Stop beside a still pond abloom with water lilies and the sense of serenity and contentment is almost instant. This was our first glorious impression on arrival at Lily Pond Country Lodge, and it endured beyond our stay there. Occupying a little paradise of its own at Nature’s Valley on the Garden Route (The Crags is your roadpost to watch for), Lily Pond Country Lodge has this wondrously pervasive sense of peace, even though it’s not all that far away from Plettenberg Bay, abuzz with activity during holiday season. It’s been said before …
Tranquillity and Slow-Paced Living
It’s been said before that Lily Pond has a Zen-like tranquillity, and it most certainly does have this quality, with slow-paced living and a sense of ease breathing not just in the vast lily ponds that extend across the length and breadth of the place, but also in the form and design of the accommodation. One really can’t help but slow down here, breathe deeply and draw stillness into the mindspace.
The Setting and Pool Deck
Once a caravan park (not a soul would believe it!), the Lily Pond estate has been gently transformed into a private and enchanting oasis for visitors to the Garden Route. Resting just on the fringe of the Tsitsikamma National Park, it’s a space that’s green and lush, and its keepers simply refuse to allow anything to contaminate its beauty. Trails are being created, just now, through previously untrodden jungle down to the Salt River, which reveal a richness of ferns surely never seen before by those few hikers lucky enough to be guided through dense and magical spaces to see them. You don’t have to be a seasoned hiker, of course, to enjoy the estate. A perfectly good case can be made for doing little more than relaxing (well, maybe add a bit of meditation, if you like) at the gorgeously tranquil pool deck, with the water lilies to enchant you just beyond the infinity pool. A cormorant or two, or a cat, may even join you out there.
Activities
Or, if you like, you could do some bass fishing and bird watching, or pull a book from the library. Just by the way, booky people will love this place, because there’s a wonderful read-and-share system in place where guests can leave a book behind and take another – a kind of Honesty Library, which is great for readers because the bookstock changes very effortlessly between one visit and the next!
Venture out to the many delights of the Garden Route: explore nearby Nature’s Valley beach (pristine and beautiful), the stunning Tsitsikamma National Park, Stormsriver Mouth / Otter trail, Keurbooms river & beach, the Robberg Nature Reserve, Monkey Land, Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre, Birds of Eden and the Elephant Sanctuary, Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, Sedgefield and Wilderness. But do allow your hosts, Tony & Maria, to make some suggestions for outings and day trips from the lodge.
Accommodation
There are four accommodation types to choose from. We just loved the uncomplicated luxury of our Luxury Garden Suite. Needless to say, the exquisite lily pond was well within view, and best enjoyed from our little outdoor verandah. The suite was spacious, and beautifully furnished in a way that left it roomy and uncluttered. The bathroom (there’s an outdoor shower too, if preferred) was yet another Zen-like delight – perfectly luxurious and as mind-cleansing as it is body-tending. Thanks to the wi-fi, we needed lose no time in posting idyllic pics of our first night’s abode on our Garden Route trip. All the suites are lovely, but the supreme choice is the Honeymoon Suite, which includes a spa bath. Its big sliding doors open onto a deck and a private garden just on the edge of the forest.
Get there! Check availability at Lily Pond.
Mail us to hear more or to book, or call 0860 102 907 (local) or +27 21 797-7122 (international).
