the rich diversity of the hiking trails. The Reserve’s name was given to it by the Koi and San people who inhabited these mountains. The name means “those who bear honey”. Honeycomb, animal illustrations, and hunter drawings were found on the reserve’s rocks. The first Pass in the area, the Credock Pass, was built in 1813. This pass was originally too steep to climb with ox-wagon. In the 1800’s they eventually built the Montague Pass that provided a safer and quicker transportation route.

• Robberg Peninsula
The Robberg Nature Reserve is situated West from Plettenberg Bay and was formerly known as “Cabo talhado” (Sharp Cape), when the Dutch arrived in 1750 they renamed it to Robberg (Seal Mountain). Robberg is a 3-layered rock formation; the bottom layer is approximately 250 million years old and mainly consists of Table Mountain rocks. The middle layer consists of compressed river stones, suggesting that the area was once a river bed. The top layer consists of sandstone and is approximately 45 000 years old.

• The Bloukrana Bridge
The Bloukrans Bridge is the highest in Africa with a height of 216 meters. The Bloukrans Bridge is also the only highway outside of Italy and China to have 3 bridges higher than 152 meters. The bridge was built with the “stayed cantilever” method where a tower gets erected on both sides of the gully and cable radiates out from either side of it to support individual sections of the arch until the two sides can be joined in the middle of the bridge. In 1997 the Face Adrenalin Bungee operational opened on the bridge. This bungee location is the highest commercial bungee operation in the world, which turned the bridge into a great tourist attraction for South Africa.

• Jukani Wildlife Ranch & Care Center
The Jukani Wildlife Ranch & Care focuses on the education, conservation, and the predicament of large predators in captivity. Big cats leave much fearsome with their dangerous beauty and ability to kill. When visiting Jukani, you will not only be viewing these amazing cats but will also be informed of all the inhabitants of the sanctuary while accommodating the needs and emotional well-being of the animals. The well-trained guides ensure that the sanctuary remains untouched.